Thursday, August 13, 2009

Airport Confessional -- Charlotte-Douglas International Airport

Cloudy...no chance of meatballs...
Just got off the plane to the most glorious bathroom break ever, replete with the tastiest mint I’ve ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. Where am I, you ask, that still has bathroom attendants that give mints and other essential toiletries? Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, NC. The time is 10:32 in the morning and we landed in thinning fog; the sun is not burning through the windows and my poor little Goth eyeballs are safe and happy. This airport, at least this wing of it, feels smaller even than the one I just left, no easy feat considering SRQ International isn’t all that big in the first place.

I love flying. It’s not something I get to do very often so it’s always a treat. I hope, if I end up flying around more and more in my career, that I never lose the wonder that I have when I fly. I tend to sleep through the actual flight part, at least when we’re up above the clouds and all you can see is cotton for miles and miles, but I really enjoy the take off and landings. Especially this time. I’ve never seen a rainbow from above before and I saw at least six before we reached cruising altitude. And we passed underneath a cloud formation that looked to me, thanks to the miracle of matrixing, like a white phoenix. I couldn’t get a picture of it, though, so some random clouds will have to do. Just trust me when I say it was very cool.

I like to look around at my fellow passengers during take-off and landing. It surprises me just how many don’t look through the window during the really exciting stuff, much less when we’re soaring over the earth at a bazillion miles an hour. Like I’d mentioned previously, but with much different wording, I think a lot of our problems could be solved if people just looked around.

I think they’re going to start boarding soon. More to come from the land of Cleve!

5 comments:

NoelCT said...

I know how you feel. I'm the only one in my family with my face glued to the window with a happy grin every time I fly.

Marvin said...

Okay, I have spend ENTIRELY too much time sitting around in CLT. Especially stranded overnight. If you're clever, you can hide from the paramedics (who double as security guards) when they come on their carts to roust everyone out at midnight, after all the flights have left. I wasn't clever enough, last time. Sigh.

Lori said...

Noel: It's so great! When's your favourite time to fly?

Lori said...

Marvin: Why do they bother closing airports? I mean, when I left Cleveland, I got to the airport around 3:30 for my 5:45 flight and while I had to stand there for the half hour until the ticket agents arrived and TSA agents got their machines up and running, I thought it was far more convenient than just sitting in my hotel room flipping through the channels...what are stranded travelers going to do? Use the bathroom? Drop a gum wrapper?

NoelCT said...

Noel: It's so great! When's your favourite time to fly?

During the day when everything is nice and clear. Provided the sun is on the other side of the plane, of course.