Momma

Ima gonna go visit my Momma in Florida. She's old, so she had to move down to Florida. It's the law, you know. God's waiting room.

And I HATE flying. Well, I hate flying in an airliner. And all the rigmorole associated with that. Sure, sure, the TSA stuff is execrable, but it's not just that. It's the luggage check in, the tiny seats, the expense, the worrying about parking, the chance of luggage loss, the OTHER annoying people on the plane, connecting flights, the poor view of outside.

I LIKE flying, the act of. I just wish I could do the trip in the pilot seat of a OV-10 Bronco. Of course I'd have to HAVE a Bronco to do that. And a pilot's license. Etcetera.


The Ford Bronco was an SUV OJ Simpson used to 'flee' police. The OV-10 Bronco was a utility aircraft that performed light hauling and ground attack and spotter duties. So it was also sorta like an SUV. It'd be perfect for me. Hauling me and my crap on vacations. I could even bring a friend and all THEIR luggage. It sure would make blogmeets fun. It's fast enough that a trip to Florida wouldn't be too onerous, and the ability to do pretty short takeoffs and landings means I could pick pretty sketchy airfields to get closer to my ultimate destination.

Yeah, yeah, more fantasy.

Anyhoo. Strategy for the actual early April trip to Ma's. Use a cab to get from my house to a close by DC Metro station and take THAT to Reagan National. Now I don't have to worry about parking. From Reagan I've selected only a direct flight. Less chance of going wrong missing some connecting flight in Pittsburgh due to a delay somewhere in the system. And I only will use a carry-on case to avoid luggage snafus and to keep baggage handlers for riffing though my stuff. Sure, I could lock my luggage AND bring my CCW piece with me to mom's, but that does necessitate checking my bags. And all the attendant hassle and delay that presents. Mom's a bit of a hoplophobe anyway and would be none too thrilled to have a hidden holstered pistol in her presence.

[If I DID need to bring enough stuff that wouldn't fit in a carry on, you're darn tootin I'm checking that bag with a gun in it. Disapproval or no disapproval from mom. Just because I want to lock that all up. I can even still do Reagan National that way, but I can't take the Metro. The Metro passes through DC on the way to a the airport in Virginia. DC isn't as bad, legally as pre-Heller, but it's still not GOOD. In the event something happens on the way there in the train...]

My whole travel strategy tries to minimize my exposure to the crappier parts of airline flying. In and out with a minimum of fuss in a minimum of time.