My first experience of riding in an airplane came while I was in college. I have been told that I was on a plane at the age of six months; but obviously, I do not remember the experience.
Our journey was to end in St. Petersburg, Russia – some 4,000 miles away from Tallahassee, Florida. It was a five week summer study abroad program.
I was a bit unsettled about the upcoming trans-Atlantic crossing and being cooped up in an airplane for nine hours, but my mother’s fear of flying sent my anxiety raging. My Dad, an experienced traveler, spent three weeks trying to calm my nerves and telling me that it was “not big deal”.
Before we could make the trip “across the pond”, we were going to have to take three “puddle jumper” rides from Tallahassee to New York City. In 1993, U.S. Air was a big carrier in the south and had their headquarters in Charlotte; so every plane stopped in Charlotte. I made the trip sitting by the window and discovered that Dad was right. It wasn’t such a big thing after all; in fact, I enjoyed it. We had a layover in Charlotte before heading for Philly, so I went looking for a pay phone – this was in the days before the personal mobile phone. The only mobile phones were “the bricks” rich people had in their cars that cost about a dollar a minute to use. I called Dad at work giddy as a school kid to tell him I was ok and that he was right.
Next up was the flight to Philadelphia. We were low enough that when we passed over Balitmore we could see the newly constructed Camden Yards where the Balitmore Orioles played baseball.
After another layover we headed for New York City and Kennedy Airport. We spent the night at an airport hotel and in the morning headed for LaGuardia and an Aerophlat plane for the long haul to Helsinki, Finland before getting on another “puddle jumper” to St. Petersburg.
I had a window seat the whole way and while there isn’t a lot that can be seen from 30,000 feet in the air, there were spots where it was possible to see ice and land masses.
Since that first experience with an airplane, I have made a second trans-Atlantic flight for a second trip to Russia – this time it was for three months – and have made a cross-country flight for my Dad’s 80th birthday. Flying isn’t really a big deal, but whenever possible I still prefer taking the train. There’s much more to see…and they sell real food on the train. 🙂 But when it comes to long flights, Dad and my Army brother have me beat by a long shot.