Autumn is a beautiful time in Indiana, and 2010 was a warm, glorious one. But once the tree colors have peaked, the leaves have been shed and the days turn colder, I often think about getting out of Indiana for a change, for warmth, to see something different.
I like to travel any time between late fall and spring, and if possible, I try to take several trips. Over the Veteran's Day weekend, I gathered up some of the family, and flew out of Fort Wayne International Airport to Phoenix, Arizona.
Fort Wayne has one of the country's nicest small airports. However, since it's not a very large hub, traveling far usually requires a connection through another city - few of its airlines have direct flights to the coasts, for example. The exception would be Allegiant Airlines - on this one, a person can fly directly from Fort Wayne to Orlando, Florida; or Tampa, Florida; or to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal, but the alternative is driving to a bigger airport such as the one in Indianapolis (about a three hour drive for me) or one in Chicago, Cleveland, or Cincinnati (also far). Add that drive time on to one's trip, plus the cost of parking the car, and I'll take paying a little more to fly out of Fort Wayne any day.
FWA is just plain nice anyway. It's one of the cleanest, friendliest airports you've ever been in. Although right now, the big issue here is the full body security scanner. I have to say I didn't think much about it - I just got in it like they told me to, stood with my legs apart on the footprints, and held my hands together, touching fingers in a diamond shape over my head. I'm just getting numb and used to this stuff, and I find myself to be very compliant in general (unless I feel threatened, at which time I kind of fire up like a red-headed Irish girl, watch out.) But I am very passive in airport security. I've taken to not even wearing a belt because I think there's enough of the whole strip-tease as it is.
On the news, people in Fort Wayne have been objecting to this scanner. Some people, such as pilots, feel that they are being radiated too much, since they travel frequently. Other people object to the detailed 3-D images of their bodies. They don't like these graphic images of their selves, perhaps specifically their 'private parts' being displayed on a screen for strangers. Ok-?
One guy was on the news because he refused the body scan, and the alternative was a physical pat-down by the security worker. After being told by the officer what to expect, the traveler told him "if you touch my 'junk,' I'll call the police." All I can think is - he must not have been too concerned about getting to where he was going. I never heard how this situation was resolved. Maybe they're still in limbo at the airport somewhere (in limbo - that's an interesting phrase).
We visited family in Phoenix, went to the Phoenix Zoo, and stayed at Tapatio Cliffs. It was a quick trip. One of the most fascinating things that happened to me, though, was a real surprise. I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night the first night we were there - barefoot, very sleepy, turned on the bathroom light, and there was something silently scooting over the tiles at the joint where the floors met the walls. I didn't have my glasses on, and I squinted close to see it. A big silverfish bug, or a centipede, perhaps? No - my sleepy brain was registering what it had to be. A scorpion - a real scorpion, just like in the zodiac sign. I had never seen one before, except in a photo.
I was fascinated. Was this real? Yes it was. It was orangish, 2-3 inches long. Tiny, I thought (big, I was told later). Looking it up on the Internet later, it was probably an Arizona Bark Scorpion (poisonous, requiring medical treatment if I had been stung) or less likely, a stripe-tailed scorpion (also poisonous). I would have liked to have released it outside. No, it was dark out, and I wouldn't have been able to get very far from the hotel with the steep cliff side. I think people smash them, but I would have had to leave the bathroom for a shoe or something and I wasn't sure where the scorpion would be upon my return. I decided my choice was to scoop it up in some toilet paper and flush it. Not a lot of fussing around about it - one big, loosely gripped scooping motion and into the toilet. Which I did, trying not to squeeze the paper. For some reason, I felt terrible watching it swirl around and disappear down the sewer system - giant, bad me, destroying this small creature that had done nothing to harm me. But I had children sleeping nearby, and that's what momma bear has do to sometimes.
Mother scorpions give birth to live, whitish young, which climb on her back and go for a ride until they mature. This guy was on his own. Had I been bitten, I could have experienced severe pain, numbness and frothing at the mouth, possible respiratory paralysis, twitching and convulsions. (according to a website) Really? From that little thing? It's probably good I didn't know that at the time. Also, supposedly they want to be under things like sleeping bags and climb into shoes. We didn't see another one on the trip, but everybody switched on lights and looked around carefully if they rose at night after that. I kept looking around during the day, also. It was interesting to me how we instinctively see them as alarming - the waving little claw pinchers, the arched, dagger-like tail - what a beautiful danger. There's excitement in the bad boys. Just try to end up with the good boys and girls, so you don't get stung.
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