[travelogue] Red Eye

Saturday morning dawned early and bright. OK, not so bright. I was up at 4:30am and it was still darkish out, but the light was starting to make its presence known.

This trip was strangely confusing to my internal GPS and I nearly got Mark late for his early flight on Friday because I had no idea where I was. So, at 5:00am when I departed the hotel, I asked the receptionist how to get to the airport. He gave me a small map and some very simple directions and after stopping for gas I was there in 15 minutes.

I sat watching the early planes depart, with one beautiful shot of a plane's nose facing me as I dined sleepily in the airport cafe on a bagel. The sun was rising and light was streaming through a cloud with this giant plane facing me in the foreground. It was enough to make any airline executive weep with joy and pride. I bent down to retrieve my camera because it was going to be a prize-winning shot. When I looked up, 5 second later, plane was gone having been taxied backward onto the runway. The clouds covered the sun and I resumed nom-nom-noming my bagel, saddened that my award-winning picture was taken from me and my chances at a successful future receded.

A few minutes later I was on board my American Eagle flight, bound for Dallas. After a beautiful liftoff (again the clouds and sunlight were really pretty at dawn), I zoned out for the two hour flight. Arrived 20 minutes early at 8:40am and had to sit for the 20 minutes because our gate was still occupied. I landed in a different terminal than I left from so I had to take the shuttle to my car, then the 30+ minute ride home. Touchdown at 10:00am.

Here are some pictures from my Wisconsonian adventure.

Big La Quinta room... complete with hot tub.

The little yellow car. It's such a pill!

Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin

View from the Pier where we ate fried cheese curds and sipped beer

Mark and Roxy*

Walking down state street. Restaurants, museums, and hippies on bikes.

Part of the university on the way to the student union.

More of the student campus - here we see the torture castle, where they make new students consume large quantities of beer. Actually, a recreation center, if I recall. There may not be much difference.

Business as usual... chilling with several thousand students, consuming libations, and listening to an angry rockster moan about amputation. Still, it was a nice night.