This morning we packed up the motor home, said our goodbyes to Marsha and Billy, and drove away from Belle Rive Drive in Ninety Six, South Carolina. Right now we’re driving south on I-85 about an hour north of Atlanta. With any luck we’ll make it to a KOA campground in Meridian, Mississippi later this afternoon where we’ll spend the night.

I think we’ve both turned the corner on jet lag. We both slept well last night and pretty much through the entire night. We did some shopping yesterday to stock up for the drive west. We’re both happy to be on the way west. Not necessarily looking forward to the long drive across Texas, but I’ve decided that’s some kind of psychological thing. We also don’t look forward to the long drives across Nevada or Wyoming or Kansas! Where are the flying cars?

I’ve been thinking about the flights from Atlanta to Mumbai and back. I’ve decided that the airlines have figured out how to profit from misery. Their standard price is for the most miserable experience possible: crammed into seats that are too narrow and too close together, stuck between people that you have to climb over to get to the toilet. We’re given food that is barely edible and in portions so small that it’s almost not worth the time and effort. There is no way to get comfortable for any length of time.

However, for a price, you can reduce (but never eliminate) the misery! For an extra $120 I can get two inches more legroom. For another fee I can get a special meal. Double (or more) the price and I can move into Business Class and significantly reduce the misery. Another double and First Class is available. It’s just a question of how much misery I can endure and how much I’m willing to pay to reduce the misery.

So, I did some checking on going by sea from New York to London. It’s a six-day trip for about the same cost as an economy airline ticket. The lowest fare is for an indoor room below decks. But that room is a very nice room! Full sized bed, nice bathroom, and access to every amenity on board. Further, meals are included and the food is excellent.

It turns out that I could have gone by boat from New York to London and then from London to Goa, India. An inside stateroom for the entire trip was less than the price for Business Class on Delta. So, if I’m willing to be absolutely miserable for 24 hours, I can be in India in 24 hours. For about the same price, I can completely avoid the miserable experience as well as completely avoid the jet lag, It would take fifteen days, though. But, I’m retired. Fifteen days there on a cruise ship sounds like a great adventure! I think if I ever go back to India again, I’ll seriously consider doing it on a ship and leave misery behind.

Meanwhile, we’re driving westward in our shoebox on wheels. A somewhat broken shoebox. I apparently didn’t get it completely winterized before we left for India as there’s a broken water line somewhere around the water heater (which means it’s pretty unaccessible). I’ll look to see what I can do about it, but I expect it’ll stay that way until we get to Arizona and I can have a repair shop fix it.

Life is good!