Things I Know

Getting a flu shot is a good idea, and it’s not too late.  I did it.  Bumping into a wall or door frame soon after you’ve gotten a flu shot is not a good idea.  I did that the morning after I got my flu shot, and thought I’d warn you.

On the tourism front, I’m in Florida to take in the Mecum auto auction in Kissimmee.  It’s the biggest one I know of, and since I like to photograph old cars, it seems logical that I’d be here eventually.  Saint Karen isn’t interested, but she said it was fine for me to come here, so I did.  Just one more example of why I say she must be a saint to put up with me.

Spoiler alert:  The Mustang driven by Steve McQueen in the movie “Bullitt” sold for $3.4 million.  The title Plymouth from the movie “Christine” garnered a high bid of $275 thousand, and the owner didn’t sell it at that price.

As for the travel, there’s a Snapple vending machine in Islip MacArthur Airport that is full of drinks, but no Snapple.  A disappointment.  The worst bagel I’ve ever had I got at Islip too.  It was edible, but truly a roll with a hole.  None of the chewy texture bagels are famous for.

First flight on Frontier Airlines.  As soon as I sat down, I pulled their app up on my phone and booked a premium flight for the return trip.  Premium seats have a little more legroom.  At least the ones that are really jammed together don’t recline.  BTW, I found their customer support via their Facebook page to be excellent. 

I rented a car from Alamo.  I reserved a Mustang convertible, and they gave me a Mustang convertible, instead of an “or similar.”  I think it was the first time in my life I got the car I asked for from a rental agency.

Note to Ford and Android Car Play app.  It’s a rental car. I want it to play music from my phone.  I don’t want my phone to tell the car all my deepest secrets and the name and contact information of everyone I have ever known.   If you want to spill your guts to Ford and Google, fine, but since a lot of people use their phones in rental cars, if I tell the car and the app to stop trying to sync, they ought to take my word for it and knock it off.

Have you ever wondered why the three-letter code for Orlando’s airport is MCO?  It’s because before it was a commercial airport, it was an Air Force base—McCoy Air Force Base.

Saint Karen and I celebrated our wedding anniversary with a little trip to New York’s Finger Lakes region.  In case you’ve never been, the lakes are fed by streams that have, over thousands of years, created beautiful gorges and lots of waterfalls.  How scenic is it?  Taughannock Falls is on the scenic calendar my auto mechanic gives out to customers.  Taughannock Falls State Park and Watkins Glen State Park are two of the area’s prime beauties.  The Taughannock waterfall doesn’t spill the same volume of water, but it is thirty or forty feet taller than Niagara. 

Watkins Glen has more waterfalls, but it’s also more strenuous.  We made the mistake of starting at the visitors’ center.  I say mistake because from there the hike is all uphill.  The smarter thing to do is start at the other end and walk downhill.  In the summer, there’s a shuttle between the two parking lots, but there isn’t one the rest of the year.  I suppose you could call a taxi.

If you’re a photographer, set up your gear before you head out.  My photo backpack weighs 25 pounds and there aren’t a lot of dry places to put something like that down so you can select lenses and set up your tripod.

Author: Tom

I know by ABC's, I can write my name, and I can count to 100.