Every few years, I invite readers and colleagues to contribute guest columns in the series Technology and my Hobby/Passion. Over a hundred contributed in the last decade on their birding, charities, cooking, music, sports and every other passion, and how it keeps evolving with technology. Click here and scroll down to read them all.
This time, it is my wife, Margaret Newman. By day, she works as a psychiatric RN. She is also an editor and critic of my frequent books. Besides, she has raised two wonderful kids, who have become world travelers in their own right. The photo on left shows her with Rita at Magnolias restaurant in Charleston, SC. She writes about how she has perfected the art of squeezing the most out of a day trip:
John Lennon, when asked about the Beatles' song is supposed to have said "Day trippers are people who go on a day trip, right? Usually on a ferryboat or something. But [the song] was kind of ... you're just a weekend hippie. Get it?"
So, let me start off by saying my definition of day tripping is the first kind, not the hippie kind. Now that we have that out of the way, let me also say that Vinnie as a businessman who travels a lot has his schedule fairly well choreographed. When he is with me, it is more like controlled chaos.
Talking about the Beatles, I first met Vinnie when he was on assignment in London. He introduced me to "Saint George" - George Oakes and his wonderful book with all kinds of trivia along 50 walks through major European cities. That's when I learned day trips with Vinnie meant constant motion. Then came kids, who I home schooled, and pets and our day trips were hectic but focused on swimming, chess, libraries, Disney etc. Now that the dogs have passed and the kids have their own interests, Vinnie's and my day trips have moved into hyperdrive.
We try to experience some or all of the following on our day tips - the first three tend to be my priorities, the next three are Vinnie's and the last one is something we increasingly enjoy when the kids join us.
a) Antique/Collectible Stores
b) Temples, churches
c) Art Museums
d) Nature trails
e) Historical places
f) Science/Tech/Innovation attractions
g) Foodie places
A good day is one where we can squeeze in everything - sometimes it means splitting up, but you will be amazed how quickly we can zip around and change plans on a dime. We generally defer to the kids on the last item. On one of our trips to Austin, TX Tommy put together the eclectic collection of meals at the places below. The kids are just more hip than we are and introduce us to foods we would never try on our own.
Let me describe 3 of our trips to give you an idea of what I mean by controlled chaos:
My sister Judy flew over from her home in Ireland and we joined her in N. California. We were supposed to spend a couple of days in Napa Valley, but last year's fires and power outages forced us to instead drive south. We made a last minute hotel reservation in the farming town of Salinas. In the morning, Judy and I went whale watching in Monterey Bay while Vinnie worked at a nearby Starbucks. He missed out on humpback and blue whales which came very close to our boat. He did get to explore the Custom House which dates back to the 1840s. Lunch was fish and chips at a place called Abalonetti at the pier. The ocean spray and the barking seals nearby - you could almost sense Brandy by Looking Glass come to life. And we were just getting started.
Next was a visit to nearby San Carlos Cathedral. It is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California. Then, we tried to make it to Tu Vien Kim Son Monastery in Watsonville. It is on a windy and uphill drive and the local drivers made us nervous. We lost our mobile connection and navigation directions a few miles from the summit and turned around.
On the other hand, the drive around Watsonville showed us some amazing farmland which feeds so much of the country. It also allowed us to spend a couple of hours at the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton. Notable visitors such as President Theodore Roosevelt have spent time there in its lush, towering redwoods. Amazingly peaceful and there was a wonderful aroma. Here's Judy, who is pretty tall dwarfed by one of those majestic trees.
Poor Vinnie was stuck driving us through the Santa Cruz hills. It was especially dark with all power outages. We were still not done. Dinner was near SFO airport - Judy and I had a salad, Vinnie drove to a dim sum place which had recently opened. Finally, we checked into a hotel nearby for an early flight the next morning. Bear in mind, most of this came together at the very last minute.
Closer to home, on a recent Saturday I walked into a collectibles store in Brandon, and Vinnie visited a nearby "antique" book store. Talking of collectibles, I have multiple clusters in the house like the one on the right. Vinnie keeps threatening to put tags on each and buy me some asset tracking software. I keep reminding him what bargains these are, not worth the software.
We next went to a collectibles store in a house built in 1905. Vinnie asked the owner how it had survived all our hurricanes and termites. I was not worried about a hurricane - we can do more damage all by ourselves!
We caught lunch at an Indian restaurant we like, then made our way for a couple of hours to Alderman's Ford Conservation Park. Many spend their entire weekend there kayaking on the Alifia River. Their idea of a day trip. We moved on to Plant City. Every third Saturday of the month the historic downtown comes alive. There were 400 antique cars and trucks and a DJ was belting out all kinds of oldies. Plant City used to be a major rail junction (it is now also known for its strawberries) and Vinnie was in heaven checking out train paraphernalia. Funnily, as I was in one of the antique stores, a modern-day freight train went by and every precious item in the store shook and shook. Vinnie thought he saw two CSX locomotives hauling at least 75 cars. There was more that day, but allow me to describe a trip where all four of us had a say.
We spent a long weekend in Charleston. This required a bit more planning because the kids had to fly home to Tampa and we drove from here. But after that, it was controlled chaos and yes, fights over the Bluetooth audio channel in the car. Charleston has enough excellent restaurants to keep you busy for weeks, but we let Tommy pick a few. We still talk about the fried green tomatoes and the bouillabaisse.
Vinnie got to take a boat to historic Fort Sumter. He faithfully got his morning walks on the Ashley river. Rita got to see the Forrest Gump bench in Savannah. Some of us went shopping for antiques in thrift stores in Summerville, others to The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. Some saw the majestic Angel Oak tree in Johns Island (photo below), still others the Middleton Plantation. On the way back we made a birding stop at the Orlando Wetlands. We even squeezed in an annual card game. I won, which is rare because we all cheat and I am not so good at that.
I could count another ten things we did on that trip. Oh, did I mention Vinnie had to find a garage on a Saturday to get a nail removed from one of the tires. Thanks to Uber that did not hurt our schedule too much. Now, would you call that a trip to Charleston? Few would, but then they are not our kind of Day Trippers!
All this zig-zagging and impromptu turns would be impossible without technology. Near home, the most useful pieces of technology are the SUV navigation system, the toll tag, the blind spot sensor, the panoramic roof and my faithful Thermos. The navigation system backs up Google Maps and Waze on our phones. All the talk is about 5G - the reality is if you go to any trail you are happy to get even a 2G signal, so Google is often not much help. When we fly somewhere, we usually carry AAA printed guides and maps - many rental cars don't have a nav system, and the network is patchy in most rural spots. Toll tags are a must in Florida - did you know we have the most toll roads of any state, almost 750 miles worth? The good news - the tolls are keeping our roads in very good shape. Better news - with the SunPass tags we are already at a museum or a trail rather than waiting to pay a toll. Blind spot sensor sounds like a fancy bell or whistle. But when you drive a rental car without the feature, you notice how indispensable it is, given all the crazy driving out there. The panoramic roof is definitely a fancy bell and whistle, but how else could you capture a photo like the one below? These are the 9 inch steel cables that hold our engineering marvel, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, in place. At this point we were about 200 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The cables converge another 200 feet up. Trust me nobody wanted us to slow down on that bridge. No panoramic roof, no such photo. May be you could with a drone camera but I will let you try and get FAA permission for that! Finally, about the Thermos - it ferries my hot tea and frankly, that is way more important than any bell or whistle.
I have to credit other technology when we take a trip away from home. Airplanes for one - Southwest has been very generous. I fly for free on their Companion Pass. They have more nonstops to other cities from our airport than any other airline. Their A list means Vinnie always gets an aisle seat. Their free wifi allows me to be entertained and him to be productive. Mobile boarding passes and the streamlined TSA Pre security have made airports bearable. They are constantly sending us free alcohol coupons. What's not to like? Marriott has been good to our family for decades. They have 32 brands now in every price range and since Rita works in the hospitality business we usually get even better rates. As soon as we check into one, I raid their brochure stand - gives me ideas on local attractions. Vinnie scours TripAdvisor, Yelp and OpenTable and that adds to my list. Avis is usually kind to us and upgrades us to SUVs. We like their higher clearances and ability to handle rural dirt roads. Most also come equipped with local toll tags. The car return process is so much more efficient these days. Remember the old days when you had to go into the office? They would come out and check for damage and if the gas tank was full, then go back in and print you a receipt. Scanners and mobile printers have changed the rules dramatically.
All this sounds really expensive, right? We have found parks and trails throughout the country often for just the cost of parking. My collectibles usually come from thrift stores and they are amazing bargains for the amount of handiwork that goes into them. If you stay away from expensive meals that Tommy recommends, a tank of gas and tolls are what you are looking at. If you want to fly around, I have some advice. Marry a spouse who travels for work, encourage them to fly on Southwest and earn yourself a free Companion Pass. Make this a priority - the virus crisis won’t keep us grounded forever. Just kidding, but make sure one of your family members works for a Marriott or Hilton. Their friends and family rates are sweet.
As you can tell I don't research much before a trip. Vinnie makes up for that with his research after a trip. He takes tons of photos on his iPhone, and they are uploaded to Google Photos, Facebook and Instagram. He then uses that to research every arcane detail and writes up a long trip report. He has been writing those reports since the kids were young. They go into plastic sheet protectors and 3 ring binders. A digital twin goes on Google Drive. That is really useful when I will ask him, years later, what was the name of the place where we had lunch and had lots of hummingbirds hovering around our window?
Not that it matters. We likely will not go back to that place. Too many other temples, trails, antique stores and museums to explore. Besides, we have needed to add another stop on our trips - treasure hunt chases for toilet paper.
Someday, I may take up Lennon's advice and become a weekend hippie. But not his definition - I would write a book about our 50 best day trips. On second thoughts, I am not sure many would want to read about our hyperactive day trips!
Stay safe folks and pack a sense of humor and some kindness for each other in these crazy times.
Enjoyed reading about 'Day Tripping' by Margaret.Good luck with "treasure hunt chases" this weekend! Mark me down for the 50 best day trips book whenever it appears. Cheers!
Posted by: Harish Jagtiani | March 14, 2020 at 01:20 AM