Carys & Cailyn Go Flying

As a child, I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my grandfather. If that wasn't enough of a treat, my grandfather is a pilot. I logged a lot of flight hours in my childhood, and always hoped to garner my own pilot's license. Since I'm now approaching 30 with very little free time, I'm sure that I won't ever get that license. But it's something I've always wanted my children to experience; not just flight. Anyone can get on a plane. I wanted them to have the same memories I have of my Papa; their great-Papa.

So, this weekend, we did it. I thought I had a firm grasp on who would enjoy their first airplane ride more -- definitely Carys since she's my thrill seeker. But wouldn't you know, Cailyn turned out to be my little aero-nut. They were both extremely excited and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, although Carys took a little more time to warm up to the thought of being so high above the ground.

Chad is planning to go skydiving in the next month or two, and we used this little excursion as a precursor to that. We know he handles commercial flights well, but we weren't so sure about a smaller plane. They feel a lot different in the sky, and we needed to know if the extra movements and sensations would trigger extra anxiety for Chad. And, the girls have never flown. They always want to, but we rarely go anywhere via plane. We did a quick trip to South Carolina and had lunch, then flew back.


We traveled down to my grandfather's house on Saturday. It was a beautiful day - not a single cloud, so the visibility was unlimited up in the air. After a perfect take-off, Carys leaned over to me & shouted: "I really like this Mommy!"
After reminding her for the third time that she didn't have to yell into the headphone mic, she felt her first bit o' turbulence. It wasn't bad, just a tiny bump - but it was enough to silence her for most of our 20 minute flight to South Carolina. I kept asking her if she was okay, but she didn't seem like she was enjoying it too much. She has a firm grip on my hand, and each time we were bumped by the wind, her grasp got a little tighter.


Cailyn was glued to the window the entire trip. She was mesmerized by how tiny everything looked, and was thrilled to see the plane's shadow on the ground so far below us. She loved seeing the "itty-bitty cows" and the "teeny-tiny twees".

Carys got a little more relaxed after I told her we were almost at our destination. I think she actually started looking out the window at this point.
Both girls were most excited about lunch - a little place called Stanton's BBQ right outside of Bennettsville, SC. They thought it was absolutely fantastic that we were flying to lunch and not driving. I think the promise of lunch was the only thing that kept Carys from wanting to land shortly after take-off.

After lunch, we headed back. The Lanford crew was a lot more relaxed this time around, and the smallest crew members even took a nap on the way back.

Chad did really well on the flight - so we're getting ready for jumping out of a plane soon. Well, I say "we" but it's probably only going to be "he". Chad is trying to persuade me to jump also, but I'm not 100% convinced yet.