Low and Slow 

 Early Saturday morning we arose and went to the hanger. “oh boy, a ride ride in a sea plane!” I was thinking. Now I’ve been up in a small plane before…and flown over the spectacular views of northern Michigan…anywhere from Traverse City to the Straits of Mackinaw. It’s stunning. And I’ve flown from Charlevoix south to Michigan City Indiana, observing each and every small lake and pond on the way. From “way up there” the view is breath-taking.

Now the sea plane. When we drove to Alaska and came home on the Marine Highway, sea planes were everywhere…more plentiful than cars we were told. They seemed magical to me. Instead of pulling up to the restaurant in a car, many people arrived for breakfast in a sea plane.” How amazing would that be?” I wondered at the time.” I wasn’t yet adept at saying “Ill have some of that, please!”

Ahhh but last Saturday morning was my time. We boarded the plane.I got to sit in the co-pilot seat!. And off we went! The sides of the plane are plexiglass so you can see EVERYTHING! And the best? The plane flies low and slow. I mean a view of the tree tops from a regular plane, that’s something. But, for me, the view “up close and personal” with the tops of the trees and “skimming” lakes is altogether different. It felt to me as if I were a butterfly… examining every inch of that space between the Earth and the ski…between the “here and now” and “beyond the beyond.” This journey felt personal. I had tears of joy in my eyes most of the time…all the way down to south of Sleeping Bear Dunes…and after breakfast at a small hotel…back up along the coast of Sleeping Bear Dunes and Lake Michigan to Charlevoix. Ever since I have just hugged the Earth (literally some days when I’m down on my knees in the garden) saying, “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you” to the Earth for all it does to support me. And “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for reminding me to remember that sometimes it’s best to go “low and slow!”