Travelling for Thanksgiving

The USA upped to Alert State ORANGE today. With everyone flying everywhere all over America to see family you have to consider it a time of risk – or not – it is too obvious a time to attack air travel – so we could not worry – but why take the risk? So on Orange Alert day we found ourselves at the airport early to get frisked, searched and generally worked over prior to our flight down to the Orange State of Florida for Thanksgiving with the outlaws – my partner’s family.

Through a quirk of air miles cashed in – we are flying for “free” – or more like tens of thousands of dollars spent with one particular credit card company over the years to earn miles. Amazingly we were not “blacked out” and could get flights – just we had to dogleg to Florida from Providence via the Windy city of Chicago.

It was a continuously turbulent plane ride in a small commuter jet with the bonus of a view of the Niagara Falls as we flew over them (the tiny white smudge in the center of the pictue). On America’s busiest travel day of the year – we arrived early in Chicago – we nearly got to jump a plane early to Florida but we would have had to sit in Florida and wait for our bags. There was more to do in O’Hare – we sat it out. People coming from New York were getting delayed due to a line squall – we must have been bumping along its northern edge - so a number of flights were slow out of Chicago as they waited for the planes or the crew but nothing disastrous and everyone was good humored.

Our departure for Fort Myers was on time. We were flying American – who lost planes on 9/11 so it was interesting the introduction we got from our matter of fact captain who stood at the front of the plane and offered:

• Good to see you and please keep the sun shades up for take off – we want the competition to see we have a full plane.
• There are three toilets on the plane – please use the two at the back, we don’t want you guys in coach to see the lovely facilities we offer first class in the one at the front – and more to the point I don’t like lines of people crowded around the flight deck door – and neither do the air marshals.
• While you are at it – turn and shake the hand of the stranger sitting next to you – they just might be the air marshal who saves your life.
• The first officer is called XX XX and learned to fly in college – used to work for Delta but saw sense and a chance of a pension and moved to us at American – we are glad to have him.
• Some of you younger folk may have flown with me before – I learned to fly helicopters in Fort Myers and the last time we flew together I might have been pulling you out of a hot Landing Zone in Vietnam. Today’s ride will be considerably smoother.
• When we land in Fort Myers – see if you can figure out who is landing the plane – college or Army!

When we got to Fort Myers there was not much doubt that we got a steeply banked and slightly gung-ho Army landing!

Later we had a quiet evening wandering around a brightly lit, well manicured Naples. But do those restaurants need to have so many propane side walk heaters pumping CO2 into the air? Firstly you were all almost empty and secondly – even if it was cool by Naples standards – a thin wrap of jacket would solve the problem for those who did come out to eat. The contribution to Global Warming was an outrageous waste. Guess the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York will involve a lot of waste too. For some funny and “traditional” reason – everyone wants to sit and watch it on TV.

Thank goodness we found a Starbucks for some decent coffee – just a block away – I know – I probably contributed to Global Warming in an abstract way by patronizing them. It is so hard to straighten out the priorities……Sigh……