Travel Log, Part One

Here's the thing about a solo vacation: disruptions become part of the narrative rather than an inconvenience. If all went according to plan, I would succumb to a terrible loneliness. Surprise masked as uncertainty gives life its flavor, and uncertainty is at its very minimum when traveling alone. This is how I framed my flight to Venice being delayed four hours when the terminal was evacuated because of a fuel spill.

I departed my overpriced but well-located downtown apartment this morning and spent my ride to the airport in the company of an Austin cabbie. 32 years he's lived in Austin. Like my current trajectory, he came for a few years and never left. Along Riverside, he pointed out all the less expensive options where I could live. I'm afraid I egged him on: why wouldn't asking a cab driver reveal the next secret sweet spot for Austin's real estate boom? This is what I learned in two years in b school: capitalize on others' expertise.

Austin is an interesting town: one of the few places you can move to from New York City where people respond to your news with wide eyes, "Oh, I've heard Austin is really cool." Before the 80s, this was a sleepy capital city where the state legislature met for six months every two years and 40,000 undergrads flowed in and out of town like salmon. Not till the tech boom and music discovered Austin did Austin explode into a hip chic "see and be seen." One of my favorite characterizations is "Austin, where young people go to retire." Is this what I aspire to? A town where flip flops and jean are always appropriate, and newly minted tech millionaires pair the that look with perfectly pressed (probably Brooks Brothers no-iron) button downs and artfully tussled hair? It's a hard town to finagle a black tie moment, and stilettos sit in the closet with hurt feelings.

This trip to Venice was orchestrated out of raw necessity. I graduated from grad school in May and desperately craved adventure. One can only exploit borrowing privileges at the Austin Public Library and $12 tennis clinics at Caswell from 12pm to 1pm --held outside -- Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays before wanting to pull a Sylvia Plath even if only to be newsworthy. Voila! My friend M is marrying S in a ceremony in Venice...Venice, Italy. My father: "Who is that? I've never heard you mention her." Ahem, my dear friend M was getting married to S in Venice this weekend. I really like M. It’s fun to meet people when you are older and to just like them. To know that it will be hard to stay in frequent touch but that you will always fall back into a comfortable happy routine when you do see each other. A few years ago, M hooked me up with an appointment with her family friend, an orthopedic surgeon in NYC, when all the other doctor options I knew of declined to see me (very busy schedules) and directed me to the ER. Then this past summer while we were both in London, we spent quality time over pints in an English pub analyzing men. She must have done a better job of analysis as she's about to enter wedded bliss, and I'm juggling a non-committal, a voice, a wishy-washer, and a too-busy-being-fabulous.

Normally my friend W is prime for transatlantic adventures that maximize fun and minimize impact on the credit card statement, but she's currently engaged.....to medical school rotations as well as a very fun rather new love interest named M. Ack, being a good sport about your friends' good fortunes in love is a chore.

This is how I find myself on a Delta flight next to a very large gentleman ("I apologize in advance for every time I elbow you; they don't make this plane appropriately sized for normal people") watching The Marigold Hotel drinking a positively enormous plastic glass of subpar red wine on my way to a solo vacation. This is also why I don't begrudge the five-hour delay with four Atlanta firemen evacuating my gate at ATL. First there was a fuel spill on the airplane. Then there were the thunderstorms that tore through the airport. It is the journey, not the destination! Plus I had a lovely front row seat just behind huge glass windows to observe the drama. And, oh yes, credit where credit is due: my amex card got me into the Delta club with free snacks and drinks as well as plenty of outlets for my six “must have” electronic devices. #ModernTravel.