ConDFW: Getting there
Last night was the usual frantic rush before a vacation trip: details to wrap up for work, various house-keeping chores to do (buy cat food, as I was almost out, pay a bill or two, clean litter boxes, laundry, and on and on), print out the hotel info and the e-ticket, check on the weather for Dallas, arrange the last travel details, like getting to and from the airport. My brother said he could take me to the MARTA station on his way to work, so that end was fine. For the Dallas end, I was sure I had seen on the hotel's Web site that they had an airport shuttle--but it wasn't there last night. A quick call confirmed that they don't have one, and that a SuperShuttle would be $25 a person, and a cab $55. A little searching turns up a rental car for the weekend for about $100, so I take it. Jerrie Adkins will be on my flight, so we'll be better off with the car than with either of those options.
This morning the rush wasn't so frantic, especially as my brother ran late, and then offered to drive me straight to the airport. I use a kiosk check-in, make the usual futile request for an upgrade, have a short wait at security and on to the gate. The monitor says I'm 10th on the upgrade list, and only 2 seats aren't claimed in first class. I think. Maybe I'm just having a consistent problem with reading comprehension these days, because the boarding pass scanner at the gate doorway spits me out a new seat assignment.
A little history: I had a lot of travel in 2002 (12 trips or so), but still would not have qualified for Delta's medallion status but for a special promotion they had for the post-2001 travel lull. Then in 2003, with my eked-out premium status, I had almost no travel, and when I did have a trip, no upgrades were ever available. My premium status expires at the end of Feb., and 9 days before it does, I've scored an upgrade!
Lots of nice features in First these days: the deeply reclining seat with a footrest and a lumbar pillow, all with electric controls, the pop-up entertainment unit screen and associated remote control, and incredible leg space (driven by the reclining seats, I'm sure). I handed off the sandwich I'd bought to Jerrie as she went past, and ate the Southwestern Chicken Salad with ultra-thin breadsticks and a chocolate chunk brownie. The salad was acceptable--not enough lettuce for me in my WW mode, and I left some of the chicken, corn, and black beans in the interest of calorie reduction. The brownie will be hoarded for later. And there's room to open my laptop and type this...
This morning the rush wasn't so frantic, especially as my brother ran late, and then offered to drive me straight to the airport. I use a kiosk check-in, make the usual futile request for an upgrade, have a short wait at security and on to the gate. The monitor says I'm 10th on the upgrade list, and only 2 seats aren't claimed in first class. I think. Maybe I'm just having a consistent problem with reading comprehension these days, because the boarding pass scanner at the gate doorway spits me out a new seat assignment.
A little history: I had a lot of travel in 2002 (12 trips or so), but still would not have qualified for Delta's medallion status but for a special promotion they had for the post-2001 travel lull. Then in 2003, with my eked-out premium status, I had almost no travel, and when I did have a trip, no upgrades were ever available. My premium status expires at the end of Feb., and 9 days before it does, I've scored an upgrade!
Lots of nice features in First these days: the deeply reclining seat with a footrest and a lumbar pillow, all with electric controls, the pop-up entertainment unit screen and associated remote control, and incredible leg space (driven by the reclining seats, I'm sure). I handed off the sandwich I'd bought to Jerrie as she went past, and ate the Southwestern Chicken Salad with ultra-thin breadsticks and a chocolate chunk brownie. The salad was acceptable--not enough lettuce for me in my WW mode, and I left some of the chicken, corn, and black beans in the interest of calorie reduction. The brownie will be hoarded for later. And there's room to open my laptop and type this...