in flight

[threeplusfire]

I have a difficult relationship with air travel. I love it and loathe it. Especially the security theater aspect with the various annoyances and humiliations of dealing with the TSA. My new plan is to always wear my Captain America tshirt when I fly, as if it will save me from trouble.

My favorite thing, without reservation, is to take off on a cloudy day. There's nothing like that peculiar drift through formless cloud until you burst out into the shocking sunlight, white tops and blue sky. Even better when you can see the shadows of even higher clouds patterned around you, or the enormous shelf cliffs and mountains of thunderstorms. On my flight home from Chicago I saw a giant bolt of lightning in a cloud just a couple miles away from us.

Everything else I could live without, especially the way it makes my feet swell and feel disgusting. Or the distinct lack of snacks. Just give me a tiny bag of peanuts or potato chips, for the love of god. That's all I want.

Taking off to Atlanta soon. It's a cloudy day.

Comments

[in-thy-bounty.livejournal.com]

I feel much the same way about flying. I find that I want to avoid it more as I get older, probably I'm just less patient of all that it entails. Less of an adventure, more of a faff.
Probably my favourite ever flight was from Dallas to LA, via Phoenix and Albuquerque. One of those legs we flew over the top of huge lightning storms at night, it was just breathtaking.