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YA in Charge

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We went to Columbus because I love the television show “Secrets of the Zoo”.  It ran for five seasons beginning in 2018 and spawned “Secrets of the Zoo Tampa”, “Secrets of the Zoo North Carolina” and “Secrets of the Zoo Down Under”.  Down Under was resurrected a couple of years ago for an additional season and depending on what you’re willing to believe on the internet, there MAY be a Season 8.  I was (am?) addicted to these shows – loved seeing the animals and the folks who cared for them.  I’ve definitely seen all the episodes of all the show and most of them more than once. 

The original Secrets explored the behind the scenes lives of the animals, the zoo keepers and the zoo vets.  They also shared each episode with The Wilds, a safari park and conservation area about 90 minutes from Columbus.  It looked as fascinating as the zoo.

When Guinevere passed away, YA and I were suddenly free to travel together – something that hadn’t happened for about 5 years.  We decided that going to Columbus to see the Zoo and the Wilds would be perfect. 

As is my norm, I immediately got a binder out and made tabs for air, hotel, rental car, cat boarding, zoo, Wilds and miscellaneous. 

YA used her work “points” for the rental car, spent some On the Fly cards for the air and got a smokin’ hot rate at a hotel using her Iatan status.  Turns out we even got Comfort + seating because she’s got a gazillion Delta miles.  I asked her for confirming emails for everything so I could print them out – she begrudgingly did this commenting that it wasn’t necessary since she had all the info on her phone.  Even the kitty boarding place sent everything via text and email.  But not to be outdone, I dragged the binder with us to Columbus.

Because we were leaving at an ungodly hour from Minneapolis, YA set up Lyft transfers (cheaper than the off-site lots at the airport).  Once we got to Columbus, she did all the driving because it would have cost extra every day to add a driver.  So I let her choose the car.  I didn’t even know what hotel we were going to before we drove up.  She had handled that as well, including making sure it was a double/double configuration. 

Really the only thing I was in charge of was the Zoo and the Wilds.  Even those were handling with QR codes (used our MN Zoo membership to get a discount) and getting emails with links and receipts.  Just had to flash my phone at the entrance of both. 

Suffice it to say, YA was mostly in charge of everything during the trip and I didn’t open my binder one single time.  It felt kind of freeing but sigh… the times they are a changin’.

How has travel changed for you over the years?  For the good or for the bad?

26 thoughts on “YA in Charge”

  1. Like you, I have turned over much “details” work over to the s&h and manage a lot with my phone.

    I am at once in awe and glad to know that I still can figure things out the “old-fashioned” way.

    I do have concerns about about things it’s getting difficult or impossible to do without electronics. The invasive behavior of AI into our communication makes me feel like it will be awhile before it takes over. So klunky!

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    1. I view AI as an invasive species. I know it has legitimate uses, but the speed with which scam artists are exploring it’s potential for nefarious purposes is alarming. Fact checking has become a tricky proposition.

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      1. My son and I have discussions about AI, since he uses it to program logistics for his employer. He likes that feature of it because the management of infinite numbers of 1s and 0s needed for programming is something routine that AI does well. However, he is in charge of making sure the work is done right.

        I recently listened to a book narrated by a combo of AI narrators and real people. The repeated patterns of irritating inflections from the AI narrators ruined the pleasure of listening to an audiobook.

        So, PJ, according to your theory, the digital programming is a productive plant and the irritating narration is an invasive weed.

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  4. I haven’t traveled enough to notice a difference. Most of the traveling I’ve done has been in a car, and most of that has been in MN, WI, or MI.

    When we went to Ireland a couple of years ago, I spent a lot of time selecting preferred seating for all five of us. I purchased the tickets and my friends reimbursed me. Every time I checked back to look at the seats, it showed our chosen seats as available. It drove me nuts. I finally had to call Delta to make sure we were getting the seats we wanted.

    You are so organized, VS! A binder might have helped me with our Ireland trip. I did learn to use my phone a LOT!

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  5. VS, a day behind, now I have some sort of eyesight. We had a Samoyed cockapoo cross. The dumbest dog ever, but sweetest. She worshipped Sandra. I mean worshipped. In the fall a bit but more in the spring she filled the house with floating white hair. Years after she died we would still find it on clothes. She was Eleanor to go with Franklyn the cat. They were best buddies and wrestling mates. They died a few days apart.
    Clyde

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  6. I expended quite a bit of time and some $ getting a Real ID, so I would have it if ever I wanted to travel. But it’s never been a priority for me. I usually don’t travel further than St. Peter on Rock Bend weekend.

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  7. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    I think what has changed the most while traveling, is me. As I prepare for my trip to Ireland in September, I am becoming more and more aware of how ashamed I am of the USA and of being from the USA. What an embarrassment the Federal Government is in this moment. Once upon a time, I was proud of being an American. I did not think this nation was without flaws, but I did think the good outweighed some significant faults. Not anymore.

    I use the phone for some things like calling transportation (Uber, Lyft, Taxi) that make traveling quite elegant. The apps that hold tickets also work pretty well and limit losing the paper tickets for airlines, tours, or concerts. Love those. Electronic reminders of events is so helpful. However, the airplane ride itself is uncomfortable and stingy on snacks, space and entertainment. Some flight attendants are pretty obviously out of patience. That is pretty unpleasant. No phone app corrects that problem.

    I have an upcoming dilemma. On July 14 at 7:30pm my friend and I are attending the Lyle Lovett Small Big Band concert. At 7pm Master Gardener slots for “Ask a Master Gardener” at the State Fair open. This is a race for the good spots. If I am not on the Sign Up Genius at 7pm I WILL NOT GET THE SLOTS I WANT! The phone is too small to really get a good look at the screen of SUG so I will be stuck lugging my iPad to the concert and using my Hot Spot to sign up for this.

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  8. I avoid even car rides more than 15 minutes long IF I can. Obviously to move here I did a two hour ride. The issue is all my complex urination issues. More ironically I am about to take an 80 minute ride to see a urologist. The joys of being 81.
    Clyde

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  9. Air travel becoming “mass transit,” along with post 9/11 paranoia about security, has ruined flying for me. I hate it. I do it reluctantly, for the few times a year I fly. Three air trips in 6 weeks about drove me nuts this spring. 😦

    Road trips are still fun, but all roads are more crowded now, especially interstates with truck traffic. Parks and wild spaces are more crowded because of increased visitation, so solitude is harder to find. (Think the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. And I was just reading about Yosemite being so overcrowded there were hours-long traffic jams and lines just to get into the park!)

    One better feature of travel is online maps and GPS. I still consult paper maps and always bring them along for backup on road trips. I used to pore over them, planning routes and alternatives. Now I do most of my route planning online. Reserving cars, hotels, planes, etc. is also easier because of email and websites.

    As I age, I find traveling more of a chore, mainly the planning part. It’s so easy to just “not go” anywhere instead of figuring out where, when, how, and with whom. But I still like to hit the open road in the car with my wife and head to an unpopulated part of the continent. I just don’t do it as often as I did. And now we have a cat, so long trips are tougher because of the need to coax our cat sitter into putting up with Iris for more than a week. (She’s fine with it, actually, but we hate to ask her too often.)

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. I live in a city with an Amtrak station less than a mile from my front door. The train leaves for Chicago every morning just before 7AM. Chicago, like Washington DC, is where Amtrak connects to the rest of the nation. I don’t travel a lot, but when I do (Princeton, NJ next month), it’s on the rails.

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  10. We did a 4 hour road trip today to La Crosse, WI. Since I am bossy, and anxious unless I am in control, I do all the driving. It rained all day. I 90 west was closed at Austin due to flooding. Our wipers make a god awful scraping noise, so it was stressful. I hope Ben isn’t floating away. The flooding was terrible.

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  11. A driving by car positive.
    I allow my auto insurance company, Erie, to track me on my cellphone.
    Avoid hard braking, speeding, phone use and with a good score get $7.50 every two weeks. I let the reward accumulate to $100 and redeem for a debit card. The Erie app is more forgiving than Progressive app.

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  12. I figure my flying days are over – if by chance I travel solo again, I hope to do it by train, which is in my experience much more reasonable and humane than flying.

    That said, I’m grateful we were able to fly in 2019 to Maui for Stepson’s destination wedding…

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  13. Remember 1974 and the 55mph?
    North Dakota acknowledged the Nixon suggestion to avoid loss of federal highway funds.
    The drive from Fargo/Moorhead for construction to the cities in North Dakota was already boring but this…
    Now driving in eastern Ohio at the posted limit is blocking the road.

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  14. i love travel, air car train whatever. my meditation time. after all my trip to china and far awy destinations nothing seems far anymore. i did have to sleep in an airport recently and while not pleasant i am better able to deal with it than most.
    hotels air b&b rentals are all a piece of cake. now that i do it infrequently its nothing but if i had to travel a lot again id be fine
    every other country in the world has known americans are not perfect. george bush, george w bush, richard nixon with spiro agnew, gerald ford, talking heads, numbskulls, twits and bullies. but look at france, italy, china, russia, hungary, south america, africa.
    churchill said democracy is the worst form of government there is except for all the others.
    i think trump opened the worlds eyes as to what can happen when america screws up, and will help us to certain it has safeguards against bully opportunists who try to exploit idiots who have vote priorities based on smoke and mirrors

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