Last Wednesday was sort of surreal. I had been looking forward to Alt Summit for months and it was finally upon me. Since missing my flight at O’Hare once before, I have a fear of missing flights, so we got to the airport pretty early, checked our bags, found our gate and settled into the chairs for an hour of waiting before it was time to board.
Despite being there over an hour early, we had a little scare when the gate attendant called our names over the loud speaker. Luckilly we were steps away and hopped on. Two hours later while still sitting on the ground, still number 2 in line for de-icing, I was laughing about ‘nearly missing the flight’ again. Like, really? Get a grip, Blair.
Anyway, I get really dehydrated on planes, so, when I remember, I bring a reusable water bottle whenever I go on trips. One thing I always forget is that whole pressure thing when the plane finally gets to cruising altitude.
Mid-flight I was too far deep in conversation with my new friend Megan, and completely forgot about that whole pressure thing. I flipped open the cap and water shot out like a fire hose into my eye, so I quickly turned, thus drenching the side of my head and then jerked it away from me, spraying the two elderly men in front of me before realizing what had happened. I had one of those moments where I was laughing so hard I could barely control myself. And then realized the sad truth, I was still dehydrated and no longer had any water.
Five hours after boarding the plane, we’d arrived in SLC with a short 1.5 hours to get a cab, get to the hotel, check in, dump our stuff, dry my hair, change clothes and head out to dinner. It was truly a whirl-wind from the beginning, but definitely a very memorable one.
