Geeking Out Across America
Introduction
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things
”High Flight” By John Magee Jr.
Just like John Magee, I too longed to slip the surly bonds of earth for as long as I can remember. Most boys dream of becoming a professional athlete when they’re young. Not me. I wanted to be a pilot. Rather watching sports on TV or attending the events live, I spent my spare time watching “Wings” on the Discovery Channel and going to the airshow held at our local Naval Air Station. Just about every book I read was aviation themed, to the chagrin of more than one of my elementary school teachers during book report time. I can’t explain why, but I absolutely love all things aviation. I still get excited whenever I board a plane; it doesn’t matter if I’m seated in 28E on a MD-83, or 1A on a Cathay Pacific 777-300ER... I kid of course, but you get the gist. The best way to epitomize my aviation obsession is watching a Boeing 747 fly. It’s amazing how such a large object can get off the ground, and complete a journey that historically took months, or some cases years to complete, in the matter of a few hours. To think a little over one hundred years ago humans were still trying perfect the art of powered flight.
As if my aviation obsession wasn’t geeky enough, I am also huge history buff earning me more flak from my then immature peers. Then I turned 13 and realized girls liked jocks. So I decided to mend my wayward ways, and go out for football. At my first practice, I went out for a pass and woke up 10 minutes later. I took that as a sign to remain true to my not so cool roots, and that worked out pretty well; depending on whom you ask, of course.
During family trips when I was a kid, my parents went out of the way to satisfy my geeky hunger pangs, visiting places like Gettysburg, the National Naval Aviation Museum, National Air and Space Museum, the USS Alabama, and Plymouth; much to the annoyance of my sister. However, there are still a few places I have yet to visit including Pearl Harbor, National Museum of the US Air Force, and National Air and Space Museum Annex (near Dulles). Since December of 2012, I had the opportunity to visit a couple of those places, and then some, thanks to a combination of work related travels and mileage running. Now, this wouldn’t be a proper FT TR without a review of flights and hotels, so I’ll toss a few of those in there.
Previous Trip Reports
Around The World and From Sea to Shining Sea (AA F/Y, CX F, SQ F, UA F, DL F, WN Y)
Everybody look at me because I'm sailing on a boat (KL J and DL Y)
Last edited by dat4life; May 21, 2013 at 10:35 am