Friendly Skies

Heading to Detroit. 2/25/23 dwm

My first flight took off from Madison, Saturday morning February 25, headed to Detroit.  We climbed quickly above the clouds and the sun was in my eyes.

Just an hour later, we landed in Detroit, where I spent the next six hours.  From there, there was a short flight to Columbus, Ohio, followed a little more than an hour later with a slightly longer flight to Atlanta, then a longer layover due to a delay and the final hop to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

I have had issues with motion sickness over the years so as a precaution I took Dramamine, then a few years ago switched to Meclizine on the advice of a pharmacist to calm the nausea without side effects.  It's helped a lot.

Looking back at previous flying experiences, my first flight was during the summer between first and second grade when mom and I accompanied Dad to New York City for his professional conference.  

I don't think I was sick on that trip.  A few years later, Dad and I flew to Toronto, Canada and I did get sick, one time on the plane and again on the Queen's Highway.  It took a while before I figured out the sickness was connected to flight and started taking meds.

Yet despite that history, I've not afraid of flying.  In 2019, on a flight to Dallas when we crossed over the edge of the Polar Vortex storm system the turbulence was pretty bad, I wasn't the only one on board praying fervently.  

Last flight of day.

 My Dad flew frequently for work and, being an engineer, figured out take-offs should only take so many seconds after starting down the runway.  I don't do that.  I like reading and paying closer attention to what I'm reading than the take-off.  

 Saturday's flights were smooth with just a few bumps.  The books helped me pass the time.  By the last flight, I had finished, so it was nice to watch the Indiana - Purdue basketball game on ESPN on the TV inside the headrest of the seat in front of me.  

 120 years ago not far from South Carolina, Orville and Wilbur Wright flew their plane at Kitty Hawk.  They didn't have a game to watch, music to hear, or snacks for their flight; I can't imagine how amazed they would be at how routine we now regard flying to be.

The outskirts of Myrtle Beach. 3/1/23 dwm

The return trip was easy-peasy compared to Saturday's flight.  We boarded a good size Air Bus at the Myrtle Beach Airport bound for Detroit.  As we headed down the runway I was taking pictures of the wing and the blur of land beneath it.

That was how I treated the $100 hamburger adventure in Madison several years ago.  The cost included a flight around the Capitol City in a small plane; I chronicled that trip with my camera and by focusing my attention on the view, keeping my mind clear of triggers leading to nausea.

The gate where we disembarked in Detroit and the one for my last flight were next to each other in terminal A. That left plenty of time to grab a late lunch and settle in with a book I finished before landing in Madison.

Decelerating quickly after touchdown on the runway at Truax Field in Madison. 3/1/23 dwm