When my mom and I visited Taiwan and China a few weeks ago, our itinerary included a lot of flights. First it was the flight from Louisville to Chicago to Narita, Japan to Taipei, Taiwan. Two weeks later, we flew from Taipei to Hong Kong to Beijing. A week after that, we flew from Chengdu, Sichuan to gorgeous Jiuzhaigou, and two days later flew back to Chengdu. A few days later we flew from Chengdu to Shanghai to Hong Kong back to Taipei, and then two weeks after that, we flew from Taipei to Chicago to Louisville.

Needless to say, I am now an expert of airports.

But there are a few times when I get to plan the flights by myself. Last year, I flew from Kent to NYC, and this past weekend I flew from Louisville to Philadelphia. There's something that I really love about airplane travel; maybe it's the fact that I feel like the whole world is available for me to explore. But what I love even more, is finding cheap flights. I feel like I win the lottery every time I find a cheap, short flight. My favorite websites and companies to check are: Airtran, Southwest, and Kayak. Also, did you know that Columbus has their own airplane service called Skybus that offers flights to major big cities for as low as 5 DOLLARS??!

Anyway, I just read an article about "mileage running", where people kind of do the opposite of what I do, and try to string together the MOST connections for the cheapest price. For example, one guy flew from San Francisco to Tampa via Los Angeles, San Diego and Washington, then back with connections in D.C., Seattle and Portland. It seems ridiculous and a huge waste of time, but he racked up 16,000 miles for his frequent flyer miles, and at the low low cost of $232. Incredible.

There's just something about airports and flying that makes me feel... independent and insignificant (if you know me, you know I hate attention). Everyone you see is in the process of going somewhere else; you get to see SO many people in such a short time. And while some airports are terrible and stuffy, you get the nice ones like Hong Kong and Singapore that just cater to the traveler with chapels, gaming rooms, massages... I wouldn't mind being a mileage runner. Not only would I get to see a lot of the world (and their airports), but after getting lots of frequent flyer miles and free flights, I would probably get to travel business and first class. Heh heh. I can't wait...