Our 2019 Road Trip, Part 23: One Last Constitutional Before the Convention

Olympic Anne!

One more go-’round at Centennial Olympic Park, for one last quest. No, this photo was not the quest.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

Every year since 1999 my wife Anne and I have taken a trip to a different part of the United States and visited attractions, wonders, and events we didn’t have back home in Indianapolis. From 1999 to 2003 we did so as best friends; from 2004 to the present, as husband and wife. My son tagged along from 2003 until 2013 when he ventured off to college. We’ve taken two trips by airplane, but are much happier when we’re the ones behind the wheel — charting our own course, making unplanned stops anytime we want, availing ourselves of slightly better meal options, and keeping or ruining our own schedule as dictated by circumstances or whims. We’re the Goldens. It’s who we are and what we do.

For years we’ve been telling friends in other states that we’d one day do Atlanta’s Dragon Con, one of the largest conventions in America that isn’t in California or New York. We’d been in Atlanta, but we hadn’t really done Atlanta. Hence this year’s vacation, in which we aimed for a double proficiency in Atlanta tourism and over-the-top Dragon Con goodness. Before we went to D*C, there was the road trip to get there, and the good times to be had before the great times at the big show.

DAY FIVE: Thursday, August 29th.

We’d figured in advance that Thursday would serve as a transitional day, when our roles would change from giddy sightseers to geek convention-goers. We’d had three full days to tour Atlanta. We’d hit all the highest-ranking attractions on our brainstorming list. A few of the honorable mentions had varying levels of appeal, but we had only a few hours in the morning before our scheduled walking tour for Dragon Con newbies. As it happened, Anne had one item left on her personal to-do list that we had yet to accommodate.

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The Springs in Fall * 2015 Photos #9: Rollin’ ‘Round Red Rock

Two Prong Rock!

If the sun tries to burn me, maybe this giant rock shaped like a crab claw will save me.

By the time I was finished wandering Woodland Park, I’d lost interest in continuing the snaky haul southwest through the Rockies to Cripple Creek, and decided to head back east toward Colorado Springs. I was tired of driving but, to my surprise, still in the mood for high-altitude walking.

Despite my appearance, I’ve come to like the sensation of walking in and of itself, as long as the surroundings don’t bore me and especially if I can walk at my own speed. Years of discreetly running from class to class in both junior high and high school, followed by twelve years of restaurant work in which speed was essential to both service and survival, conditioned me for an above-average pace when left to my own devices. It’s rare that I really get to cut loose back home. If I do, my wife’s cute tiny legs struggle to keep up. I’ve never actually seen my son hurry, and my mom decided in her forties that she’s officially elderly, a few decades ahead of schedule. If I indulge myself, I leave my loved ones eating my dust.

(Please note these sentiments apply to walking only. Jogging and running are a different story. My enthusiasm has its boundaries.)

US 24 took me through Manitou Springs and to the perfect spot to push myself: Red Rock Canyon Open Space. Curious natural sights, varied terrains, and the Rockies for a backdrop. Much more stimulating than the average treadmill grind.

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“Revolution” 10/1/2012 (spoilers): Educating Charlie, the Secret of Miles, and 10,000 Sniper Bullets

Charlie and Nora, "Revolution"

Action heroine class is now in session.

Week Three of NBC’s Revolution, entitled “No Quarter”, took major strides toward turning Charlie into the main character at last. She found a personal mentor in Nora; she completed her third kill (random crossbow takedown); she took out an entire bridge with archery and explosives, and — most shocking of all — she learned Miles’ deep, dark, horrible secret that makes her morally superior to him.

Miles’ shady past may never have come to light if Nora hadn’t introduced us to her friends in the Rebel Alliance, including their leader, Nicholas (Derek Webster from Damages and Harry’s Law), labeled a Catholic priest but struggling to walk the walk in a world turned topsy-turvy. More credit for the rebels’ survival may be owed to their nameless sniper who has the pleasure of mercilessly wielding the precious M40A rifle that Our Heroes acquired last week. (If they distinguished which of the three kinds of M40As it was, then I missed the last digit.) While everyone else hides in the basement of a former restaurant called Harrigan’s that resembled a Bennigan’s except of course totally different, the noble sniper mowed down the onslaught of evil cannon fodder as quickly as they could be ushered out of hiding by their leader, Jeremy (Mark Pellegrino from Supernatural, playing quite the remarkable villain here). Fortunately for the sniper, either Nora also lifted a gigantic box of M40Ax rounds along the way back to Harrigan’s, or the rebels stole the bullets previously and kept lugging the dead weight around until they could locate a weapon to match with them.

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