Thursday, July 19, 2012

In the Sky and On the Ground

We got back from Florida in this afternoon and it is far hotter here than it was there. Go figure.

I didn’t realize how much I needed a break from real life until I let my hair down and relaxed. I felt like I could have slept and eaten forever. And, sat by prickly plants that stab my eye.

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Here some things I learned about myself/experienced this time around:

In the sky:

  • Flying sucks for me. I hate turbulence. Being crammed into a spot smaller than a porta potty for four hours makes me batty. And, doesn’t smell much better.
  • I love kids, but I want to strangle the one who sits behind me and kicks my seat.  Maybe my real issue is with the hands-off parents who let them kick my seat for four hours. These were the same parents who let their kid run barefoot along the luggage carousel. If my kids do it, it’s okay, however. Just kidding.
  • I dislike not being given the whole can of soda. And paying for checked bags. And food. 
  • I get unnerved when the air gets rough, and the flight attendants give you a lecture about what to do when/if you get airsick. I don’t get airsick but I have a major phobia about other people throwing up anywhere in my vicinity. The whole scenario stresses me out.
  • Beware of laying your head on your drink tray. The minute I put my head down, the woman in the seat in front of me farted. True story.
  • It sucks being in line for the bathroom on the plane and the person in front of you is in there for a very long time because you know what that means. Stink central.
  • I always kiss the plane before I get on. Always. And I haven’t crashed yet. Although I might have a bad case of Jet-Herpes.

On the ground:

  • One of the best things about travelling is running in a new spot. I got in three perfect runs. One of them was in the pouring rain and I loved every minute of it.
  • Sometimes it’s okay to pick a rental car based on the cool factor, and to not be practical. Sam is a cop-wanna-be and we he saw that one rental option was the Crown Vic, he about peed himself. It got the suckiest gas mileage and felt like you were driving a boat, but damn if I didn’t feel like I was on 21 Jump Street.

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  • As I get older, I handle crowds with less grace. Universal Studios was a blast, but there were a lot of bodies slightly too close to mine.
  • It’s fun when you have so little to do you sit around waiting for the lizards to mate. Nice foreplay!

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  • While on vacation it is permitted to eat and drink whatever you want, sleep as much as you want, watch as much TV as you want and wear your bathing suit all day.
  • Awkward family photos are better than no photos at all.

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  • For some reason my kids argue far less while on vacation. Why is that? They actually acted like they liked each other. I swear the minute we walked in the door the bickering began.

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  • Getting out of my home and town always makes me re-evaluate what I like and what I want to change about my life. Everything and nothing.

Got any pet peeves about flying? I know the airlines are struggling, but the flying experience has gone down hill SO much in the past 15 years or so. Little to no customer service (although Southwest does pretty well), you get nickel and dimed for every stinking thing, flights are always packed.

What’s something you learned about yourself/experienced last time you left home? Or do you ever leave home?

Do you ever/always run on vacation?

SUAR

45 comments:

  1. Welcome home to it's-still-stinking-hot Colorado!!! We wee-bit less humidity than Florida though, thankfully. I have a horrible fear of flying...I cross all ten of my fingers before every take off. Best I can remember, I've always done this.

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  2. I fall asleep at takeoff. Every. Time. Doesn't matter how excited I am, what time of day it is, how loud everyone around me is... 5 minutes after the wheels are off the ground I am out until we are at cruising altitude. And I usually wake up with my mouth hanging open drool down my shirt, and a 5 year old staring at my gaping mouth in wonder.

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  3. I am also a professed plane kisser. Works every time!

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  4. We spent the week of July 4 in Seattle (which ROCKS. Plus it was about twenty degrees cooler there than in Atlanta). We flew Airtran, which, for a budget airline, does pretty well. We fly a couple times a year and seriously, planes seem to get smaller every time. Knock on wood though, we have had NO travel snafus ever. No major turbulence, no lost luggage, no hours-long delay on the runway, no screaming babies for a long flight.

    One thing I know from travel: no matter how awesome our destination is, no matter how homey our accommodations are, there is no place like home.

    Those are some pretty sweet wheels you got there. My mother has a Crown Vic. It's like steering the Titanic through the streets.

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  5. "Getting out of my home and town always makes me re-evaluate what I like and what I want to change about my life. Everything and nothing."

    So true. I just came back from a little vacation with family who I don't see often b/c we live far away from one another. I also got to see some really close gfs while I was there. When I got home I sobbed b/c sometimes I miss that time with my family, I feel guilty about "leaving home" and I miss my amazing gfs, where I don't have to pretend to be anything but me.

    At the same time, I'm also glad to get back to my garden and my own life and my own bed, and away from the bickering children!

    I also got a great run in while vacationing...running a really hilly route in the mountains and I was able to maintain better than my best 5K race pace. Go me!

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  6. Oh, I HATE it when parents don't teach their kids about how their (the kids') actions affect other people. That's gotta be one of the most important things a parent can teach his/her child. Sometimes I wish I could turn around and kick the kid's seat. :)

    Also, there is no better kind of family photo than the awkard family photo.

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  7. Our last trip was to Hawaii and I learned that traveling with kids, at least mine ;) make it a "trip" and not a "vacation"! And all that really matters to them is the pool, so there's little point in trying to take them to see cool sacred, ancient locations filled with history because to them it's just a pile of rocks that they can't throw into the ocean! It's all the stuff of great family stories and memories and we loved it all :)

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  8. What are my peeves about flying? I wrote a whole blog post about it when I had has 6 flights out of 3 airports in 6b days. It was not pretty.
    http://fortytwothings.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/when-to-stay-home-from-the-airport/

    What did I learn about myself on my last trip? I put on my game face for holidays and focus on letting the little stuff slide off my back. I work hard at not getting irritated by the little idiosyncratic things that my husband does. It was wonderful. We had a great time--so why don't I do this all the time? I am working on not sweating the small stuff at home either.
    Kim

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  9. Couple of suggestions:

    Xanex

    First class


    Unlimited wine

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    1. I did the wine and xanax combo. Hardly took the edge off. First class would be nice but I'm not a millionaire.

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  10. Man, am I glad YOU'RE back! I totally forgot that you wrote that you were going to Florida - and then I checked your blog compulsively and fretted and worried because you weren't posting. Jeesh...if I freak out this much over someone I've never even met, imagine how my poor family must suffer! ;)
    Glad you and your family had fun!!

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  11. That a holiday in a wine region two weeks before a half marathon is perhaps not the best taper.

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  12. Looks like a great vacation! I learned that after the first couple of days...I am ready to go home, lol (my hubby is the same way). We like our bed, our apartment, our cats, our routine...I guess we're boring, hah!

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  13. Glad you had a great vacation! (Except for the mediocre flying part!) Also, I missed you! I realized this week how much I enjoy reading your posts, and I truly did miss you while you were away. But glad for your chance to rest and revive.

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  14. Hahaha! Too funny about the kids getting along on vacation. My sister and I were the same way. Away from home on vacation, just camping for the weekend, visiting Grandma for a few days, we always got along fantastically. As soon as we get home, FIGHTS!! My theory now is that when we were away, we only had each other. And we were usually teaming up to get our parents to give us stuff. At home though, it was over, back to real life and we had choices, wanted to hang with our friends, had our own rooms and our own stuff.

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  15. Good rule of thumb while on vacation: "Don't sweat the petty stuff, just pet the sweaty stuff". Works great! Glad you got in some good runs in my state! How'd you like the humidity?

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  16. I learned I detest having to pay to pee in a public restroom in Cuba. And if you want to wipe yourself, that will be another peso please! Argh!

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    1. I had the same issue in Israel, I almost died or pooped myself in front of the mean, miserable bathroom attendant. Why charge for toilet paper? Then he had the balls to give me the nastiest roll of toilet paper. I stopped eating falafels after that incident.

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  17. I love this post. We are boycotting flying for a while. The last time we went on vacation (about two years ago) we flew with a baby. She did great. I did not. My husband was so stressed out by the connecting flights/airport/everything that his mouth broke out in ulcers. True. So our upcoming vacation will be a loooooong long long drive. But whatever. In a crammed van, I can fart when I want and not worry about the lady behind me with her head on her tray.

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  18. I'm not sure that you have any business complaining about someone else farting. But I could be wrong, since I didn't have to smell it.

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    1. Yes it is kind of calling the kettle black for me to complain about that, huh?

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  19. My husband and I just went to Utah and decided it would be easier/less expensive/more fun to drive the 13 hours then take a plane. It totally was!

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  20. I *heart* vacation runs, though pretty much everyone I'm with hates that I'm doing them. Plus I feel it justifies the once though humanly impossible quantities of ice cream and fro yo I usually consume on a trip.

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  21. At some point during every vacation I've ever been on, no matter how wonderful, I turn to my husband and say "take me home". As much as I like to get away, I like to come home just as much.

    I like to run on vacation. I'm up so much earlier than the rest of my family it gives me something to do while they're all still sleeping. But I'm always a little worried that I'll get lost...or abducted.

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  22. Ask for the full can of soda. I do, and they always give it to me. I used to Hate it when they did that, too.

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    1. You mean all you have to do is ask??

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    2. I always ask for the full can, and flirt a little with the flight attendant, or ask my partner to if the attendant seems like they would like him more than me. That usually gets free alcohol. I have never been on a flight and paid for my booze.
      I love to run on vacation - my mind is clearer, and I don't run thinking about what's waiting for me at home, or the office, or on my e-mail. Just me and the road, where I can imagine I am the leader of the ultramarathon, coming in 10 solid minutes ahead of my competitors. I figure if it's vacation, it's time to dream. - Amy P. Philly Broad Street SUAR Shirt wearer

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  23. My husband is a commercial airline pilot and now I know TOO MUCH about flying. It makes me hate all passengers, airlines, rules, etc. :) Glad you all had a great vacation.

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  24. On our last flight to Orlando (with 4 kids, age 9, 7, 5, and almost 3 at the time) there was a small kid sitting behind our 5-year-old. And he kicked her seat. It was a lesson for her in how really freakin' annoying it is! She almost never does it any more.

    I wanted to run on our last trip, but I'm not that great of a runner and I was not confident enough to do it. I kinda regret it now. I'll make it happen next time!

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  25. I'm with you about paying for checking my luggage - I hate that airlines have gone to that, even Southwest. I ran everyday of our vacation and loved it. That's a rare thing for me. And, come to think of it, I don't recall our kids arguing on vacation either! Glad to hear you enjoyed your vacay!

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  26. I really don't like going through security. When my kids were toddlers, I had a stroller, food, juices, water, etc. Well you can't take any liquid through security so I had to dump it. Then we had to unload the stroller and load it on the x-ray belt, take off shoes, take off kids shoes, take off jackets, load laptop/dvd player, make sure my purse doesn't get stolen. All this while making sure my 2 and 4 year olds don't run off....withoout their shoes!

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  27. I'm so with you, I love vacationing, but the flying makes it miserable! They make you pay for everrrything :*(

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  28. I'm not sure you're anywhere near Aurora, and I'm sure that after a vacation the last thing you'd want to do is go to a midnight movie, but I need you to come on and post that you're all safe and sound! (You're the only person I "know" in CO)

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    1. You are so sweet. I am just fine. I live about an hour from Aurora. Very sad day here in CO.

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    2. I'm happy to hear that. When I read it was CO I thought of you - and even though the chances are slim I had to check. I have a son close to Sam's age and I know he'd like the idea of going to a midnight movie.

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  29. I love running in new spots. I travel for work and yesterday was supposed to be home at 10 PM and got here at 4 AM. Needless to say - poor customer service caused me to start having a breakdown at the airport bc no one would tell me anything and pushed me away and I needed food to take my antibiotics and pain killer from a root canal. No food was open. I hate flying with a burning passion right now.

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  30. Great Post and nice Expo Ballcap ! (I was recently on a flight where a woman had an allergy to styrofoam cups!) I lost count of how many people had to get up and move and she was SO rude about it!

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  31. The woman sitting behind us on a flight from Florida was worse than her 3-year-old. She was loud and obnoxious in her disciplining him. And frankly, he wasn't being that bad. At some point he was chilling out with his grandmom playing Angry Birds (volume up, naturally), and I'd get some kicks every once in a while. I think my husband got it worse than me, but fortunately he can pretty much sleep anywhere and had the music turned up. It got close to becoming something worth turning around for (I have done this before. I screamed at a woman who was beating the touchscreen located in the back of my headrest during a transatlantic flight. What else can you do when you get someone poking the back of your head really hard to watch a stupid movie??)

    I agree, the flying experience is horrible all around. It's so wrong that you have to pay a premium for 6 more inches. I do like Southwest because of the lack of fees, but their flight prices are slowly becoming less competitive.

    I too have a huge fear of puke. HUGE. I can't even talk about it. When I was on chemotherapy about 9 years ago, I made sure to get the best anti-nausea meds I could, took them religiously, and never puked that whole time. :)

    I love to run on vacation! It's especially fun when my husband has the route all planned out for us because he's run it before on one of his business trips. The best discovery we have made so far is in Richmond VA next to the James River. There is this super-cool footbridge that connects to what used to be an island PRISON! Nice trail running in there and historical stuff.

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    1. We are puke hating sisters. Most people don't get why this upsets me so much, but it is truly a phobia. You can't imagine the lengths I will go to to avoid it.

      I moved here from Richmond, VA. But, I wasn't a runner then. When I go back, I'm going to check our your footbridge!

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  32. When my husband and I flew to Florida several months ago we were in front of a mom and her two kids. I thought I was going to have to start disciplining them, they were so bad. First it was the mom told them she had been to Mexico and Bermuda, I guess they were looking at a map together. The kids start complaining very loudly "mommmmm whyyyyy didn'ttt youuu takeee ussss to mexico and bermuda?!?!?!?" mommy goes "because this was before you were born." they started whining in unison, "but we want to goooooo we want to gooooooo." For the love of christ they weren't even a thought in their parents mind when they went to these locations but for some reasn it was a cause for a serious out burst! It got so bad that the Flight Attendant, love her, came over and told them to be quiet, which embarassed mommy but it wasn't like mom was going to say to her kids "NOW SHUT UP." They procceeeded to kick my husband's chair and he finally couldn't take it, so even HE turned around and said please stop kicking my chair. The way their mother told them to be behave was just pathetic. On top of that to fly Spirit it was 80 dollars for checked luggage and then carry ons were another 35, plus our seats cost us 20 a piece. Totally absurd! Luckily for our recent honeymoon there were no added fees of any kind. We flew Frontier for Apple Vacations and it was a dream.

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  33. I LOVE running while on vacation and checking out new areas, so fun! I also just love going on vacation in general. I never feel ready to come home. If I could just figure out how to turn my life into one long vacation....

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  34. I normally do not run on vacation but I want to start this year. I love running in new areas.

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  35. I'm going to Boulder in mid August from Virginia. Can you recommend what I can do to make the transition easier for running in the Boulder area?
    Thanks

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  36. I just got back from a weekend in Chicago and found that I'm more adventurous away from home. I'm more willing to try new experiences and cuisines. Oh, and I definitely drink more on vacation!

    I didn't run on vacation until this year, because I chose destination races. They're a good reason to go somewhere, but I'm thinking I'd rather vacation without a scheduled race and just take a nice, short run somewhere pretty.

    Oh, and I HATE flying, but LOVE roadtripping. Thankfully I do long car rides really well!

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