Takeoffs

¡Arriba, arriba y lejos!

Early next week, we will commemorate our 50th flight leg of the year. Nothing says Masochism like 50 flights in a year, and we're not done yet!

The Astute Reader may wonder how we have managed to keep our sanity through all those hours confined in a flying cigar tube. Given the nature of this year, flying around the country just to see birds, the Even-More-Astute Reader may wonder if we ever had our sanity. These are both valid questions, although I'm likely not qualified to address the second.

Aside from the free beverages (Pro Tip: ask for a whole can of Coke and ye shall be rewarded) and tasty airline snacks (especially the ungodly-colored mustard dust on the "Honey Mustard" pretzels), what keeps us going are the "special moments" that make travel interesting. Special moments such as:

• Our first US Airways flight of the year, when my tray table and the one of the passenger behind me didn't fold up properly, the communications system between the flight attendants and the pilot was broken, and the flight attendants had to tape shut an overhead bin. When the other passenger mentioned her table to the flight attendant, the response was, "Well, just add it to the list!" That's a quality product, US Airways!
• Sitting on a plane for 20 minutes after landing because the airport staff couldn't get the jet bridge to move, on two separate occasions. The best was in McAllen, TX, when the flight crew started to get snarky about the ground crew. 
• Waiting with 20 other passengers at the top of the jet bridge for gate-checked luggage for an uncomfortably long time, only to discover that the luggage had been there for a while but was hidden behind a door that nobody opened for us.
• The terminal in Philadelphia, with doors open to the runway so the room was filled with jet engine noise, while the employees trying to board flights were shouting over their PA systems trying to be heard.

And, of course, a special shout-out to the kid in the row behind me who bruised my kidneys with his random kicks to the back of my seat (although why is that kid on so many flights?). It's people like him that make the world what it is. 

To reach this goal, we have another 6-leg trip coming up as we try to snag the last summer visitors before they leave for the winter. We will visit Dallas, Baltimore, and Tucson in the next 10 days, crossing our fingers and hoping to find several birds we've missed on prior trips. Wish us luck!

In honor of our takeoffs, here are a few birds from our recent trip to Maine doing their own departures. Each one has its own particular style and flair for getting airborne.

For instance, the Atlantic Puffin:

A low takeoff with much violent thrashing of the water surface by stubby little wings. 

The Great Shearwater:

A more upright, elegant stance with a bit more running.

And, the Northern Gannet:

Gannets use jet propulsion to become aloft, by spraying water out their hineys.

Next stop, the Lone Star State!

Me