Jane has spent the last few weeks doing a tour of the country's television stations. She wasn't actually touring the stations, dear reader. Rather, she was appearing on them, talking up summer travel.
Now, Jane's preamble is not meant to impress you nor to have you start waxing envious about Jane's dual talents as a pithy person of letters and a telegenic spokesmodel. Rather, it is to introduce the premise for this column. You see, as Jane traveled to eight cities in 12 days, she discovered a number of things that piqued her interest. Please note, however, that as she was in each location less than 24 hours, Jane didn't have time to develop a cinematic study of place. She merely was able to acquire a few snapshots.
Let's start at the airport. While Jane traveled through ten airports during her trip, she reserves her greenest kudos for solely two. Only Washington National (DCA) and Milwaukee ( MKE) offered receptacles for separated recyclables. Plastic here, newspaper there, trash here. Given the amount of recyclables travelers go through in a given day, why doesn't every airport in the U.S. adopt this practice?
Speaking of Milwaukee's airport, Jane found a couple of other items worthy of note there. You know the area where you repack your disheveled carry-on items after going through security? Just like those lines between your upper lip and your nose, Jane never knew that said area had an actual name. But in Milwaukee, it does...the post-security area that is (the facial area in question is actually called a philtrum). The airport space is dubbed "The Recombobulation Area." Bravo, says Jane, to the wordsmith who coined that term. It's perfection. Jane also wants to send a shout out to Milwaukee's security area for its use of disposable floor mats. In a previous column, Jane expressed her concern for picking up foot fungus when taking off her shoes at security. This concern particularly raises its head during the summer, when most travelers sport feet clad in sandals and sweat. Now, Jane knows that the possibility of acquiring said fungus is likely an urban myth, but still... Therefore, Jane was pleased to see that, in Milwaukee, fungi have few chances to fester, due to those replaceable floor mats.
But enough about Milwaukee. On to St. Louis. Jane has written about the Gateway Arch many a time, but has never actually seen it in person (such can sometimes be the life of a travel writer). After appearing on KMOV-TV, Jane had an hour to wander over to the Arch, which is located on the banks of the Mighty Mississippi. Now, Jane's been around the world, and has seen a number of fabulous sites, ranging from the Great Wall of China to the Eiffel Tower to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And she's got to say, upon standing adjacent to the Arch, she got the same feeling as when she first spied the previously-named-dropped world landmarks. The stellar structure (the country's tallest national monument) was spectacular, particularly because the day's bright sun cast a brilliant gleam upon the entire landmark. Looking up at the Gateway Arch, framed by the bright blue sky and a hint of a crescent moon, was truly breathtaking.
The lesson learned --whenever you are in a city on business, take time to smell whatever roses said city may have. Even if you only have an hour to check out the Picasso in front of the Daley Center in Chicago, or the Statue of Liberty in New York, or the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, do it.
As Jane is reaching the limits of her word count, she will relate just two more observations from the road. One, even though there's no humidity, 100 degrees is still hot (Phoenix) and two, bless the designers of Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) for making the bathroom stalls large enough to carry in a carry-on without the need to bash one's legs against the plumbing fixtures.
As you travel this summer, whether for business or pleasure, Jane welcomes your notes from the road. Meantime, if you are headed to St. Louis, check in at The Roberts Mayfair-A Wyndham Historic Hotel, located just blocks from The Gateway Arch. For those interested in checking out the quirks of General Mitchell International Airport, The Wyndham Milwaukee is right in the neighborhood.
