I have been going through a bit of a gluttonous stage lately. For me this translates into starting new projects that I am excited about, planning trips and spending money on pampering things. It is hard for me to go to these decadent places without harboring some guilt. It feels good, but I am not sure that it comes from a place of my highest self. It is a bit reminiscent of when my friend, V-, took this to Ayn Randian proportions when he went from being a grimy bicycle tourist/messenger to buying a turquoise mini-truck. He said, “Everyone else is driving the environment into the shithouse, why should I be sacrificing myself to try and save it.” Well, I never really thought this was his best period, but luckily it didn’t really last long.
I am not a huge traveler, but a combination of factors has made the call of a few places that I have always wanted to go too loud to ignore. The fact that J- and I will likely be parents again sometime during the next year and will not be able to travel for while after that, cheap air prices and an accumulation of flyer miles has me doing my small-town-girl version of jetsetting for the next few months.
I also have a theory that some places are going down. The economy, the environment…they may be irreversibly changed and I want to see them now:
Glacier National Park
Well, okay, in this case, it isn’t actually MY theory that Glacier National Park is going down, it is pretty well supported scientifically that the glaciers are melting. And even the most conservative folks are now pretty much on board with this.
Actually, it looks like I missed the heyday of seeing the glaciers of Montana. Even my parents did. Still, I have had several reports from friends over the years that this is one of the best places that they have seen and it has long been on my list of places to see.
Visiting Binky is the perfect opportunity to head up to this great area and visit 2 states that are new for me. Binky and I are going on a caching extravaganza between Spokane, WA, Sandpoint, ID and Glacier National Park, MT for 4 days.
Las Vegas, The Strip
It is a bit ridiculous
that I from California and have never been to Las Vegas. I can’t even tell you how many times that I have been to Reno. Because I don’t know, I’m not sure that I would be able to count. Being from Sacramento, that is what we did…we went to Reno.
The draw of Las Vegas has grown in the last 10 years as it has become more upscale and I have become well, uh…more upscale. Hearing about the art, architecture and shows, seeing Anthony Bourdain’s pleasure while eating at Buchon were all part of the draw. The lights and fireworks and the fake Venice and Paris. I know, it’s kitschy, but it’s fun! Not to mention that they have caches, like every other place on the map. And it is yet a whole other state that I can add to my “states cached” map.
I began looking at air/hotel packages and seeing deals because I just needed a getaway and didn’t want to deal with a long flight or drive. Then, I heard about the decline in business there and realized that I have no faith that the economy will get better any time soon, and places like swanky Vegas hotels are going to be some of the first to go down, bigtime. After a few months of looking, I decided to take the plunge and prices had dropped. I couldn’t imagine them going lower.
Vegas is so overdeveloped, with no solid basis for the economy of decadence, other than some weekend traffic from LA. I know that Vegas will always be there, but in what condition? Already many of the more “family-friendly” attractions have disappeared, what will go next? When will it sink below the level of seediness that it was when I was a child? I am imagining a ghost town of these posh hotels, turned vacant, hauntingly empty, guarded and almost post-apocalyptic.
So, this is how my few months of somewhat opulent splurging has come about. I want to get it while the getting is good.
