Labor Day ramblings

"Do you mind if I sit here ?", enquired this cute looking girl pointing to the vacant seat next to me. I concealed my elation and replied calmly, "not at all". I began to think of all the times that I have travelled by plane or train, praying that a babe would come and sit next to me...phewwww God had finally answered my prayers. Deciding not to lose a minute, I started the conversation complaining about the overbooked and delayed flight. She agreed with me and even before the flight took off the runaway we had exchanged decent bit of information about our travel plans and occupations. The girl was an undergrad from UC Berkeley and was travelling to Vegas to attend her friend's 21st B'day bash. The conversation slowly drifted from science to travel to cities and I was already cursing the fact that the flight from LAX to Las Vegas was only 1 hour long. But just as I was raising my expectations, she deflated them all with "......actually my Boyfriend also likes automotive stuff ...". We finally exchanged some pleasantries and parted ways in Vegas airport, admist sounds of the slot machines.

Waiting for my changeove flight to Albany, I prayed for a similar fate on my 4 hr flight from Las Vegas . But "Lady" luck is never on your side when you are in Vegas, instead a 60 year old couple settled beside me. I hid my disappointment as they greeted me and sat next to me, but without wasting time, I took out my 600M and started editing random stuff on it. After the long uneventful flight I finally landed in Upstate NY late on Saturday night.

I was overcome by a sense of Nostalgia as we wound through some lush green hilly areas enroute our home. The next day was overcast with the mercury in late 60s - perfectly crisp fall weather, and the weather made me look back fondly at my 2 years in similar setting in Pennsylvania. When you are in Souther Cal, you come to accept that clear blue skies and bright sun shine is the order of the day, and though most people like it, I would exchange it for the fall weather Northeast on any given day. The densely wooded hills and green terrain was really a treat for sore eyes - something which lower California could probably never boast about.

Sunday was capped with a nice cruise on Lake George. My heart lept, when I saw people parasailing on the lake on a gorgeous day. But 70$ would have left a big hole in my pocket and I decided against any adventure. The highlight of the trip, however, was the delicious homecooked food and sweets that I devoured, and I returned back to Los Angeles with a heavy stomach and a heavy heart.

On the flight back from Baltimore to Los Angeles, the flight was overbooked again, and I couldnt believe my eyes when this babe came and sat next to me. But she was not alone, her boyfriend followed her like a shadow, and by some cruel twist of fate, his seat was 2 rows ahead of us. It was then I donned the hat of a good samaritan and offered to switch places with the guy so that the love birds could sit next to each other. As I soaked in profuse compliments for my noble act, I resigned to the fate of sitting beside another 60 year old couple.

ps: Why do old people travel so much ?