There was only one month that I was not either on a plane or a train somewhere in 1997-1998

I finally got around to writing about this. During the calendar year 1997-1998, there was only one month that I was not either on a plane or a train somewhere. Literally.

I spent almost the entire first six months of 1997 on the road in Philadelphia and in Washington, DC. I was home for Easter and Father's Day but was away the rest of the time.

I spent 65 days at the Holiday Inn in Washington, DC. The bill from that hotel stay stretched more than 25 feet long across the lobby! And thanks to Eli, the CEO of Holiday Inn even sent me a Thank You note later that year (as seen below...you can click on it to blow it up).

While in DC, I did most of the typical touristy things such as the Smithsonian, the National Air and Space Museum, toured the US Capitol Building and got to sit in on a session of Congress, went to Arlington National Cemetery, saw the US Navy Band play at the Navy Memorial, and toured the FBI Headquarters. Went to the Pentagon but did not make it into the tour. Also missed out on the tour of the White House. Over in the Georgetown neighborhood, Old Glory was my favorite place to hang.

In November 1997, I went to Las Vegas and among other things, went on an airplane tour that buzzed the Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. I felt like I was almost flying on the Manhattan Express at New York, New York and on the Big Shot at the Stratosphere...a ride that shoots you up 160-feet on a tower that's already over 1000-feet above ground-level, and you do it in only a few seconds at 4-G's! Had a very magical dining experience (literally) at Caesar's Magical Empire.

Went back to Vegas in 1998 for the opening of the Star Trek Experience, which is soooo cool...one second you're standing in a small square room, and the next second you find that you've been beamed into the Transporter Room of the Enterprise...truly amazing! I've been back there several times since then and still cannot figure how the hell they do that!