Arrived home from Denver at around 3:30 a.m. Slept it off for about six hours and now I'm vegging in front of the TV with a laptop and a kitty in my lap. Driving to a far-off destination can be a bitch--let's face it, we spent two days on the road--but at the same time I like it. We saw parts of the country we'd never seen before, we sang along to songs, and we experienced a few truly crappy McDonald's. The drive itself was easy--only four interstates with very little construction. We stopped in Omaha to see a college friend I hadn't seen in almost ten years. We ate. We drove. We slept. And then after World Con we did it all again. Good times, but it's always good to be home.
Here's what I've learned on my summer vacation so far:
1. Omaha really is a happening place. The downtown has seen some gentrification in recent years and is pretty hip. We saw it at night, and we were going to stop on the way back through to experience some of the little shops and stuff during the day, but we wanted to get home, so ... next time.
2. People in Iowa can't drive. At least, they are incapable of driving over twenty miles an hour on a two-lane highway in the dark. You know how they put all the traffic on one side of the interstate when they're working on the other side? Well. This scares Iowan nighttime drivers so much that they come to a stand-still. I will just stay it was an unpleasant way to spend a half-hour when you're still several hours from home.
3. Apparently you have to go to an actual city if you want to see political ads. Or maybe the campaigns have already written off my area. Whatever the reason, I've seen more of McCain and Obama during the past four days than I had the previous month. And I've been watching the election coverage on the news networks!
4. Having a weird schedule + eating at weird times = weight loss. Who knew? I think I skipped a lot of meals and walked a bunch, so that helped. Whatever. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?
5. You know how on the map of the US, Nebraska is pretty much bare after Omaha? Yeah, they aren't lying. It's freakish. Colorado is the same way--you'll easily go fifty miles without seeing a house. Spooky. Also, Iowa is full of rolling hills, Nebraska is flat, and Colorado is hilly with brush instead of grass.
6. Being a mile closer to the sun really does mean you burn quick. We went to a Rockies baseball game on Thursday and zowie! I got a little pink. We didn't stay for the whole game, and it's a good thing, because otherwise I would have been lobsterfied. And before you say it--yes, I was wearing sunscreen. Not enough, apparently.
We leave for another convention in two days--this one much closer to home (Indy)--and so here's what I have to accomplish:
1. Laundry
2. Mow the lawn
3. Finish the current chapter in the WIP already
4. Return the rental car
5. Return the library materials
6. Knit something so I can make sure I still frickin' know how
7. Veg
I'll post a link to the Official Worldcon Con Report once I write it. Now, I must put jeans in the dryer ...
2 comments:
It's been a few years (i.e. several) since I've been through Omaha, but I'm sure it's grown. They even have traffic cameras you can watch online.
And yes, there really is nothing after Omaha. Just small towns like Lincoln and Scottsbluff. Lincoln even has an airport, but it only has 2 terminals. And one is usually closed.
Yeah, tk. The friend we visited grew up there and said it's grown a lot. We only saw the downtown, but it was enough to make us want to relocate.
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