Air Travel

Just returned from a trip to California, left Virginia on a Tuesday, returned the next Wednesday. I think it is the first time I have ever traveled coast to coast, which is unusual considering all the air miles I have logged over the years.

The return trip was a bit of an adventure--I left the hotel room at 7:00 AM on Tuesday and arrived home a bit after 7:00 PM Wednesday. Thirty-six hours without leaving the area behind security. The first plane broke; the stay in Chicago was weather-related.

Linda told me that at least I would have a new subject for the blog, and so I am obliging. The trip was tiring, of course, and any time I lose a night's sleep, it is telling. My first reaction was the "woe is me" sort of thing, but we really need to recognize what a miracle air travel is. Pretty amazing that we can move that far in that time frame, and it would have been less than 8 hours if that 757 hadn't broken down.

The airline helped with some additional frequent flyer miles, some meal tickets and discounts. You think of all the equipment, people and fuel involved, and the $650 I paid round trip is a bargain. Yes, I feel guilty for contributing all that carbon to the high atmosphere. Ever notice how no one talks about the environmental impact of air travel? Yet, that CO and CO2 doesn't even have a chance to be sequestered (I think that conforms to the proper and traditional use of the word, not the newly invented one referring to across-the-board cuts in government spending), it is just plunked there in the upper atmosphere.

Glad to be home. Now I know what it feels like to take a trip to Fiji or some place, I guess. Actually, just looked up the time to Fiji...only about 24 hours, but on the way out, it takes two days because of the date line. Not so daunting, now. Good grief, you can even get to the Maldives in less than 36 hours. Having a hard time finding anyplace to go that takes more. Antarctica? But can you get there by air? Maybe some remote post in Siberia? What is the longest air travel experience you have had?