The travel headlines the last week or so put the spotlight on one of the worst parts of flying: flight delays. Ughh. This brought back my experience flying back home to San Francisco from Cancun, Mexico through Houston. My friend and I got to Houston all right, but then a ginormous storm socked the Houston area and grounded all flights. Probably what was most frustrating was the information, or lack of it, from the airline people at the boarding gate. The information was that the flight was delayed 45 minutes because of weather. Then after 45 minutes, the delay was going to be another hour. Then when the storm cleared there was another delay for unknown reasons for another hour. This went on for 6 frickin hours! It turned out that they (Continental/United Airlines) couldn't find a pilot because supposedly there were delays at other airports in flying him in. Good grief. We finally boarded the plane sometime around 12:30 a.m. and then waited yet another hour before the plane took off for the 4-hour flight to San Fran. Okay, it could have been worse, we could have already boarded and then got grounded when the storm hit. We finally got in around 4 in the morning and for me, it was another 3-hour drive back home to Sacramento where I was living at the time.
After that dreadful experience I vowed never to fly again. Well, at least not on United and not through Houston. The hours-long wait in the plastic airport chairs did not do wonders for my back. There is absolutely no way to get comfortable in those things. Would it be that much of a financial burden for the airports to outfit the waiting area with comfortable chairs?? I swear, if people could get comfy and maybe get a little shut eye, it would go a looonngg way toward soothing delay frustration. Some people were lying on the floor, but they were sort of in the isles and exposed to getting stepped on. Here's my list of do's and dont's when stuck at the airport:
1. Do try to be flexible with your flight plans. Our flight to San Francisco was delayed, but other flights were taking off for San Jose and Sacramento. Since I lived in Sacramento, we could have flown there, stayed at my place for the night, then figured out a way to get my friend down to the Bay Area where she lived, which is about 85 miles away. My friend's boyfriend would probably have driven up there. Yes, it was a reach, but sometimes anything is better than being stuck at the airport. We also could have flown to San Jose, and had her boyfriend pick us up there. But to get those flights, go to the gate where they are departing! Don't rely on the information from the airline personnel working at your gate.
2. Call the airline for information about re-booking a flight. You might get a better deal than the one you would get from airline at the airport.
3. Don't consume alcohol. Yes, it is tempting to down the booze thinking that somehow this will help the situation. It doesn't. I made the mistake of drinking too much of the Houston airport house white wine and ended up feeling sick to my stomache the entire flight home.
4. Don't take out your frustrations on the airline personnel. Yes, they might be giving you bogus information. Yes they could be more courteous. Yes they are wrong and you are right. Whatever. If you give them lip, they can confescate your ticket and throw you off the flight, even call the police.
5. Don't eat the airport food while you are waiting. See number 3.
6. Do be nice to the flight attendants when you finally board the plane. Remember, its been a long night for them, too, and to make matters worse, they have to work the next 4 or more hours.
That's all the suggestions I have; its not much is it? If I had some money to throw around, I would join an airline club or whatever they are called and hang out in the VIP lounge! Let me know if you have any other ideas how to make the airport wait more bearable.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
midwest holiday
Okay, I'll admit it, the midwestern states are not high on my list of exotic getaways that I dream of exploring. But my family, or part of it anyway, lives in the little town of Ames, which is located smack in the middle of Iowa, or thereabouts. And this year, instead of them coming out to see me for the holidays in soggy San Diego, I made the trek to farm country, bare trees, snow flurries, and wind chill factor. And it was great!
My sister planned a few adventures to dispell the notion that there is nothing to do in Ames, which is known mostly as college town built around Iowa State University. First up was a visit to a local winery. When my sister told me about Iowa wineries, I thought of a phrase from an old dairy commercial I heard over and over growing up in the Bay Area: "Cows? In Berkeley?" So my first reaction was "Wineries? In Iowa?" But yes, there is a flegling wine industry in America's heartland that has at least the rich soil going for it.
We drove to the countryside where small farms dot the flat and barren wintery landscape-- it looked like something right out of a postcard. A couple of ramshackle barns by the side of the country road provided a great photo opportunity. My sister said that she went on a barn tour a few months ago and loved it. I was surprised to see one house that was built into the ground, but I was told that it was pretty common in the old days to build houses into the ground to protect against harsh midwestern elements of high winds, tornados, and piles of snow.
Eventually we reached Praire Moon Winery, located just a couple miles outside of downtown Ames. And wouldn't you know it, the tasting room was closed that Saturday for the long Thanksgiving weekend! So we poked around the vineyards and the toured the picturesque patio area that can be rented out for parties and weddings. In looking at the Prairie Moon website, http://www.prairiemoonwinery.com/ they said they grow French and American varietals, but were struggling a bit with the some of the French varietals due to the Iowa's freezing weather. But they are new, only around since 2000, so from my point of view, it's way too early to tell if Iowa wines will catch on.
Next up was a trip to the Butterfly Spa, http://www.butterflydayspa.com/ , for some much needed pampering. The spa looks like it is located in a temporary office building, and the interior is just as modest. But as far as services go, you are treated with personal attention comparable to any other luxery spa I have visited. Their prices for massages, which run about $60 an hour, are extremely reasonable for all of the attention you get. Their other spa services include manis, pedis, and skin treatments. And what sets this spa apart from some of the others is that it is a small women-owned business. But that shouldn't stop the guys from going in for a treatment, as the spa is for men and women. How about it guys, will you get a pedicure -- just once? Hint, hint.
Next up was a visit to Perfect Games, http://www.perfectgamesinc.com/ ,which is the kind of place I would never normally go to on my own. But my nephew had to work at their King Pin Pizza restaurant on Thanksgiving night, so we all went down there for a very untraditional, but really fun Thanksgiving feast. The managers were nice enough to let my brother-in-law and nephew cook up their own original Thanksgiving pizza for us, which substituted gravey for tomato sauce and had toppings of dressing, turkey, onions, and some other secret seasonings and ingredients. And you know what? It tasted delicious!! It was like the entire Thanksgiving feast on a slice of pizza. My nephew thought that business would be kind of slow that night, maybe some single dads with nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, but wow, it turned out to be packed. There were parties at the laser bowling lanes, people hanging out at the sports bar, and kids playing in the arcade. The place is huge, seemed like the size of a football field, maybe bigger, is really clean, there's lots of fun stuff to do, and has a full bar. But here's a little bit of advice: if you order and Irish coffee, make sure the bartender puts a little whiskey in your cup!
I have a lot more to say in my next post about the nuts and bolts of getting to the midwest from California, my flying experience, and how to be a good guest when visiting reletives. Here's a preview: rent a room!
My sister planned a few adventures to dispell the notion that there is nothing to do in Ames, which is known mostly as college town built around Iowa State University. First up was a visit to a local winery. When my sister told me about Iowa wineries, I thought of a phrase from an old dairy commercial I heard over and over growing up in the Bay Area: "Cows? In Berkeley?" So my first reaction was "Wineries? In Iowa?" But yes, there is a flegling wine industry in America's heartland that has at least the rich soil going for it.
We drove to the countryside where small farms dot the flat and barren wintery landscape-- it looked like something right out of a postcard. A couple of ramshackle barns by the side of the country road provided a great photo opportunity. My sister said that she went on a barn tour a few months ago and loved it. I was surprised to see one house that was built into the ground, but I was told that it was pretty common in the old days to build houses into the ground to protect against harsh midwestern elements of high winds, tornados, and piles of snow.
Eventually we reached Praire Moon Winery, located just a couple miles outside of downtown Ames. And wouldn't you know it, the tasting room was closed that Saturday for the long Thanksgiving weekend! So we poked around the vineyards and the toured the picturesque patio area that can be rented out for parties and weddings. In looking at the Prairie Moon website, http://www.prairiemoonwinery.com/ they said they grow French and American varietals, but were struggling a bit with the some of the French varietals due to the Iowa's freezing weather. But they are new, only around since 2000, so from my point of view, it's way too early to tell if Iowa wines will catch on.
Next up was a trip to the Butterfly Spa, http://www.butterflydayspa.com/ , for some much needed pampering. The spa looks like it is located in a temporary office building, and the interior is just as modest. But as far as services go, you are treated with personal attention comparable to any other luxery spa I have visited. Their prices for massages, which run about $60 an hour, are extremely reasonable for all of the attention you get. Their other spa services include manis, pedis, and skin treatments. And what sets this spa apart from some of the others is that it is a small women-owned business. But that shouldn't stop the guys from going in for a treatment, as the spa is for men and women. How about it guys, will you get a pedicure -- just once? Hint, hint.
Next up was a visit to Perfect Games, http://www.perfectgamesinc.com/ ,which is the kind of place I would never normally go to on my own. But my nephew had to work at their King Pin Pizza restaurant on Thanksgiving night, so we all went down there for a very untraditional, but really fun Thanksgiving feast. The managers were nice enough to let my brother-in-law and nephew cook up their own original Thanksgiving pizza for us, which substituted gravey for tomato sauce and had toppings of dressing, turkey, onions, and some other secret seasonings and ingredients. And you know what? It tasted delicious!! It was like the entire Thanksgiving feast on a slice of pizza. My nephew thought that business would be kind of slow that night, maybe some single dads with nowhere to go on Thanksgiving, but wow, it turned out to be packed. There were parties at the laser bowling lanes, people hanging out at the sports bar, and kids playing in the arcade. The place is huge, seemed like the size of a football field, maybe bigger, is really clean, there's lots of fun stuff to do, and has a full bar. But here's a little bit of advice: if you order and Irish coffee, make sure the bartender puts a little whiskey in your cup!
I have a lot more to say in my next post about the nuts and bolts of getting to the midwest from California, my flying experience, and how to be a good guest when visiting reletives. Here's a preview: rent a room!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Fun on the run
Hello fellow travel gurls or guys! This blog is mostly aimed at the ladies who want to get out there and explore, but their husbands or boyfriends would rather stay home and play fantasy sports. Or you gurls might find yourselves happily single, but your friends are too broke, too busy, or too whatever to take that trip to Spain that you've always wanted go on. Maybe your travelling companions could be your wonderful children, but do you really want to be "mom" on vacation? You been dreaming since time out of mind about all the exotic places you want to see, but travelling on your own? Forget it! Who would you talk to? Is is safe? Would you get lonely? What would you do in a foreign country all by your little ol' self? Let me assure you, solo travel turns about to be anything but solo! You can't help meet people, and if you follow the same safety rules in a foreign location as you do in your own hometown, you should be okay. You can always plan a trip around an event if you think you wouldn't know what to do. Just the other day I was reading about surf school vacations in Costa Rica. That sounded like a blast! That's the kind of thing that you could do on your own, but you'd also be with fellow surf students.
In the coming months I'll be posting my various and sundry solo adventure experiences, whether they involve an exotic location, something in the States, or something just around the corner here in San Diego. I'll let you know about travel bargains for the solo traveller, give you lots of ideas for places to see, and some first-hand information about travelling with singles groups. (Hint: that's a fantastic way to get introduced into travelling on your own.)
I'm also going to use this blog to rave or complain about anything and everything related to traveling, like travel products, airlines, airports. I might go rouge and talk about a random topic or two. For example, when I came back from my most recent adventure to the Midwest, which I'll blog about later, I discovered that my cat had barfed in the closet on the nice white carpet. Why she has to barf on the carpet and not the tile kitchen or hallway is a mystery to me, but I digress. The mess had been there for awhile and had become encrusted with a disgusting yellow stain. I'll spare you more details, but the point of this story is to tell you about a great, I mean GREAT product for cleaning the cat barf stains. It's Woolite Oxy Deep Power Shot, and I'll tell you, I have tried a lot of products for this problem and Woolite really delivers and removes new and old stains from the carpet. I got it at Home Depot. And just so you know, I don't have any stock in Woolite and no one paid me to say that!! But just thought I would pass that along because, yes, it really really works.
In the coming months I'll be posting my various and sundry solo adventure experiences, whether they involve an exotic location, something in the States, or something just around the corner here in San Diego. I'll let you know about travel bargains for the solo traveller, give you lots of ideas for places to see, and some first-hand information about travelling with singles groups. (Hint: that's a fantastic way to get introduced into travelling on your own.)
I'm also going to use this blog to rave or complain about anything and everything related to traveling, like travel products, airlines, airports. I might go rouge and talk about a random topic or two. For example, when I came back from my most recent adventure to the Midwest, which I'll blog about later, I discovered that my cat had barfed in the closet on the nice white carpet. Why she has to barf on the carpet and not the tile kitchen or hallway is a mystery to me, but I digress. The mess had been there for awhile and had become encrusted with a disgusting yellow stain. I'll spare you more details, but the point of this story is to tell you about a great, I mean GREAT product for cleaning the cat barf stains. It's Woolite Oxy Deep Power Shot, and I'll tell you, I have tried a lot of products for this problem and Woolite really delivers and removes new and old stains from the carpet. I got it at Home Depot. And just so you know, I don't have any stock in Woolite and no one paid me to say that!! But just thought I would pass that along because, yes, it really really works.
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