PLANES, MASKS, AND SNACKS; OH FLY…

“So kiss me and smile for me…Tell me that you’ll wait for me…Hold me like you’ll never let me go
‘Cause I’m leavin’ on a jet plane…Don’t know when I’ll be back again…
Oh babe, I hate to go” Leaving on A Jet Plane song by John Denver

I’m leaving on a jet plane don’t know when I’ll be back again. Then again, my return flight is confirmed; perhaps I know precisely when I will be back?

With the shelter in place Pandemic, I stayed away from air travel as did most. Now feeling brave with my vaccine, I was ready to hit the friendly skies to see my gal pals in Oregon.

Nothing like a girl trip to put a bounce in my step. Sometimes we need to speak the language of our female species. There are so many words with women, and we seemingly never run out of them. Or we have exhausted ourselves into an early night from wine and words. Either way, after a year of being lockdown with my darling husband, a girl trip, was in order.

Put it this way, I am ready to pass out in amazing linen sheets at my friend’s home, and my husband is alone with our dog watching a Godzilla movie. Yes, I am happy to be having a get-away.

As for preflight, they run you through the list of questions concerning recent illness or exposure to Covid-19. Getting a vaccine did not give you a pass on following the strict rules.

As for flight travel, really, it was pretty simple. Masks on at the airport; on the airplane at all times other but for a moment for water or snack. They requested to keep us at a distance, but on full planes, nothing allows six feet to happen. If you are lucky enough to get food, the rule was, please place on your mask after your snack. We were reminded several times that it is a federal law, full coverage mouth, and nose. They ask that deplaning, exiting the plane we keep a distance from the other travelers. That did not happen as everyone was equally anxious to exit the flight lined up for an exit that looked like it always had.

Air travel is a place where I have met people. At one point in my single life, I tried to become a flight attendant; I thought I could meet people, moreover a partner in-flight, no such luck. They did not see me as a good fit. Disappointed with the adventure I had carved out in my mind. I turned those sad lemons into becoming an author and sharing my love journey with the world.

Chatty and serendipitous, you never knew who you might be sitting next to, not any longer. Now with masks on, I had never been on a quieter flight. No talking, perhaps minimal when exiting “thank you for handing my bag overhead.” Another thing to note is the bags needed to be smaller! Otherwise, stored underneath at a cost. You can find out online the new standard for carry-on bags. Perhaps when the pandemic is over, the air travel will have changed? Things in life are always changing; that is the one truth for us all.

Is it time and safe to travel? I had my vaccine and felt safe with that. I knew if I got sick, I would have to endure a flu-type virus. I am excited to go on more trips, masks or not; I am ready. The quiet of this past year has been a blessing in many ways, but spring is on us, and I am ready to bloom.

Are you ready to spring into travel, love, life? Have you come out of this past year ready to bounce into possibilities? I hope so.

My Mantra: “A girls trip away can be what the doctor ordered”