Travel Observations

I recently went back to Ohio to visit family and friends and attend a high school reunion. Then I drove to Michigan to see our daughter and her family. 

One of the wonderful parts of traveling is the people you meet. I took a cab to the airport because I had to leave so early in the morning, 4:45. The cab driver moved here from Ethiopia about 6 years ago. We had an interesting discussion about Islam and Christianity in Ethiopia.

From Detroit to Las Vegas (on the way home; that’s a pretty southern route to take when trying to get to Seattle) – the man and woman next to me were going to Las Vegas to “people watch.” She said they don’t gamble. As we talked I found out she not only knows where Juddville, Michigan (the little deserted crossroads town started by our ancestors in the mid1800s) but she drives by the Juddville Methodist Church every day! What are the chances that any of the 175 people on that plane would know about Juddville much less end up sitting next to me! Waiting in line to board in Las Vegas, I spoke with a couple who ran the marathon in Detroit the previous day. They said they really enjoyed Detroit. Their goal is to run a marathon in every state. Michigan was state #35.

***************

My phone contains my watch, my alarm clock, my scriptures, my camera, flashlight, a GPS - and a multitude of other goodies. Lightens the load in the suitcase for sure. 

********************

It's interesting to compare the various airports I visited on this trip. I’ve been through Chicago Midway so many times over the years that I know the lay of the land. We won't even talk about the gambling machines in the Las Vegas airport. It's always interesting to see the variety of ethnic groups in the Detroit airport. 

 

Seattle’s airport has some unique features. Where else would you find Bigfoot paraphernalia? Or salmon swimming on the floor, leading to gurgling water fountains? Or a seafood place open at 5:15 am!!I love Ivar's clam chowder but that was a bit too early in the morning for me. 

The color scheme depends on the home town team 

blue and green for Seattle and scarlet and gray for Columbus

Prescreening - what bliss. I’m not sure how I got on the prescreening list, but it’s certainly nice. It prints out on my ticket and I get waved into a separate line. Don’t have to take anything out of my bag, don’t have to take off my shoes, … I don’t know if I’m prescreened just for Southwest or if it’s for all airlines. This relieves a huge part of the airport hassle.

How travel has changed - we make our own reservations online instead of going through a travel agent. I remember when all that changed and how it took a while to get used to not having a "real" paper ticket. 

People dress differently now too. People used to dress up to travel. People dress much more casually now. I switched from dresses or skirts to slacks when a friend died in a plane crash and there were articles about dressing so you could easily exit a plane. No nylons because the material melts onto your legs; skirts make it difficult to climb over seats and so forth. Most of the people in that crash died not from the crash but from the resulting fire because they didn’t get out of the plane quickly enough.

 ***************

Remember when you had to search high and low in airports to find outlets for recharging computers – often ending up sitting on floors to access an outlet? Now there are charging options in abundance. 

**************

Flying into Columbus I didn't see much color in the treetops. Fortunately the trees in other parts of Columbus and in Michigan were much further along in their gorgeous fall beauty. 

***************

It was raining when we landed in Columbus. I smiled since everyone talks so much about Seattle and rain. The red sign on the side of the terminal also made me smile - "Leave parking brake set." I had visions of a huge airplane drifting into the building if someone forgot to set the brake. 

***************

Home - It’s still strange to come into the Columbus airport as a visitor and not be coming “home.” Driving through Worthington and past our North Street house is interesting. It's still a wonderful community and a very nice place to live but it's no longer "home." 

These visits felt more like I'm on the other side of a major transition than I have been in previous visits. I guess it's about time since we're almost through our fourth year in Kirkland. On the drive to Michigan I saw many out of state license plates. When I saw the familiar Washington plate on a truck, I thought "home." 

I am thankful for the abundance of family, friends, and good memories that fill Ohio and Michigan. We are creating good memories in Washington.