Hello there! Happy Thinking Out Loud Thursday! Today is our busiest planned day on vacation. We’re going to see the redwoods, head over to Sausalito, and do a nighttime tour of Alcatraz. So while I’m off being all touristy, I thought I’d share some travel-related (and a couple not-so-travel-related) ramblings. Thanks to Amanda for the link-up!
1.) For the first time in all the vacations we’ve gone on as a family, we were all packed up and ready around 45 minutes before we wanted to leave. It was the weirdest feeling. Honestly, though, it was really nice. We usually end up rushing around and, while my parents and I get along really well, travel is definitely something that can bring out the snippiness in all of us. Not this time (yet, at least 😉 )!
I still hate packing, though.
2.) Before our first flight, I ordered a Chicken Philly sandwich from Charley’s. I’ve had them quite a few times before and I really do like them just fine. Um… apparently I’ve never been the one to order, though, because I didn’t know I had to ask for provolone cheese; I just thought that was the default. Nope. That would be white American. Let’s just say I don’t think I’d ever had white American cheese before, and I definitely don’t care to again.
3.) Most of the flights I’ve been on, especially recently, have been super short. The flights to and from Chicago are under an hour. Personally, I like those, since I like to be able to get up and stretch pretty frequently. However, longer flights = more snack options. I have nothing against peanuts and pretzels, but some variety is nice. Granted, the variety is all in the form of 100 calorie packs, but it’s something.
The verdict: Cheez-Its are superior to Cheese Nips. Oh, and 100-calorie Chips Ahoy packs taste kind of like Chocolatey Chip Teddy Grahams.
4.) Let’s talk in-flight etiquette. If you see someone move to get up and go to the bathroom, should you:
A.) Rush to get to the bathroom before she does, forcing her to sit back down.
B.) Politely sit back down yourself and wait.
C.) Challenge her to a duel to see who should be first.
Correct answer? B! What actually happened? C! (Kidding. It was A.)
5.) And when you’re debarking? Unless you have a connecting flight leaving ASAP, it’s polite to let the passengers in the rows in front of you exit first.
6.) Time zone changes are not a huge deal when I’m moving from Columbus to Chicago and back again. It’s an hour earlier in Chicago than Columbus. However, it’s currently 2:15 pm in Phoenix and my body is telling me it’s 5:15 pm. So people here are just now finishing lunch and I’m thinking about dinner soon. Craziness.
What’s your favorite kind of cheese?
Cheez-Its or Cheese Nips? Did (do) you love Teddy Grahams as much as I do?
Any travel pet peeves?
Any other random things I should know?
Cheez-its are the BEST!!!! Right now, it’s my favorite go to snack. Agree with that whole bathroom thing on the plane. Have a great vacation.
Thanks so much, Mindy!
Cheez-Its are so much better! And that happened to me on a plane before. Once it was so blatant, that I actually stood in her empty seat and waited and then stared her down as she came back to her seat haha very passive aggressive, but it was on a long flight and I was cranky by then.
I kind of wanted to do something like that… but I’m not always quite that bold 😉
I used to love teddy grahams! You bite each body part off one at a time! the ears, arms, head, legs, torso!
Um, I did that, too. Is there any other way to eat a Teddy Graham? 😉
Yup yup, I’m not a fan of American cheese at all. And yes to Cheez-Its! I haven’t had them in forever, though. So much goodness <3
American is not on the list of cheeses I like! And yeah, I used to eat Cheez-Its a lot more as a kid than I do now, but they’re pretty tasty 🙂
Your bathroom tips are very relatable and funny ;). The thing I do not understand though is the incredibly tiny size they make airplane bathrooms. Just when I think I have imagined the smallest possible size for a bathroom, whenever I go in I am still always surprised to see that they have managed to make it even smaller.
I personally love window seats but my bladder does not- having to turn into a flying monkey in order to not disturb the passengers next to you is not a pleasant experience!
Haha I’m the same way. I love being able to see out the window… but not having to crawl over my fellow passengers when I inevitably have to go to the bathroom 😛
A nighttime tour of Alcatraz?! Eeeeee! TAKE ME! I’ve seen it during the day, but I’d seriously LOVE to go there at night. And my biggest flying pet peeve is probably when people hog the arm rests… or when they encroach onto my side. A girl wants her space!
It was so cool! Seeing the skyline at night was pretty fantastic, too. And ugh yes. I have a personal bubble that I’d prefer people didn’t encroach on 😛
Going from East Coast to Pacific time zone kills me! Seriously. The first time I ever did it, I was so sick the night we got in and was in bed by like 8 PM.
I can relate 😛 It makes for a loooong day.
Ewww! I can’t stand American cheese, and I didn’t know there was such a thing as white! I would have had a meltdown if it had been me. You are braver than I to give it a try! I don’t think I’ve had Cheese Nips before, but I do like Cheese-Its! I like Teddy Grahams, but I don’t know if I like them as much as you. 😉
Stick with the Cheez-Its. They win. 🙂
I am so jealous! I would love to tour Alcatraz!! Favorite kind of cheese is too hard…Provolone is truly one of my faves, but recently I’ve been really loving more aged cheeses also. Gouda is up there…ooh, and Asiago! Please don’t make me decide between cheeses…just all of them!! 😉 I’ve never heard of Cheese Nips, but I’m not super-fond of Cheese-Its, being more of a Wheat Thin/Triscuit (with cheese! 🙂 )/any kind of seedy or multigrain cracker type girl.
I don’t travel much, but something that really bugs me is on flights where they tell you not to ever get up unless the pilot turns off the seatbelt light…and then the pilot doesn’t turn it off for almost *the entire* flight!! And this is not a short flight! It was almost funny, but not, when he did turn it off, shortly before we landed, and it was of for all of probably 3 minutes. Like the entire plane that’s been needing to go for the last few *hours* can now mass exit to the restroom…oh, but wait, sit back down, ’cause we need to land. After a couple of times experiencing similar scenarios, I decided to just use my best judgement. It’s in everyone’s best interest anyway. 😉
I had two random thoughts Tuesday (thank you, after-workout-weirdness!), and I thought, “If I did Thinking Out Loud Thursdays, this would be the perfect seed of a post!”
1) I think pretty close to the dumbest adaptations in the world are the fly swatters shaped like hands. Why in the world? What’s the idea? Because there is actually *less* surface area with which to swat the fly! Maybe it’s so the fly will know that it was a human that hit him. 😛
2) Why oh WHY is it not socially acceptable to walk around talking like Batman??? I really, really want to, but somehow, I think that the mundane everyday things still wouldn’t sound cool even in Batman’s voice… 😛
3) Okay, and one more bonus Thursday-random-thought, because it’s on my mind due to cleaning the henhouse today: Chickens are shockingly messy and pretty disgusting. Coming from one who lives it. 😉
I love Gouda & Asiago <3
1.) I've never seen those! Weird.
2.) Haha I had a teacher who sounded like Batman whenever she was sick. It was hilarious 🙂
3.) Ick. That is all.