Travel

Travel is such a strange thing, especially in these days of jets and flying and getting places very quickly. I thought of this last night as I was rubbing lotion on my sun burn and turning the thermostat up another notch.

When I left Utah on Thursday night it had snowed several inches that morning and was very cold. I flew to Las Vegas where it was warm, but so windy that they were having weather delays because the planes couldn’t get off the ground. Then I flew to Austin where it was warm and muggy. I did not use my coat at all while I was in Austin. In fact I found myself sweating. Standing out in the warm weather Saturday morning I sunburned the back of my neck, the top of my forehead, and my arms. I won’t be able to get sunburned in Utah for at least another month, I won’t want to stay outside that long till then.

Yesterday I flew from Austin, where it was hot and muggy, to Phoenix, where it was hot, to Salt Lake, where there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground and more falling. Such contrast in such a short amount of time, it makes one stop and think.

It is also interesting to think that I traveled so much while moving so little. The insanely small amount of space they give you to sit in on an airplane does not lend itself to much movement. So while I was waiting for the new plane in Phoenix I decided not to just sit some more, but to get my muscles and blood moving. So I stood up and did some of our belly dancing exercises – writing the alphabet with my shoulders and chest. The teenage girls next to me when I wrote the alphabet with my chest thought it was strange. I wrote the alphabet with both ankles. I did some yoga stretches. I tapped my toes to work the front of my shins and then did heel raises to work the back of my calves. It felt good to move, even though I couldn’t go very far. My ankle almost feels normal now too, it’s only at the very edge of the normal range of motion that it still hurts. So I’ll probably start running again soon. I’m excited for that. I have a lot of tension and energy I need to run off.

I guess that is all my thoughts on travel for now.