John's Journal

Ten state capitals I have visited:

1. Austin, Texas
2. Indianapolis, Ind.
3. Jefferson City, Mo.
4. Providence, R.I.
5. Sacramento, Calif.
6. Columbia, S.C.
7. Raleigh, N.C.
8. Atlanta, Ga.
9. Madison, Wisc.
10. Columbus, Ohio

Ganked from the Ghoul family:

1. What's the farthest away from home you've ever been?
   
   Innsbruck, Austria, which at the time was about 4,571 miles from my home. Come to think of it, it's probably still about 4,571 miles from where I lived when I took that trip. It's 4,277 miles from where I live now.
    
2. What is your home country and state/province?
   
   Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America
    
3. What other countries, if any, have you visited? What cities/regions did you visit in those countries?
   
   
   • Canada: Windsor, Ontario
   • United Kingdom: London, England
   • France: Paris
   • Switzerland: Lucerne
   • Italy: Rome; Florence; Venice
   • Austria: Innsbruck
   • Germany: Munich; Heidelberg; Frankfurt
      
4. Have you ever spent more than 2 weeks in another country? If so, which one and how long did you stay/live there?
   
   I spent twenty consecutive days in Europe, but never more than seven days in any one country.
    
5. What's the farthest from home you've traveled within your *own* country? (May be a duplicate of #1 for some people)
   
   San Francisco, California, which is approximately 2,417 miles from my current home in Leesburg, Va.
    
6. Name the top three places you've never visited, but would like to, in your own country.
   
   Good grief, only three? OK.
   
   
   • Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida
   • White Sand Lake, near Boulder Junction, Wisconsin
   • Is the Pacific Northwest too vague? If so, I'll narrow it down to Portland, Oregon, so I could visit Powell's Books
      
7. Name the top three places you've never visited, but would like to, outside your own country.
   
   
   • Angkor Wat, Cambodia
   • Scotland
   • Angel Falls, Venezuela
      
8. What was the BEST travel/vacation experience of your childhood?
   
   I have fond memories of the trip my family took to Boston in 1981. Thirteen still counts as childhood, right?
    
9. What was the WORST travel/vacation experience of your childhood?
   
   Probably the time I came down with two ear infections during a trip to Iowa in the 1970s.
    
10. What was the BEST travel/vacation experience of your adulthood thus far?
    
    Walking through Grant Grove at King's Canyon National Park last year
     
11. What was the WORST travel/vacation experience of your adulthood thus far?
    
    I made a trip to Iowa in October 2002. The people I had hoped to visit while I was there canceled at the last minute, so I spent much of the trip feeling rather lonely and miserable.
     
12. Describe something strange you saw or encountered on your travels -- your choice of a person, place, or event. (Name both domestic and foreign, if applicable)
    
    
    • Domestic: This isn't so much something strange as it is something that completely defied my expectations. When I visited Boston with my family in 1981, we took a drive up to Walden Pond. I expected it to be a small body of water; instead, it was a fairly large lake almost twice as large as the lake at my summer camp. I expected it to be quiet and sedate; instead, it had a public swimming area being used by a large number of noisy kids. I can't imagine how it could have been any more different from what I imagined.
    • Foreign: When we arrived in Innsbruck, we found that virtually everything in town was closed, despite being the middle of a weekend afternoon. The only thing that was open: a McDonald's.
       
13. If you were forced to move permanently to another country on another continent, which would you choose?
    
    Probably the United Kingdom. Australia or New Zealand would be OK too. What it boils down to is that I don't want to have to learn a second language.
     
14. If you could have a vacation getaway home anywhere in your own country, where would it be?
    
    Lake Tahoe. I've only been there once, but I have a feeling about it.
     
15. If you could choose one famous person, living or dead, to travel the world with -- who would it be and why? (You would not be lovers with this person, so please exclude choices based on sexiness.)
    
    Michael Palin. I've enjoyed his travel books and television shows, and if I get depressed he can cheer me up by doing his Pontius Pilate voice.

I was just watching tonight's syndicated Simpsons episode on Fox 5 DC, and they showed a promo for a new episode of Wonderfalls this Thursday. And according its To Do List, my TiVo still thinks it will be recording a new episode that night. Was Minear misinformed? Or is this merely a cruel conspiracy on the part of Fox 5 DC and Tribune Media Services to raise my hopes before cruelly dashing them on the jagged rocks of... of... well, I can't think of a way to complete that metaphor. Does anyone know whether there really will be a new episode of Wonderfalls on Thursday?