Postcard from 35,000 Feet

A few years ago, my friend Susan and I flew from Spokane, to Calgary, to London on an overnight flight over the pole. The first leg of the flight was on an Air Canada puddle jumper to Calgary. Then we boarded an Air Canada jumbo jet for the long journey to London. However those big planes ever get off the ground is beyond me…but am just glad this one did.

We got lucky as they put us together in the very last row of the plane…which had only 2 seats instead of the usual 3. So we had a great time back there…and the flight attendant liked us and kept bringing more wine and drinks whenever we wanted. We both imbibed more than usual, hoping it would help us sleep before we arrived in Great Britain. It sort of worked, but sleeping on any plane is never easy.

The sunrise woke woke me up and I managed to grab this shot. For once, I got a sunrise above the clouds. You can just make out the Air Canada Maple Leaf on the tip of the wing.

They schedule many of the London flights from North America to arrive in the morning. After landing at Heathrow, we took a hotel shuttle down to our hotel right at the very edge of Hyde Park, near Marble Arch. Our bodies were totally confused as to the time of day…and we were not ready for a nap.

So we walked across the park, right in the middle of an anti-American protest. Our goal was to visit Harrods in Knightsbridge, have lunch, then head back across the park…which is what we did, dodging protestors all along the way.

I think we managed a small nap in the late afternoon, but of course our body clocks were so messed up at this point that a good sleep never happened. In the evening, we took the Tube down to Trafalgar Square to attend a concert at St. Martins in the Field.

It was wonderful…except both our body clocks kicked in to tell us it was night time and that we were totally exhausted. I think we both slept through most of the concert. We managed enough energy to get to the Tube and get back to our hotel…where slept like the dead. But the good news was our bodies were now on European time.

(To see a larger version of this photo, just click on the image)

To see more of my work, both in photography and digital painting, please visit my website, www.corkrum.com