A quick little trip to Indianapolis yesterday. I've been there a number of times, last time commenting on the
new airport (which I like a lot). I used to do more one-day trips, but with how much of a hassle air travel has become and the cost of missing a meeting its more overnights now. So, yesterday's one day trip was more unusual than in the past. It makes for a long day, catching am 8:30 flight now means getting to the airport by 7 which means leaving the house by 6.
The January weather yesterday was quite nice, it was in the 40s when I was walking into the airport and the sun was hitting the Washington buildings from the low morning angle which brings out all the texture. I had a window seat on the small
Embraer 175 on takeoff on the side of the plane looking over the river, and we stayed straight off the runway long enough to watch the sliding show from low over the water and monuments to high above Wisconsin avenue over Bethesda. Just as Rockville was coming into view the plane banked to the west and we were up through the clouds and the ground then becomes that far away picture with no detail.
Indianapolis was cloudy and rainy the whole day, but it was a nice day and we discovered a new place to eat. A good meeting, then back to the airport.
The flight back was on the tiny Embraer 135, and there was solid cloud cover the whole time. The closing sunlight of the day created fantastic light against the cloud layer, and the whole flight back was a very sureal view of another planet. As we landed my seat was now on the wrong side of the plane facing Virginia, but we headed south of the airport to turn around a head up the river. The fading sunlight and the time of day when all the artificial lighting is turning on below created another beautiful visual experience as all the cars clogged the roads for rush hour and the cities were lighting up with their own nightlife. As the plane backed to the left to head up the river I could see where the Potomac dumps into the Cheasapeake Bay and could see much of the bay off in the horizon stretching up to the north.
As we came up to the runway the pilot had to make a last minute dip to the left to stay aligned which created that unnerving experience of watching the wing lean down to touch the water. This is more typical of the smaller planes, the larger ones have too much inertia for a manuvure like that. We touched down and the airport terminal whizzed by as it only can at DCA where the airport is so small.
The small plane stopped and we had to climb down the stairs to the little bus to take us into the terminal. The little plane was too small to be given a jetway, so there's a parking lot for them away from the terminal. I like getting off the planes like this as you get to stretch your legs on the tarmac and enjoy the smells and sounds of the airport in operation.
Not a bad day, with a good meeting with nice people and two nice little plane rides.
