Flying vs. Driving
I just spent a week at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Air Force paid for me to stay there and attend a 4-day course on military protocol. I love my job sometimes (I said “sometimes”). I really hated the fact that I had to experience such a gorgeous city all alone. Anyway, I’ve been to this part of the country before when Brian and I were on our way to Monterey last fall. We drove cross-country from Florida to California. We took our time and stayed with friends and family along the way. One of my high school friends lives in Phoenix and we spent a few days with her before heading up to Bakersfield. My trip last week made me think of that drive. The day that I will remember most, is the day we left Phoenix. We took I-17 North towards Flagstaff and about ½ way there we got pulled over by a cop for reasons we’re still not sure of (he said we veered into the rumble strip…I think we would have noticed). The cop gave us a warning and asked us where we were headed. When we told him about our week-long journey, he suggested an alternate route through Sedona. Brian pulled out the map and the cop started pointing out directions (I can only imagine what passerby’s were thinking). Sedona was an utterly stunning city! I can’t wait to go back and do some hiking/camping. Point is, I never would have given a thought about Sedona, Arizona…I never would have seen its beauty if we had chosen to fly. Like I said, Brian and I took our time and we saw some beautiful parts of the US as well as some not so beautiful parts (west Texas) but at least I can say I saw it.
My flying experience last week went something like this:
Fort Walton Beach just completed a brand new Airport. Because we are moving into more of a self-service generation and most airline reservations are made online you would think they would have equipped the new airport with plenty of Self Check-In stations. Nope, they only had 4. The machine caused me a great deal stress because I wasn’t sure of what buttons to push. I then had to deal with the Metal Detectors: what a pain in the ass, there has to be a better way. I feel like I going to the hospital for a full physical while the whole airport is watching me undress. “Please remove your shoes” beep beep beep “Please remove your watch” beep beep beep “Please remove your belt” should I remove my under-wire bra too? Then there’s the rush to get on the plane. Even though they are only boarding Zone1-3, everyone on the flight stands and crowds around the gate as if they are going to jump in front of everyone else when their zone is called. Ya know, it doesn’t matter when you get on the plane, you will always get stuck at the front of the cabin where the snail paced shuffle begins to your seat. I carry an over-sized purse and a backpack that fits perfectly under the seat (I would rather have it close to me anyway in case I fall asleep) but I find my seat, slide my bag under the seat in front of me and sit down. Why does it seem to be so hard for everyone else? It never fails…there is always 10-20 people who can’t figure out where to put all of their bags. The girl in the seat in front of me on one of my flights had 3 bags with her (aren’t we only allowed 2?) she puts one of the bags in the overhead then changes her mind and pulls it back down. She then puts a different bag up there and puts the first one in after. Then while it’s in the overhead, she opens the bag to pull out some magazines and her CD player. Meanwhile there is a line passengers waiting to get to their seats at a complete stand still. Then there are the screaming babies and the baby toys that sing the same song over and over and over and over…”Old McDonald had a Farm E-I-E-I-O”
I hate flying!
Next trip is to San Antonio in 2 weeks.
I’m driving!
My flying experience last week went something like this:
Fort Walton Beach just completed a brand new Airport. Because we are moving into more of a self-service generation and most airline reservations are made online you would think they would have equipped the new airport with plenty of Self Check-In stations. Nope, they only had 4. The machine caused me a great deal stress because I wasn’t sure of what buttons to push. I then had to deal with the Metal Detectors: what a pain in the ass, there has to be a better way. I feel like I going to the hospital for a full physical while the whole airport is watching me undress. “Please remove your shoes” beep beep beep “Please remove your watch” beep beep beep “Please remove your belt” should I remove my under-wire bra too? Then there’s the rush to get on the plane. Even though they are only boarding Zone1-3, everyone on the flight stands and crowds around the gate as if they are going to jump in front of everyone else when their zone is called. Ya know, it doesn’t matter when you get on the plane, you will always get stuck at the front of the cabin where the snail paced shuffle begins to your seat. I carry an over-sized purse and a backpack that fits perfectly under the seat (I would rather have it close to me anyway in case I fall asleep) but I find my seat, slide my bag under the seat in front of me and sit down. Why does it seem to be so hard for everyone else? It never fails…there is always 10-20 people who can’t figure out where to put all of their bags. The girl in the seat in front of me on one of my flights had 3 bags with her (aren’t we only allowed 2?) she puts one of the bags in the overhead then changes her mind and pulls it back down. She then puts a different bag up there and puts the first one in after. Then while it’s in the overhead, she opens the bag to pull out some magazines and her CD player. Meanwhile there is a line passengers waiting to get to their seats at a complete stand still. Then there are the screaming babies and the baby toys that sing the same song over and over and over and over…”Old McDonald had a Farm E-I-E-I-O”
I hate flying!
Next trip is to San Antonio in 2 weeks.
I’m driving!
posted by Jennifer at
9:12 PM
4 Comments:
aroung?
;-)
Yeah, I remember that trip well. The cop that pulled us over came over to Jennifer's side of the car (I was driving), and he said, "Are you in the military?" So Jen said, "Yes, we are, how did you know that?" And he said, "I'm Highway Patrol, ma'am...I know everything."
He was pretty cool. Jennifer and I finally decided that the reason he pulled us over was because he was bored, and I have tinted windows. Oh, well, I can tell you this. That's the one time I've been pulled over that I was actually grateful for! Good post.
Thanks Bri!
That's why I drive 14 hrs from VA to FWB straight thru. I h8 flying with the current security stuff. I remember the tiny 25x25 ft bldg on the flight line at Eglin...we waited in our cars for the flights. FWB has come a long way! Thanks for a taste of home.
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