aerial view of Beach Haven
My seat, 8D, was in the center of the row at the back of the cabin. A couple sat to my left but the two seats to my right were vacant, so I slid over for the benefit of a window. The airplane jostled side-to-side as the props roared to life and my ears popped as the cabin pressurized. It only took ten seconds to leave the ground once the pilot revved the engines and soon we were over the murky green waters of Long Island Sound.
I had flown propeller planes before, so the deafening noise of the motors or numbing vibrations were no surprise. If only I had remembered to carry earplugs, it might have been a less offensive takeoff. As we leveled off, I could see sandy beaches outlining Long Island’s North Shore. At the southern coast, waves from the open Atlantic crashed in white foam against the narrow breaker isle, Fire Island. The same could be seen at Beach Haven as we entered New Jersey airspace. We arrived in Philadelphia 17 minutes early at 10:07am and I took a seat by my connecting gate, F25.
