Saturday, September 24, 2011

Travel (cont'd)

It's fun to travel as a "real passenger" on occasion. I have spent so many years apologizing for my presence on planes and in airports (as an airline employee we are considered "non-revenue" passengers and are required to smile and say thank you no matter what happens) that it's lots of fun to travel as valued customer and get a few perks.

*I had to connect through Atlanta to go to Louisiana because the fare for the non-stop was twice as much

*Atlanta's just a bit out of the way

*But at least I didn't get bumped

*Except then there was weather

*And a mechanical problem

*I was going to have to spend the night in Atlanta

*Instead of that I finagled another night in Louisiana and then I got to travel non-stop the next morning

*No extra fare

*It was their fault

*Plus I got a room at a swanky hotel (see pillows and carpet below)

*The flight the next morning was so early that there was no way to get coffee for a while

*I had been feeling pretty smug about my coffee consumption lately

*It's much less than it used to be

*Turns out I'm still addicted though

*The ride in the van from the hotel to the airport (at 5:30 in the morning in the dark) was perilous

*The line to get through security was slooooooowwwwwwwww

*I think Louisiana is not so efficient as Minnesota

*All of my (admittedly limited) energy was being used to suppress the urge to start screaming, "What is wrong with you people?!?!?!?!?" while I was in line

*Then I had to be put into the body scanner

*I was on the verge of bursting from frustration

*The body scanner noticed something in the pocket of my cardigan so I had to have a pat down anyway

*My boarding pass was in my pocket

*After getting my shoes back on, putting my liquids back in my bag and my boarding pass into my pocket, I ran down the concourse to find coffee

*I got a biscuit with egg and sausage and cheese to go with the coffee

*Southern biscuits are yummy

*Next month I'm going to Rapid City on business

*That's another purchased ticket

*Another opportunity to be a valued customer

*Can't wait

No comments: