Quick Thoughts While Traveling

As in the wider society, equality and diversity are difficult values to balance. We'd purchased a pile of activity and coloring books for the crew, but since they are all different, this allows the ladies to fight about who gets the current favored one. Of course, if we'd got them all the same, they would claim boredom.

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Speaking of favored coloring books, if you have young ladies in the family there is no perfectly designed coloring book for the heart of the 4-8 year old girl than the Dover coloring book Princess Leonora, which features the little girl's dream of princess life and finery without any of the Disney or Barbie marketing layered in.

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Every time we allow ourselves to break our rule that each time the car halts, every child will go to the bathroom, we regret it about thirty minutes later.

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I've been enjoying listening to an audiobook of Galileo's Daughter, which seems to successfully navigate the thorny issues and prejudices which frequently cloud the Galileo story in popular writing. Though since it's of limited interest to the young ladies, we've spent more time listening to Dancing Shoes (which somehow bears a startling resemblance to Ballet Shoes and Theatre Shoes) and the Oxford Book of Fairy Tales.

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I keep getting it into my head, at times like this, that what I really want is a fast food burger with fries. And yet, if I get one, it never tastes like what I have in my head. Someday, I'll find the Plato's Cave Burger & Malt stop, where the ideal burger in the mind of God is found. But until then, it is wiser to stock the ice chest with decent food before leaving and only stop for coffee.

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Speaking of coffee, traveling underscores the value of brand. When in my natural environment, I tend to scorn Starbucks coffee, because I find their pretensions annoying and their coffee beans are of equal price and lower quality than other smaller brands. However, if one is traveling and wants to buy decent coffee on the road, it is invariably the Starbucks sign that I look for. Because while it may not be the best coffee available where one has the time to do research, it does guarantee a minimum quality of coffee throughout the country without the necessity of doing any research.