I have been flying on civilian airplanes since I was 18 months old. All shapes, sizes, models. Fixed wing, prop. You name it. When I was around 8 years old, Mumah and I went to visit my Grandparents in Florida. On the way home, there was a terrible storm that the pilot tried to avoid, but did not succeed. It was an awful flight, and I never forgot it.
I absolutely LOVE to travel. I love driving anywhere and everywhere. "Push the pedal down, watch the world around fly by us". I've been to California, Canada, the Bahamas, and everywhere in between. I'm the dog with it's head out the window wanting to see and experience everything the world has to offer. I adore the Travel Channel and want to be the female version of Anthony Bourdain. He's my hero, and in my honest opinion, the second coming of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson himself.
After that particular flight, I've always had trepidation about flying. But I always enjoy the excitment of getting on an airplane. I actually love to fly, but the whole fear of not being in control rattles my brain.
This brings me to the topic at hand: An impromptu trip to Amsterdam.
I'm excited, in a holy-crap-I'm-going-abroad-for-the-first-time-in-my-life kind of way. Amsterdam would not have been my first choice of European cities to visit. France, London, Rome. YES. Amsterdam has this haze (yes, puns a go-go) of strange press for it's tolerance of marajuana use. I'm not even interested in the weed, space cakes, mushrooms, or any other drug laden edible that can be thrown at me. I am interested in the food, the canals, the beautiful architecture, and the culture. Mostly, how Europeans exist and live.
I'm terrified to get on an airplane for that long, over the "Pond", and to another Continent. This should be a time of great excitment. But my brain cannot shut off about the "what ifs". I know, very deep down in my soul, that it is not my destiny to be ended in an airplane crash. But I will always worry, as a dog worries a bone.
In order to be forward thinking, embrace the chance of a lifetime, and just stop worrying about what is out of my control, I should drink some wine, smoke some weed, and quit whining about the "what ifs", and be grateful for a once in a lifetime experience.
Cheers.
LMS
