ESPN (Entertainment & Sports Programming Network)

SeaTac is an international airport that serves the Seattle and Tacoma areas of Washington state. The above photo shows the airport entrance.

My wife and I stayed in Hilton Inn and Holiday Inn hotels near the airport for five nights while in Seattle (see below pictures). The other nights were spent in the home of our daughter and son-in-law.

While in the Hilton Inn, we saw people wearing knit shirts with ESPN logo embroidery on the left front of their golf shirts. One morning we boarded the hotel shuttle bus to ride to the airport to meet the metro bus for the ride to downtown. On the same bus was a man who turned out to be one crew member of the ESPN group.

My wife and he initiated a conversation which led to talk about where we live and the reasons we were in Seattle. We learned from this ESPN person that he was from Pennsylvania and was going to the airport to rent a vehicle for the whole crew to ride to a rodeo somewhere in Oregon. The crew had plans to film the rodeo for later broadcast.

When the crew member learned that we were from North Carolina, he said "Oh yes, I've been to Charlotte area on assignments and enjoyed the state." He asked, "Have you been to the Richard Petty Museum?" We responded, "No, we've never visited the museum but we know about it." He then said, "You should go there; it will be the best expenditure of $5.00 you'll ever make." He added, "There is so much to see including Richard Petty's personal gun collection which is extensive."

We thanked the gentleman for his suggestion and made a verbal promise that we would soon visit the Richard Petty Museum in Randleman.

My wife and I talked later about how far away from home we were, the chance encounter with this man, and the way he aroused our interest in this museum near our home. We committed to make a future day trip to the museum.

Has such an experience happened to you? Are you taking advantage of worthwhile public attractions near where you live? I suspect that many people are like me. I should do a better job of seeking and experiencing activities, parks, culture, and events close to home.

Return here on Thursday, August 24 for the next blog update.

Have a good day!