Sorry for the lag time, but here's what happened after that last post from O'Hare.
The airline figured we'd depart only 8 minutes late despite the fact that our aircraft arrived at the gate right about when we were scheduled to depart.
They were wrong.
I know. Shocker, right?
We didn't leave all that late, all things considered, though I think we taxied to Boise before we got clearance to take off. But, take off we did and the flight was reasonably uneventful. We landed safe and sound in Phoenix. PJ picked me up, brought me home, and hadn't changed the locks on the house. Oh, and not too much was destroyed in the checked bag.
I have to say that United Airlines personnel were in general very professional and quite pleasant to deal with during the entire trip despite the glitches at the gate in Chicago which I've come to expect simply because it's O'Hare. Not only were 75% of my flights on time, 50% actually landed early.
But what a difference between the Hartford and Phoenix airports. I had a checked bag each way on the trip. It was much easier to retrieve my bag in Hartford. Fewer people crowded around the baggage carousel. Faster off-loading. OK, it's not nearly as busy an airport, but the people there were also a bit friendlier.
In Phoenix, which videos on airport shuttles tell you is the world's friendliest airport, people were crowded around the baggage carousels, pushing and shoving, not allowing people near the belts so they might be able to get their luggage and get on with their lives because "ME FIRST! ME FIRST!" is a way of life here.
It's not just the airports. There are vast differences between CT and AZ, but I'll leave that for another post.
Suffice to say, if you're going to fly the friendly skies, I still recommend United. Just avoid flying through Chicago O'Hare if at all possible.
    |
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
(Originally written April 21, 2008 about 5pm Chicago Time)
It was rather sad leaving my childhood home behind, but time to get back to Phoenix and life in the desert.
The buses from Plainville to Bradley International Airport were all on time, though I damn near got killed by the first driver who couldn't be bothered to wait until I was seated before careening down the road. He wasn't running late. He just seemed to be in a hurry and a homocidal mood.
The other drivers weren't quite so... how should I put this... insane. Yes. That's it. Insane. I arrived at Bradley intact, checked my one bag, and headed for the joy that is the TSA.
I have a few things with me that we can't find in Arizona, mostly foods that just don't seem to exist there. While I was able to bring most of them on board, I very stupidly didn't check the Ken's cocktail sauce I was bringing back for PJ. Didn't even think about it, really, until the TSA folks ransacked one of my carry on bags and confiscated the sauce. Goodness knows, we can't have cocktail sauce on board an aircraft. I might try to maliciously flavor something.
Bradley is a nice airport. It's relatively small, but it's comfortable and well-run from my experience. After having my weapons of mass deliciousness taken away, I found my gate and took a seat, fired up the computer, and got onto the internet within a couple of minutes. Emailed a few folks, checked messages in a couple of accounts, and visited a couple of websites I've been out of touch with for a few days during this nearly all-offline trip.
The listtle plane we flew out on didn't much care for winds either on take-off or landing. The rest of the ride was reasonably smooth, but those were parts of the flight were a little scary, and I'm usually a pretty relaxed flyer.
Got to Chicago O'Hare and of course had to go from gate C-3 to B-18. (find map). Even with the moving sidewalks, it's quite a hike and I only had about an hour.
When I got to my gate, the signs all said it was a Lufthansa flight to Dusseldorf. Of course, there was no one around to ask about this little problem since I was going in quite the opposite direction, I don't have a passport, and my German is, well, non-exisitent.
I found a check-in kiosk, picked up the phone, and spoke with someone who confirmed what I'd been seeing on the screens throughout the airport. I was at the right gate even though every indication, including the German-speaking passengers waiting there, indicated otherwise.
Finally, someone showed up at the counter -- a Lufthansa representative. I approached the desk and before I could say anything, she said the United flight was indeed leaving from that gate and United reps would be there shortly.
According to the big board which has finally been corrected, boarding for the United flight I'm supposed to be on begins in 9 minutes.
Guess I'll have to wait to put on a black suit with a black tie and shades and parallel park a car with a 180 degree slide. Oh, well.
By the way, I'm not posting this from Chicago. Oh, no. I'm writing this in Notepad to post later. Why? Because as big as this airport is, they make you pay for internet access and you have to pay for at least a day's worth of access. Sorry, but I'm not doing that just for half an hour's access after traversing two concourses to get to my mislabled gate.
All that aside, this is a minor inconvenience. I can deal. For now, though, time to put the computer away and get ready for the last leg of my trip.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
Been having a good time in Connecticut since landing here Saturday. A couple little frustrations along the way, but overall things have been going well here. I think I've been getting more sun here than I do in Arizona since it's not a hundred and fifty million degrees here in CT.
Here are a few photos from the trip thus far, some of which feature my pony, Lightning, who is my traveling companion this time out.
We flew from Phoenix to Hartford via Dulles. Here, Lightning tries to figure out the deal with the currency change machine.
At Bradley International in Hartford, we waited for the first of three buses that would drop us off a block from our destination.
Once in downtown Hartford, getting where we needed to go was easy. We picked up our next bus across from the historic Old Statehouse.
In the next city, I saw this bald pigeon. Hadn't seen one like that before, so...
Once in my hometown, I got a few photos around the house.
More after I get back to Phoenix!
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
Well, I've been in Plainville since Saturday afternoon. Both flights out (Phoenix to Dulles and Dulles to Hartford) went very smoothly (yea, United Airlines!). Both flights not only left on time, but they each landed early which made connecting in Dulles (and getting some breakfast between flights) quite easy.
I got local buses to the house (3 in all) and that went pretty well, except the last route into Plainville apparently has changed since I last rode on that line a few years ago. I didn't realize they had a different pickup point which delayed my getting into town by about an hour.
However, during that time, I did get to see a pigeon the likes of which I've never seen before. It looked like a bald eagle in pigeon's clothing.
I'd post a picture of it, but I'm posting from a Starbucks at the moment and forgot the memory card at the house. Aaaargh!
Ah, well. Still it's been a reasonably relaxing time. I've gotten some yard work done for my mother with more to come. Got a few things done inside the house as well including finding a few things to bring back with me.
Anyway, I'll post photos as soon as I can, probably Thursday or Friday. Off to read/write email and see what other trouble I can get into in the next few minutes on the web.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
I'm pretty sure when I'll be back again, but this Friday I'm heading out to my hometown in Connecticut for a visit with family and friends. I might even get a visit or two from folks who live a couple hours north. I'm hoping so.
Anyway, since I'm not allergic to much in the Northeast as opposed to being allergic to lots of things here in the Southwest (olive tree blooms, bermuda grass, smoke and dust), maybe my allergies will clear up next week. We'll see.
I'll be staying in my childhood home where my mother still lives and will help her out around the house as much as I can.
Of course, the weather forecast calls for rain for half the time I'll be there, including the day I land and the day after that. Figures, since some of what needs tending to is out in the yard.
Ah, well. Plenty to work on indoors.
It'll be nice to get away for a bit, but I wish PJ could come with me. Aside from not being able to afford it right now, she's staying home with the cats, especially Cagney our diabetic cat, to take care of them. She'll also be working on sorting out her home studio so she can get back to working with her jewelry and learning new ways of making her beautiful wearable art.
And, for once, I'll be using vacation time to go on a vacation of sorts instead of for moving or working on other projects around the house as my vacation time has been used for the most part over the past few years.
Yes, I'll have the camera with me. If I get the chance, I'll even post a few photos while I'm there.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
In fact, don't try this anywhere, because it's truly no fun.
A couple of months ago, I had an allergic reaction to some cut grass in our yard. I went inside, washed off, took meds, and rested figuring I'd be over it pretty quickly.
Wrong!
The next day, Sunday, I woke up feeling horrible. Turns out the allergic reaction opened the floodgates allowing the flu that had been lurking for a few weeks to burst upon the scene. I was out of work until Wednesday when I started feeling a bit better and forced myself to go to the office for a very important meeting.
That was a mistake.
The next day, PJ dragged me to an urgent care center where I was diagnosed as not only having the flu, but strep throat as well, much to the doctor's surprise.
I've never had strep, and never want to have it again. Oh, sure, we knocked it out with antibiotics in a week and a half, but coupled with the flu that just lingered for a while afterward, I was not a happy camper.
And now, a couple of months down the road, the allergies that set this all in motion in the first place are worse than I've ever had. To my complete lack of surprise, we're in a high pollution alert here in Phoenix (we don't trust the air if we can't see it!) and reports are coming in from all over the area that people are suffering from the worst allergies they've had in many years.
All this can be attributed to our unusually rainy winter here in the Valley of the Sun. While we needed the rain to help us out a bit with the drought we've been living through for more than a decade, January rains bring March flowers here.
At this point, it's a daily struggle to breathe well and even more of a struggle to get my voice to work. Probably a good thing the career in radio didn't work out.
|
|
|
|
| Posted by Steve Eastwood at | | | |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
