Things I Love (and Dislike) About Airplanes, Hotels, and Long Car Rides

Things I Love About Airplanes

First of all, I love airports.  I love that feeling you get when you pass through security and you know you're about to embark on a really cool journey.  I love watching planes take off.  I love seeing planes land safely.  I love all the neat stores and restaurants in the terminals.  I especially love the stores that sell snacks and books.  There's nothing better than having your pick of a good book and a delicious snack.  I love traveling with a group of friends and taking a bunch of silly pictures while you're waiting for your flight.

There is also a part of me that loves traveling by airplane.  I love that I feel like some amazing daredevil whenever I board a plane.  I love being able to sit and watch the world pass by while I listen to my iPod (that goes for car rides also).  I love seeing clouds from a new perspective.  I love that you get free snacks and drinks.  I love that flying gives me not only the opportunity to see new places but also to step outside of my comfort zone (in other words, off the ground).

At the Alamo.

Things I Dislike About Airplanes

Since the word "hate" is very strong and I want to reserve it for things I actually hate (such as flying cockroaches and Hagrid from Harry Potter), I'm going to use the word "dislike" instead.  I don't like that feeling you get when your ears pop.  I don't like being closed in such a small space with so many people, especially if I don't know them.  I don't like hate turbulence.  I don't like feeling like the plane is slowly slipping backwards.  I especially don't like that I get dizzy almost every single time the plane makes that leap through the clouds.

Things I Love About Hotels

In high school, I went on a lot of band trips.  Yeah, I was one of the cool kids.  Anyway, we stayed in a lot of different hotels.  Most of them were great.  Some of them, eh.  The last hotel I stayed in was one of the "eh" ones.  Still, there are several things that I love about hotels.

I love the way hotels smell.  It's sort of a cool, clean, citrusy smell.  I love that most hotels have really great swimming pools.  I love that most hotels have really nice bathrooms and bathtubs.  I love the way the sheets and pillows are always cold.  I love the free soaps and shampoos you get.  I love how it feels to live out of a suitcase.  I love that most hotels give you a free breakfast.  I really, really love breakfast.    

Things I Dislike About Hotels

I don't like sleeping in the same room as other people.  I really don't like sharing beds with other people.  I know, I'm going to make a great wife one day.  I don't like it when you can hear other people moving around in the middle of the night.

Things I Love About Long Car Rides

I love looking out the window and watching clouds, places, and signs pass by.  I love listening to music.  I love stopping at fun roadside places like gas stations.  I love driving at night and early in the morning.  I love how your mind seems so much freer on the road.  I love having my notebook with me on the open road and jotting down new ideas.  I love the stupid jokes and road trip games that stem from being in the car for too long.

Things I Dislike About Long Car Rides

There isn't a lot I don't like about long car rides, unless we're talking more than say, sixteen hours.  Band trip to Disney World in high school took a grand total twenty-two hours and I didn't sleep once on the road.  I can't sleep in cars or in planes.  The only thing I don't like about long car rides is having to use a lot of fast food restrooms.   

*All photographs © copyright by Jacqueline E. Smith.