The thrill of elevation

I just got back from my first trip since becoming an Ambassablogger! I was so excited to travel through the Airport again and see it from the passenger perspective. My destination? Denver, the Mile High City!

It’s so fascinating to sit in the waiting area by the gate and watch everything going on. Inside the terminal here at San Diego International Airport, there were kids running around, exploring the area. There were families sharing a quick bite to eat before their journey. There was an enormous amount of cell phone chatter. There were folks trying to figure out the new Southwest Airlines boarding procedures. And my favorite sight was a father pointing out the airplanes on the airfield to his son of about five years, who was utterly fascinated.

There are numerous activities that occur on our airfield at any given time. Here’s a snapshot I took of my departing plane at Gate 8, with a taxiing airplane going by, an airplane taking off in the background and all kinds of ground crews prepping our plane for its flight.

We had a nice flight to Denver with only a little turbulence. That turbulence still makes my stomach turn sometimes! It’s always a nice feeling to land safely. I couldn’t believe how much open space and land surrounds Denver International Airport (pictured here). It’s quite a contrast to our airport, which is bounded on all sides by San Diego Bay, Interstate 5, the hills of Point Loma and the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Not to mention all the homes and businesses that surround us!

While I was in Denver, I went to the top of Pike’s Peak, the most-visited mountain in our nation. Pike’s Peak is 14,110 feet above sea level. My friend Stacy was impressed that we were higher than the clouds. It got me thinking about just how high we were compared to how high airplanes fly. According to the American Airlines Web site, the typical cruising altitude for one of their commercial Boeing 777 flights is 37,000 feet. In contrast, by checking out the website for local City of San Diego airport Montgomery Field, I found that Federal Air Regulations state airplanes must maintain a cruising altitude of at least 1,000 feet over residential areas.

I guess we were somewhere in between, but it sure makes you think about all of the air space out there that we take for granted. It also gets one of my favorite songs stuck in my head – Elevation by U2: “… you make me feel like I can fly … so high .. elevation!”