May 6 - Flying the Friendly Skies

About 5:30 p.m., it was finally time to head to our departure gate. Sandy and I had timed it earlier as being a 10-minute walk which wasn't bad. But we got offered a ride on one of the golf carts, so never being ones to turn down a new experience, we hopped on and laughed all the way to the departure gate.

While at the gate, the pilot for the plane sidled up to us (must have picked out the four most gorgeous ladies in the crowd of 300 people) and told us to come up the cockpit for a visit once we boarded. And he was serious about it! We were flying United Airlines to Cape Town.

So, as soon as we got to our seats, we dumped our gear and headed to the cockpit. We got to sit in the pilot’s seat and pose with the crew. We giggled our way through the experience. Then one of the crew opened up a door and let us go up to pilot sleeping quarters. Now there’s a part of a plane you never get to see. Kudos to United for being so warm and welcoming. Their motto is “Fly the Friendly Skies” – now we see why!Read more