Book Review - A Walk In The Woods

For those of you who haven't heard of Bill Bryson, you are missing out on one of the great authors of our time. I just finished my second Bryson book, which was "A Walk In The Woods"...the first was "A Short History of Nearly Everything", which I need to read again because it was so good.

"Woods" is about Bryson and an old buddy, Stephen Katz, hiking the Appalachian Trail. It is told extremely well with timely details, relevant (and sometimes astounding) history, and, of course, humor. I gravitated towards this book because nature intrigues me to a significant degree, and when I saw Bryson was the author, I was in. I also really liked the book because I am not an expert hiker, heck, not even an intermediate hiker, but someday hope to be, and Bryson is cut from the same cloth, spending the first small section of the book writing about hiking gears and the different types of hikers.

The history of the trail was excellent, bouncing back 100s of years at some times, and only a few years at others. And, because the trail is so darn long, it has multiple personalities (a la Sybil), especially at the end of the book with the treks in Pennsylvania and Maine. At times it is frustrating to read about the degradation of the trail because of man (and government). The wildlife is sparce because of hunting and the foliage is suffering because of man's influence. I guess some of this inevitable to a degree, but to hear Bryson tell it, it makes you want to be a better citizen of Planet Earth.

For anyone that's visited a national or state park and loved the experience, this is an excellent read.

You Should Not Operate Heavy Machinery...

Holy smokers. Been feeling a bit under the weather (just a little cold, nothing huge) for the past few days with the biggest annoyance being the fact that I haven't been getting a good night's sleep. My instructions to my wife were really simple as she left for Target...get something that's going to knock me out so I can sleep good...and boy did she find the thing that did the trick...Alka Seltzer Plus Night Time Cold.

I must say the "Soothing Lemon" was quite delicious as I drank the fizzy concotion. I do not remember much after that. I remember working on a new t shirt design for my Cafepress store, I remember starting to feel drowsy, and I remember quick shutting down my computer.

It is not 6:20 in the morning and I got a good night's rest. I don't know what magic ingredient in there helps you sleep, but thank you to the person who invented it.

Disney - The Logistics

One more post about Disney before I let it go. As I've already stated, it is super interesting to look at Disney through an adult's eyes.

After the business side of things, the next most interesting has got to be the logistics of the place. I don't know who and how many, but the peeps running the show do an awesome job. From the peeps that pick up garbage on the "streets" of Disney World to the indivduals working behind the counters at restaurants and stores to the people maintaining order in the park, it's astounding to me how well the machine runs...a joy to observe.

It's even more amazing when you look at this in the aggregate...it's not just one park (like the Magic Kingdom or ECPOT), it's multiple parks, multiple lodging choices, multiple transportation options (I still think the monorails are the coolest things going, even after my 20 year layoff from Disney), multiple meal choices, all working together as one.

If you happen to be at Disney any time in the near future, take a few minutes (or longer if you want) to watch the machine work.

Disney - The Business

As I mentioned in my previous post, my family spent a couple of days at Disney World in Orlando over the Holidays. Yes, we know it was the busiest time of year to go (nothing is a close a second), but thought it would be fun, which it most certainly was. It had been maybe 20 years since I'd been there, and it was interesting to look at the attractions through adult eyes...my biggest observation? What an industry the "memory making" business is. The tickets to get in certainly aren't cheap, and you look at the other one or two hundred peeps (maybe more) in line with you and realize they all paid the same as you (it's super hard to find deep discounted tickets) just to get in the park.

You have to buy meals, which in some cases are pretty reasonable, and in other cases are pretty overpriced. It's hard to get out of the place without buying some "treasures" which come at a pretty penny.

This place is a cash cow.

However, the neat thing is that Disney doesn't skimp on anything. From the crazy fireworks shows to the characters walking around the park to the cleanliness of the entire place...you are all but guaranteed a memorable experience. You pay for a good time, and you most certainly get it.