Gabe's Fantastical Flying Adventure Part 3: Flying Home

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Flying home wasn't as terrible as I thought. I suppose that it's because I did it once two days before and survived, so I figured I'm good at that point. Don't get me wrong, I don't plan on ever flying again, but when you fly that much over the course of three days, you're too tired to care what happens. Just make it quick.

I spent the better part of that night putting together a "how to" guide for the Albany airport because I was scheduled to fly out before my family. I didn't want to leave them there without knowing that they knew what to do. It wasn't altruism on my part; it was me not wanting to have to go back in the near future. Call me selfish if you must.

I did a quick search online to learn more about the airport's policies and found out that at minimum, I would need to arrive a few hours early. I'm sure that there are people who arrive an hour before their flight, but I wanted it over and done with. The last thing I needed was to miss my flight because I didn't get my bags checked on time. The website I went to, a site for a transportation service that operates in the Albany area, said that lost baggage and delayed flights are the top two complaints. Lost luggage I can deal with, but a delayed flight? Hell is other people...in an airport waiting for a flight home.

The plane did what it's supposed to do and got me back to Kansas City safe, and here I am, writing about it at seven in the morning. I thought that I would get home and realize that flying isn't that bad. It would make travel easier. The truth, however, is that I hate flying more now. Not because I had a bad experience, but because it's not what I'm used to. You get on a plane, fly over some states, and get to your destination. That doesn't appeal to me.

I like to see and experience things. I thought that was the entire purpose of traveling. It's hard to experience anything when buildings are dots. I guess flying is good for some people, but I'd rather take the long way. If I drove to Albany, I'd be able to stop off in St. Louis and see old friends before driving through Ohio and Western New York. I'd be able to sightsee and check out local places to eat. I'd probably take a detour and head to Buffalo for a few days just because. I'd actually travel.

There's a difference between traveling and going somewhere. You wanna go somewhere? Fly. You'll get there, but you'll miss everything in between. It's not my thing. I like getting lost and seeing what I can find. I like knowing that there are special places between my house and wherever I go that are mine. There's a place in Wyoming between Emporia, KS and Yellowstone that I found. There's nothing special about it, but it's mine. It's in my head. I can see it clearly now, and it's what makes me want to go back there. I didn't get that feeling with flying. Give me the trip, not the destination. Flying is meh.

Drive more, fly less.

Gabe

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Airplane
Did you take this photo. Was that plane really that close? Or maybe photoshop.

[GabesGoingPlaces]

That's just a stock photo I grabbed from Adobe. I was honestly too terrified to operate a camera or look out the window lol.