Journal 3: September 15th

This week I flew to Portland, Oregon. It was actually my first time flying on a plane by myself, and my first trip out of state alone. I left SFO on the morning of September 17th and took off over the city. Everything got smaller and smaller, until I could see all of San Francisco like it was a miniature model. This made me think about the different map scales and got me wondering at what scale I was looking at the city as I reached higher and higher altitudes. At a certain altitude we flew into the thick clouds over the city and I couldn't see the ground level any more.

For most of the short flight I read a book, but as we got into Northern California/Oregon the clouds had cleared and I could once again see the land beneath the plane. I spend the rest of the flight looking out over the moutains and lakes and thought about how the lines would contour on a topographical map. Riding in a plane is a completely surreal and unnatural experience; it felt like I was seeing from a perspective that humans shouldn't see from, or something. I guess I just hadn't flown in a plane for a long time, but after this spontaneous trip alone I have a feeling that most of my extra money is going to be going towards travel from now on!