Remember when flying used to be fun? I’m not talking about pre-Covid- I mean years ago, when it seemed exciting and luxurious. HA! Those days are sure over.
Last week I flew to Chicago to see my sister. The flight from Ft. Lauderdale to Midway wasn’t too bad. At my sister’s request, I wore a mask. She and her husband are “Covid virgins” and they would like to keep it that way. I would say maybe a quarter of people in the airport had masks on? Maybe less. But as I was waiting I could hear an announcement for a flight to the Bahamas that was boarding, and they said “To board the plane your masks must be on.” Apparently they still take Covid very seriously in the Bahamas!
The flight was uneventful. I had a window seat and read the whole way. The flight home was a different story- but we’ll get to that.
Running
I mentioned in my last post that it was hilly where my sister lives (a south suburb of Chicago.). Not hilly by Colorado or Utah standards, I’m sure (I mean, there are no mountains in Illinois) but definitely hilly by South Florida standards. I was slightly concerned that all the hills would bring back my shin pain, so I was monitoring that closely.
I did a three mile run on Friday and a hilly walk on Saturday. So far so good! No shin pain. On Sunday I headed out for a planned five mile run. It was cool- by Florida standards- and rainy, and I felt great. It was so fun to be running in a different town, different terrain and different climate. It was the best run of the whole summer! I ran faster! I felt invincible! I— wait… what is that horrible pain in my HAMSTRING? GAAAAAAHHHHH!
Yep- I was so focused on my shin that I failed to notice a nagging pain in my hamstring until it really hurt. Right around that time I was passing by my sister’s house and I heard thunder and saw a flash of lightning- and reluctantly cut my run short at three miles. SIGH.
Cats
But wait! There were lots of good things- all vacations should include cats. My sister and her husband have two of them. One is elderly (they think she’s almost 20) and because she’s nearing the end of her life, they really baby her. One thing she loves is to drink water from the bathroom sink.
She’ll meow and meow until they lift her up, put her on the sink and turn on the tap so the water is just dripping, and she drinks right from the faucet. While she’s doing this she purrs loudly.
We also went to the “cat brewery.” This place has a real name, but Luther the cat lives there, so they just call it the cat brewery. Luther wanders around happily, saying hello to everyone and getting lots of petting.
As a souvenir, I got a “Luther” glass which I will be using for iced tea (and beer of course) from now on.
Blueberries
As I also mentioned, we went blueberry picking. It was super fun and we may have gotten slightly carried away.
It was hard to tell how many we had picked until we were finished, but we had twelve pounds between the three of us. Since I could only carry a small amount home, my sister and her husband were a little concerned about how they’re going to eat all those blueberries. Obviously we had to have a blueberry pancake throwdown.
We made two different blueberry pancake recipes and compared them. When I got home and told my son about it, he was laughing at us because he knew that we would have made two “healthy” pancake recipes. He was right- in addition to being vegan, the pancakes had ingredients like oats and chia seeds. And no sugar. I could tell he didn’t think much of our throwdown.
And… that flight home…
Ahem. I flew home on Sunday (note to self- don’t do that again) so Midway was super crowded. This was also the day that I hurt my hamstring so I was cranky to begin with. Sitting on the plane for hours didn’t seem like it would be helpful.
The flight was delayed, and then when we finally boarded it was so full they didn’t have enough room for all the carry on luggage so I had to check mine, ARRRRRG! Of course by the time I boarded all that were left were middle seats- but I’ll admit there was a silver lining. I ended up sitting between two slender women who were both wearing masks. So it wasn’t all bad.
The plane landed, I grumbled my way to baggage claim to retrieve my “carry on,” my husband was there to pick me up, and then I was home! Back to my family, work, hamstring rehab… you know. Regular life. I was sad to leave my sister, but it’s good to be home.
I’m linking up with Kim and Zenaida for their Tuesday Topics. Ladies, thanks for hosting and also tolerating my meandering topics every week!
Did you fly anywhere this summer? Did your flight go smoothly?
Are you a cat person or dog person? – I like dogs just fine, but have always had cats.
28 Responses
Ha the good old days of glamorous air travel. I’ve gotten to the point where I hate flying with a passion. Sitting in a middle seat between two slender people is the new first class. Still it sounds like it was a great trip.
Ha ha, that’s a good way of putting it- the new first class. I did feel pretty lucky!
Look at all of those blueberries! They look so yummy! I would definitely make blueberry pancakes and muffins and definitely freeze some to use in smoothies.
Sorry about the delayed flight back. I haven’t heard many good things about the flying currently. Luckily I don’t have any trips planned so I plan on avoiding the airports for a little while longer.
My advice is, try to fly on less crowded days! And yes… I made blueberry muffins yesterday.
Interesting about the mask situation on the plane. I am still masking everywhere indoors and I am really struggling with the idea that I may never in my entire life feel comfortable eating in a restaurant or flying on a plane again and reading these stories about people traveling without taking precautions makes me nervous. *sigh*
I’m an animal person. I love cats. I love dogs. I love hamsters. I love guinea pigs. I love geckos. I see the pros and cons of each type of pet and don’t pick favorites. (Except, of course, for my own dog and cat, who are clearly the BEST, but you may be forgiven if you don’t KNOW that yet because you haven’t met them.)
Ha, I don’t know about dogs, but I’m pretty sure most people think their own cats are the best.
a cat person. My elderly cat likes to drink water out of a tall glass.
That’s a lot of blueberries. I eat them in things but not a fan of eating them plain.
Oh no. Not the hamstring. Hope things improve….
My last flight was in May … nothing on tap until next Feb… to West Palm.
I do like blueberries plain, but it’s fun putting them in things. I made blueberry muffins yesterday and my sister and her husband made a blueberry crisp.
Cats are so funny- I wonder where they get these preferences. I mean there’s a perfectly good water dish on the floor…
We still have to wear masks inside and outside, even though covid-levels are so low. I cannot wait for the day they tell us to remove them! Maybe those in charge have forgotten we are still wearing them? LOL!
South Florida sounds like Gaborone – its so flat here as soon as we step outside it feels extremely hilly! Sorry about your hamstring! How frustrating especially as your run felt so good! Hopefully its just a small niggle that clears up soon.
Yes, I’m hoping! I’m going to try running tomorrow and see what happens.
You are still wearing masks OUTSIDE? That is strict. But I’m imagining your Covid numbers are low? I certainly hope so!
Ah, you don’t have assigned seats on your flights? That would stress me out, I wouldn’t want a middle seat, either.
Although sitting between two slender ladies sounds fine.
That cat drinking from the faucet is hilarious!
I’m not sure if all airlines do it this way, but with Southwest you get assigned to a boarding group when you check in. You can check in 24 hours before your flight but I screwed up (because we were out at the cat brewery!) and checked in a little late.
I am glad you had a good time with your sister! Girl, where is this cat brewery? I need to meet Luther too. As you know, I am a cat person – I have 2 of them.
It’s actually just over the border in Indiana! I’m not sure how far that is from you- my sister is in a south suburb.
flying is definitely not what it used to be! We have done a ton of traveling this year so I feel like a pro at this point. Admittedly, I am not wearing my mask anymore while flying. I also try to do carry on whenever possible bc of so much lost luggage lately. Sounds like a fun visit w your sister!
Yes, you are definitely a flying pro. I was trying not to check anything this flight, so that’s why I was so annoyed at having to check my carry-on! At least it didn’t get lost- that would have been the crowning blow.
I’m nervous about our flight on Friday, mainly because we are flying on Friday! At least we won’t check bags, and with Frontier since you pay for that carry-on, they better have room for it!
Love Luther’s brewey — and that sign. Looks like Luther would stare you down for treats, though!
I’m nervous about our flight on Friday, mainly because we are flying on Friday! At least we won’t check bags, and with Frontier since you pay for that carry-on, they better have room for it!
Love Luther’s brewey — and that sign. Looks like Luther would stare you down for treats, though!
Ha, I have a feeling that’s what was happening, so they had to tell people not to feed him. Yes- Friday will probably be a little crazy at the airport. But as you said, since you PAID to carry your bag on, they should have room for it. I’m sure they calculate how many bags they have room for. On Southwest it was kind of a free-for-all.
Ahhh, Luther! I love that glass and coaster. Would have had to buy that too! And sweet Gypsy. We have a cat who used to drink out of the sink, but he doesn’t anymore. So cute! Also, I think your healthy blueberry pancakes look awesome.
Yes, you would probably have liked our blueberry pancakes!
I love the Luther glass! So cute and what a fun memory.
I think the pancakes look delicious! I think sometimes people object to healthy versions of much-loved treats because they taste different…not because they taste bad.
Sorry about the hamstring; what rotten luck. Hope it works itself out quickly!
Thank you Elisabeth! My son is very familiar with my “healthy” versions of things and he’s not a fan, ha ha. That’s okay- more for me.
I flew this week and it went as smoothly as flying these days can go. My flight back was delayed about an hour but I was just glad it wasn’t canceled as I still hear about flight cancellations. I lucked out and had an empty seat next to me on both flights! I was surprised that happened with the flight out because it was the only empty seat on the plane, I think! Jackpot!
I didn’t mask on this trip since I recently had covid so it felt pretty pointless. I feel well protected but come August I will be back to masking. I would say that maybe 10% of people were wearing masks? It was very low.
Your trip sounded great though. Love that the brewery has a cat! Oh and our cat drinks from the sink, too, and often the kitchen sink! I am sure that disgusts some people!
Ha ha… I would have no problem with our cats drinking from the kitchen sink.
You really lucked out on your flights! I don’t think there was an empty seat on our plane at all. I probably wouldn’t have masked if I had just had Covid- it has to give you immunity for at least a little while… right???
Our Percy drinks from the bathroom sink but he only likes where the hot tap is placed (you know the UK still has separate taps in most places, right? We do have one in the kitchen sink) so we have to be careful. I love Luther, who has a look of Percy actually, a sort of entitled, looking-through-a-monocle expression. Ha! Sorry about the hammy and hope it’s feeling better by now. I picked so many red gooseberries from my friends’ allotment while they were away that I felt compelled to freeze half of them for them!
Ha ha… now I’m picturing Luther with a monocle.
When we traveled this summer ,we definitely still wore masks in most place… my parents and I were still “Covid virgins” (I am assuming you mean people who haven’t gotten it yet?) and I just try to be safe. I can see how people who had it and got through it okay are maybe less cautious, but I still don’t want to catch it.