Random Thoughts on Vacations

• 950 some-odd miles is a long way from home
  
• Traveling with a teenager and an iPod is just about the same as traveling alone
  
• Texas drivers go fast no matter where they are
  
• I love Oklahoma, and there are even spots I'd consider scenic, but by and large, there are a lot of prettier places
  
• You don't think much about the things you take for granted, like always knowing your way around town—even when there are construction signs—or the perfect mattress that took you hours upon hours of searching to find
  
• Toll roads already cost money, they shouldn't also charge more for gas
  
• There are friendly people everywhere
  
• No matter how much you might want it, you're unlikely to see a moose in mid-August in Duluth
  
• Lake Superior is HUGE
  
• Whoever came up with the automatic station search on car stereos deserves a medal
• I wouldn't want to live someplace that needed five foot poles attached to the fire hydrants just so you can find them in the snow
  
• Close quarters can breed short tempers. This has surely always been true, but I only have good memories of my childhood vacations; I hope the same will be true for my son
  
• It's nice to see the big yellow Best Buy tag when you've lost camera accessories
  
• Summer vacation is a good excuse to eat ice cream
  
• There's never enough time
  
• It's always nice to come home again