This is not a minivan
This is, in fact, the view from the last seat of the Cape Air flight from Owl’s Head Airport (officially it is the Knox County Airport in Rockland, Maine, but everyone call’s it Owl’s Head after the nearby little peninsula and light house) to Boston.
In the past, I’ve had some fairly hilarious conversations about traveling out of and in to Maine. Two years ago, I had the great good fortune to teach at the Lowell Quilt Show, in Massachusetts, and ate dinner several nights in a row with a great bunch of teachers (lots of laughing, lobster, and some wine!). One of the teachers said “well, I travel out of a very small airport, we have only ten gates.” I just looked at her and blurted out “that’s nine more than we have!” We all laughed out loud…then I added that our airport is actually an old double-wide manufactured (mobile) home:
Yes, that white and gray building is the airport. All of it. It leaks. It is creaky. The carbuncle / bumpout on the back is the extra waiting room added where you sit after you go through the TSA screening. The only bathroom is on the outside of the screening, so if the urge hits, you leave everything inside the bumpout, run to the bathroom in your socks, and then pass through the detectors again.
Maine is a neighborly place. Once, I got fogged out of my early flight and had to wait four hours for the next puddle-jumper to Boston. One of the other passengers had forgotten her laptop power cord, so the desk agent said “You live on my way to the grocery store; I’m going to pick up some things before the next flight, want me to drop you at home on the way?” and off they went! Anyway, speaking of puddle jumpers, here’s a picture of the 8-passenger seat (sometimes a passenger also sits in the co-pilot seat) plane, at Logan in Boston:
The baggage goes in the nose, the tail, and carry-ons go in the wings. There is no on-board storage. Even a large purse goes into the wing compartment!
And this is a view out the window at Knox County, Maine, where I live:
And here’s a typical aerial view of the Maine coastline at near-dawn (I always take the 6-am-ish flight out so I can connect to whatever else it is I need to get where I’m going):
THIS congested view is what it looks like near Boston (i.e. the gateway to the rest of the world)–too many people!
Next…I’ll show you my favorite thing…coming home, the baggage return, and the “long term” parking lot. Stay tuned <GRIN>!
May 23rd, 2010 at 1:09 am
We lived one year in northern Maine just outside of Limestone (which is outside of Caribou which is outside of Presque Isle, which I think had an airport that was probably smaller than yours– LOL). It was a great year and we loved it. The people were great. You had to have at least an extra half hour when you went into a shop because everyone wanted to chat. We were a four and a half hour drive from the nearest shopping mall–we were really at the end of the road, but I’d go back in a heart beat.
May 23rd, 2010 at 7:07 am
Here in the heartland we are blessed with multiple travel venues. Our local airport now has jet service. But our airport is part of the University of Illinois’ School of Aviation (it is probably called something else, but you get the point!) But we are less than 2 hours drive from Indianapolis’ airport and most people take the drive to get a nonstop. Less than 3 hours to O’Hare, so if flying international you can take shuttle bus from Champaign to O’Hare and not deal with the traffic or the parking. But mostly I stay at home! LOL!
May 26th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Our Tweed-New Haven Airport is a bit more sophisticated; but not by much. It is great – there is Gate A for the departure gate; and Gate B for the arrivals. One (on a “busy” day two) ticket processors, and the security person. It flies only to Philadelphia; and you must duck your head as your boarding! The first time I flew it when DC flights still happened (before 9/11) was for DD’s parent’s weekend. The 6 of us on the flight were all headed to the same event! Had a great time! It is a shocker to the system to have to go through the larger airports! Maine is gorgeous!!! Can’t wait for my next visit!
May 26th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
Thanks for the great pictures. It reminds me of my first flight out of our airport, (Yakima Wa). I used to say “yes, we had beverage service. The pilot would lay eight cans of pop on the floor, and as we climbed, they would roll past and you’d choose what you wanted. And if you weren’t thirst then, you would still select one on decent.”
J
May 26th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
What are you talking about – TSA screening area? You obviously have never been through the airports in Glendive, Montana or Miles City, Montana. When you get to Billings, they bus you around to the front of the terminal, so you can go through screening. The first time I flew into Glendive – about twenty years ago, they asked me how much I weighed, so they could balance the plane! I think that plane was four or six passenger. They now have fourteen passenger planes, I believe. But I love that these small out of the way places have air travel available.
May 26th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
As a private pilot I have seen many such tiny airports. Many come equipped with some real characters who run them, which makes it so much fun to stop in for fuel.
May 27th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I’ve been through your airport in an 8 seater run by PBA. (I’ve heard PBA stands for Prayer Beads Allowed!) We were going from Tampa Fl to Boston to Rockland for attend the film and video school in Rockport. At the gate in Boston, I looked for the plane and was surprised to look down on the 8 seater. We carried our luggage out. The whole thing reminded me of the old TV show Wings.
We loved the little Rockland Airport and we rented the only rental car in the lot. Gave a fellow passenger a ride to his home somewhere up in Lincolnville and he gave us the whole tour. It was great.
We hope to return for a real Maine vacation soon, but will probably fly into Portland. Those little planes are just too small for me. (Did I mention the 300 lb gentleman in the 8 seater?)
May 27th, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Sarah–Loved reading about your little airport and the puddle jumper! The pics are great–Maine is such a beautiful place! I’ll be heading to Portland at the end of the month to visit family. My son, Tim, lives in Cumberland with his family. I’ll be traveling with my daughter Jennifer’s family–her husband and two kids. We make Maine an every-other-year trip. Tim and family visit us here in the Seattle area in the alternate years.
Maggie Magee
North Kitsap WA
May 27th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Sarah – Hilarious! Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, and will tell you I can relate – love these little puddle jumpers and the wonderfully quaint places the take us too and from.
Thank goodness for our sense of adventure!
Mary Margaret
Southern MD, USA
September 16th, 2011 at 2:09 am
[…] Still not inexpensive, but less costly than an overnight. The plane is small — here is a blogpost from last May — perhaps 9 passengers total, one of whom sits next to the […]