richard
Dec 20, 00, 10:46 am
life as a new 1K
At 3:30am I awakened, got ready, and drove the hour to BWI. It was too early for the RCC to be open so I went to the First/Premier line and they had cleared my upgrade DEN-IAH but not the BWI-DEN.
I would be going BWI-DEN-IAH, a roundabout way to get to Houston, but I would avoid Chicago and get some extra miles in.
I cruised around BWI and was surprised at all the activity so early in the morning.
At 5:30 the RCC door was opened so I said hello to my angel there, watched the Weather Channel and sipped Espresso. I was chatting with an interesting guy who lobbies for companies in California (lots of lobbyists around WAshington of course) and it was time to board.
I swung by the gate and they gave me my F boarding pass. The lady there was confused about how many certs to get from me so I handed her the three and she seemed satisfied (I think it's about 1450 miles). My new lobbyist acquaintance made the right turn into the 757 and I made the left turn.
We had pre-flight drinks, service was good, the flight was mostly full in F. Although we left late we arrived in DEN on time. I went by the 1K room in Denver just for fun and excercise, and also the West RCC.
Help, my shoes are on fire
There, I had the most wonderful shoeshine. First, the gentleman wiped my shoes with various magic elixirs, then a special polish, and then he applied a blowtorch to the shoes. I must say, the blue flame did make them incredibly lustrous. It was the best shine I've ever had. I highly recommend this when you are in Denver Int'l, esp. if you have cold feet.
Houston and dinner with TravelCrazy
The flight to Houston was also quite uneventful. I sat next to a gentleman who lives in Boise and works all over the world as a consultant. So many consultants are 1Ks on UA. Or are many 1Ks consultants? Whatever...
Avis rented me a brand new Altima, a car I have always rather liked. I drove to the JW Marriott off of the Galleria, ($40 from Priceline), and they gave me a fantastic corner room with a great view, couch and desk and table and chairs, a great room. The stay there was absolutely perfect and I even got a few Marriott points thrown in.
Dinner with TravelCrazy
I got in touch with TravelCrazy and we met at Little Papacitos, a great Tex Mex restaurant not far from the Galleria. The food was great, although I ate far too much. I greatly enjoyed the evening with TravelCrazy who has been on these boards for a long, long time. I don't think he is that crazy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Thanks for a great evening, TravelCrazy!
UA does me a big favor
The next day I had 3 meetings and called UA about going home. My routing was IAH-ORD-BWI (I couldn't do Denver due to schedule.) They assured me the flights were on time although I didn't believe it. There had been snow in ORD and was heavy snow in parts of the Midwest.
I rushed to IAH to make my 5:30, turned the car in, took the interminable bus ride to the terminal, and of course the flight to ORD was delayed.
I asked the agent if they could put me on a direct flight on another airline. He tapped his keys and in a few minutes had given me a FIM on a CO flight IAH-BWI direct. Thanks UA!!
The flight I would have been on was delayed due to flow control and I think this was very nice of UA to help me get home.
Disneyland in Anaheim used to have a "People Mover" and IAH has a similar ride between terminals. I took this little train to the CO terminal and checked in. Since it was my birthday I splurged and upgraded. CO gladly upgraded me and I even had an empty seat next to me in F.
It was pleasent on CO. Dinner was a great Jambalaya and salad. Service was very attentive.
On our decent, we had severe turbulence for about 2 - 3 minutes, the worst I've ever experienced. Then, suddenly, it was silky smooth and we could have been on the ground it was so steady. Fortunately, all the dishes had been picked up and everyone was safely in their seats.
When we landed it was snowing lightly in BWI and they were de-icing planes even at that late hour. It was 11:30pm and I headed out home on the slow slippery 95.
At 3:30am I awakened, got ready, and drove the hour to BWI. It was too early for the RCC to be open so I went to the First/Premier line and they had cleared my upgrade DEN-IAH but not the BWI-DEN.
I would be going BWI-DEN-IAH, a roundabout way to get to Houston, but I would avoid Chicago and get some extra miles in.
I cruised around BWI and was surprised at all the activity so early in the morning.
At 5:30 the RCC door was opened so I said hello to my angel there, watched the Weather Channel and sipped Espresso. I was chatting with an interesting guy who lobbies for companies in California (lots of lobbyists around WAshington of course) and it was time to board.
I swung by the gate and they gave me my F boarding pass. The lady there was confused about how many certs to get from me so I handed her the three and she seemed satisfied (I think it's about 1450 miles). My new lobbyist acquaintance made the right turn into the 757 and I made the left turn.
We had pre-flight drinks, service was good, the flight was mostly full in F. Although we left late we arrived in DEN on time. I went by the 1K room in Denver just for fun and excercise, and also the West RCC.
Help, my shoes are on fire
There, I had the most wonderful shoeshine. First, the gentleman wiped my shoes with various magic elixirs, then a special polish, and then he applied a blowtorch to the shoes. I must say, the blue flame did make them incredibly lustrous. It was the best shine I've ever had. I highly recommend this when you are in Denver Int'l, esp. if you have cold feet.
Houston and dinner with TravelCrazy
The flight to Houston was also quite uneventful. I sat next to a gentleman who lives in Boise and works all over the world as a consultant. So many consultants are 1Ks on UA. Or are many 1Ks consultants? Whatever...
Avis rented me a brand new Altima, a car I have always rather liked. I drove to the JW Marriott off of the Galleria, ($40 from Priceline), and they gave me a fantastic corner room with a great view, couch and desk and table and chairs, a great room. The stay there was absolutely perfect and I even got a few Marriott points thrown in.
Dinner with TravelCrazy
I got in touch with TravelCrazy and we met at Little Papacitos, a great Tex Mex restaurant not far from the Galleria. The food was great, although I ate far too much. I greatly enjoyed the evening with TravelCrazy who has been on these boards for a long, long time. I don't think he is that crazy http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Thanks for a great evening, TravelCrazy!
UA does me a big favor
The next day I had 3 meetings and called UA about going home. My routing was IAH-ORD-BWI (I couldn't do Denver due to schedule.) They assured me the flights were on time although I didn't believe it. There had been snow in ORD and was heavy snow in parts of the Midwest.
I rushed to IAH to make my 5:30, turned the car in, took the interminable bus ride to the terminal, and of course the flight to ORD was delayed.
I asked the agent if they could put me on a direct flight on another airline. He tapped his keys and in a few minutes had given me a FIM on a CO flight IAH-BWI direct. Thanks UA!!
The flight I would have been on was delayed due to flow control and I think this was very nice of UA to help me get home.
Disneyland in Anaheim used to have a "People Mover" and IAH has a similar ride between terminals. I took this little train to the CO terminal and checked in. Since it was my birthday I splurged and upgraded. CO gladly upgraded me and I even had an empty seat next to me in F.
It was pleasent on CO. Dinner was a great Jambalaya and salad. Service was very attentive.
On our decent, we had severe turbulence for about 2 - 3 minutes, the worst I've ever experienced. Then, suddenly, it was silky smooth and we could have been on the ground it was so steady. Fortunately, all the dishes had been picked up and everyone was safely in their seats.
When we landed it was snowing lightly in BWI and they were de-icing planes even at that late hour. It was 11:30pm and I headed out home on the slow slippery 95.