3000 Miles

Yesterday morning, I was in California. Last night, I was 3000 miles away in Arlington, Virginia. As we got out of the car in front of the house, that little fact really hit me. I had traveled 3000 miles in less than five hours. Two hundred years ago, it would have take three months to travel by horse-drawn wagon, and several days to go by train (well, that part has not changed). If you drive 500 miles a day, it would take six days to drive that distance...of course, when we drive from here to Houston (1500 miles), we usually go 700 miles per day. What an amazing thing. Five hours. Coast to coast.

This country is really wonderful. Lately, with all the politics, and the polls showing "red" states and "blue" states, I have found myself thinking about the different people in each state. New Yorkers are different from people anywhere else in the country (especially New York City New Yorkers). Texans are different, as are Californians. Washingtonians (of the DC variety) are unique, too. Hawaiians. Alaskans. All completely different from other states. It's like living on a continent of dozens of different countries. But it is the sum of the whole that makes this country great. It isn't just one state. It is all of them together. We are all Americans. OK, so now I am getting gushy. But it's that beautiful flight that does it to me. Every single time. I always have to sit by the window, so I can see the quilt patched fields, the snow-covered mountains in Colorado, the unbelievably stunning Grand Canyon, and the hills of California.

I had a great time in California. We did all the things I said we would do. And tomorrow, it's back to work for me. Vacation's over.