For those who may not know, I fly non revenue on a stand by basis by virtue of my wife’s travel benefits. It’s definitely cheap, but is usually wrought with stress. It’s almost impossible to check a bag, you are usually not sure if you’ll even get on a flight so you bite your nails for hours waiting to see if you can squeeze on and then sit between two sumo wrestlers while your wife rides shotgun to the lavatory, but again the price is worth any discomfort. There are those times when the planets align and the fates smile down on you. Today was one of those days. I was given seat 3D on flight 1032, THAT’S FIRST CLASS BABY! Boy what a great way to fly. I didn’t even need to starve! Dinner was served and I drank 5 times as many diet sprites as I would have in coach. The ride so smooth and quiet from the front of the plan and the views are incredible when the wing isn’t in your view.
That view made for a dream of a climb as we left SLC. The sun was just fading behind Farnsworth Peak as we taxied into position, as we hit V1 and rotated, we broke through the low lying smog and were greeted by a fabulous view of the Wasatch Mountains bathed in a peach glow from the setting sun. The haze below us blanketed the valley and made it seem as though it were a barren wasteland stretching out below us. We turned right and flew over the familiar dirt roads atop Bountiful Peak where my Jeep and I have spent hours watching the planes that seemed so close from that vantage. From this 737, it seemed like that skyline trail was just a few feet away, and it probably was only a few hundred feet below. It was one of those euphoric flying experiences that make you feel like waxing poetic about the glory of God and wonder of flight. Oh… sorry.
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