Up, up and away.

 

Of all of the things we've done with our kids, of all the adventures we've had, they have never been on a plane before. They have never even been in an airport. So, when one of our local email deals came to us with an opportunity to fly to the San Juans for $25, we jumped on it. With our frugal flight and a free walk-on ferry ride back, we were hooked. We took our trip to Friday Harbor today and surprised the kids. We told them we were running errands and rushed them to the car. We hopped out at the airport, checked in, and Parks and Everly really didn't seem to think anything of it. We walked through a beautiful hanger on our way out to the runway and they started getting excited about the neat old airplanes stored in it. Still didn't think anything of it, though. And then we introduced them to our pilot Holly and told them she knows how to fly and we could get in her airplane. Oh, the excitement!

Now, the best part is that the kids were ELATED about this. They bounced around and looked at the airplane and were so thrilled. Then, as Parker was getting in the plane, Jeremy told him that Holly, was going to fly us to an island and we were going to eat dinner there. I managed to snap a photo at that exact moment. I think he went from excitement to total disbelief. They thought the big surprise was just looking at a plane and getting to poke their heads inside. There was a moment of  AREYOUKIDDINGME?! on their faces. Parker has forever wanted to fly in a plane. Everly very much enjoys pointing them out in the sky (same level of excitement in two different worlds?).

This was Parker's face when we found out he was going to FLY!

There were hugs and kisses and thank you's and buckling of seatbelts all around. These kids were ready to go. I remember being so, so, so very excited for something as a kid that it seemed like my heart would pound out of my chest and I couldn't believe it was going to actually happen, so I had to take my job very seriously. I think this is how they felt as Everly made sure she knew what a flotation device is and Parks read the map of the cabin of our 6 person airplane before we took off. So cute.

 

We flew into Friday Harbor and we had just a few hours to walk around and eat dinner and treat ourselves to icecream before the ferry left to head back. It was beautiful. We counted boats and islands from the air. And I can never get over what a gorgeous archipelago we live near when it's viewed from the air. It seems there are so many tiny little islands dotting the blue water that I could lose count of them all. We pointed out Sucia and the ferries and the houses and Parks kept exclaiming "They're so small! We're so high up!".

 

As we headed home, Parker kept saying "Hey dad? Remember that plane? I'm going to remember this day." He and Everly also gathered bits and pieces of everything in their path - flowers, apples that fell from a tree near the airport, feathers and rocks - to "help remember the day." It warmed my heart. I think this is the first time that they could sense that this was a special and remarkable experience for us to share. And we treasure it.