If you see a woman standing by the runway sticking out her thumb, you're probably looking at Amber Nolan. She's a travel writer who wants to visit all 50 states in the United States. That isn't unusual, but her mode of transportation is. Nolan is "jethiking"--hitching rides on private planes. So far, she's flown on 25 aircraft on her journey. She writes:
As far as schedule and planning, I more or less going where the pilots go. I try to have a general direction that makes sense based on weather and where I’ve already been. “Anyone going southeast? Anyone going to Idaho?” But it doesn’t always work that way. I was trying to go to California once and wound up in Montana. The few times I’ve tried to plan to get to a specific place at a certain time, it’s been difficult. When I’m completely flexible and open to wherever, things are much easier. Sometimes the pilots give me options like, “I can drop you at one of these fuel stops,” so that I can choose a little based on what I want to see, or if I have a place to stay. But, a big part of the fun is the randomness of it: landing in small towns that I would never have otherwise thought to visit.
Link -via Marginal Revolution
(Photo: Amber Nolan)