We left early this morning for Fort Lauderdale. We had a flight out of Seattle to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) and then on to Fort Lauderdale. Krissie and I were able to get first class seats using our American Advantage miles. A soldier came onboard and I asked him if he would be willing to swap seats with me and he was very polite and said, “Thank you for offering, sir, but I am fine sitting where I am.” I offered again, but he again politely declined. I wondered if maybe I should have offered a third time. Oh well, maybe next flight. He was the only soldier on our flight.
I love getting pics out the window, especially the route from Seattle to Dallas, which goes over both the Cascades and Rockies.
Our last view of Bainbridge Island, Olympics in the background.
Yes, I know this pic isn’t very clear, but we flew almost directly over Mount Rainier, seemed like we were barely clearing it, so the pic above was almost straight down into the shrouds of mist and snow and ice.
View of the Cascades:
The onboard movie—“Dolphin Tale”— was the highlight of the first flight . I loved it. It ranks right up there with “Soul Surfer” as my feel good movie of this summer. Except it’s not summer. Great movie. Go watch it. Now. Then watch “Soul Surfer” and tell me which one you liked better. And what both movies have in common.
The second flight was delayed by almost two hours, so we had more than 4 hours in DFW before we departed. I’m learning patience, slowly. I’m trying to be more hang loose like Brian Newcomb, who is the ultimate hang loose traveler. I’m not there yet, but I’m still trying. Interesting that a 51-year-old is trying to become more like a 23-year-old. Yet we can learn from others. I continue to learn a lot from the example of Krissie and my kids. I’m still growing and learning.
As we were sitting in the airport waiting for our flight, we were entertained by this:
Do you see it? Here’s a closer up view of him after he flew around a little bit more:
It was fun watching the little chickadee flying around the terminal, picking up crumbs. It kept us distracted and entertained. I wonder if he lives inside? There seems to be plenty of food for him.
So we finally took off. By brother-in-law Alan said you can always spot the American tourists, because they’re the only ones who take pictures of their food when eating out. Guilty as charged:
If you notice the fork on the dessert, there’s a reason—one of my life mottos is: “Life is short, eat dessert first.” Gonna be eating a lot of desserts on this trip, both literally and figuratively. Although I better pace myself, since most cruisers gain a pound a day. Let’s see, 107 days, 107 additional pounds. Hmmmm….
I love the “woosh!” sound of the toilet on the airplane. It’s very similar to the sound of a cruise ship toilet (you’ll probably be hearing more about that amazing device in coming weeks). I wonder what happens to the toilet contents on airplanes? There is a sign warning you not to put anything other than toilet paper into the toilet, because it can cause “external leaks”—external?
I just love the thought of toilet contents hitting the atmosphere at 35,000 feet and 550 MPH. “Is it raining?” Maybe that’s why American has stainless steel airplanes to avoid the skid marks down the side? I asked the stewardess about it and she said yes, that is what they used to do (flush externally), but they don’t do that anymore, kinda like the trains (except that one Brandon and I were on in Romania). Then why the sign? “Oh, putting stuff in there just totally messes up our system, so we like people to think it might take down the plane.” Cool.
Boat tomorrow. OK, I guess the cruise line people don’t like it when you call it a boat. They want you to call it a ship. But then why was the TV show named “The Love Boat” and they were using a Princess Cruise Lines…boat? …or ship? We’re having Gavin MacLeod onboard during the cruise. Maybe I’ll ask him. After all, he was the captain on the show. “Is it a boat? Or a ship? Why wasn’t it The Love Ship?”
Yeah, this was a long entry and we’re not even on the boat/ship yet. Hang in there. I just had extra time to kill in airports and airplanes today. Somewhat irreverent today. More irreverence to come…
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