TRIP REPORTS ARCHIVE
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All I wanted was
to
write a report about nothing
by chexfan
Well I had found out on the
21st that this was going to be my last week on the project in New Jersey.
Where would I be heading next for work? I don’t know… 22March At the 1K Check-in Counter I
asked if my upgrade had cleared. I guess when I changed my flights to
leave earlier I neglected to ask for an upgrade because I was sitting in
E+. The agent was very pleasant and was able to confirm me all the way
through to SEA via ORD. She asks if 2A to ORD 1A to SEA was ok all the way
through. I said, “Sure”. As the boarding passes were being spit out, I
realised that ORD-SEA was the positioning flight for the 777 that
continues on to NRT and my eyes lit up… or so I thought. So chexfan stayed
quiet and anxiously awaited to get those Boarding passes in hand on hope
of obtaining the coveted Double Upgrade. The agent then looks at the
ORD-SEA segment and says, “Ah… you don’t want a bulkhead seat on that
plane” and begins printing out another BP. “But… but… but... I DO want 1A
on that plane…” I began to mumble to myself. I mean, who would turn down
any seat in F when you should be in C? She hands me my two boarding passes
for 2A and I make my way through the short security lines and down the
concourse to A12 where my A320 would take me to ORD. It was easily noticeable that
many folks in the Terminal were not your average business travelers. As it
was Spring Break season there were many families with small children and
groups of college-aged kids going places. By the time I make it to my
gate, they are boarding all rows so I hop into line smiling at the UA gate
agents but trying desperately to avoid eye contact w/ the dreaded
Argenbright Security folks. I successfully avoid eye contact with the
security screeners and make my way down the jetway. I stowe my laptop and carryon
in the overhead and notice a boy about the age of 5 in 2B (his mom and
sister were in 2C&D). Oh Man! Just my luck. All I wanted was to get
some sleep on this flight and I had a feeling it just wasn’t going to
happen as “Tyler” was already asking his mother across the aisle if he
could have his GameBoy back two minutes after trading with his sister for
the WalkMan. All of the gates at EWR were
filled w/ UA jets (an assortment of B737, 757, & A320) and A10 had
J-41. 4 more jets were parked away from the terminal. It was a UAL Parking
Lot. Our taxi was short as we took
off from the runway heading north rather than south and I began to drift
off to sleep-land. It didn’t last long as “Tyler” so kindly woke me up to
let me know that breakfast was being served. It was nothing special. Your
standard, banana, bowl of cereal, yogurt w/ granola, and choice of
croisant, muffin or bagel. I went with the bagel and just nibbled at it
while polishing off the yogurt/granola mix. It was about this time that I
noticed that “Tyler” and his mother were looking me, or should I say my
cereal. She asks if Tyler can have the cereal since that is all he enjoys
to eat. I thought about telling her the origins of the handle ‘chexfan’
but I think better of it and hand Tyler my Corn Flakes that he was forever
grateful. Sleep really never came my way
that flight and arrival and taxi to our gate at ORD is just a minute or
two ahead of schedule. Now of course with my luck I have to truck from the
C Concourse over to B. On the way, I stop at the 1K Center b/c I had
promised Gaucho100K that I would have some luggage tags made for him. Our
Argentinian friend had asked for 4 luggage tags but I only ask the
sweeties in the ORD 1K Room for two which they have no problem making. As
I’m waiting for gaucho’s tags to be made I am approached by a gentleman.
“I’ve seen your picture on the internet” he exclaims. I start thinking
about the home videos that we’ve made in the commune and I immediately
begin having suspicions about which commune member broke our
confidentiality agreement and leaked the videos and pictures to the
outside. But it was not to be as he introduced himself as a FlyerTalker!
Whew! We discussed his upcoming run to SIN and gaucho’s luggage tags were
done. When I realized that my gate
was behind Customer Service, I realized that it was definitely a widebody
and therefore the coveted 777. As I made my way to the gate, I notice a
number of college aged lasses heading the same way. They were heading to
SEA as well but had to board the doorway to the right while I went to the
one on the left. I had a Suite to get to! Only two other suites up front
had someone in them so my seat was apparent and storage was abundant.
After I stowed my stuff in the overhead and was taking my seat, an FA came
over to “assist” me. Well it was more like, “you’re not an employee and
you’re not dressed in a suit so this can’t be your seat” type of
assistance. She asks me if everything is alright and if I found my seat
ok. She then inquires, “Mr. XXX what would you like for a predeparture
drink?” I reply that I would love some champagne… but that I’m NOT Mr. XXX
and this deflated her excitement of moving me back to business or
coach. Everything on this flight was
prety normal. The breakfast was the same as the EWR-ORD flight with the
exception of the added breakfast sandwich that was still presented to me
on my plate in its aluminum foil. C’mon United… can’t you take the darn
foil off for a little better presentation? Oh well. I played and tinkered with the
seat some more and get a good rest in on the 3h 40m flight to SEA. As I
awoke, I realized that I had my camera and knew I had to take some
pictures of me in the suite. The captain made the
announcement for initial approach and I threw the Southern Rock selection
on. With perfect timing, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “What’s Your Name?” came on.
It’s opening lyrics of, “Well it’s 8 o’clock in Boise… Idaho” reminded me
that I need to stop in and visit Geri in the 1K Room upon my arrival at
SEA. We got into SEA early and I
trudged over to say hello to my favorite United Airlines employee. I
needed to validate two award tickets for my college coach and his wife to
fly from PHL to BOI on the 23rd and this would be my only chance to do so.
As Geri was pulling up their itin, she warmed up the luggage tag machine
so she could finish Gaucho100K’s tags. After a wonderful conversation
and time spent in the 1K room I walk out and head home! One good thing about living at
Paradise Ranch is that you never know which members of the commune will be
there when you arrive. When I got home I was surprised to see a packed
house of about 9 Oregon Duck fans getting ready for the NCAA Regional
Semifinal game against Texas. Well… being the type of guy I
am I head to my room to dig out a University of Texas Rowing shirt I had
won some years back in a race. I make my way back upstairs into the sea of
green and yellow with my Longhorn Crew shirt just in time for tipoff.
Well, I thought it was funny that I was cheering for Texas, but no one
else did. One person even jokingly asked me to leave if I was going to
root for Texas. I had to remind him that I paid rent and I was staying… I
was then hoping he didn’t inform me that he paid rent too. 23March Being unfamiliar with the
Check-in, I fumble around almost declaring that I have firearms,
explosives and the like in my carry-on. My second try proved to be the
charmer and this magical machine spit me out a piece of paper showing my
seat in 1A on the F28 to BOI. But a piece of paper??? I mean, that just
wouldn’t look right on my wall of boarding passes, would it? I’d get this
taken car somehow I’m sure! I entered the usual security
area at the D/N gates as if I were taking a UA flight but I was honored to
whip out my Alaska Airlines GoldMVP card to access the unnecessary
shortened line! For the first time in a while, I didn’t have to pull out
my laptop for the x-ray machine b/c I didn’t bring one. I made my way to
my gate at C10. I ask the agent if she could put my AA# in and she does
with the result being an actual boarding pass- whew! Having about 30 minutes to
kill I start my tour of the D Terminal. It was nice and a pleasant change
from the North Satellite I know by heart and the South Satellite I know
from my US flights. Walking through the crowded concourse of leisure
travelers I take in the sites. The boarding for my F-28 was
at one of the C10 gates. Boarding started promptly at 10:30 when Alaska
MVP members were invited for preboarding. Pulling out my MVP Gold,
Driver’s License and boarding pass, I make my way to the doorway curiously
noting that the lone security person was already going through someone’s
bag. I am the first to head outside and down the steps where a Horizon FA
is there greeting me with a smile. I stowed my gear above my seat
in 1A and take in the view of watching people board. The plane turned out
to be pleasantly packed with a mix of unacompanied minors, kids, teens,
college folk, adults and older. Shoving back from the gate was on time or
a minute late and the takeoff was on 16L. I took a gander through the
Horizon in flight magazine which entertained me for about 4 minutes when I
pulled out the crossword puzzle I had snagged from a Seattle Times that
was laying around in the gate area. The two flight attendants were very
cordial in their service of the Hale’s Ales Moss Bay Extra to me. Along w/
a sour cherry biscotti, I was enjoying the trip. Before the clean up came
through, one of the fas asked me if I could help them out by finishing off
a bottle of the Hale’s Ales. Being the responsible passenger that I am, I
obliged and followed the crewmember instruction. Following the cleanup,
the FA started taping up some Horizon Jet coloring sheets that some of the
youngsters had colored on the Bulkhead wall. (Before you even ask, I did
think about inquiring for a coloring sheet and set of crayons for myself,
but I withstood the urges.) Arrvial into BOI was a bit on
early and I followed the gentleman from the opposite side of the aisle
into the terminal b/c I couldn’t figure out which door I should heads
toward. I made my way through the Horizon Terminal and make my way towards
the Terminal that is served by UA, NW, DL, WN and AA to wait for my coach
and his wife to arrive. Having about an hour to kill I
decide to go explore by taking a walk to the end of the concourse to kill
time. After that was accomplished I had about 57 minutes until they
arrived. I decide to buy some postcards and write some quick notes to
friends and family across the U.S. I couldn’t find a postal box to mail
them from and no employee at the airport even knew if one existed so I
just stashed the completed postcards in my book and trudged off to the
Video Game Arcade. Wow! It was pinball central. With the exception of an
occasional game of Ms Pac-Man I will play pinball over a video game any
day of the week. This arcade has no less than 6 pinball machines to choose
from. And man, was it a tough choice. I cash in 3 $1 bills and start
feeding the machines in hopes of being like “Tommy’s” Pinball Wizard. I
didn’t do as well as I would have liked but the money- spent- to- time
killed- ratio was quite low. My friends arrive on time on
their flight from DEN and we head down to the Hertz counter. My coach was
armed with coupons and upgrades up the wazoo, but the lady working
explained they were “independent” and don’t accept them. HUH? Anyways, I
let him do the inquisition and we end up walking out with a Ford
Escape. We hopped on I84 and went to
the Doubletree-Riverside. In the short drive, I came to the realization,
that there wasn’t anything exciting to see in Idaho from the highway. Some
other Stanford parents and boosters were checking in at the same time and
mass confusion had set in over the rate each room was being booked at.
Somehow our room was booked at a rate about $30 more than everyone elses
and it couldn’t be changed. I stepped outside and made a quick phone call
to Hilton. The rates the phone rez agent were quoting were about $50
cheaper than expected and I book the room under my name and DiamondVIP
number. We then canceled our original rez and checked in to the utter
confusion of the girl at the desk. The second time was a charm and we were
given a suite and amentity backet due to my Diamond status. It wasn’t the infamous “Disco
Suite” but it was a fairly nice suite with more than enough room. Actually
too much room as it would turn out to be the central meeting and drinking
location. As we headed over to Boise
State to catch the NCAA Women’s Basketball regional semifinals, I
remembered one of my roommates getting excited about the blue turf at the
Boise State football stadium. Thankfully, I didn’t have to go exploring
too far, as the Blue Turf of Bronco Stadium was right next to where we
parked. Unfortunately Stanford lost to the Buffs from Colorado and
everyone was in a somber mood for the rest of the evening. Sun March
24th Shockingly, there was no elite
security line but the line was only 2 people deep. Everyone’s shoes were
asked to be scanned and the security professionals were polite and
courteous… a definite shock in the US. Having remembered a tip that
1A on the RJ wasn’t too comfortable, I make my way to the agent and ask
for a new seat assignment on my CRJ to PDX. She pleasantly spits out two
boarding passes (I really don’t like those pieces of paper) including the
exit row for the hop over to the Rose City and informed me of the current
25 minute delay. To kill the time I made my way
over to the Magazine stand and bought a copy of the Sunday Idaho Statesman
and a Idaho magnet for my collection. Boarding took place with MVPs
and those needing extra assistance first. I was one of the first to board
and take my seat on the nearly full plane in the exit row 13D. I pulled
out my recent issue of Maxim and watch everyone fill the plane. Slightly
excited at the notion of having the row to myself, the last passenger
boarded wearing his QX uniform and took the aisle seat next to
me. What a wonderful experience!
Somehow my slight knowledge of Horizon/Alaska routes along with other
airlines was enough to impress this RJ pilot that he was willing to “talk
shop” on his deadheading flight to PDX. I explained to him that I was so
very impressed with how Horizon runs everything, and he took the
compliment to heart. Having only a 25 minute scheduled connection in PDX
to begin with, he informed me that making my scheduled flight to SEA would
be “tight” to say the least. Having flown the BOI-PDX route
a number of times, he gave me approximate landing times (barring delays
into PDX). I knew this pilot knew his stuff when he said “Hmm we should be
around 10,000 feet now” and within 2 seconds the DING went off alerting
the FAs. Begrudgingly he assured me that since QX didn’t have a policy
that everyone needs to be boarded and the doors were to close 10 minutes
before departure that making the run down to the SEA flight was becoming
more and more a reality… Unfortunately we were in row 13. I made my way
into the PDX and terminal, locate exactly which gate was heading to SEA
and quickly jog there was I was greeted w/ a “Final call for Passenger
chexfan to Seattle” I smile, throw my driver’s license up and am given
instructions where to board the Dash8. I took my seat in 1A and my
knees were greeted with the bulkhead wall. The lady in 1B offered to
change which I graciously accepted. The quick jaunt up to SEA was
uneventful except for the uneasy feeling in my stomach from having too
much of a good time in Boise the night before. We landed and getting the
fresh Seattle air in my lungs had never felt better calming the
restlessness in my tummy and head. But then I realized that I didn’t have
a potato while I was in Boise. AS/QX Summary Tuesday March 26th Yes, we all know my passion for the Red Hook
Brewery and it’s tour, but I was very happy to have my expectations met
and exceeded by the Thomas Kemper folks. This tour usually keeps their
groups small and we were lucky to hop on the tour with a choir of Pastors
from Wisconsin. Being a kind of dry bunch of folks, I think Qip and I did
a good job of keeping them entertained for the 50 minute tour. Wednesday March 27th Having had the directions from dudemon for about 9
months, Qip and I trekked out to Renton around 11am to find the burial
site for Jimi Hendrix. After meandering around, we came across it and paid
our due respects to the great guitarist. From here we drove up 405 and crossed the I90
bridge and made our way to the Burial Site for Bruce Lee and Brandon Lee
on Capital Hill. This cemetary actually has many famous Seattlites burried
here such as the Denny Family, Ballard, and others. We stopped in and got
a map and made our way to the graves of Bruce and Brandon Lee. Thursday March 28th This of course, was followed up with Survivor. I
got out of washing the dishes and made my way directly into the den with a
beer to see who the latest castaway was going to be. Friday March 29th Saturday March 30th Easter Sunday March
31st Being the CAPE catholic that I am, I decide on
hitting the 10am mass at St. James Cathderal. After stopping at Starbucks
and chatting w/ MissyD the chexmobile arrived around 9:45 unable to find a
parking spot within a 6 block radius. I guess everyone else had the same
idea that I did! About to give up a hope and head home, my phone rang and
I was invited to go to 12pm mass. It was an offer that I accepted, so I
went back to Paradise Ranch. Following mass, I went for a quick hour and half
workout around GreenLake then went downtown to meet miles2go and MissyD
for the ticket rendezvous. Somehow the beautiful day dissappeared and the
wind picked up, but a wonderful conversation was had and my orders for
delivering Wednesday’s tickets were obtained. Monday April 1st Qip bought the first round at 11:50a of Pyrimd
Heiffeiweisen and the day had begun. MissyD showed up during the second
round as I introduce her to two members of the commune. About 1:20 we
decide to head over to The Safe for our seats. Qip and D6 were in
centerfield while MissyD and I were in 115. On the way in, I made everyone
stop so we could appreciate the Barbershop Quartet that was singing
outside the Northwest corner of The Safe. I requested “Hello My Baby,” but
they didn’t know all the parts. Oh well. We entered Safeco and went to our seats. They had
some Opening Day festivities and they were a yawn. I went and got some
garlic fries and a mike’s Hard Lemonade for Missy. And the game began. After 5 innings we decided to move up to Center
Field where Qip and D6 were. The sun was directly on those seats and it
was much warmer. Following the game, we bid adieu to MissyD and
took off for the car. ***Safeco Driving
Tip*** We made it back to the commune just in time for
the NCAA Championship and everyone watched an enjoyable game! Tuesday April 2nd I felt really odd being at SEA w/o any bags and no
intention of going anywhere. Waiting for MissyD, I was able to help no
less than 4 people out with the layout of the airport. I felt kind of odd,
but heck, I think I found a new job prospect as a Airport Welcoming person
if this unstaffed thing goes on for a long time! Coincedentally, MissyD and I were ticketed to go
to LAS as well and we met up with them in the C Concourse. Having
the desire to get some wonderful Seattle air, we left the airport and went
to the RedRobin at SouthCenter for lunch. Techgirl did a wonderful job of
making us all jealous telling us her plans for her trip to Bali through
the meal, but I only pretended to listen b/c I was enjoying my Mirrorpond
Pale Ale too much. Unfortunately all good times had to end, and I
drove MissyD, techgirl and peaches back to Sea-Tac so they could go on
their way. No LAS for me. Later on in the day I decided that I wanted to
remind everyone on FlyerTalk that they should mark their calendars for the
Hilton Profile Update for 2000 points in July. Wednesday April 3rd Feeling the need to stay outside, Qip, D6 and I
went to Green Lake for a game of frisbee golf. Playing in Skins format, we
were able to get about 14 holes in before the sun went down. I also attempted to wash the dishes in the commune
today. Thursday April 4th Being the first Thursday of the month, the
galleries were open until 9. Before heading down to Pioneer Square,
thumbgirl, Qip and I drop off a tape so our friend could do the glorious
job of recording Survivor for me. After a little difficulty in finding a parking
spot, I was honestly surprised to see the large number of folks who were
out for the evening. I contemplated buying a Chagall or Chihully but
decided against it… for now. Around 9p, I got a call from kokonutz saying that
he arrived at the Hilton. The three of us make our way to the Hilton where
koko had some problems checking in. Nonetheless, baraboodish, kokonutz and
the 3 of us had some enjoyable drinks and snacks in the bar before heading
out at 10:30. Friday April 5th Around 4, I made my way down to Pacific Place to
meet up with some FlyerTalkers for din din and drinks. After some
wonderful drinks and garlic fries with the Linders, Punki, Smooth,
Sea-Flyer, lalala and Hunki, Rudi and Marc showed up for a quick hello
passing out the infamous Swiss Chocolates before they went to the
Knicks-Sonics game. Shortly thereafter, kokonutz and baraboodish showed
up. We disperse with intentions of meeting up later. I
drive home to the commune and figure out what some of the other commune
members are up to. Lo and behold, their plans are to head to Kell’s.
Trying to decide if this was a good thing or not, we made our way to
Kell’s about 10p or so. At kell’s I was able to meet up with a bunch of
the FTers which included the lovely FlyerWife straight from New York, and
I was happy that I was able to split time between the commune and the FT
group. So I apologize for the those FTers who I didn’t get a chance to
chat with as other covert operations were taking place that night. Saturday April 6th From here, goodbyes were said and I was off to
Paradise Ranch, for some much needed sleep ending two weeks in the life of
chexfan.
Well, after a night in New York
City, which included doing cartwheels in the snow in the middle of Times
Square, I was off to EWR for a 6:15 flight. Although I feel this requires
awaking at an ungodly time, I do arrive into SEA at 10:30a, which is a
respectable time to get chores done for the rest of the day.
Today I was going to get to use
my Alaska Airlines MVP Gold card for the first time. So excited was I. I
left Paradise Ranch around 9:30a for my 11am flight. Being a Saturday
morning, there was no traffic and parking at Ajax was a breeze. Now
heading across the sky way every week to go to my UA flights I always got
to pass those AS Check-in machines. Now, I finally got to use them! Plus…
think of the extra miles!!!!
My
wakeup call was for 8:15. I figured since I was in BOI, I’d be able to
shower and hitch a ride to the airport in plenty of time for my 9:45
flight to PDX. My arrival to Boise Airport was shortly after 9 and I made
my way to the self check-in kiosk. Being a professional after one use, I
cruise through the touchscreens with ease and make my way to
security.
All in all, I
will report that I was very impressed with every detail of the
Alaska/Horizon operation. From the electronic check-in kiosk. The Customer
service and gate agents. The way the flight attendants greeted everyone
with a smile and seemed to mean it. How the gate agents in BOI dealt with
the delay. All in all a very positive experience and a confirmation that I
will try to move all of my west coast flying to QX/AS!!!
Monday March 25th
This was the first
time I was home on a Monday and didn’t have to go fly somewhere in a long
time. I really don’t think I did anything on this day except revel in the
fact that all I had to do was check my email
Being bored and
already completely wasting one day. I decided that I had to do something.
So, Qip and I agreed to go check out the Tour at the Pyramid Brewery
across from Safeco Field.
Now something I had
been meaning to do for the longest time is to stop by and visit Jimi
Hendrix’s grave in Renton and Bruce & Brandon Lee’s grave.
Pretty uneventful day
with the exception that D6 made a Thai Food fiesta for a bunch of folks at
dinner and it was quite tasty!
Just another day of
not doing too much. A little after noon I was able to rangle up a bunch of
folks to go play tennis. A good time was had, however good tennis could
not be found there.
One of the things,
I’ve been meaning to do for a while was to get my Gary Fischer tuned up. I
had dropped my bike off earlier in the week and picked it up today. The
sun was out so I went for a quick little ride from Fremont up the Burke
Gilman trail. Quick calculations would log the trip around 18-20
miles.
I awake to log onto
FlyerTalk and see miles2go’s offer of tickets to the Mariner’s Home Opener
game on Monday. I send him a quick email and the tickets were mine and
MissyDarlin’s.
MissyD and I made
plans for meeting up at the Pyraimd Brewery at 12noon for the 2pm game.
Qip, D6 and I planned our attack of getting to Safeco. Should we park on
Capital Hill and ride our bikes from there? Should we just drive down and
hope for a spot? We went with the latter and found a spot on Alaskan Way
under the Viaduct and a short 8 minute walk from Pyramid.
Having the need to
head north through the city and facing tons of traffic, we came up with
the brilliant notion of heading south on 99 and then doing a U-Turn. This
turned out to be an excellent choice to avoid traffic, and I highly
recommend anyone to do this if they are leaving The Safe.
Dallas’s techgirl and
peachesBB had a scheduled layover at SEA coming in from BOI today before
heading on to LAS.
Part of the deal in
accepting the Opening Day tickets from miles2go was to drop off the
tickets to Wednesday’s night game. I emailed mikey and we agree to meet up
for lunch and to drop off the tickets in Belltown.
It was the third day
in a row of beautiful weather and Qip and I decided to go for a hike in
the Cascades. However, we were not the Rolling Stones and time was not on
our side. We just did a quick 2.9 miles roundtrip up Rattlesnake Ridge and
enjoyed the peacefulness on the glorious day.
Well, the sun had
dissappeared today and there was no one around to play with. It was a good
day to get some errands done and that was accomplished.
I awoke at 8:20 with
intentions of picking koko up to head down for the breaky w/ Rudi at the
airport. After waking koko, he decides not to head down to the breaky and
I head down the Secret Freeway to arrive at the same time as GregSeattle
and TravelWeary and Mr. Travel Weary. Finally everyone was there and
Hunki, Punki, Peregrine, GregSeattle, ScottC, ldsant, TW and Mr. TW, Rudi
and Marc enjoyed a great breakfast. This breakfast included many FTers
first sidecar and rudi’s first breakfast sidecar. Thanks Rudi!
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