I Like the Journey... When It's a Direct Flight

I flew to Raleigh, NC today to see my family. Whoever said that it's all about the journey probably meant something about stopping to enjoy your surroundings along the way; not just at your destination. I must say that I'm a fan of the direct flight. I will pay a little more for the airfare or fly at odd times if it means that I don't have a layover or a connecting flight. I enjoy my time on the airplane reading or flipping through magazines. I do not so much enjoy the time sitting in weird airports waiting for the next leg of my trip, or worse, running through an unfamiliar airport while praying I am able to get to the gate on time for the next leg of my trip.

Today I had a direct flight. (Yay, and thanks to, American Airlines.) The other people in my row were a cute family with a 14 month old little girl. They were very considerate, telling me to let them know if the little girl was bothering me. She was a cutie, and no bother at all. I made an origami cootie catcher for her and she giggled. (The cootie catcher is a variation on the fortune teller four-part folded paper. I didn't have a pen to write fortunes on the paper. At the tender age of 14 months, she wouldn't have been able to read it anyway.)

My flight landed a bit early, which is a rarity these days, if recent media reports are to be believed. My mom picked me up at the airport and took me to the closest grocery store to indulge my need for vegetarian-friendly groceries. Then we went to a nice dinner at Cafe Capistrano, which serves healthy California-style Mexican food. My vegetarian burrito was delicious and the cafe had a cute atmosphere with a big fountain in the center of the dining room and lots of brightly-hued artwork on the walls. It's kind of weird that I would leave a Mexican food mecca like Austin, and seek out Mexican food in Raleigh - not known for its good Mexican food - but my mom wanted to try the place too. We both liked it.