Reverb#10 - Day 3

Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

It was October 12th. Erick and I were seated aboard an 10 seater 2 propeller plane - ORCA AIR - which serviced Vancouver Island and Vancouver. We were gearing for take off. Erick and I were fresh from a doze while waiting in the South Terminal of Vancouver International. I could still taste the overpriced fries I had enjoyed an hour ago during the layover between arriving from Toronto and journeying on to Tofino. Vacation had finally arrived. We had only been planning it since March and it was the first vacation for us since the accident. 13 months ago. Now, seated aboard a small plane, awaiting take off to one of the most beautiful spots in Canada, let alone the rest of the world. We were headed there to watch two of our favourite people get married on the beach beside our clifftop hotel.
The pleather felt rough beneath my fingertips. A dull white colour the seating. Outside the sky was an atypical west coast shade of grey. We could see he mountains in the background.
The plane began taxing away from the terminal. The captain's voice came on the loudspeakers, even though we could reach out and touch him, he was that close. The roar of the propellers and engines initially drowned out his voice.
We reached the runaway and paused for the all clear. I could barely sit still, my heart racing, Erick grinning. Finally, vacation. The plane lurched forward began to pick up speed. My stomach sank into my gut. I could barely stand the suspense. Then, gracefully, the plane tipped back, the nose came up and the back wheels left the runaway. The plane sloped forward with a big rush as we lifted up into the air. I was practically out of my seat with excitement. The plane began to bank to the right and the ocean came into view, endless and silver, stretching out into nothing.
Finally, vacation.