Airport

I’m sitting in the airplane terminal staring out the window at another beautiful day. The freedom and tranquility of the road has been replaced with lines of people and the shrill sound of cell phones ringing. I watch a flag blow in a mild breeze and without thinking about it my mind aligns the wind direction with my direction of travel, calculating if it would be a tailwind or not. The hustle and bustle of people in a hurry to get some place that they want to be is overwhelming. I think how fantastically fortunate I have been these past five months to always be exactly where I wanted. I might of been cold or wet or hot or out of coffee, but not once did I wish to be someplace else. The airport had a dunkin donuts and I happily got a large iced coffee. Joining yet another line I was told to drink it or trash it as it was not allowed through security. I drank as fast as I could and got it below half before pitching it in the garbage.

The overhead speaker jars me from my reminiscing of the hundreds of miles of quiet country roads Rose and I cycled down. Snapping me back into the present, a baby is wailing somewhere behind me, in front and to the right a women is trying to shove a motion sickness pill down her poodles throat. The dog wants nothing to do with the medication or the red Christmas sweater that it’s wearing. The terminal is sweltering. Sweat trickles down my back as I observe the drama unfold around me. I long to feel a fresh breeze. And hear the accompanying rustle of leaves that a breeze produces. I realize that in this moment, I too want to be somewhere else. I try to read but there is too much going on for me to concentrate. I pass the time by going through my photos. I miss the road. I miss Rose and her great sense of humor. I miss the simplicity of bike touring. For the 50th time I check my ticket to make sure I am at the right gate. My flight departs at 3:39 and I’m finally allowed to board.

I’m really looking forward to seeing my family and friends. A few seconds after sitting down the two seats beside me were taken. Tammy and James were returning from Florida after flying down to look at vacation homes. They were friendly and easy to get along with. That was good since since all three of us were packed pretty tight in our seats. Between hearing the jet engines fire up and then watching the ground disappear below the clouds it was impossible not to become exited. The sound of an engine, a train whistle or the blast of a ships fog horn always awakens the wanderlust in me. I had the window seat and the two hour flight flew by. (Pun intended). What took me 50 days to travel by bike was accomplished in only two hours on the plane. Mom and Dad were already at the gate when I was getting off the plane. It was really good to see them! We had a great dinner at the local diner. I had steak baked potato and lima beans.

It was a good flight and I’m happy to be home for two weeks.