Eric's Beijing Diary

Just got back from Arizona. Melissa and I flew down there for Mom's birthday. It was a quick trip, and I was at first somewhat unsure how it was going to go, but the discount airline actually turned out to be more convenient than flying out of Portland.I suppose you wouldn't feel that way if you actually lived in Portland, but Melissa lives in Monmouth, so the drive to the airport in Eugene is actually shorter than going to the Portland airport, with a lot less traffic.

During the party we all talked with Little M who is in Japan with the JET program. It's becoming a small world.

Sunday morning we went to the Japanese church in Tempe, and I was telling a young lady there about our flight, because we had to leave right before church. She was excited at first when I told her what our tickets cost, but she changed her feeling about it when I told her that we were flying on a small regional airline. She said, "Oh, I don't like small planes."

I guess the term "small" is relative. They aren't small in the sense that a general aviation light plane would be. The MD 80 has been flying since the early eighties, so that makes them close to 30 years old, but they aren't really that much smaller than a 737. And quite comfortable, actually. But no frills. No meal, no snacks--you have to buy everything separately. That being said, the ticket price is a huge discount ($60 one way), so I think it's worth it. But, again, I say that in part because the Eugene airport is so easy to get to from Melissa's place.