The Name is Blue .... JetBlue

I never imagined that it would take a red-eye flight for me to find the time to post again. I got my 5year old slumped across my lap, my 7year old against the window, and across the aisle from me, the Mrs and our 1year old that has finally fallen asleep. She's been that kind of child with restless energy that makes passengers hate having to sit around adults with young kids, despite our best efforts to keep her entertained and engaged within the cramped confines of coach class on an A320 aircraft. Mission Impossible!

With them asleep I've found time to blog again. If only i could get online inflight - some airlines now offer the service (for a fee of course), but not our flight - then i would have access to my hundreds of posts sitting in draft that I've never gotten round to posting. The majority of them are stale by now and i should probably just delete them.

Are any of you the type like me that cant sleep on a flight? It doesn't matter the length of flight, the time of day, eastbound or westbound, or how tired i am before the flight, i just cant get myself to sleeping on a flight.

I once kept myself up till about 1am. I'm a last minute packer, unlike my wife who starts to pack a couple of days before. She hates me for that! Anyways, i started to pack at 1am, was done at about 2am, went to bed, was awake by 6am and out the door soon after to catch my midday flight from London Heathrow to LAX. My fantastic idea was that i would be so worn out that I'd fall asleep on the 10 hour flight. I was so wrong. It was the biggest traveling mistake i had done. I was so wasted, i spent the whole time jostling with myself about my seat dying to find some level of comfort enough to couple with my obvious tiredness to fall asleep but it just didnt happen.

Much as i love to fly and am a huge aviation enthusiast, i had never been so happy to get off a plane. My family who were waiting for me on the other side of clearing customs and immigration welcomed home a near complete cranky me. The excitement of seeing them again after several weeks kept me from being real moody long enough to get home and drop dead asleep.

Since that flight a couple of years ago, i never bother with myself. I go about my day as normal and just expect to stay awake the whole flight through as i am now.

The older two girls were over the moon when we told them we'd be going on holiday during the Thanksgiving break and we'd have to catch a plane to get to where we're going. Its been 4 years since we flew together, a flight my now 5year old was too young to remember a thing about. Our7year says she remembers bits and pieces. In that time its been one thing or another that has had me flying on my own and leaving them behind at the airport has always been a teary time for them. Yes, and me, whom they wouldnt make it any easier on. Wanting to fly again has been something high up on their wish list, especially my older daughter who has picked up on my own enthusiasm about all things aviation.

So we land in New York at about 5am, a little over 2 hours from now, and have close to a 3 hour layover before our connecting flight to Pittsburgh where we'll spend the Thanksgiving Holiday with friends. I'll take that time to upload this post, assuming i do get the time.

By the way, i never do get why the lavatories in a plane clearly have a "No Smoking Allowed" sign and then at the same time the airline provides one of those little ashtrays that you pull from the door, right below the no smoking sign. Doesnt that really defeat the purpose or do airlines leave them there for the sake of good ol days?

Happy Thanksgiving all, wherever you are spending yours, and to any readers that dont necessarily celebrate this very American of holidays.

Stay blessed.