Man it was a dreadful flight...

We bade farewell to our condo at 6:45 Seattle Time. It was dark and drear outside.

We used the limousine service that we realized was only a few dollars more to take than the Airporter and much more comfortable. Our favorite driver is a very amusing Russian guy with that ironic sense of humor they have. However, this time we got The Silent One, the driver of few words. He looks faintly like Liberace but is stolid.

Anyway, as usual I refused to go through the blue X-ray box at security. I had a nice chat, though, with the TSA official. She was very  friendly, and we had quite a discussion about how cold and lacking in sun Seattle is. She lived in Honolulu for a while and misses the beach life there. And we were even joking around. There are some advantages, I always think, to appearing as harmless as I do.

So far so good, eh? Well, about three hours into the flight we started rocking and rolling, and it went on for 45 terrifying minutes. I'm not exaggerating. I know terror when I feel it. The plane went up and down like an elevator. It shook and shimmied. And sometimes it went up and down and shook and shimmied all at once. It was like being on  a rough Jeep trail. This has never before happened to me in all my years of flying.Maybe bumpiness going on for a few minutes, but not for 45 minutes!

I hope never again to have that kind of experience. I got this, "You were scared? Not me." reaction from Terry. Yeah, right.

Margaritas and Mexican food at Rueben's helped. It's been getting lousy reviews from spoiled Yuppie twits on Yelp, always the sign of a good restaurant. "The help did not tug their forelocks enough." "They charged extra for the chips and salsa." "The food had fat in it. Ugh!" Yes, they cook with  (gasp) butter! And Sue's margaritas always knock me on my ear. Which was what I wanted at that moment! Sweet oblivion.

I do appreciate that not just Ruebens but downtown Hilo in general can shock a higher class of people. You may not have a guy in dreads playing the harp on the sidewalk in your town. But then again, maybe you do.

Today I have adrenaline poisoning. Ugh. But we had a good breakfast and are now going to pick up the cat from the boarding kennel.

Comments

[Brandon]

Welcome back.

The last time I've been on a plane was 4 January 1993, returning home from Honolulu.

What airline did this bumpy flight happen on?

"I do appreciate that not just Ruebens but downtown Hilo in general can shock a higher class of people. You may not have a guy in dreads playing the harp on the sidewalk in your town. But then again, maybe you do."

Downtown Hilo is not completely gentrified, and different businesses are next to one another. The man with the harp used to be at Borders a lot, and I sometimes see him in front of OfficeMax. He's very genial.

I've never been to Reuben's but Lucy's is pretty good.

[Hattie]

Brandon: It was Hawaiian, but any airplane flying across the Pacific was similarly affected, I'm sure. Yes, the man with the harp is very nice and chatty. I dunno. I just think people are nicer here and more accepting of eccentrics. BTW: Where should I leave the Seattle reads?

[Cop Car]

Hattie--I'm sure that had your crew had the option, they would have chosen a higher altitude to get you out of the chop. Fortunately, those of us who are responsible for assuring the structural integrity of aircraft know almost all (I'd say all, without qualification; but, nature sometimes teaches us a thing or two) about the gusts that aircraft fly through. We have excellent incentive to assure that we do our jobs well, too - we fly on the product!!!

[Annie]

Aloha! Love your take on Hilo and the reaction of snooty visitors. Spot on! We live in Papaaloa, and we adore Hilo, for all the reasons some visitors do not!

[Brandon]

You could leave the newspapers at the Museum (open M-Sat. 10-4:30) but I've been sick since Wednesday and don't expect to be back until later in the week.

[Hattie]

Sorry to hear you are sick. Get well soon.