Flight path

Have you ever tried to spot landmarks when you're approaching your local airport by plane? It's not easy.

Downey is in the flight path of arriving flights at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), which is about 17 miles due west of Downey. From the time we enter the Los Angeles basin, I start trying to identify the various freeways below. Is that the 10? The 60? The 91? Yes, it must be the 91, because I can see it crossing the 5, right there past Disneyland!

Even if I can figure out the freeways, though, I'm usually either sitting on the wrong side, or over the wing, or I just lose track of where we are. But one time, I managed to track our path all the way to Downey, and suddenly, there was my house! I wanted to poke the guy next to me, and say, "That's my house!"

But I didn't. After all, that would be just silly!