I recently had the unique privilege of riding with one of Seattle’s finest airlines: Kenmore Air.
I should start this article by saying there were two of us riding in this plane (along with six strangers) and one of us two might be terrified of flying.
That person was me.
Fortunately, this fear never stopped me from flying, but in the past I felt more at ease in larger commercial jets with a recognizable brand name on the side over a ‘puddle jumper’ or very small plane. I mean the turbulence... right?
So off we went; Brenda Baxter (Young Professionals of Seattle, VP of Events) and I, towards the land of small planes, gorgeous views and the scary unknown.
Before I hopped on the plane I had a quick adult beverage in hopes it would calm any irrational thoughts and make my fears unknown to the other excited passengers. It seemed to do the trick and before we knew it, Brenda and I heard our names being called for the 5:15 PM flight. Best of all, no airport lines or security; it seemed as though they cut out all of the not so fun parts about flying.
We hopped on to the plane. I immediately buckled in and got situated while everyone else was looking out the window and taking a ton of pictures. I mean, the view over South Lake Union was basically picturesque on this sunny Saturday night.
Before we took off, the pilot told us where all of the emergency exits, lights, signals, barf bags, seat belts, length of flight and what seemed to be way too much information for my scared little head to process.
I have to give a brief shout out to the pilot for navigating a waters among boats, paddle boarders, kayakers and birds for a safe flight takeoff. Once we were in the air, it was 20 minutes of breathtaking views and to enhance your flight, your headphones doubled as a recorded navigator, walking you through Seattle’s various history and landscapes.
Again, the views were really something to see, and being so high up, you get a real sense of just how vast Seattle’s east and west sides are. My favorite sites from above were: Gas Works Park, University of Washington Campus and Kirkland’s waterfront.
No surprise, I got a bit unnerved every time the flight seemed to wobble in the air and move about. Both Brenda and I dealt with this a different way, me staring out the window willing the plane to chill out, and Brenda feeling a bit nauseous towards the end of the flight. But, we couldn’t have been happier. It was such a great way to see and appreciate all that Seattle has to offer. The cherry on top? The landing was incredibly smooth.
So take a moment out of your schedule this summer and get to flying! We really think you will find a new appreciation for Seattle and all of its majestic views!
