As I mentioned in my last post, I like to travel alone sometimes. I should say that I like to travel with just my husband, but we rarely travel alone, our last childless flight was in 2002.
At the airport, I make my way through the lines and security like a pro, taking off my shoes, not causing the beeper to beep. I will confess a secret of mine…I like security. Of course I don’t like massive lines that sometimes occur with security checks, but I like knowing that we are all being checked. We are all on a level playing field with our shoeless, belt-less outfits. I was miffed that I didn’t get the full-body scan everyone complains about. I really wanted to see my scan. It turns out that on the way back from Vegas I did get scanned and they don’t show you the scan (or at least I didn’t know where to look if they did). I so wanted to see what I looked like.
Everything is packed in my carry-on the way I need it to be packed. I only need a book, some gum and a snack and I am all set for a flight of several hours. I can set and read without interruption. My years as a hospital nurse have given me sufficient bladder training and I’m not up and down all the time to the lavatory.
I people watch between chapters sometimes. I marvel at moms and dads with kids, grandparents going to see their grand-kids. I say a silent prayer for the moms with babies as I know how stressful it is to have the crying baby on board (been there, done that!) I ignore the obnoxious travelers who like to talk loud and act as if they know everything about everything and want people to hear how amazing they think they are. I seem to attract these people as they are always around me. I don’t engage them or chatter with them to be polite. I also don’t tell them that they are a big blow-hard as that would be rude. When I am old, I may be able to say such things, but not now!
I always listen to the safety speech. I’m a bit of a safety nut as you may have guessed. As a child I saw a made for TV movie about a plane crash. They has a scene where the flight attendants were giving the safety speech and no-one was paying attention at what to do. I promised my 8-year-old self that I would always listen to the safety stuff, so I do some twenty-odd years later!
During lay-overs I find a sit down restaurant and order a meal and read. It is a bit more expensive, but so worth the comfort after a cramped flight.
I don’t mind going hours without talking to someone or feel the need to converse with everyone around me. We all have things to do plans that are made. My plans aren’t more or less important than the person’s beside me so I don’t feel the need to tell my neighbor all about my upcoming journey. A polite hello is all that is needed.
When I am traveling alone on a plane, it is like a mini-vacation within a vacation. A time to be alone with my book and with my thoughts.
(On this particular trip I finished the Millennium series. I suggest this trilogy to people who love to get to know characters well and like a bit of a mystery. Very good!)
