I had no idea this was coming.

I boarded a United flight in Munich, heading back to Denver.

 

Just another flight.

Or so I thought.

But as soon as I stepped onto the plane…

the crew greeted me by name.

“Welcome aboard, Mr. Peterson.”

They told me it was a special day for me.

That they were lucky to have me on board.

And then:

“Congratulations on flying two million miles with United.”

I remember thinking…

I didn’t know anything about this.

I took my seat, still trying to make sense of it.

And then, after the plane was full—just before takeoff—the announcement came over the loudspeaker.

“We have two special passengers on board today…”

The first was the captain.

It was his final flight.

After 25 years with United, he was retiring.

The second…

Was me.

Apparently, I had just crossed the two million mile mark flying with United Airlines.

Alexis got a big kick out of it.

I just sat there, trying to process what that actually meant.

And it didn’t stop there.

As we landed in Denver, they made the announcement again.

When I walked off the plane, the captain came out, shook my hand, and reached into his bag.

He handed me a special commemorative coin.

We wished each other well.

Two very different journeys… ending at the same place.

And then came customs.

Where several United employees were waiting.

Photos.

A certificate.

More attention than I’ve ever received getting off a plane.

And that’s when it started to get interesting.

Because the certificate tried to explain what two million miles actually means.  Are you ready for this?

Equivalent to eight trips to the moon.

Equal to more than 400 flights between Denver and London.

Or going around the earth…

about 80 times.

And then there was this one.

Assuming an average jet cruising speed, I’ve spent about 160 days of my life sitting on airplanes.

That one got my attention.

Then I started doing my own math.

What does this look like over time?

Something like crossing the United States…

15 or 20 times a year…

every year…

for 50 years.

That begins to tell the story.

But even that doesn’t quite capture it.

Because this only counts flights on United.

There were other flights.

For example. For three years, I flew to Manila in the Philippines from the West Coast every two weeks.

On Philippine Airlines.

None of that counts in United’s number.

Which makes the two million miles feel just a little incomplete.

So what does it all mean?

Because it isn’t really about the miles.

It’s about where those miles took me.

Over the years, I’ve been to about 65 countries.

Each one different.

Each one adding something.

Some trips planned.

Others unexpected.

Some about work.

Some about family.

Some simply about curiosity.

And all of them…

about learning.

I have written earlier about why travel matters.

Two million miles sounds like a big number.

But the real story…

is everything that happened along the way.

And the fact that…

even now…

I’m not done.

There are still places I want to go.

Still things I want to see, do and experience.

Which brings to mind one of my favorite verses in Robert Frost’s poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening:

“And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”