My most favorite way of travel is by plane. Not only does it tend to be the quickest mode of transportation, but it forces you to be in situations that you wouldn’t normally be in. I had my layover in Salt Lake City. I have driven through and spent a little amount of time in Salt Lake City, but have never been in the airport. I feel, at least from my experience travelling, that an airport tends to be a place where the city of which the airport is located, can really show itself off. It would be like one large billboard for that city. Knowing that I would never have normally flown into this airport, I was excited. Well, that excitement is over, but it was a great productive layover and I saw a bit of what the Salt Lake City tourism division wanted me to see.
Another reason I love flying is because it really forces you to interact with people who wouldn’t commonly cross your path. It can happen in a layover while you’re getting something to eat, or on the plane with the person seated next to you. That is what happened with my one my flight from Salt Lake City to Austin. I met Jaden.
At first she was a little hesitant to talk. I could tell she was a little nervous about flying so I just kept to myself until I had something I had to share with somebody. This happened to be that I was not thrilled about the Jimmy Choo luggage that had recently been launched. She laughed and then I got to ask her what she was going to Austin for? She was going to go see her boyfriend of three and a half years. He has been busy on the road, so they haven’t seen each other in quite a while. Once they are both in Austin, they are going to drive to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. She lit up when she told me this and you could tell that she needed a vacation.
Jaden has a daughter, Aurora, who is six years old. We talked about what it really does to someone to have a child at such a young age. Jaden was able to handle the responsibility but of course sacrifices get made. Her boyfriend also has a child so it is a great thing in common for them and it helps them get over the bumps of the relationship. That is why they decided on Austin, because his son is there.
The final leg of their trip is to take the train back to Idaho, but first stop and see her grandfather. This part of her story sort of got jumped over, but when she mentioned it, she paused. I hope that whatever the situation, she gets the best possible time with her grandfather.