On flying

My earliest recollection of air travel was when my mother, brother and I traveled to New York City.  That was probably 1961, and what a different experience it was.  Imagine this, everybody that flew got dressed up.  No shorts, tank tops or tshirts, no flip flops.  The flight attendants were known as "stewardesses" and their uniforms included hats.  I often think about that when I travel.

I've been to Tampa/St. Petersburg a number of times.  My best friend of over 40 years (exactly 41 years this President's Day) went to college in Tampa.  That was over 30 years ago, and expectedly nothing in the airport looked the same.  My favorite Orange Julius stand was nowhere to be found.

I lucked out at the airport, instead of hopping a 15 passenger van for the ride to St.Pete, there was a limo with an open seat.  Super Shuttle is a rockin' good idea.  As the sun set on the horizon, I rode in the peace and quite of a Lincoln limo running at 80 mph in the fast lane.  All for $23 and a tip.

It's tagged as the Marriott Courtyard now, but it's really the historic Pennsylvania Hotel built in 1925.  It's right downtown, and finding dinner on a Sunday night in downtown St. Pete was somewhat of a challenge.  I found an all-natural burrito spot that was excellent, and a dingy package store where I grabbed a six pack and headed back to the hotel to watch the Grammy awards.

Along the way back, I was struck with the number of homeless people settling in for the evening in front of numerous municipal buildings.  7:00pm, wrapped in blankets and smoking cigarettes.  It went on for blocks, and only on municipal property.  The City must be tolerant, which is pretty cool in these economic times.  Bruskers abound, despite the lack of sidewalk traffic.

So the Grammy Awards play in the background (the wholly untalented Kid Rock performing as I write this.)  Tomorrow morning I'll get a better lay of the land in daylight, and my seminar begins right after lunch.