Trip Adventures Pt. 1

I love to fly on planes. Even though I am a little scared of heights, planes don't seem to bother me. I like looking out the window, getting my free drink, and even watching the in-flight movie. It is interesting to me that so many people dread flying on planes. I ran into a few of those people yesterday.

Immediately after church, Charissa drove me from Corvallis to Portland, picking up Macie along the way. When I got out of the car, it was only slightly raining...if only it had stayed that way. I dropped off my luggage, got checked it, and found my gate with just under an hour to spare. So, I sat and listened to my new Itouch and waited to board. Then the series of unhappy people entered my life.

First, as I was sitting there, one of the flight attendants came and sat right next to me. Our plane had not arrived yet so she had to wait to get on board. As we were sitting there, another flight attendant walked up and sat next to her. This one, a guy, told the lady that the plane was over booked by 25. They both began to complain. (My first reaction was fear...what if I there is no room for me on the plane!) They were saying how terrible of a flight it was going to be if it was full. The snow that was beginning to fall didn't help. I'll admit, I didn't actually talk with them...but the next three people I did. Oh, and luckily, I got one of the last seats available!

When we were finally able to board I as given an aisle seat and sat next to a middle aged couple. I sat down next the wife and we exchanged hellos. I was one of the last people to get on board and nearly everyone of the overhead bins was full. Luckily, all I had was a small bag that I could slide under my seat. However, there was a young lady who was sitting across from me who had a really large carry-on. By the time she got to her seat, there was no where to put her bag. One of the flight attendants came by and looked above my head and found a couple small bags. He grabbed them and asked whose they were. The lady sitting next to me immediately responded and the flight attendant asked if he could move that stuff up front and put this ladies bag in there. She said yes, but was obviously upset. The young lady who had the big bag could barely lift it above her head so I jumped up and helped put it in. As I was putting it in, the lady sitting next to me said a few, not so nice words to the younger lady. I guess she was upset that her stuff had to be moved. Basically she said..."Why can't you check your bags like the rest of us civilized people" but with some extra words added. It only got worse when our flight was delayed for over an hour as we sat on the runway. The snow was coming down pretty hard. We sat patiently, but the lady continually pressed the button for the flight attendant and would always ask how much longer it would be. Well, finally we took off and she was in a much better mood.

Finally, we made it to California and I made my way to the baggage claim area. Then enters lady number 3 (I promise this is not an attack on girls...it just happens that these three people were girls). So, I'm standing there waiting for my bag to come around..but only two bags keep going around the circle. To make this long story short, I stood there for 45 minutes before any luggage started circulating! It was a little frustrating, especially late at night. While standing there for all this time there was this lady next to me. She must have been on my flight, but I didn't recognize her. After a few minutes of standing and waiting, she got a phone call which I think was from someone waiting for her in the parking lot. She was obviously upset at the delay. After hanging up she began to complain to me. Basically, at one point she told me she was about to faint because she was so tired and frustrated...luckily for me, she didn't.

Eventually, I got my bag and made it to school! What a crazy flight! But I made it and I actually enjoyed it. Like I said, I like flying. Even if some people seem to hate it. So, My adventure in Cali has begun.

Nothing particularly interesting happened today...but my goal is to blog alot about my trip. So check back tomorrow or the next day for more exciting news!