DAY 1: ORLANDO TO WHITEFISH
Hearing the alarm buzzing at 5:30 this morning was how my day started. Following a shower and some last minute packing so we could get out the door at 6:20 to head to MCO (Orlando Intl). Arriving at the airport, we did the curbside service to get our baggage checked. $25 dollars later, we were on our way to security then to gate 42 to catch United flight 739. Once we said our good byes to my dad, we were on our way. We blew through security pretty quickly; we got to the gate and started boarding the plane. As usual I went up and talked to the pilots and told them about how I want to fly for the airlines and how I’m going into the Coast Guard, they loved the idea and wisedh me luck.
If you have ever traveled, you should know, nothing exciting happens from when you are seated to take off. Takeoff was really smooth and the plane got a good view of Disney from my side. I had to entertain my self for this four and half hour flight. I managed to do some video editing and started to watch Inception, which I think was a great movie. I wasn’t able to finish the movie though because we had to turn off all the electronic devices.
The approach was a little bit bumpy and the landing was smooth. Overall it was a great flight. Once we landed, we had to wait our turn to exit the plane. Once we were out, we checked the departure screens to see what gate our connecting flight was. Of course the flight was on the other end of the building, so we had a long walk ahead of us. Once we were there, I found a nice seat so I could plug my laptop in and just stretched out my legs. Our layover was a about an hour and half. Once it was time to start boarding, I headed up to the flight deck and talked to the pilots once more, somehow we got on the subjects of stuff happening to the planes when they were flying. After that I took my seat and got settled in for the hour flight ahead. I watched the end of Inception and played some games on my iPhone for the rest of the duration.
It was a really beautiful approach coming into Kalispell, MT. The scenery is much different than Orlando. It was another nice smooth landing, but they didn’t have a jet way so we were able to step off into the tarmac. I took a few photos of the plane and got all my stuff to drag around. Once we got our rental car and our baggage, we were on our way.
- My Mom and I on the tarmac after getting off the plane in Whitefish, Montana.
- The plane that flew us into Montana. It was a pretty small airport, no jetway needed.
- In the terminal, there was a painting that said "Welcome to Montana" which was a nice signt to see right off the bat.
When we left Kalispell, We headed up to Whitefish to find our hotel. I put the address in my phone for the GPS. Of course, it puts us way out of the way and nowhere near the hotel. Once we figured that out, we did a U-turn and headed in the right direction.
Once we finally made it back to the hotel, we decided to get some lunch and we decided to get some Chinese food. I got some Kung Pao chicken and some soup. Once we finished that, we headed over to the hotel to check in our room. We got our entire luggage in the room and just sad on the bed and watched some TV. The weather turned pretty nasty. It started raining and hailing. It lasted about an hour then it cleared up. I worked on the website and looked at some photos I took. Once we decided to get off our lazy butts, we headed over to Wal-Mart to get some water and a cooler so when we go out we will stay hydrated. We stopped on a few places on the way there and back so I could photograph the scenery and wildlife. We saw a bunch of deer just roaming around in someones yard. It is incredible out here! Once the sun went below the horizon and it was getting to dark, we packed up the stuff and started to head back. Once we were back, we cleaned up the room a little bit and got ready for bed. Once that was done and over with, we snuggled under the warm covers. I just want to say that I love my parents and we wouldn’t be having this amazing trip without them.
- Our retnal car out in the elements while we were inside the dry room.
- This is the hail that was coming down during the little storm we had. 
- While driving around, we were found this little road that lead to beautiful view of the mountains.
- As the sun set, The clouds and the after rain spray created a nice landscape to look at.
- When photographing the landscapes, we came upon this very nice house with the nice setting sun.