Nothing beats traveling. I got to go in the air puffer machine at the airport. Apparently I put the guy on edge by keeping my wallet in my back pocket. Then I was wearing a sweatshirt, and rather than take it off, he sent me to the puffer. A lady gave me instructions, but I didn't really hear her. So I did it wrong, almost causing an incident. She put me back in the puffer and I had to do it again. Meanwhile, Rachel was being instructed to remove Jonah's shoes....because everyone knows the most dangerous thing on any flight is a pair of size 3 baby shoes.
Then it was onto the plane. We sat across the aisle from a guy from Kenya. How do I know he's from Kenya? Well the people sitting next to him asked. He had an accent, so of course these two well meaning ignorants talked to him like he was retarded. Every question was asked louder and slower than normal. It was amusing and annoying at the same time. After they asked where he was from, where he was going and what he was doing in the States (as if he needed a reason), this moron asks the guy if he's a fast runner. Because he's from Kenya! Seriously? Do you ask everyone from Germany if they hate Jews? Do you ask every Australian if they have ever wrestled a crocodile? I mean how insulting and stereotypical can you get? Of course then his wife asks our friendly Kenyan if they celebrate Thanksgiving in Kenya. Why wouldn't the Kenyans celebrate the pilgrims having dinner with the native americans? It makes total sense! I felt awful for this poor guy, and a little ashamed of my fellow americans.
Traveling on Thanksgiving isn't all that bad actually. Our flights were full, but the airports weren't all that crowded. I will say that this charging for baggage thing has caused an increase in carry-ons, which I already hate with a purpose. The airlines would make more money if they just raised rates for the flight by $30...that way they could collect money from people without checked luggage as well. Plus, you'd eliminate people pushing the envelope with bags that barely fit in the overhead bins, and nobody would really complain.
The one drawback to traveling on Thanksgiving is being hungry when you land. Nothing is open. We weren't planning on having a big meal, because we didn't land in Milwaukee until 4:30, then had a 3 hour drive to Richland Center. Didn't leave a whole lot of time to prepare a turkey dinner. So we were going to eat somewhere along the way. The only place we could find open was a Denny's. Nothing says Thanksgiving like an all american slam in a mostly empty Denny's. There were a few elderly couples who probably had no family in the area and didn't want to cook for just themselves there, and one family that looked like they probably only ate turkey on Thanksgiving if they shot it themselves. That's about it. Good times.
