Up, Up and Away . . .

One of my favorite memories of growing up was when my sister Kelli and I got to fly, by ourselves, from our home in Milwaukee to visit our grandparents in Champaign Illinois. We were dressed similarly - in matching suits of different colors. I believe we were 9 and 8 and so proud that our parents were letting us on this big adventure. It also meant changing planes at O'Hare airport! We were instructed on how to get help looking for our gate and reminded just how large O'Hare was. We felt grown up!

Our father travelled a lot for business, so he gave us valuable information about that monstrous airport (that it had seven 'fingers' was one tidbit I still remember - he was referring to the terminals). It shouldn't have surprised either Kelli or I that upon landing, our Dad would just happen to be at O'Hare too. He claimed that he too was there to change flights and since we had a little bit of time, wouldn't it be great to have lunch together. So the three of us went to the Admiral's Club and then he escorted us to our gate for the rest of the journey to Champaign.

I had a chance to think about that trip (and others of my youth) when John and I had a layover at O'Hare this past weekend. It's way more monstrous and flying is a way different experience! My memories of 'airline' travel may be colored a bit by time and nostalgia, but it used to be a first rate way to travel. You were treated respectfully by the flight crews, served beverages and even full meals if the flight was longer than a couple hours. On shorter flights, you were served a snack and beverages. Since my Dad was a frequent traveler he had a membership in the Admiral's Club - a place where you could go to relax and be served more beverages and snacks and sit in a comfortable and quieter atmosphere.

Well, those days are long gone - they've gone up, up and away!

The overall impression is being herded like cattle - from the lines at the ticket counters, to the TSA checkpoints, to the waiting areas, to the overcrowded dining or shopping options, to the plane, off the plane, through baggage claim and onto the taxi queues. All the while fellow travelers can almost be heard, voicing "Mooooooooo-ve out of my way!"

I won't go into the details of the debacle - suffice it to say we were supposed to arrive in Grand Rapids at 11:30 a.m. and arrived instead at 3:30 a.m. 


I'm sure some of the chaos of airline travel is that there are so many people flying these days -  there are a lot of deals out there and people are finding ways to afford the trips. Airlines are trying to maximize their profits (or even make one) so they are filling planes often over capacity to make it cost effective. And those seats just seem to get closer together - and I don't even have long legs!

So this year for spring break, we're not flying. Or even driving. I'm going to see  if train travel has lost it's luster too!