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6/2/11

It's Raining Men ...in flannel...

After a relaxing 3-day Holiday weekend, I had a fun, frenetic Tuesday.  If you follow me on twitter, you saw some of my snarky tweets about the day.  Here is a recap, in case you missed the play-by-play.

I hit the road at 5am, on my way to Boise for a flight.  Groggy, still in the dark, and wondering if the 'check engine' light on my car was going to be a problem, I set off on my trek.  I had a 4 hour drive ahead of me, and a lot of open road.

My car stereo doesn't have an mp3 jack, so I burned some CD's for the drive.  I labeled them, like one normally would.  A combination of distraction and my general dumbassery led me to label one 'travelling music.'  My girlfriend loved the typo, and poked me about a half-dozen times about it in one night.

As the sun rose, I took in the beauty of the open road.  I'm not used to 260 miles of empty pavement, and being able to just set the cruise control and not worry about stop-and-go traffic.  The farmland, the winding river that runs parallel to the freeway, and the gorgeous sunrise made it a very amazing drive.

I get into Boise, and I feel like I'm back in California.  Patrol cars everywhere, construction, traffic congestion, and a handful of rude drivers.  It's funny how it reminded me of California, and almost made me miss it all.

Almost.  There are a lot of things I miss about cali, but the drivers are not on that list.  I still laugh at California drivers when it rains.  You'd think it were the apocalypse... nobody knows what to do...

I get to the airport 90 minutes before my flight, just in case.  If I flew out of Ontario Ca, I'd only need to show up 20 minutes before boarding.  LAX, 2 hours... today being the day after Memorial Day, it could go either way... but I get in, go through screening, get to 2nd base with my TSA agent, and get to my gate all in about 15 minutes.

If you have read my observations posts, you know I love to people watch.  (If you haven't read them, click HERE!!!)  I found a seat facing the main causeway, got out a notebook, and waited for the hilarity to find me.

And wow, it was easy to find.  I have never seen such a wide variety of flannel in my life.  About 80% of the men were wearing some sort of flannel shirt, coat or hat.  If I had a flannel fetish, I'd be in heaven (hey, that's a good idea for a freaky friday post...)

While the men were sporting every single flannel color and design known in existence, the women were doing the same thing with horrid floral patterns.  I was wearing a pair of black slacks and a green dress-shirt.  While I looked good, I stood out.  Apparently solid colors were out of season?

The flight was quick and painless.  I did my thing, and got back to the 'away' airport to go back home.  TOTAL change of scenery...

This airport was near a college party school, and apparently a lot of students were flying home for the season.  Or, maybe to go party?  My flight continued on to Reno, and not a lot of people got off.  While less interesting than the flannel brigade, I did appreciate sharing a plane with a few dozen drinking, partying, lowered-inhibition college kids.  It made the 40min flight seem to whizz by.

The drive home wasn't nearly as interesting, because I just wanted to get home.  I had a good day, had some great news, and was looking forward to being home and celebrating.  But I had to wait.  4 hours...

A 4 hour drive when you're bouncy and excited is like pulling teeth.  You want to go 150 mph, but know you can't.

I finally roll into the driveway at 11pm: an 18 hour day.  And I was PUMPED (as you could probably tell from the post when I got home...).  I haven't slept a good night's sleep since then, and am hoping to catch up on the weekend.

I hope I don't dream about flannel....
Please Share it! :)

30 witty retorts:

random girl said...

Aww flannel,, there just is not enough of it around here. Oh wait, it's not 1992 and Seattle grunge has not made a significant comeback so scratch that. But is sounds cozy. I could use a flannel-clad snuggle buddy sometimes...just sayin'

Melanie said...

That sounds like an adventure!

Xenototh said...

I love driving out on the open road as well, but only when it is highway open road. There seems to be less farm smell there. You know what I am talking about. Poop.

Unknown said...

@RG: Flannel in small doses is ok. Hipster flannel usually looks good. Just, lumberjack flannel... in droves... it was too much.

Matthew MacNish said...

I've been to Idaho, and it is full of flannel. Flannel shirts and jeans made out of cardboard.

RedHeadRob said...

I love busy fulfilling days like those :D

OKinUK said...

Flannel is so early mid-90s. Did Idaho finally get caught up? Um, hello? Candlebox is passe'. Just kidding.

You will give me your signed copy of Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking now.
You like your teeth in your head, right? Just kidding, but yeah, imma need you to send it air mail.

duffboi said...

I have never been on a trip for that. but I got nothing against flannel.. hehe

elexerdelex said...

sounds like a nice vacation :D
$upporting!

Dwija {House Unseen} said...

Honestly, I DO NOT know how you people with jobs manage to blog also. They ain't enough hours in da day!

p.s. Was there a time machine? Maybe they were all grunge...

Unknown said...

@Dwija - Idaho IS a time machine. I swear, it's about 15 years behind the rest of the country...

And again, to all. I have a few flannel shirts in my closet. From time to time, it's ok. But seriously, someone sent a memo to the rest of the Idaho population, declaring it national "wear flannel if you're in an airport" day. It was beyond redonkulous.

Ally said...

Two things come to mind when I think of flannel. My love of flannel shirts and torn denim shorts over black tights with Doc Martens - my uniform from like 1990-1992. I also remember loving LL Bean in the 80s and thinking how cozy the shirts looked.

FourthGradeNothing.com

Shelby Fox said...

Long drives when you're excited are the worst.....so painfully long.

Sara Strand said...

and here I am... trying to find a decent plaid shirt. :/

Astronomy Pirate said...

Yeah, you can't argue against the comfort of flannel, but it is a sometimes thing, for those cooler spring and fall days. There are other forms of clothing, as I'm sure the college students flying are aware.

Annah said...

Flanel reminds me of Pearl Jam for some odd reason.

And Miami drivers are the same exact way when it comes to rain.

Underground Dude said...

Don't even get me started on hipster flannel or hipsters for that matter:

http://zpnotesfromunderground.blogspot.com/search/label/hipsters

I noticed flannel was a noticeable trend on men in the pacific northwest. I also noticed all of the men in flannel had beards. There were so many beards I started to feel inadequate for not having one.

Zombie said...

Never before have I bought a flannel jacket. lol.

Sandra said...

This will give you an idea of how old my car is and how "out of the loop" I am...I had no idea what an MP3 jack even was.
And get some sleep!

Kicking Rocks said...

lmao, funny thing is im wearing my flannel!

Sharon Day said...

It probably goes without saying, but flannel sheets are heavenly, just not in plaid.

Anonymous said...

There is nothing sexy about flannel for me. It takes a seriously studly dude to pull off flannel in any kind of an appealing way. I'm sure there are those out there who could make me eat my words...but I'm not seeing any. And floral prints...I threw up a little bit in my mouth...they are just not okay.

As for road trips, open roads, music blasting...well that is heaven!

JewelsTurning30

Bart said...

flannel in the winter is the best

Shutterbug said...

I think Flannel on men is kinda sexy! ;)

Pinecone Stew said...

Have a SUPER weekend !

Waffles said...

Ah flannel. Warm at the cost of itchy. Sometimes when its cold enough, I'll put up with it but most of the time I skip it.

Got me a big, heavy leather jacket to deal with the cold most days. Chicks dig a guy in leather.

JoJo said...

flannel? it's not for me! I'm a new follower. Love your blog. very unique. I've never been to your part of the world.xx

Admin said...

Why would you want an Idaho to yourself?

The Angry Lurker said...

I washed my face with a flannel.

LilPixi said...

Hilarious. That's another world. I literally haven't seen flannel since the early 90's. It's not extinct?

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