All Because Scott Couldn't Sleep

First stop, Starbucks in Cedar City

We have been planning a trip for spring of 2015, with Golda and Ruby, to Amsterdam and Paris.  One morning at about 4 am, I got a text from Scott:  "Check this out.  Round trip non-stop from LAX to Copenhagen, $460."  Evidently, he couldn't sleep.

Scott is always taunting me with links to travel deals.  Then he'll say, "We can't do that!  We have to save for Amsterdam!"  I texted back, "What the heck?!  Go to sleep!"

Eight hours later, Scott's shaking hands were typing in our reservations at norwegian.com as Ruby and I huddled around, shrieking inside our heads.  It was done.  We chose Copenhagen because it's their hub, thus it's the cheapest, and it's non-stop from LA.  We added on our flights to Paris for $120 round trip from Copenhagen.  (Eeek!  Paris!)  When I texted Golda at school to let her know, she didn't believe me.  When I finally convinced her, she dove for the comuter and emailed all of her teacher, telling them about the days she was going to miss and trying to get work done ahead of time.

Ruby worked on school day and night to get ahead, and Scott and I fretted about whether the airline really did exist, and what the odds were of our flight, if it did exist, falling out of the sky.  I don't know if I'll ever get over pre-trip anxiety.  It's like being on a roller coaster for two weeks, and I really hate that butterflies-in-your-stomach, I-want-to-get-off-this-ride feeling.  Alongside the euphoria of anticipating travel - which I love! - I have these constant thoughts like, "This is completely irresponsible, leaving my kids to go die in a fiery plane crash or by falling onto the metro tracks.

 In the end, like it always does, our love of travel trumped our fear and we set off for Los Angeles at 4 am, March 2.  We could have left much later, but we didn't want to take any chances.  That left us time, after a quick 10-hour drive, to relax at the beach (Manhattan) and enjoy pizza at a beachside cafe.  We still got the airport way too early, but I'd rather relax there than be stressed.  I love the energy of airports.  I could be that Tom Hanks character who lives in one, minus the visa problems.

 My travel companions banned me from wearing this shirt after this one time.  I was incensed.  It matches my hair!  They said it was "too beachy."

We had so much time at LAX that the girls did some barre work.  Is there such a thing as a ballet nerd?

 Turns out, Norwegian Air not only exists, but it is on the cutting edge of green travel, as well as being one of the first European "budget" carriers to hit the U. S. market.  It's not budget in a Southwest sense; it's luxurious, but there is no food service unless you pay extra.  Everything is an add-on, including checking luggage, which we never do, so we got the baseline price.  The Dreamliner 787 cruises at a much higher altitude than most jets, but the cabin pressure is set at a lower altitude, so you don't experience as much jetlag because your air is better.  And the way they fly saves a ton of jet fuel, hence the cheap prices.  I literally didn't want the 10-hour flight to end.  I still had lost of TV shows and movies left to watch, provided by the airline for free on the screen in front of my face.  And it was so quiet and comfy without the flight attendants doing all that cumbersome food service.  If someone ordered a snack, it was brought by a flight attendant in a sharp, plaid shirt, tucked in a lunch box.  Oh, and the windows had a button to push to tint them to your desired darkness instead of a window shade.  Our flight was the inaugural flight on the LAX-CPH route.  Kinda cool!

I tend to become slightly zealous when something is great, so I'll stop trying to convert you to my new "religion," Dreamlinerism.  (You should go!  You should go!)  Now that you know more about Norwegian Air than you wanted to, let me tell you about Denmark...