The Northwest is one of the most beautiful parts of the country in my opinion. One thing I notice when I'm there is that aviation plays a much greater role in day to day life. Driving down Interstate 5 north of Seattle, you can see personal and passenger seaplanes taking off and landing alongside you in one of the many offshoots of Puget Sound. Its a beautiful sight at sunrise with the Seattle skyline in the background, a snowcapped Mt. Ranier out in the distance, and rugged pine-tree covered terrain all around. The flying I'm sure is challenging, given the weather and terrain, but you can't beat the view from the air. Months ago I took a Horizon Air flight at dawn from Bellingham (KBLI) to Seattle. It was amazing seeing the activity down in the Puget Sound below. Tankers, trawlers, seaplanes, making there way around the San Juan Islands. When I was a kid, I went to Orcas Island with my mom and her friend, and remember seeing orcas (killer whales) from the ferry. They seem so majestic out in the wild compared to seeing them at Sea World. Maybe I'll go kayaking out in the Sound someday and see them a little closer (but not too close).

I would love to get a flying job up in the Northwest someday. The experience I gain would be amazing, and the views even more so. One of these days I want to take a San Juan Airlines flight out to one of the islands and see how the operation works.

I will be up in the Northwest until Tuesday, so this blog will probably not be updated until then. Stay tuned though.