I’m privileged to have had the opportunity to travel to North America several times in a relatively short time, and on each of those times I seem to have transited the country in different ways. By train is good, but it can only get you so far; good luck trying to get anywhere in the Midwest on time, and at a reasonable time. By bus, I’ll say that it’ll get you where you’re going and that you get what you pay for, and nothing more. Flying, therefore, would seem to be the most efficient option, though certainly not one for the traveller looking to budget. A couple of weeks ago, after finally getting my passport, I was able to complete a trip I’d been planning for three years to reconnect with familiar faces and acquaint myself with new ones. I was not looking to budget, but based on the number of hours I spent in the air, I was apparently looking to get DVT. :)

When flying, I always prefer to get a window seat. I can see the merits to the aisle seat, but I negate the main benefit I’ve heard (namely, of being able to relieve oneself without disturbing other passengers) by following that old piece of childhood advice of “go before you leave”. Sure, in the window seat you have to wait for your row-mates to disembark before you can get out on arrival, but for me getting views like those you see above easily makes that little inconvenience worthwhile.

For your interest, these views are (from top left to bottom right):
- Take off run from Heathrow, Air Canada 787 (I spy a Concorde sitting beside the runway)
- Arrival in Toronto Billy Bishop, Air Canada Dash 8 (turning onto final below the CN Tower’s viewing deck never gets old)
- Overflying Pittsburgh, Delta A320
- Overflying Mississippi, Delta 717
- Final approach Las Vegas, Allegiant A320
- Outbound Las Vegas, Delta A321
- Final approach Reno, Delta E75L
- Outbound Reno, Delta E75L (Lake Tahoe in all her Lake-y glory)
- Overflying Nevada, Air Canada 787
- Outbound Toronto, WestJet 787 (can ya guess where the lakefront starts?)

Hope you enjoy!