My Trip North

So, rather than start by just telling you about the marathon, I thought perhaps I'd share some other entertaining tidbits from my trip.

I rarely travel solo, usually Mark is along for the trip as well. He also went to Alaska, but he flew up separately because he wanted to use frequent flier miles, and he stayed at a friend's house for the first few nights as I was staying with a roommate from my team. In any case, I think when you are traveling with another person you encounter less odd stuff. Either you notice it less because you are wrapped up in your own conversations, or people leave you alone more...not sure which.

On the flight up, I found my way to my window seat and the ever-so-helpful man in the aisle seat (same row) helped me find a place for my backpack in the overhead bin. He also put my coat up there for me. I am tall enough to do this myself, but he was just being helpful and friendly. No big deal. I sat down and pulled out my magazine. He asked me if I live in Alaska. I said, "nope." A bit of small talk ensued, nothing major. I leaned just a bit forward so I could twist my left arm around and itch my shoulder blade. This man then reached out and SCRATCHES MY BACK! I was startled and a bit taken aback, thinking, "This guy is just a bit too helpful and friendly." Just then, thankfully, the middle seat of our row arrived to save me. Woohoo! The middle seat guy smelled a bit like fish, but fish is fine by me so long as there is no more back scratching.

We took off and I was a bit sleepy, feeling like I could nap at any moment. I was happy because I can so rarely sleep on planes, and a nice long nap would make this 3-hour flight pass much more quickly. Then, right behind me I heard this booming laugh and a very loud voice. I think the loudest woman on the planet was sitting behind me. Her really loud conversation took us pretty much the whole way to Anchorage. I now know her life story. Her family moved to Alaska in the 40s. She has lived in Atlanta, now lives in Portland, and will be moving to LA in just a few weeks. I am not one to complain about anything on a plane, since most of us are terribly uncomfortable in those seats anyway, but boy was I close to talking to one of the flight attendants. I was close to sleep once, but her laughter actually jolted me awake and, not kidding, was painful to my ears.

I was happy to arrive in Anchorage with hearing still intact.