Carl Vertrees

For those of us of a certain age, we remember when air travel was a rare privilege and a big event to dress up for. Six decades later it has evolved into a mundane activity, necessary to get to distant points. The traveling is no longer as exciting as the destination.

When I took my first commercial flight in the early 1960s, I’m confident that I was dressed in shirt and tie and sports coat. When we moved to Southeast Alaska, it was less of a luxury and more of a necessity to get from one island to another, so the apparel was more everyday. Now it’s all about comfort.

We recently returned from a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I don’t remember seeing anyone really dressed up on the airplanes, but I do recall many in shorts, sweats and flip flops. Ginger and I were more casual, too, but we were dressed warmly knowing what weather we were coming home to.

When we first started flying, a complimentary meal was always included in lengthy flights. There were also small packages of complimentary cigarettes on those food trays before the U.S. Surgeon General declared smoking to be hazardous to our health. Now the airline food offered for sale is frequently unappealing. Even though it’s prepared by caterers such as Gate Gourmet. (Is than at oxymoron?) We usually buy a sandwich or wrap in the terminal before boarding.

Flying to Mexico we were routed from Redmond to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, where we saw a lot of the Sea-Tac underground as we took three subways to get from our arrival point in the C terminal to the departure gate in S terminal, then repeated the journey when our gate was changed.

As we were waiting for our 737 Boeing jet to depart, we witnessed airline employees vigorously tossing around luggage as they unloaded a plane at an adjacent jetway. We weren’t surprised to find our largest suitcase damaged by some of that same carefree baggage handling.

International travel also presents the added challenge of going through customs at the end of each leg. Mexico used to have a red light/green light button. If one pushed the button and got a red light, the customs officers inspected all of one’s suitcases. We were spared that experience this year.

After spending a week in an oceanfront, all-inclusive resort, we repeated the process of flying to Los Angeles and then Redmond. I couldn’t believe how far underground the customs facilities were. Our volcanic underpinnings preclude construction like that in Central Oregon.

With the customs obstacle, our connection was tight, but we arrived at our gate as the boarding was nearly complete. Someone else had also been assigned the same seats we were, so the flight attendant found us another pair of seats — still inside the plane. A warning light on the instrument panel dismayed the pilot, so we deplaned and then re-planed an hour later, delaying our arrival at RDM a like amount of time.

Our time in Mexico was enjoyable and restful. We tried to be prudent about soaking up sunshine, as if our dermatologist were watching from poolside.

We read several books, dined on excellent cuisine, and enjoyed conversations with fellow guests, many from Canada and especially British Columbia. Weather was delightful, although a little hot and humid.

We witnessed some of the Mexican musical and dancing culture and their celebration of the Day of the Dead after Halloween, a tribute to departed members of their families.

The staff was very welcoming and accommodating, pampering us beyond imagination. Most are fluent in English, but are tolerant of our sometimes-flagrant attempts at speaking Spanish. We will return — even though it requires air travel!