And The Magic Number Today Is....

46

Hmm, seems a bit random? Well, it's not, and it's nothing to do with numerology or any other bullshit destiny type thingo.

Holiday countdown playmobil Calendar (from wired.com)

Today I'm starting my holiday countdown, like an advent calendar to my holiday, except it has nothing to do with Christmas, and there aren't any chocolates to open up. In 46 days, my wife Caroline and I will be travelling to the USA on a roadtrip of a lifetime.The reason I chose 46 as the countdown date is that's my age. Yes, I know you're staggering around in total disbelief that my youthful charm, and boyish looks in fact, cloak a man approaching his fifties. But it is true, I was born in October 1966, apparently while Jim Reeves "Distant Drums" was the number 1 song in the charts (drat).

Jim Reeves tragically dies at just 41 (wikipedia)

Funnily enough 46 days after we leave for holiday, will be another holiday weekend, the November Melbourne Cup Saturday comes 46 days after we leave for the USA. Spooky....

Did you know that Brodman Area 46 is a part of the brain that plays a role in sustaining attention and memory. I'd say they are pretty important things for a chess player. And in fact, would it therefore be more than a mere coincidence that my game of chess tonight lasted 46 moves? (Indeed it would, it actually lasted 35!)

The red shading represents Brodman Area 46 (wikipedia)

It is also no coincidence that Oklahoma is the 46th state of the USA. I say no coincidence because we'll be going nowhere it on our holiday. However, 46 hours into our trip we would have already experienced the magic of Sequoia National Park in California, and the biggest trees in the world. I think I read somewhere that one of the absolute biggest of these trees can have over a billion leaves on it! Another 46 hours on, and we would have driven a loop of Yellowstone National Park. Another 46 hours, and (hopefully) we would have seen dinosaur tracks in Northern Utah. Another 46 hours should have seen us to the Arches National Park, actually the part of the holiday I'm looking forward to the most. 46 hours after that, and we should be in Arizona and somewhere near Page and Lake Powell with its stunning views along the Colorado River. 46 hours later and we'd have visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona, which I found out yesterday is strongly marked by ley lines, but I'm not getting into that either! 46 more hours before we're flying home, and I reckon that I'll sleep for about 46 hours when I get here.

Am I excited about my upcoming holiday? Well I'm no more excited than Caroline, let's just say that! Just a warning, though. There'll be more posts like this as we get closer to the take off, and then I'll be switching from chess writing to fully blown travel writing mode.

Arches National Park (wikipedia)