Today’s Rant No. 23: Transportation Edition

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erienced at the capitol. I guess politics had literally made me sick.</li><li>My first boat ride took me from San Francisco to Alcatraz Island. (No, I was not imprisoned there with Al Capone. Jerk.) I was seven years old at the time and had gone there to tour the former federal prison on the island with my mom and godfather. It was great to take a look back at a notorious part of this country’s history and it is certainly worth a return visit.</li><li>Speaking of San Francisco, you cannot visit it without riding a cable car, an iconic part of the city since 1873. My wife, Kay, and I most recently rode one in 2019. It turned out to be our final San Francisco date before we moved to Southern California later that year. Hence, cable cars always hold a special place in my heart.</li><li>The 600-mile trek from the Bay Area to Lake Havasu City, Ariz. is the longest I have traveled by car. My grandparents had relocated to the Grand Canyon State when I was three years old, so my parents and I would visit them there every summer. Lake Havasu City actually gets a good number of visitors because it is home to the London Bridge. No, seriously. Stop laughing. The bridge, built in the 1830’s, had originally spanned the River Thames in England. Lake Havasu City founder Robert P. McCulloch then purchased the bridge in 1968 and moved it there during a three-year span. Although looking at the London Bridge in Arizona is as strange as looking at Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform, it is understandably the town’s top tourist attraction.</li><li>Speaking of Arizona, I had taken a bus tour of Y

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osemite and the Grand Canyon a decade ago. While Yosemite was nice, the Grand Canyon was amazing to see in person, or at least cooler than it had looked on the “Brady Bunch.” I could feel the anticipation within me growing as I traveled through what seemed like an endless desert to get there. And then, out of nowhere — boom — the Grand Canyon appeared, and its sheer beauty and size hit me like a ton of bricks. I would certainly like to try either the llama or helicopter tour on my next visit.</li><li>Speaking of helicopters, I have no idea how to fly one, but have at least learned to drive a pickup truck. Might not sound special, but I had only driven small cars until I had to drive the company truck earlier this year. When I am not busy pretending to be William Shakespeare on Medium, I work for my father-in-law’s construction business, so knowing how to drive the truck is important for the obvious reasons. Although driving it for the first time had felt like navigating a tank during a military field training exercise, I fortunately feel more comfortable doing it now.</li><li>If I were to win a $1 million, I would consider purchasing a helicopter so I could travel quickly. I live in a densely populated part of SoCal, so a helicopter would come in handy. I suppose an alternative plan for the$ 1 million would be to transport a bridge from London to SoCal, charge people fees to cross it, and then use that money to purchase a helicopter. See? Good long-term planning, no? That idea might sound nuts, but I am fairly certain Robert P. McCulloch would approve of it.</li></ul></article></body>

Today’s Rant No. 23: Transportation Edition

I admittedly have not traveled much during my lifetime. Hell, I have never even set foot outside the United States and had only obtained my first passport last year. Flying from the San Francisco Bay Area, where I had been born and raised, to New York (about 2,900 miles) is the farthest I have traveled. My mom and I took a six-day tour of the east coast 15 years ago to celebrate my graduation from college. It was a great experience, and I would definitely like to visit that part of the country again.

Really enjoyed New York City. I loved walking around Times Square, visiting NBC Studios, and taking a boat ride around the Statue of Liberty. However, nothing could beat Niagara Falls. Its massiveness and beauty are breathtaking! It just has a way of making you feel small—almost like the New York Jets’ chances of reaching the playoffs this season.

My first and only (so far) train ride took place when I went with my eighth-grade class on a field trip to the state capitol in Sacramento. We also visited the city’s Vietnam War Memorial and California State Railroad Museum. The ride was relatively short (about 80 miles each way) and the trip was fun overall — except for the serious nosebleed I experienced at the capitol. I guess politics had literally made me sick.

My first boat ride took me from San Francisco to Alcatraz Island. (No, I was not imprisoned there with Al Capone. Jerk.) I was seven years old at the time and had gone there to tour the former federal prison on the island with my mom and godfather. It was great to take a look back at a notorious part of this country’s history and it is certainly worth a return visit.

Speaking of San Francisco, you cannot visit it without riding a cable car, an iconic part of the city since 1873. My wife, Kay, and I most recently rode one in 2019. It turned out to be our final San Francisco date before we moved to Southern California later that year. Hence, cable cars always hold a special place in my heart.

The 600-mile trek from the Bay Area to Lake Havasu City, Ariz. is the longest I have traveled by car. My grandparents had relocated to the Grand Canyon State when I was three years old, so my parents and I would visit them there every summer. Lake Havasu City actually gets a good number of visitors because it is home to the London Bridge. No, seriously. Stop laughing. The bridge, built in the 1830’s, had originally spanned the River Thames in England. Lake Havasu City founder Robert P. McCulloch then purchased the bridge in 1968 and moved it there during a three-year span. Although looking at the London Bridge in Arizona is as strange as looking at Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform, it is understandably the town’s top tourist attraction.

Speaking of Arizona, I had taken a bus tour of Yosemite and the Grand Canyon a decade ago. While Yosemite was nice, the Grand Canyon was amazing to see in person, or at least cooler than it had looked on the “Brady Bunch.” I could feel the anticipation within me growing as I traveled through what seemed like an endless desert to get there. And then, out of nowhere — boom — the Grand Canyon appeared, and its sheer beauty and size hit me like a ton of bricks. I would certainly like to try either the llama or helicopter tour on my next visit.

Speaking of helicopters, I have no idea how to fly one, but have at least learned to drive a pickup truck. Might not sound special, but I had only driven small cars until I had to drive the company truck earlier this year. When I am not busy pretending to be William Shakespeare on Medium, I work for my father-in-law’s construction business, so knowing how to drive the truck is important for the obvious reasons. Although driving it for the first time had felt like navigating a tank during a military field training exercise, I fortunately feel more comfortable doing it now.

If I were to win a $1 million, I would consider purchasing a helicopter so I could travel quickly. I live in a densely populated part of SoCal, so a helicopter would come in handy. I suppose an alternative plan for the $1 million would be to transport a bridge from London to SoCal, charge people fees to cross it, and then use that money to purchase a helicopter. See? Good long-term planning, no? That idea might sound nuts, but I am fairly certain Robert P. McCulloch would approve of it.