Have Voted, Will Travel

I was going to share a picture of my "I voted" sticker, but now that I am home I can't find it. I know I had it on for quite a while because I kept getting comments. Vote early and wear an "I voted" sticker if you want attention. People will ask.

There is a little story behind my early vote. Munchkin #1 and I have been planning a trip to England. We've been planning this trip since she was about 7 years old. We've been planning in earnest since about this time last year. We settled on a date range early in 2012, and finally committed to the exact dates several months ago. It's going to be a 10-day trip. One of the problems in scheduling it turned out to be election day. I kept trying to figure out how to get the trip in and get home before the elections. At one point I had decided I would vote and then go jump on a plane. Of course, I knew voting early was an option, but I'd never voted early before. I was kind of stuck with this idea that I needed to be here.

I actually went and spoke with our county election clerk before committing to plane tickets. Once I was satisfied that voting early would not be an issue, I was ready to proceed with the travel plans. I've had "vote" on my calendar for weeks now.

It's funny that I had kind of envisioned myself walking into the courthouse this morning to be the first person to vote in our county. I didn't make it there until afternoon, however. It turns out I was the 101st person to vote. I actually had to stand in line. I don't think I've ever done that in this town. I usually just walk right in, sign my name, get my electronic card and cast my ballot. It made me proud, to have to stand in line. That sounds odd, I know, but a line means you are doing something that other people feel is important, too. It made me feel like my initial stressing about trying to schedule this trip around an election was somewhat justified. (It sounded like most of the other people in line were going to be out of town for one reason or another, as well.)

Anyway... now I am free to start packing for England. This will be my first big trip out of the country. Technically, my third if you count a few days in Canada when I was a kid and several days at a resort in Mexico in 2004. I am giddy/anxious/excited to be on my way.

And now I'm looking forward to another experience. I will be in England on the day of the Presidential elections. I'm very curious to see how the story plays from there.