Monday, December 17, 2012

Why I like the "A" seat...

North Kohala Coast
I have been away from home so many days this year!  I think I counted 240+ days away.  And these last few weeks, we've been on a roll!  Two weekends ago, Bob and I were in Nigeria.  One week ago today, we arrived home from Singapore for a couple of days before heading to Reno for last weekend.  Just got home today for about 36 hours, and head back to Singapore for next weekend, then to Manchester, UK for New Years, back to Singapore, on to California, and finally HOME in mid-January for a short break.

With the flights we took today, Bob is figuring he will have just passed 3,000,000 miles just with United Airlines / Star Alliance!  I'm a ways behind, but well past 1,000,000 miles.  That's a lot of "bottom time" on a plane!

So, it's always a treat to come back home.  When we fly in from LA or San Francisco, I like to reserve the "A" seat to get a front row view of my approaching home.  About 45 minutes out, I can begin to make out Mauna Kea, towering nearly 14,000 feet.  Today was a stellar day approaching the Kona airport (even tho we WERE delayed four hours out of San Fran!).  This blog has shots from the last 10 minutes or so of the flight, from North Kohala, over the Kohala mountains, the South Kohala and Kona Coasts with the mountains of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa in the background, and their black lava flows etching the landscape.  Lastly, the beautfiul Makalawena Beach just before landing.  Oh, I LOVE being here, if even for a heartbeat!
The Kohala Mountains (with one of my favorite all-time drives).  Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai volcanos in the background
The Kohala Mountains with the very distinct rainy / dry markation zone
The bend of the island with the deep port of Kawaihae
With Mauna Kea in the background, the ancient lava flows from Mauna Loa and Hualalai volcanos enter the sea
The beautiful Makalawena crescent beaches