Decisions, decisions

An interactive post! Kinda. It's not like I won't be the one making the decision, but I'm curious what everyone thinks. So, I have this free Southwest flight. It actually doesn't expire until December, but between my honeymoon in August and (assuming it happens) the marathon in December, I can't imagine I'll be leaving the state. I decided it probably made the most sense to use it in July - fairly slow at work, my adviser is away so the lab is closed, and it could be kind of a pre-marriage "last hurrah," with the caveat that there would be nothing of the sort that "last hurrah" might typically be seen to imply.

Option 1: Go to see Manchester City in Los Angeles.

Man City - my English soccer team of choice if you don't know - is coming to North America for a couple exhibition matches this summer. On July 24, they play the LA Galaxy in Carson (just outside LA).

Pros: Although we do plan to go to the UK on our honeymoon, it's generally not easy for me to see Man City play (and they probably won't be playing while we're there anyway), so this is a good opportunity to do so. Also, LA has a good enough public transportation system that I can probably get away without renting a car. And of the options on this list it's probably the one that I'm least put out by having to do it alone.

Cons: I already saw Man City play two exhibition games in New Jersey last year - and they barely showed up for either one, sending a largely bench/reserve team devoid of stars and scoring just once. So not only is this not a new experience but it's entirely possible I could be disappointed again, especially with the team's top talent needing to rest up for the Champions League. Plus I'd have to buy tickets on StubHub which means they won't be cheap.

Option 2: Fly to Kansas City; visit Kansas and Missouri state capitols.

There are a few potential options for a dual capitol visit, since if I'm going to make a specific trip (and by myself, at that) it'd be nice to knock out two at once.

Pros: Kansas City is about an hour east of Topeka and about two and a half west-northwest of Jefferson City, pretty convenient to two capitals (only a few major cities are so close to two; see also below). The Kansas and Missouri capitols both look pretty interesting. Plus I'd be adding a new state in Kansas.

Cons: Mid-July in that area will likely be excruciatingly hot and humid. Two and a half hours each way to Jefferson City is a lot considering I'd be doing it alone and I'm guessing it's not that exciting a drive.

Option 3: Fly to Portland; visit Oregon and Washington state capitols.

Pros: Portland may be even more conveniently located than Kansas City, just an hour north of Salem and two hours south of Olympia (and that drive is probably a lot prettier). Portland itself wouldn't be a bad place to spend a day either. And considering how much flights to Portland cost - it's one of Southwest's most expensive routes, unsurprisingly - using the free one on it, assuming I can, would be to my advantage. Plus Oregon would also add a new state.

Cons: Nothing as obvious as Kansas City's, but the same general concerns about doing that much driving and capitol-visiting alone apply.

Option 4: Fly to Denver; visit Colorado and Wyoming state capitols.

Pros: The best part about this one is that the hub city is one of the capitals, meaning the only drive to be concerned about is the one to Cheyenne, less than two hours north of Denver. Wyoming would also be a new state to add.

Cons: Unlike the two previous sets of capitols, both the Colorado and Wyoming capitols are closed on weekends. Because of work, it would be best if at least one of the days I was gone were a weekend.

Option 5: Fly to a single capital which Southwest flies into - Little Rock, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Jackson, St. Paul, Columbus, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Austin, or Salt Lake City.

Pros: This would obviate the need to do much driving, and I could still knock off a capitol, and in a couple cases add a new state.

Cons: If I'm going to go out of my way to make a capitol trip by myself, only doing one seems kind of silly.

Option 6: Fly to a Southwest city within a couple hours' drive of a single capital - Birmingham, Panama City Beach, Louisville, New Orleans, Detroit, Omaha, Albuquerque, Greenville-Spartanburg/Charleston, or Seattle.

Pros: Knock off a capitol, and in several cases add a new state.

Cons: Pretty much the same as above except add in that I would still need to do at least some measure of driving, up to 4-4.5 hours round-trip in some cases.

That's pretty much all I've come up with, in large part because options like "try to visit someone" seem kind of pointless when I'm only going to have a couple days to play with. So, although I can't imagine anyone actually read this whole thing, any thoughts?