Grounded Again: Why a Travel Writer doesn't want to Fly

Enjoying the clouds of northern New Mexico from the ground!

Each time I have one of these experiences, I swear off flying. Now don't get me wrong, I love Southwest Airlines. But stormy skies, both from New Mexico to Florida and return, coupled with rude passengers, led me once again to ground myself.

I won't bore you with the TSA process. Enough said in previous rants about disrobing only to be forced into a scanner that could see everything anyway!

Cattle Call
At some point in my life, I realized that I could no longer lift a full carry-on into the overhead bin without bopping a fellow passenger on the head. I put most of my travel clothing into my checked bag (Southwest doesn't charge for either of two checked bags) and carried on my purse and computer... that's all.

So when we lined up for the usual cattle call, I looked around. Passengers were wheeling elephant-sized bags, close to exploding garment bags, strollers and carrying huge purses. And two of those, they believed, counted as their carry-on luggage. There was so much luggage going into that plane that it was difficult to get in line!

Along with the unruly toddlers, tired moms and huge guys with huger carry-on luggage there were those important cell phone calls that we all had to listen to: "Mary, I swear he was so drunk I couldn't get him up this morning... I was all... John... wake up you b_____d!" "Yes, tell the staff to draw up a contract and fax it to me in Houston... and I expect it when I land." "Oh really... he said that?" "Well, I'm at the airport now in line but last night I puked my guts out so I'm not feeling all that great."

You get the drift... TMI!

Finding a Seat
Armed with my A boarding pass. I knew I'd find a window seat fairly easily. But it wasn't until we all waited for those women my age to find kindly assistance jamming their full, and very heavy carry-on luggage into the overhead bins. I quickly scanned the seats to see where the children were sitting and found what I hoped was a quiet aisle in the plane. I sat down to survey the continuing mass of people looking for places to stow their household goods. Well, that's what it looked like anyway.

The Flight
I watched out the window during the smooth take-off and soon noticed some clouds were building. I also noticed the associated turbulence and was rather happy for the short stop in Houston. Ahh land... and muggy land at that! Soon, after enduring yet another cattle call I boarded the flight to Florida and hoped that we would leave the storms behind.

A group of giggly young Texas girls got on and seated themselves behind me. They were busily finishing what seemed to be inane phone conversations. I was tired and had hoped for a nap. But no, they spent the entire flight getting to know each other, commenting on what brand they were wearing and continuing a three-way inane conversation. Given their mentions of college I surmised that they were not pre-teen girls after all. But the conversation sure fooled me!

And wait... there's more! Read Irene Levine's article on inflight nuisances.

Diversion #1
As the pilot kept skirting the building cloud formations and the young women chatted on... and ... on, it got rather turbulent. I couldn't tell whether or not the plane was making a beeline for Florida or not. As the landing time came closer and closer, the plane wasn't descending. I should have known.

When we did land and I wearily disembarked, a half hour late, my son, a private pilot, met me and showed me on his iPhone the route my plane had taken. It had been diverted way north in order to avoid storms. He knew I would be late. I had no clue. But, I was happy to be on the ground and heading home with my family for a visit. That night it rained but I was safely on the ground and sleeping well in the guest room.

Diversion #2
After an enjoyable visit with my family and a farewell luncheon dockside at the Safe Harbor Seafood Restaurant, it was off to the airport. I was certain that the tough flying was behind me. I hadn't checked the weather although I did hear something about winds in Albuquerque where I was headed.

What ensued was yet another storm-filled turbulent experience. This one was laden with danger but our Southwest pilots knew just how to handle the situations as they arose. We ended up circling Albuquerque which was filled with dangerous winds and dust storms, turning suddenly and heading back to Texas through a hail storm. (I've never experienced icing on the engines!). I shared the entire scary tale in my article High winds divert flights from Albuquerque Sunport: The experience in the air.

Grounded
So I have indeed grounded myself. As I gaze at the building clouds over northern New Mexico I see only beauty. As storms hover overhead, I am happy just to enjoy them and am thankful, for now, that I am not flying.

Blog vs. Article: Am I a travel writer? I think I am!

I recently was informed that I wasn't invited to cover an event since I was a blogger. I looked over the Internet articles I had written on the subject of the event and found that they were not first person, personal comments. So I felt they were articles and not blog entries. And, they were not from this Blog, Travel Writer Rants and Raves.

I had a look at what Wikipedia had to say on blogs and found their definition:

A blog (a portmanteau of the term web log)^[1] is a personal journal published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first. Blogs are usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often are themed on a single subject. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Travel Writer Rants and Raves is my personal journal of things I have thoughts or feelings about. I use it when I want to rant about a bad experience or rave about a good one. It is truly a blog.

I also write for Internet publications and, although I allow myself some first person comments, they serve mainly to represent my "voice" and indicate my recommendations. These articles is published to provide information to the reader and not to serve as my personal journal:

Current Work

Contributing Writer, Wander With Wonder

Contributor, Bindu Itineraries, covering San Juan Islands, Olympic Peninsula, Long Beach Peninsula, Kitsap Peninsula and the Columbia Gorge.

 Contributing Writer,  Real Food Traveler

 Contributing Writer, Northwest Travel and Life Magazine

 Contributing Writer: Gallup Journey Magazine  

 Writer, Sunset Magazine - Digital

Please have a look and let me know if you see a difference between a blogger and a writer when it comes to Internet writing. And, am I right in assuming my articles are articles and not blog entries?

New! Travel Writer T-shirts and Gifts

Via Cafe Press, there are some wonderful gift ideas for travel writers. Here's an example of one:

Link for this design.

Here are more ideas

Did Travel Writers get Paid to Write Nice Things About the Gulf Oil Spill?

There has been some interesting discussion about the press tour to the Gulf Coast and the "gushing" that went on by the travel writers who were sent there. Apparently the LA Times took issue with the positives that came from that trip. I have no idea what the writers saw on this press trip and if they reported their findings objectively. But let me tell you a bit about press trips and travel writers and how things ususally go.

Free Trips
Yes, travel writers are treated to all expenses paid trips. The CVB's hotels, and others who host the press trips hope that the writers will produce an article from the trip, but there is no requirement to do so. Quite often the writers are treated to excellent meals, fine hotels and more. This sounds a bit like a bribe but it really isn't. Travel writers are usually not well-paid. Many are free-lancers and never know where their next check is coming from. They absolutely would not be staying at the hotels, dining in the restaurants and traveling along the Gulf Coast without financial support. They flat out cannot afford it.

What Do They Report?
Travel writers, exposed to new destinations, hotels and restaurants, will probably find some very positive things to report on. After all, that is what the tour is going to show them. However, travel writers are professional journalists. They will not report positively what they do not feel positively about. There are journalism ethics and we do follow a code. We are not for sale.

LA Times Unfair
I believe the LA Times was a bit unfair in their report of the Gulf Coast press trip. Travel writers work hard during press trips and report on what they see. I do agree that their comments on how the oil spill crisis might have been over-played would prompt outrage among most of us. But their positive comments on lodging, meals and tourist destinations probably were well-founded. I'd be happy to join a press trip like this and see for myself!

What do others think?

Day 4 - I'd be safer traveling!

I'm still doing my best to keep from joining the masses out on the highways for the Labor Day Weekend. Instead I am laboring. But I got slowed down a bit today. While gardening, I tried to move a heavy potted cactus and sit it in another pot. Well, I ended up injuring a finger. Thus, the short note today. I'm not traveling. But would I have been better off on a trip?

Travel Writer's Block

I have a problem unique to travel writers, I believe. I have writer's block only in that I have so much wonderful stuff to write about, I can't start!

I want to go on and on about the wonderful Abiquiu Inn in northern New Mexico. I want to write about the potters I met there. I want to write about Nuclear tourism and feature Los Alamos. I want to write about the weirdly eclectic Monte Sagrado hotel in Taos. I want to update my Halloween material on About.com and the list goes on.

Anyone have a suggestion on where to start??