Being residents of the Mid-Atlantic, my wife and I aren't exactly uncommon in being an interracial couple. Even when we were dating back in the late '80s and early '90s it wasn't terribly uncommon, though less so than now. I'm sure other areas of the country don't see so much, but here it's no big deal.
Still, it's not so common that Karen and I don't notice it when we're out places. Sometimes we'll see numerous other couples, which inevitably leads to our in joke that we didn't get the invitation.
Disney certainly provided opportunity for that. Of course, people are coming to Disney from around the world and the US. Statistically, there are bound to be a lot of mixes of couples, ethnically, religiously, and culturally.
As the years have gone by, there have been more such couples. Not just in my notice but statistically, too. We're taking over the world!
Good thing, too. Genetic diversity is necessary for a species to survive. Insular breeding leads to defects becoming prominet, like a Hapsburg or a Golden Retriever. Man or dog, keeping the spread of your genes in close proximity to your family tree is going to warp the branches of your tree. Mutts are best.
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disney. Show all posts
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Red Head Invasion
Aside from all the Brits at Disney there were a lot of red heads. Anyone who knows me knows I'm one of that clan, too. Kinda hard to miss, even with the shaved head.
Anyway, that was something I hadn't expected. I've read over the years how our numbers are declining. Red heads are a recessive trait in the genes. Our widening of our breeding pool means its more likely to stay a recessive and not result in kids with red hair. There's more of me and my wife, with our disparate genetic histories, than Ron Howard and his wife, who are both red heads.
But there were a lot of us at Disney. Mostly un-sunburned, too. That's one of the primar reasons I'm glad my kids aren't red heads. They don't get the easy sun burning that comes with it. With Spring here and Summer hard on its heals, I'm in the time where I calculate my outdoor activities with a mind toward how much time I'll have to spend in direct sun. Well, not right now, as I write this. It's 40 degrees and raining, but a week ago it was 90 degrees and sunny.
Is it a short enough exposure that no hat is needed? Do I need a hat? Do I need sun block? Aside from liking the look, one of the reasons I shaved my head was that I could apply sun block to my noggin' more easily. Towards the front of my head the hair was thin enough that I could get a sun burn but have a hard time getting the sun block in there. No hair resolves that but leaves the whole of the top of my head exposed for sun burn easily if I don't have block or a hat on.
So, good job read heads at Disney. No one of us appeared to be working on a melanoma harvest.
Anyway, that was something I hadn't expected. I've read over the years how our numbers are declining. Red heads are a recessive trait in the genes. Our widening of our breeding pool means its more likely to stay a recessive and not result in kids with red hair. There's more of me and my wife, with our disparate genetic histories, than Ron Howard and his wife, who are both red heads.
But there were a lot of us at Disney. Mostly un-sunburned, too. That's one of the primar reasons I'm glad my kids aren't red heads. They don't get the easy sun burning that comes with it. With Spring here and Summer hard on its heals, I'm in the time where I calculate my outdoor activities with a mind toward how much time I'll have to spend in direct sun. Well, not right now, as I write this. It's 40 degrees and raining, but a week ago it was 90 degrees and sunny.
Is it a short enough exposure that no hat is needed? Do I need a hat? Do I need sun block? Aside from liking the look, one of the reasons I shaved my head was that I could apply sun block to my noggin' more easily. Towards the front of my head the hair was thin enough that I could get a sun burn but have a hard time getting the sun block in there. No hair resolves that but leaves the whole of the top of my head exposed for sun burn easily if I don't have block or a hat on.
So, good job read heads at Disney. No one of us appeared to be working on a melanoma harvest.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
British Invasion
Obviously the pound is doing well against the dollar.
When we went to Disney four years ago the place was swimming in Bostonians. You could tell because there must be some sort of law in Massachusetts that requires its denizens to wear Red Sox gear whenever they leave the commonwealth. Part of that was due to the timing of our trip. We went at spring break, which in Baltimore County is always the week prior to Easter. Massachusetts had Patriot Day fall around the same time that year so they were off for that week, too.
This year our trip to Disney was also during spring break but Boston was not so heavily represented. This time it was citizens of the UK. They were a bit harder to spot, what with not wearing Union Jack shirts everywhere they went, but the English and Scottish accents were easy to notice.
My pasty cousins were far from home but the cost was easily manageable with an exchange rate that required only 62 pence to a dollar. Surprisingly, I didn't see many sunburred cousins. Other times I've seen the folks of my ancestral home in sunny climes they've been red as a beet all too often for their health.
With this kind of exchange rate, I should ge my salary paid in pounds sterling.
When we went to Disney four years ago the place was swimming in Bostonians. You could tell because there must be some sort of law in Massachusetts that requires its denizens to wear Red Sox gear whenever they leave the commonwealth. Part of that was due to the timing of our trip. We went at spring break, which in Baltimore County is always the week prior to Easter. Massachusetts had Patriot Day fall around the same time that year so they were off for that week, too.
This year our trip to Disney was also during spring break but Boston was not so heavily represented. This time it was citizens of the UK. They were a bit harder to spot, what with not wearing Union Jack shirts everywhere they went, but the English and Scottish accents were easy to notice.
My pasty cousins were far from home but the cost was easily manageable with an exchange rate that required only 62 pence to a dollar. Surprisingly, I didn't see many sunburred cousins. Other times I've seen the folks of my ancestral home in sunny climes they've been red as a beet all too often for their health.
With this kind of exchange rate, I should ge my salary paid in pounds sterling.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
South of the Border Trash
One of the most notable things on the trip to Disney was the entrance to South Carolina. Your impression of South Carolina would be vastly different, depending on whether you were entering from the north or the south.
Heading south into South Carolina from North Carolina the first thing you see is South of the Border. This, for those not from the east, is a notorious tacky stop on I95. It's huge. It has a faux Mexico theme with a caricature mascot named Pedro. It glows like it has a half life of a millenia.
In the other side, heading north into South Carolina from Georgia, it's a whole other world. There's a stately sign featuring the palmetto tree. It looks high class, like entering a gated community.
Maybe it's the influence of Savannah, just across the border, or that Charleston is just up the road and to the east, but the entry to South Carolina when headed north is making the state look like a place you want to be. Headed south, it looks like someplace you want to get through as soon as possible. Then again, that was reinforced by the sewage treatment plant on the south bound trip, too.
Heading south into South Carolina from North Carolina the first thing you see is South of the Border. This, for those not from the east, is a notorious tacky stop on I95. It's huge. It has a faux Mexico theme with a caricature mascot named Pedro. It glows like it has a half life of a millenia.
In the other side, heading north into South Carolina from Georgia, it's a whole other world. There's a stately sign featuring the palmetto tree. It looks high class, like entering a gated community.
Maybe it's the influence of Savannah, just across the border, or that Charleston is just up the road and to the east, but the entry to South Carolina when headed north is making the state look like a place you want to be. Headed south, it looks like someplace you want to get through as soon as possible. Then again, that was reinforced by the sewage treatment plant on the south bound trip, too.
Monday, April 23, 2012
On the Road
On March 29 my wife and I took the two kids to Disney World. With the cost of air fare for 4 being so high we opted to drive, which was all of about $300 for gas, far less than flying. This was the first we drove that kind of distance, and we aimed high. The plan was to drive straight through, no stops except for gas, bathroom, and food.
And we did it, too. We left at 8:00 p.m. I had put in a full day at work, and the kids full days at school, while Karen did the last minute packing and what needed to be done in getting supplies together because we brought food for breakfast during our stay in FL.
Karen took the first leg because she was more comfortable driving in the area she knows. Fortunate, too, because the GPS wanted to send us in strange side diversions like taking Rte 29 down to I495 rather than just taking I95. I don't know what the algorithm in that thing is thinking. Of course, it also wanted to take us around the west side of I495 instead staying with the east side I495/I95 stretch. We ignored those directions.
After about 5 hours of driving I took over. I had tried to get some sleep but didn't get as much as I would have liked. My start at 1:00 a.m. on March 30 only lasted 3 hours. I was just too sleepy. My body clock doesn't like activity when it's expecting sleep. So Karen took over again for a couple hours, which carried us through to 6:00 a.m. She wasn't on familiar ground but it was all just driving down I95.
And, man, is that some boring road. That was a good part of my problem with staying away. It's dull. The steady droning of lane markers, flashing dashed markers for passing, rare sightings of other vehicles in the wee hours, and radio station hunting made for some numbing of the mental faculties. Karen was far better than I with it, but she's more of a night person, which helped.
The last 5 yours into Orlando and the Pop Century Resort went fairly well. We had a minor hang up in Jacksonville when a part of I95 was closed for an accident, but there was another segment of local highway right there that made it a quick detour. There would have been hardly any slowing at all if people followed directions. Too many of the other vehicles were trying to go into the closed section instead of taking the easy detour. No idea why. It was closed and not moving at all.
Probably the worst stretch of the drive was in SC when we went past a sewage treatment plant that was operating to the max in the middle of the night. What a stench.
Driving back on April 2 was a lot better. We left at 1:00 p.m. I drove the first 10 hours without problem and Karen took the last 5 to home. Arriving at 3:00 a.m was a lot better than driving at 3:00 a.m. with 8 more hours to go. We unloaded the car but didn't unpack anything. Everyone just climbed into bed until some telemarketer called around 8:30.
Despite the marathon nature of the drive, there was a lot of fun. The kids are fun to be with at 10 and 13. Plenty to contribute to conversations and, especially with Hob, quick with a quip. That boy's crazy.
And we did it, too. We left at 8:00 p.m. I had put in a full day at work, and the kids full days at school, while Karen did the last minute packing and what needed to be done in getting supplies together because we brought food for breakfast during our stay in FL.
Karen took the first leg because she was more comfortable driving in the area she knows. Fortunate, too, because the GPS wanted to send us in strange side diversions like taking Rte 29 down to I495 rather than just taking I95. I don't know what the algorithm in that thing is thinking. Of course, it also wanted to take us around the west side of I495 instead staying with the east side I495/I95 stretch. We ignored those directions.
After about 5 hours of driving I took over. I had tried to get some sleep but didn't get as much as I would have liked. My start at 1:00 a.m. on March 30 only lasted 3 hours. I was just too sleepy. My body clock doesn't like activity when it's expecting sleep. So Karen took over again for a couple hours, which carried us through to 6:00 a.m. She wasn't on familiar ground but it was all just driving down I95.
And, man, is that some boring road. That was a good part of my problem with staying away. It's dull. The steady droning of lane markers, flashing dashed markers for passing, rare sightings of other vehicles in the wee hours, and radio station hunting made for some numbing of the mental faculties. Karen was far better than I with it, but she's more of a night person, which helped.
The last 5 yours into Orlando and the Pop Century Resort went fairly well. We had a minor hang up in Jacksonville when a part of I95 was closed for an accident, but there was another segment of local highway right there that made it a quick detour. There would have been hardly any slowing at all if people followed directions. Too many of the other vehicles were trying to go into the closed section instead of taking the easy detour. No idea why. It was closed and not moving at all.
Probably the worst stretch of the drive was in SC when we went past a sewage treatment plant that was operating to the max in the middle of the night. What a stench.
Driving back on April 2 was a lot better. We left at 1:00 p.m. I drove the first 10 hours without problem and Karen took the last 5 to home. Arriving at 3:00 a.m was a lot better than driving at 3:00 a.m. with 8 more hours to go. We unloaded the car but didn't unpack anything. Everyone just climbed into bed until some telemarketer called around 8:30.
Despite the marathon nature of the drive, there was a lot of fun. The kids are fun to be with at 10 and 13. Plenty to contribute to conversations and, especially with Hob, quick with a quip. That boy's crazy.
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