Summer Vacation: Don't think about Niagra Falls, the Pacific Ocean, Running Water...

We were on the plane. Buckled in. Hungry, thirsty, and really needing to pee, but on the plane and ready to go. Everyone was strapped in, waiting for the plane to move when the pilot came on the PA and said there was a problem with one of the beverage carts - that it wouldn't lock into place, so we had to wait for another one to get delivered. In the meantime, everyone had to stay in their seats. About 30 minutes later, the cart was delivered and installed, and we were ready to go.

Well, we were ready, in any case.

Apparently we had lost our place in the take off line because of waiting for the beverage cart, so when we did get to the take off strip, we were behind 17 other planes (I am not kidding - they told us this over the PA). I have mentioned that I really needed to pee, right? Now, I am an adult and can control things better, but Willow started squirming in her seat and saying she had to go as well. I tried to tell her that there was nothing we could do - that we had to wait - but you can imagine how well that went over.

About thirty minutes after that we get in the air, and I'm hoping and praying for the seatbelt sign to turn off so I can make a beeline for the bathroom. It doesn't. What happens instead is that the pilot comes on the PA again and says that they are expecting turbulence, so they are leaving the seatbelt sign on indefinitely. WTF!?! The attendants come by with the beverage cart (incidentally, the only time they come by during the 5 hour flight), but since we are in row 6, the attendants have to go the entire length of the plane before we can even think about getting to the bathroom. Willow is about crying at this point, saying her tummy is hurting from having to go. There is a bathroom in first class, but the first class attendant is standing guard (I am so not kidding here), not letting anyone from coach into first class.

We have been on the plane for about and hour and half by this point, and I am starting to feel crampy - I am whipping my head around every 2 minutes to see how much further the beverage cart has moved. Once again, the pilot comes on the PA, telling people to stay in their seats because of the expected turbulence (which never did come). I couldn't take it anymore. The cart was at about the third to last row, and I got up, pulling Willow with me. We get to the cart and the attendant says, "Ma'am, you will have to sit down - the seat belt sign is on." I said, "No - I am 4 months pregnant and I am about to wet my pants." Magically, those words worked! The moved the cart out of the way, let me and Willow through, and blessed relief! Andrew said I must have caused a revolution, because after we stormed the bathroom, there was a line up when we got out.

The rest of the flight was rather uneventful - we didn't have much in the way of amusements because there were no movies (or TV screens on the plane, for that matter), and Andrew had the portable hard drive (and was a few rows back), and our plane, which we were told would have WiFi, didn't. Willow and I napped for a bit, and then woke up as we were flying over the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and then saw this:



I knew we were getting close by this point - mountains mean we are getting close to the West Coast. I really miss living near the mountains. The highest point around here is the building I work in. Here's another shot:



Cool, right? I love the setting on my camera where I can take pictures through glass and not have it reflect.

Coming up next: Landing in Seattle and heading over to the Island.