Planes, Trains and Orthotics: A Middle-Age Woman's Guide to Travel

Yesterday, we went to the Grand Canyon.  The weather was beautiful, the Canyon breathtaking and now I can check the visit off my bucket list. The trip getting there however, was a strategic blunder on my end. Apparently, there are three ways to get to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas: A car, a helicopter and a bus.  I have been driving a lot for work and the thought of renting a car and driving 375 miles round trip on a road that was not the New Jersey Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway was not appealing. The helicopter was also a non-starter. Years ago, we had taken a helicopter ride and it took about a year for me to get feeling back in my fingers after clenching the seat handles for the entire trip. So that left the bus. We were told to meet at a nearby hotel (which by the way, we had to take a taxi to get there—another big miscalculation on my end because I had no idea that the Vegas Strip was as big as it is. It looked much smaller in Oceans 11) at 6:15 am. There were loads o

Since I have spent every second of the last 36 hours with my daughter, I have thought a lot about the actual time when the mental rewiring changes a carefree young woman into a neurotic. Fortunately, it has yet to happen to my daughter. Just One example from the last day and a half. When it comes to preparing for a trip, I realize that I am a bit over-the-top. I like to start preparing about a week before departure, running to CVS for extra travel-size supplies, laying my ironed clothes out in the extra bedroom, assessing and reassessing the necessary suitcase size, and then checking and rechecking that I have all the requisite identification to get me in and out from wherever I’m going.  My daughter’s approach to travel planning is...less rigid. A few days before the trip, I began nudging her about when she was going to pack. She said that I didn’t need to worry, she’d be ready for our 6:45 departure. As promised , she was ready on time except for one problem.. her suitcase only h