Christmas Plenty

The Holidays were a whirlwind tour of personal hotspots in the United States. In 13 days I went from Moscow to NYC to Syracuse to NYC to San Jose to Los Angeles to San Jose to San Francisco to San Jose to NYC to Moscow.

I slept in 5 different beds.

I estimate that the main transit parts of the trip covered more than 15,600 miles as the crow – or Boeing 767 – flies. The total cost of this entire peregrination was at least $2000, sort of a bargain when taking the vast distances into account. By far the most expensive, and frequently traversed, mile was the stretch from JFK to Manhattan. I wasn’t in New York for more than 12 hours in any of the three layovers, but it was enough time to afford me an opportunity to eat sushi, a cheeseburger deluxe, and a turkey club sandwich.

For a less rain-man like analysis of my trip, I should consider the qualitative aspects of the journey. Although the travel got a little wearying – at one point I woke up on a plane and wasn’t really sure where I was going - I had the opportunity to see all my family and a good number of my closest friends. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone who made this holiday season such a memorable experience for me.