soooo, have I told you I hate flying....

I have flown several times in my life, but the last time was well over 14 years ago. The longer I avoided it, the more I started to fear it. I have always felt that there is something unnatural about a big 20 ton metal object full of people flying at 500km an hour, 40,000 ft in the air. I live 2 km from a military airport that had several big planes dance around the skies, taking off and landing several times a day... just for fun!

Well, as we barrelled down the runway this morning at 6:25am, I clenched my teeth, gripped the arms and slammed my eyes shut. I unconsciously held my breath and chanted.."they know what they are doing" over and over again. After a little while, I started breathing, and I opened my eyes and things were ok. I looked around and everyone was going about their business. We were sort of leveling off and the sky was actually beautiful. I sat for a while, listening to every sound the plane made, ever creak and buzz. The attendants weren't one bit nervous when we seemed to drop and shutter a bit. They scurried back and forth with headphones, snacks for sale and then finally the free stuff. Coffee, Tea, Tomato juice, fruit juices and water. And for the free dining choices... digestive cookies or Bits and bites. So, for me, coffee and tiny bag of bits and bites! Terry and his mom, snoozed and dug out my ipod headphones and enjoyed the tiny little TV that had like 20 channels, and at 6:45 in the morning I watched "Holmes on Homes" and then Real Renos...

All in all, the flight was enjoyable, and landing in Toronto was pretty amazing. The city was spectacular from the air and landing was sort of freaky, but with my help on the brakes (my hands and feet were planted squarely on the seat and floor in front of me) we managed to stop on dime. After an hour's wait in TO and some serious people watching to pass the time, we did the whole scary take off and sharp incline to the sky.. 20 minutes of level flying and then back down for another teeth clenching landing and we were there. I had hearing problems the rest of the day with that landing but seeing everyone was a great distraction to the intermittent buzzing that I would unexpectedly experience. Flying over Ottawa was very cool, and with a light snow on the ground, it made the whole view very cool. The Rideau looked amazing.