I should be wearing socks

I feel asleep last night at 9pm. I started the day at 4am Florida time and ended it at 9pm California time. In between there I was on Houston time for a few hours. And it was also the end of daylight savings time, which meant I got an extra hour of sleep, but really, it doesn't help much when you travel from the east to west coasts.

I had some time to sit in the Houston airport and think about random things. I've done a lot of traveling this year...a lot of traveling for me anyway. And as I've traveled I've noticed a few things.

• Why is it that when you pay $100+ a night for a hotel room, in a fancy hotel that you also must pay $10-20 a day for wireless Internet? Whereas when you stay in a Best Western that can also get $100+ a night and isn't quite as fancy the wireless Internet is free. When I'm paying $50 or less at the Motel 6 in Slidell, I don't mind paying $3.00 for my wireless Internet card, but if I am paying over $100.00 a night, that Internet should be free!
• Speaking of wireless, if airports really want to make people comfortable in their travels and accommodate them and encourage them to fly, maybe they should get on the free wireless bandwagon. I won't pay $7.95 to access the Internet in an airport that I'm only going to be in for a couple of hours. I really appreciated the free wireless and awesome rocking chairs in Charlotte, North Carolina and if I was awake enough to even turn on the computer in Tampa, I would have enjoyed the free wireless there. Houston and Dallas...the places that I have the most delays while traveling...yeah you have to pay there. Maybe it's a conspiracy. My hometown airport, SJC, needs to get on the free wireless bandwagon as well. Seriously.
• K and I are curious. Why is it that people line up really early to board airplanes when they already have assigned seats? What's the rush? There was one lady that mystified us. She was not going to move as we came up to pre-board with the Little Boy. We could have caused a back-up on the plane as we tried to get the stroller put away, find our seats, put luggage in the overhead bins, etc. I don't get it.
• Speaking of lining up, when heading to San Diego a couple of weeks ago on S.West my traveling partners and I were amazed at the rude people who were hurrying to get into boarding line A. They seriously camped out in front of us for over a half-hour. And it wasn't just one line, it was two lines swerving their way through the chairs. One guy came and stood with his rear end literally a foot from the face of my friend Todd. It was greater fodder for jokes later on but really, really rude. Todd couldn't handle it and moved and rear-end man immediately sat in his seat. Amazing.

I won't be traveling again for another 50 days. It's nice to go places but I always appreciate home. I came home this time with a light flip-flop tan line on my feet, which is totally unusual for me in November. I couldn't resist wearing my flip-flops today but home isn't as warm as Tampa and the cold that I came home probably isn't being helped by my lack of socks. But it sure is fun to have a little tan in November.