Trip Reports - Adventures with Kirstin: Virginia and Outer Banks including UA921/920 in E+ with pics

My Photos:
Adventures with
Kirstin: Virginia and Outer Banks including UA921/920 in E+ (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286349939)

Username: flyertalk
Password: flyertalk

Kirstins Photos:
Kirstins photos from the evening at the Mexican restaurant and Boulevard (http://homepage.mac.com/kirstinsjuul/PhotoAlbum2.html)
Some of Kirstins photos from the sailing and beach (http://homepage.mac.com/kirstinsjuul/PhotoAlbum3.html)

________________________

Background

At the beginning of June I made the decision to book to fly out to Washington to see my girlfriend, Kirstin. The trip was planned at fairly short notice in comparison to our other trips to see eachother due to the fact that she recently graduated from University and is in the process of getting herself a job 'location to be announced' and as a result trips cannot be easily booked months in advance. I had already booked to fly on British Airways in Club World to San Francisco in mid September and my student budget for the summer was close to exhaustion and so for me this trip was going to be the reality check, the long walk to the back of the bus, the cheap seats whatever you want to call it. Initially we had hoped that Kirstin would be able to come over to the UK to take in the late June / early July festivities I attend including the Henley Royal Regatta (http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4286340753) and graduation day at my school, known as Founders Day. These are definitely the 'show off your girlfriend' highlights in the social calendar of an former public school undergraduate and I was keen to show her some traditional British events, of which Henley certainly qualifies. Unfortunately tickets were not coming out at less than $800 and for a recent graduate looking for a house and attempting to find her own too financial legs this was a step too far. Instead and in my disappointment at Kirstin not being able to make it I took the chivalrous move and decided I'd make the trip Stateside to see her. After some deliberation between either flying on British Airways and taken a token amount of miles (plus some for using my British Airways American Express card) or whether to use my newly acquired Lufthansa Senator card to obtain all the Star Alliance Gold perks on a United flight I chose the latter. The cost £426 booked over the phone, initially reserved through Chicago and then payment finalised the following morning. I later added the Lufthansa number to my booking and was confirmed before asking that I would obtain seats in Economy Plus with and extra four inches of pitch, a welcome comfort for my trip in the cheap seats.

The transit through Heathrow - Terminal 3

Arrival at the airport and check-in
I had booked the 11.30am flight from Heathrow and luckily for me my father was attending a meeting just north of the airport at 9am so we left home at 7am in order to compensate for traffic, arriving at Terminal 3 at 8.10am. I was slightly earlier than I had anticipated although I had all the shopping and lounge facilities to keep me occupied for a few hours. I made my way to the United section of the departure floor where I was greeted by a United representative and a young lad. He asked what cabin I was flying in today and I replied 'Economy Plus but I'm a Star Gold and am entitled to use the Business Class check-in, is this correct?', the young lad looked confused and turned to his supervisor before his supervisor replied and sent me towards the check-in desks. As I walked away I heard her explain to the lad what the jargon I just blurted meant. I then tried to use one of the four Star Alliance upgrade vouchers I had been sent as part of my Lufthansa Senator status. I was told I wasn't on a high enough fare and to be fair I did know this although it doesn't harm to ask and I was polite at all times, even when refused. As expected my boarding pass for seat 19A was handed to me. I was then asked if I knew the layout of the terminal and the location of the Red Carpet Club despite not having flown from Terminal 3 since 2000 I felt I could follow signs and make my way to the various lounges.

Airport lounges and shopping
I headed up the escalator in the middle of the check-in desk area and went to change some Sterling into US dollars at the Travelex bureau to earn my scant number of BA miles for this trip before joining the short queue for security. After passing security in a matter of minutes I was dumbfounded, Terminal 3 had been refurbished and was largely beyond recognition! As per BAA policy of the last few years the place was now a shopping mall with tight security and an airport! Being only slightly interested in shopping at this moment I headed for the number of lounges I was entitled to visit. The London Lounge (http://www.businesstraveller.com/default.asp?Page=14&PUB=65&ISS=7316&SID=307202), a shared SAS and Air Canada lounge was my first port of call, due to its proximity to the shopping area and its recommendation on my thread in the United forum (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=326671). I was impressed with the standard of the London Lounge and enjoyed a nice glass of orange juice on the top floor of the lounge while watching the inbound traffic landing on 27L. At this point I became odd; inspired by a thread in the BA forum some months ago (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34561) and the tales of Lenny (http://www.saddler.me.uk/lenny/), the travelling companion of Gaza I decided to get snap happy. At Xmas my girlfriend Kirstin gave me a small bear with her name on it so I thought in the same vein as Baby Hedwig, Dave the Bear and Lenny the Kirstin bear (to differentiate it from the real Kirstin) would become my new travel companion. I did feel something of a fool photographing a bear and certainly tried to be coy with it, only taking photos when I felt I wasn't being watched :o

A selection of photos I took in the London Lounge

-Kirstin bear besides the top floor window (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Kirstin_bear_in_the_London_Lounge_top_floor_window .jpg)
-Kirstin bear in ground floor bar area (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Kirstin_bear_in_London_Lounge_Ground_floor_bar_are a.jpg)
-The top floor (http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Top_floor_of_London_Lounge.jpg)
-Another shot of the top floor of the London Lounge (http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Top_floor_of_London_Lounge_2.jpg)
-Kirstin bear in the massage chair (http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Kirstin_bear_in_massage_chair_of_London_Lounge.jpg ) Thanks to LHR Tim for the suggestion ^ makes up a bit for missing out on the BA Molton Brown Spa!


After settling with some orange juice, a Singha beer and a quick check on email and of course, Flyertalk I decided to roam and discover the other lounges I was entitled to. However before I chose to browse a few of the somewhat neverending boutiqes and stores that Terminal 3 had to offer. I stopped off at the Mappin & Webb store as their was a certain ladies watch I had my eye on for some time (I hasten to add, not for myself!) and the lady soon came over and asked 'If I was looking for my watch in there', I was impressed that she had noticed my watch as she approached and recognised it as a Breitling. Afterwards I looked around one of the many Duty Free stores offering reduced priced perfume, an ideal present for arrival and some gene I must have inherited from my father. He always seems to being back perfume for my mother when he goes away on business. I was not impulsive this time and instead chose to head for the relative calm of the Singapore Airlines lounge (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/Singapore_Airlines_Business_Class_.jpg) which was done towards Gates 1-10. This lounge was rather pleasant although I was only joined there by a couple of others. I took a seat looking over the apron and sat with a yoghurt from the fridge and an orange juice brought to me by the barman who was far from rushed off his feet and apparently glad to see people. I helped myself to one of the numerous copies of Elite Traveller magazine before noticing the face of Paul Burrell on Larry King Live and it was at this time I knew I should go and visit the lounge of my host airline, the United Red Carpet Club!

I headed for Gate 12c and into the lounge, a rather dark and dank affair as predicted on here although the free booze was welcome and I helped myself to a double gin and tonic before settling down in my seat (http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/In_the_United_Red_Carpet_Club_beside_Gate_12C_in_T erminal_3.jpg). Flights to Los Angeles and Chicago came and went and the time had come to call Kirstin. I was of course wary of the time difference and that being awoken at 5.30am is far from ideal however I felt duty bound to let her know all was going to plan, ie. I was now sitting with a Guinness in the Red Carpet Club :D

The time to start preparing for boarding was underway although no annoucement had been made, I suddenly had a guilt trip not bringing anything for Kirstin and so made a dash for the shops once again :rolleyes: and since I had been mingling with the unwashed, potentially hazardous arriving passengers I had to pass through security again. I dashed to the Duty Free store and picked up some Ralph (http://makeashorterlink.com/?S28213DB8) before going at a brisk pace and following as the television screeen directed to Gate 42, right down the far end of Terminal 3. I was at close to powermarching down past all the others who were, for my liking, being a little too timely for their flight! I then looked up at a screen to find the flight was actually going from Gate 8 down from where I had just come :o I must have misread the screen because by the time I had passed through security again (they must have wondered what the heck I was doing!) and made it to the gate the seating area was relatively full. Although before I could join those unfortunate enough not to enjoy lounge access I was given the full random body search treatment. Following this I hoped the boarding pass would be rejected and reissued with a slightly lower row number, however no such luck. Who said United were extremely lax on upgrades? ;) Before my ... could touch the seat the first call was made for preboards and so I stood up and made a beeline for the jetway. Boarding the 767-200 I passed through the First and Business class cabins where most of the other pre-boards were being seated and I then found my seat in the middle of Economy Plus. My experience of flying United totals 0 hrs however I had read a little on Flyertalk about E+. I knew the seats in Economy and Economy Plus were the same with only a 4inch legroom differentiation however I was expecting to see a small separate cabin filled with Star Golds, Star Silvers and those Mileage Plus members with enough flights under their belts to hold Premier or Premier Executive cards. Instead I was surrounded by ruffians ;) and this left me thinking how E+ works (any answers welcome at the bottom), was it that people paid extra for the enhanced legroom, just a case of asking at check-in or as I initially was expecting Star Alliance members with status. The latter was thrown out the window fairly soon after boarding due to the number of people in E+. A seatmate soon joined me and at this point I regretted not bothering with changing my seat to an aisle.

The flight - United 921 London Heathrow - Washington Dulles (Boeing 767-300 - N647UA)

We pushed back around 11.40am and taxied round the centre terminals at Heathrow in an anti-clockwise manner heading for runway 27R. We passed G-BOAB, the Concorde to be displayed in Terminal 5 and held for some time before eventually leaving Heathrow at 12.08pm. The old beef or chicken choice was the menu and I took the chicken, the meat wasn't bad for a Y meal, although to be honest the last time I accepted a meal in the back was around 5yrs ago! The small tub of Cadburys ice cream was a welcome dessert although not a touch on my chocolate morello (http://www.airlinemeals.net/images/meals/britishairways220.jpg) I had on British Airways in December although to be expected. I then watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (http://www.dreamworks.com/dvd_features_wadwth.html), mainly because when I was in the US at Xmas, Kirstin and I saw the trailer for this movie and she said how terrible it looked... so I just had to watch it. While not terrible I'd hardly call it a vintage movie and it was better than leaving through Skymall or the inflight magazine. The room in E+ was relatively tight especially when it came to retrieving magazines / mini disc players / headphones and like from my carry-on, although it was at this point I became grateful for the extra 4inches of room. I listened to a number of Paul van Dyk live mixes (for the record and since this trip report can't get any more detailed: Live from Energy 10.8.03 (http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=122478) and Live from Gallery, Turnmills (http://users.pandora.be/Zjokke1977/1999/Paul%20Van%20Dyk%20-%20(1999-04-04)%20Essential%20Mix%20At%20Gallery%20Turnmills.h tml)) and since I knew it was going to be a long day I hoped Cafe del Mar Dreams Volumen Dos (http://www.cafedelmarmusic.com/html/CD_dreams2_IN.html) would help sooth me to sleep, I was in no such luck and at every flick over to the airshow we appeared to have moved about one millemetre closer to Nova Scotia. The view acrosss the wing of N647UA (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/The_view_across_the_wing_of_UA921.jpg). At this point I began to chat to my seatmate and after passing the usual niceties he mentioned he was flying back to the UK in a few weeks for the Farnborough Airshow. I mentioned that if he was flying with any regularity he should join United Mileage Plus, too late, he had and said it was this flight that was going to get him Gold. I then did my selling point on Flyertalk, so if you are that man I spoke to on United 921 on 22nd June firstly I hope I am not boring you, and secondly have a safe trip to Farnborough :).

Before long we were offered an afternoon snack consisting of a sandwich, packet of crisps (chips to our US counterparts, though they were Walkers CRISPS) and a chocolate bar if my memory serves me correctly. After this was tidied away I retrieved my omnipresent Anya BAg complete with wash kit and headed for the rear lavatory, as directed by the flight attendants and captain numerous times during the flight yet others still went to the business class toilets :mad:. I smartened myself up for the arrival at Dulles and took my seat for the descent. The weather was slightly overcast and muggy as we landed on runway 19L, this soon turned to downpour as we took the bus from Concourse C to immigration. The line for immigration was as long as usual for an early afternoon thanks to multiple arrivals from Europe within a short period of time and after a 45minute wait and even managing to make the immigration officer smile I breezed through baggage reclaim and customs before breaking the Versace Black Jeans out of my carry-on for a quick freshen up to meet Kirstin.

The drive back to Williamsburg was eventful as after 45mins we had moved about half a mile, partly due to bad navigation, partly due to traffic and partly due to too much chat! I-95 was as jammed up as usual and so we took the parallel road from Quantico as far as Fredericksburg before getting back to Williamsburg some three and a half hours later. Some friends of Kirstins parents had been staying over from Florida and so we had a decent slap up meal of salmon, exactly what the doctor ordered. After some drinking and chatting with Sharon and Casey we watched some of Kirstins newly arrived Reno 911 (http://www.comedycentral.com/tv_shows/reno911/) DVDs which had me in stitches until I passed out for being awake for near to 25hrs solid. My bed beckoned......

Wednesday 23rd June

Wednesday was to be our laziest day of my stay. After breakfast we headed for the Ralph Lauren outlet in Williamsburg, while I would usually have not trouble burning a hole in my pocket I just couldn't see anything to tempt me. We then made our way down I-64 to Norfolk and MacArthur Centre with a customary stop for a Slurpee on the way. Despite the fact this was supposed to be a shopping trip for myself, taking advantage of the weak US dollar / peso etc and all that. However, I was naive to think I couldn't visit a mall with a young lady and expect her to come away empty handed! Alas I did find a T-shirt I wanted to get hold of on a plastic model in Abercrombie & Fitch however, they didn't have one in stock, however Kirstin did find a pair of rather nice capris for $70. Round One to the young lady :) I thought I'd trounce her in American Eagle having come across a stand of T-shirts that would go perfectly with my pinstripe jacket, however once again Kirstin found herself some nice pieces, Round Two to the young lady...The she took the competition to another level, Arden B, a ladies clothes shop, no contest so it was Round Three, Round Four and the match to Kirstin. The moral of the story; never take a lady shopping with you and expect to bring home more bags than her :D

After our trip around the MacArthur Centre we planned to meet Kirstins friends Jessie and Jen at Jessies work place in Virginia Beach. I finally took one round of shopping here purchasing non-townie flip flops to replace my rather tired and well travelled pair. After our brief stint of shopping we made our way towards Greenbrier Mall with Jen to stop off for a few drinks at Pargoes where her sister Megan works. Kirstin and myself had a food-less lunch and so we ordered some quesadillas and margaritas to pass us over to dinner later that evening. I thoroughly enjoyed our time with Jen as it was the first time I had seen her since my trip in September (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182368) and it had come to and end all too soon. Kirstin and I had plans and we had to make tracks, we headed the back way round to Newport News for our Mexican quadruple date with Debra, Brad, Finkel, Chad, Heather, Jon, Jenny and ourselves (http://homepage.mac.com/kirstinsjuul/PhotoAlbum2.html). We were all jolly and in the drinking mood so ordered $56 worth of Texan margaritas between us, basically a fishbowl of tequila with a straw, not immediately recoginsable as a margarita and hence the somewhat dodgy pictures in the linked album above. After the meal which was an absolute hoot (as evidenced by Debra who began to hyperventilate due to excessive laughter) and the sham that was attempting to split the bill and pay our own share (Chad, I still owe you $50!) we followed eachother in convoy the few miles to Boulevard (http://makeashorterlink.com/?D1F4227C8), apparently one of the more hip bars in the Williamsburg / Newport News catchment. We all shared a couple of picthers of beer before people began to head home for work in the morning, you troopers, especially Brad who had to be in Fredericksburg at 7am:eek: Kirstin and myself followed suit and headed back up I-64 in order to get some sleep before our drive to Nags Head, NC the following morning.

Thursday 24th June

We awoke reasonably early in the morning to make the most of our two days on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Once again we made our way down I-64 through Hampton Roads and Chesapeake before heading out in the wilds of North Carolina all the time keeping an eye out on the weather after all this was the opportunity to give myself a much needed tan. We crossed the Wright Brother Memorial Bridge to the Outer Banks just as I had done six months before hand (http://www.imagestation.com/member/join_signin_prompt.html?album_id=4287801543&rf=&ru=%2Falbum%2F%3Fid%3D4287801543) and the weather was rather similar to my previous visit. We made a brief pit stop at the Wal Mart and Brew Thru (http://www.brewthru.com/) (who now mysteriously no longer accepted Amex). We took a drive down Beach Road as far as Kill Devil Hills, the distinctive Wright Brothers Memorial on our 'Wright' :rolleyes: to find our lodgings for the next two nights, the Quality Inn John Yancey (http://www.qualityinnjohnyancey.com/). The room was not ready on our arrival so we took a drive down to the Ralph Lauren outlet to kill some time and by the time we got back via a few other stores the room was ready. We made lunch and hoped to hit the beach however the weather turned and even my much awaited game of mini golf had to be postponed :( I even bought a pack of Titleist Pro V1* from Britain for the occasion, although to be honest as a joke more than anything else! Kirstin had spent many a summer down at Nags Head so knew the ins and outs of the place as well as anyone and to get into the seafood swing of things we chose to get dinner at one of Kirstins former workplaces, Fishbones Sunset Bar and Grill (http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/beachweek/duck_foo.html#bestwaterfrontatmosphere) just north of Duck. The wait for a table table was around 30mins so we sat on the terrace with cocktails (and a Guinness in my case) and watched the sun go down over the jetty (http://img14.photobucket.com/albums/v42/fbgdavidson/59831fc0.jpg). After demolishing a portion of delicious calamari we got through some more delicious seafood although having had a late lunch the large portions and other side orders were too much for my miniscule British stomach. After settling the bill we parked the car and took a late, romantic walk on the beach just as we had done in December although this time we weren't dressed like we were off on an Arctic expedition and still managing to freeze our asses off!

Trip Report continues further down the thread. See 'Part 3'

Excellent report Commander Davidson (after all, you went to Pangers did you not?)

I'm still mightily peeved at you for deserting Our Glorious Nation's Flag Carrier though.

Interesting little tour of the Terminal-Third-World lounges. I've never been in a lounge in T3, and likely never will, so I've developed a strategy that can be deployed on the odd occasion I find myself there.

1. Checkin. Try to prevent images of London Zoo popping into head.
2. Security. Ditto.
3. WHSmith (Wallpaper*, US GQ - if they've got it, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, The Economist)
4. Hugo Boss. Rinse credit card.
5. Caviar House Seafood Bar (Sancerre, Smoked Salmon etc.)
6. Gate. See zoo metaphor above.

Works quite well in practice.

Paul van Dyke at The Gallery ? I've seen him there myself a couple of years back :)

Thanks for your feedback guys, not sure if I've gone a bit overboard with details though

BahrainLad, correct an OP (Old Pangbournian not, original poster) although my rank was Cadet Leader, equivalent to OW Ruby in the hierachy of the school in that it basically meant nothing though I could pretend I wasn't scum.

Paul van Dyk at The Gallery ? I've seen him there myself a couple of years back :)

Yes, this particular mix was from 1999, can't remember where I downloaded it from but it is :eek: :eek: :eek: Broadcast on Radio 1 and starts off with a huge ... scratch (although it is a tune called Zipper Track)

my newly acquired Lufthansa Senator card

So, go on, tell us which top-tier elite status got you comped to LH SEN in the ukstatus match, Fraser?

Hmm? Hmm? ;)

Fraser, I think the great architect Mies van der Rohe used to say "God is in the details" I think that "life is in the details."

I don't think you are going overboard with the particulars at all -- to me, these small nuances which makes trip reports so interesting to read. Keep it up and I look forward to reading the rest of your "defection" from BA!! :D :D

So, go on, tell us which top-tier elite status got you comped to LH SEN in the ukstatus match, Fraser?

Hmm? Hmm? ;)

Nice report Fraser. :)

And an good question indeed NickW! :D ;) Would certainly be interesting to know the answer... :p

So, go on, tell us which top-tier elite status got you comped to LH SEN in the ukstatus match, Fraser?

Hmm? Hmm?LH what .... I thought you held a blue card and therefore not qualify at all?

How annoying, especially with my next to useless bmi silver card which I received! :(

Nice report Fraser. :)

And an good question indeed NickW! :D ;) Would certainly be interesting to know the answer... :p

Are we trying to start another fight? ;)

Nice to see that the BA's board resident student is having a fun summer - cheers Fraser!

Are we trying to start another fight? ;)

Nice to see that the BA's board resident student is having a fun summer - cheers Fraser!

Now why would anyone want to do that? :) I think its just a quest for gaining knowledge and all that. Perhaps so as to be able to use it at a future date... ;)

And I totally agree, it is indeed good to see fgb having a fun summer. ^

Nice report Fraser! ^ ^

RE: Pic 15: A spot of wind blowing Kirstins hair


Riiiiiiiiiiight, THAT'S what you were looking at. Suuuuuuure..... :p

-----

Nice trip report. :)

These are definitely the 'show off your girlfriend' highlights in the social calendar of an undergraduate and I was keen to show her some tradition that I had been brought up with.

I stopped reading here - I hope your girlfriend is happy to be paraded at future events, as befits tradition.

Maybe she'll have to be content with being shown off to the FT crowd :rolleyes:

As an occasional dweller in the same circles as the esteemed fbg, I can only liken the 'scene' (i.e. the practice of showing off one's current squeeze) to the Badminton Horse Trials.

It's amazing the amount of "damn fine filly you've got there" that you hear. Very off putting.

I stopped reading here - I hope your girlfriend is happy to be paraded at future events, as befits tradition.

Don't fret, it's just his style I think ...

... British Airways in Club World ...
... Henley Royal Regatta ...
... Lufthansa Senator ...
... noticed my watch ... recognised it as a Breitling ...
... picked up some Ralph ...
... omnipresent Anya BAg ...

:D

The only thing missing is the lack of a decent schooling........

The only thing missing is the lack of a decent schooling........

:D^

MAN Pax, being honest with you it was her who said she was looking forward to being showed off to my friends and meeting many of them for the first time at Henley and at the old boys reunion. I actually don't enjoy people looking her up and down when we are together and find it rather uncomfortable. I always use a rather ironic tone in my trip reports and writing in general and preferred to use that term rather than 'take her to the Henley Regatta' it just sounds more interesting and using a wider range of vocabulary.

NickW:

... British Airways in Club World ... - £990 + 25k miles
... Henley Royal Regatta ... - were given our tickets
... noticed my watch ... recognised it as a Breitling ... - 18th birthday present
... picked up some Ralph ... - :confused: its only £28
... omnipresent Anya BAg ... - a trusted travel companion from a BA F trip four years ago, and indeed my last BA F flight
... Lufthansa Senator ... - appears you are all waiting for the answer to this. Well I don't put the relevant status I have on my FFPs in my profile anymore, last time I did I was Blue on BA but that was about 3 months back and since then there have been many threads on the BA board about how to get BA Gold for cheap. Also a few threads on the BA forum about the UK Status match programme and people who took advantage of the system to get LH Gold, Asiana Gold etc. I'll let you make your own decisions about which I did as intra-ROI tier point runs don't make for the best trip reports........

Yes, but you state in another thread that you used the RCC at IAD on your return, whilst sureky as a legitimate BA Gold card holder (i.e one who has the physical card, rather than one who may, shall we say hold 'electronic' proof) would have had access to the BA lounge at Dulles - i.e the one with the free drinks.

Hmmm indeed

... Lufthansa Senator ... - appears you are all waiting for the answer to this. Well I don't put the relevant status I have on my FFPs in my profile anymore, last time I did I was Blue on BA but that was about 3 months back and since then there have been many threads on the BA board about how to get BA Gold for cheap. Also a few threads on the BA forum about the UK Status match programme and people who took advantage of the system to get LH Gold, Asiana Gold etc. I'll let you make your own decisions about which I did as intra-ROI tier point runs don't make for the best trip reports........

You ought to be a politician with an answer like that!

I'm trying to decide whether I should interpret the above as 'I photoshopped by BA Exec Club online statement, and all Lufthansa gave me was this lousy Senator card'. ;)

PS. No intent to 'get at you' over the maybe-a-little-branding-heavy content to your report (which was interesting) ... it's just it made me smile!

[QUOTE=PS. No intent to 'get at you' over the maybe-a-little-branding-heavy content to your report (which was interesting) ... it's just it made me smile![/QUOTE]

Speaking of brand heavy content, maybe fbg got his inspiration from the latest James Bond movie??? :)

I too was at Henley and proudly watched my younger brother's St. Paul's School (USA) crew dispatch Pangbourne in the schoolboy event.

Still, I was incredibly impressed by the Pangbourne rowers as they hustled back to the dock after defeat so as to meet and congratulate their competitors as St. Paul's came off the water.

Speaking of brand heavy content, maybe fbg got his inspiration from the latest James Bond movie???All that was missing was the 'appropriate' choice of airline - I can't remember reading in the report the lines 'sipping a martini, shaken not stirred from 3E' ;)

I too was at Henley and proudly watched my younger brother's St. Paul's School (USA) crew dispatch Pangbourne in the schoolboy event.

Still, I was incredibly impressed by the Pangbourne rowers as they hustled back to the dock after defeat so as to meet and congratulate their competitors as St. Paul's came off the water.

:eek: its a small world and many congratulations to your brother! I was at Henley on Friday (in Stewards), on Saturday (in the cheap seats) and Sunday (in Stewards). I stayed until the prizegiving on Sunday and spoke to one of the parents (tall chap with a moustache, almost a Tom Selleck look-a-like), really congratulatory. I took a video of the PE final from the members grandstand which I am yet to upload onto my Imagestation album from this years HRR (http://www.imagestation.com/member/join_signin_prompt.html?album_id=4286340753&rf=&ru=%2Falbum%2F%3Fid%3D4286340753). I do have a video of the Pangbourne vs St Pauls semi final though.

Ironically my brother was in the Pangbourne crew from 2003 that lifted the PE (http://www.imagestation.com/member/join_signin_prompt.html?album_id=4287683881&rf=&ru=%2Falbum%2F%3Fid%3D4287683881), my god that was an awesome week and as an ex-Pangbournian so proud to see those boys lift the trophy :cool:

Password and username for Imagestation: flyertalk

Friday 25th June

We awoke slightly than planned and quickly prepared ourselves for the beach, which consisted of moving beers from the hotel fridge into the cooler before walking the 50yrds or so through the hotel to the beachfront. The weather was lovely and warm despite the appearance in some of the photos in the above linked album. After a few beers we decided it was time to jump in the ocean and despite this being an Atlantic facing beach, and getting myself wet above the waist the water was pleasantly warm. We kept a careful eye on the weather and despite the temperature the weather to the north and south looked rather overcast and before long people were seen vacating the beach to the south. We decided to pack up and before I could blink the torrent from hell began! Carrying a heavy cooler and a few items of clothing we sped back to the room before making amendments to the afternoon schedule of doing nothing. The new cinema seemed the obvious choice and there was no chance that I'd have seen any of the movies based on the fact Britain gets everything about 6months after the sequel has been released on all other continents. We plumped for Dodgeball which meant a speedy changeround, great movie in its own way though I doubt we'll see it vying for any Oscars. After the film ended the real action began! As we left the cinema radio transmissions were interrupted and a Tornado Warning was announced, how exciting!!! I always thought I'd have to travel to somewhere in the Midwest to see one however it appeared one was in town and the warning was valid for the area around Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk and Duck....basically on top of us. We made our way back to the hotel to turn on the news channel. The tornado warning came and went however the approaching storm was going to provide plenty of entertainment; power outages and lightning striking in the parking lot :eek: scared the living .... out of me! After the storm passed, albeit temporarily I took a peek out of the curtains to see people congregating outside their rooms looking as the local fire department with ladder at full extension aimed at the top of the building across the street. Sadly it appeared that once again mini-golf would have to be postponed, I was gutted! :( Since we had exhausted the list of bad weather activites we chose to stay in and watch the storm as it came back for round two. Being from the UK where the slightest storm (or sunshine) grinds the whole country to a halt it was amazing to see the Outer Banks function almost normally in the conditions. Lightning was almost continuous and turned evening into daytime and the half mile trip to dinner at Kirstin's favourite restaurant on the Outer Banks, Mama Kwan's (http://www.mamakwans.com/) was a rather wet experience. It wasn't my first time at Mama Kwan's having visited when we were in the area at Xmas for the Wright Brothers Centennial and this time I went for the renowned fish tacos, delicious and extremely good value. The storm continued to worsen and the drive back to the hotel was nothing short of treacherous, but we snuggled up warm in bed as the rain tipped down outside again turning the parking lot into a boating lake.

Saturday 26th June

Saturday was an early start and we left North Carolina how we had arrived, and with a quick stopover at the house in Williamsburg before heading off to the boat where we would meet Kirstins parents for a weekend of sailing. We were hoping to arrive at the boatyard in Deltaville for around midday although in reality this was nearer 1pm, however, undaunted we set off for Urbanna, around 15miles up the Rappahannock river from where we were. Due to lack of wind and being a little tardy in our arrival we were forced to motor most of the way, and despite the weather being somewhat overcast in the photos (http://homepage.mac.com/kirstinsjuul/PhotoAlbum3.html) the weather was very pleasant and so we cracked open a beverages of an alcoholic nature. It was the first time I'd been on a yacht since a very enjoyable holiday with my parents and brother in the British Virgin Islands some eight years previous, however, even then I was nothing more than a spectator and it was the same today. I couldn't even remember how to tie the boat up once we reached our slip in Urbanna :o . Not long after berthing at Urbanna we all bundled ourselves into the dinghy for a speedy (and somewhat damp) trip up the river and back again and then prepared ourselves for a night on 'the town'. I use the term loosely since Urbanna is by no stretch of the imagination a large place. We started our night out with appetisers and a couple more alcoholic beverages at Mojo Cafe before retracing our steps back to the Boathouse Cafe, where we shared some more drinks, shooters and appetisers. Kirstins parents headed back to the boat while Kirstin and myself sat on the porch and looked at the stars. I tried to do that somewhat romantic gesture guys do in the movies where the guy points out all the different constellations but after Orions belt I was slightly lost. My knowledge of astronomy slightly lacking and I think it showed when I just started making up new constellations! :o

Sunday 27th June

We awoke fairly early as one of the numerous jellyfish we saw in the slip decided to make its home in the one of the pipes on the boat and cutting out the air conditioning, we woke up in what was the nothing short of being a sauna. After morning formalities we ate breakfast on the back of the boat and prepared ourselves for a days sailing. The weather was gorgeous, perfect sailing weather although a little more gust would have been a welcome addition. We put the sails up after leaving the harbour and got out onto the Rappahannock, I passed on the opportunity of putting on some sunscreen since I had missed my chance of getting bronzed on the beach in Nags Head.....something I later regretted! Kirstin and myself sat on the front of the boat as we made our way across to Irvington, described to me as 'the Hamptons of Virginia'. We did motor our way in before performing a legal u-turn and heading back out again before docking. This did not stop a number of inconsiderate powerboaters crusing past us a little too close and causing havoc with the wake of the boat, it appears powerboaters in the US are as brainless as those in the UK! Not long after leaving Irvington we put the sails back up and cruised along at around 5-6kts. We then took the sails in and stopped in the middle of the river and Kirstin and myself took a very welcome dip (see photo in link above). Put the sails back up again and made our way slowly but elegantly back to Deltaville with the help of the engine towards the final stages as the wind had dropped and we were running behind schedule. After unloading our kit from the boat we enjoyed the company of some of Kirstin parents yachting friends. After a couple more drinks (although I insist the drivers passed upon the stronger stuff!) we took the cross country route back to Yorktown Pub (http://www.yorktownpub.com/) for a delicious and filling meal of crabcakes. We took the shortcut home across the Colonial Parkway and ended the evening by watching the DVD I brought over from the UK, the second series of 'I'm Alan Partridge' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/partridge/life/iap_new/) although we were both so tired and sunburnt in my case we needed a goodnights sleep.

Monday 28th June

We had set Monday aside for a trip to Kings Dominion (www.kingsdominion.com), a theme park just off I-95 between Richmond and Fredericksburg. Our companions for the day were to be Jennie and Jon whom we had dinner with the previous Wednesday evening. We planned to meet them at the park gate around 11am, however, a mildly delayed start meant that we were around fifteen minutes late arriving. The first twenty minutes or so were spent wandering in circles aimlessly not knowing where to go and by the time we got our way to Berserker and had waited in line for five minutes the ride went tech. Hopefully not a sign of things to come! We made a beeline for the Grizzly, a wooden roller coaster that was as rickety and loud as hell but great fun. I was glad to be back at a theme park after an almost two year absence and to be honest I was starting to get cold turkey. I'm not going to go into all details about the individual coasters because frankly it's pretty hard to explain and will end up being repititive and meaningless But you can have a look at them all here (http://www.kingsdominion.com/attractions_rides.jsp). Some however do require a little explanation and are more exciting, the first being the Hypersonic XLC (http://www.kingsdominion.com/attractions_rides_featured.jsp?id=12570), what appears to be a steam catapult driven ride that accelerates parallel to the ground for about 10ft (exaggeration!) and then into a vertical climb for around 160ft before going vertical down the other side. And for killer effect the brakes are rammed hard on at the finish so you end up looking like a complete mess when you come off the other end. Having seen footage of Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, it looked similar although pretty tame in comparison, don't get me wrong though Hypersonic XLC is not to be sniffed at! The Drop Zone Stunt Tower (http://www.kingsdominion.com/attractions_rides_featured.jsp?id=401484) is a 305ft 'wind you up to the top and drop you' ride. Unsurprisingly we all chose to save this until our $20 worth of pizza and Coke had nicely settled, although in reality it wasn't half as bad as feared. In the afternoon we chose to head round towards where the water rides (not to be confused with the water park) were situated. We rode on the large tire that seats around 4-6 people and got soaked before getting on the now not broken log flume. What we failed to realise was that members of the public could feed quarters into large hoses and spray you on the log flume. Having got through the obligatory 40ft drop into the large pool at the end still almost dry I was then nicely hosed down by a guffawing father and son duo who no doubteldy saw me grinning upon my approach. After walking round for some time in a vain attempt to dry myself in the late afternoon sun the group split. Jon and Jennie had come suitably prepared for the water parks however Kirstin and myself had not and so we gave eachother some separate time. Earlier in the day Kirstin had pointed out the Xtreme Skyflyer (www.kingsdominion.com/attractions_rides_featured.jsp?id=135853), a sleeping bag attached to two 200ft towers that swings more than Sting and Trudy. I was intrigued by the spectacle as Kirstin reminisced on a previous experience she had on one with a college friend. I was really keen to have a go and talked Kirstin into coming along for a second trip, she agreed on the proviso that I'd have to pull the release cord. I ponied up the $25 for the two of us and we dressed in the rather charming outfits before heading for the station. We were lifted up higher and higher.....and higher, it look so far up and I felt like I was going to slip out of the bag :eek: then the call was made, 'Delta Station, 3-2-1 RELEASE'. Kirstin looked over and I did a dummy pull, she looked horrified thinking it hadn't worked and then I tugged it the extra bit :p . The effect was sensational and something I'm really glad I did! It was almost 10pm and we felt like we'd experience more G-force than the USAF so thought it was time to head back. I remembered the Berserker ride that was broken at the start and went back for another shot. Kirstin chose to sit it out as she wasn't feeling too great and I boarded the ride alone, literally, I was the only person on the ride. It was like Neverland but without the young kiddies! :p Some girls then joined me just as the flight was closed. The ride was one of those pirate galleons that swings up, vertical and then all the way round...reminded me of my days flying light aircraft and getting the instructor to pull loops. Despite being hung upside down the girls asked me if I was at the park alone to which I replied, 'No my girlfriend is down there', pointing at the yellow streak wizzing past us that was her clothing!

I rejoined Kirstin as we played 'Lets find the car in the 100acre parking lot'. This game was a little easier than expected as I looked and saw headlights.....duh duh duh duuuuuuuhhhhhh. Surely the car wouldn't be able to start after 11hrs of headlight use, and well the answer, in a word, was no. Alarm blaring on key turn we gave up and thought the worst. We remembered on the way up to the park that we passed through a brief rainstorm and so as common sense would dictate turn the lights on. However, we didn't turn them off and the little green headlight indicator lamp on the dash appeared to be broken as we didn't notice it upon leaving the car at 11am. Kirstin called Jon and Jennie to see if they had any jumpleads, since Jon works in the fire department he may just be prepared for such eventualities. Unfortunately it appeared they were still in the park as the phone went unanswered. We opted for plan B: go to the front gate and ask if park security can help us, after all we can't have been the only ones whose car had a flat batt at the end of the day. We met the security guy at a 50ft pole with the letter designating our parking zone, he met us by saying, 'Are you the guys with the flowery seat covers?', somewhat embarassed we nodded and he said, 'Oh no problem we've just being trying to get hold of you guys all day' :o . Something I hadn't expected. Reminded me of those discos you went to at prep school when you were about six years old, the parents were all gassing in another room, the boys all mixing in one corner, the girls in opposite with lightboxes and the only MCing being Dave Doubledecks ruining De-Lacy' Hideaway by announcing, 'Right everyone we've got a white Ford Escort registration plate A123 XYZ you've left your lights on and we don't want anyone with a flat battery at the end of the night'. The guy hoiked up the bonnet and connected his device to the battery, we made polite conversation with him and he noted my accent, 'You're not from round here are you?' (He wasn't as yokel as I made him sound) and I said I was over from the UK. He told me his was into soccer and even told me that England had gone out of Euro 2004. Really nice guy and for his trouble I gave him a $20 which he reluctantly accepted, though to be honest his services saved our skins! We made our way back done I-95 when we got a call from Jennie who was laughing her head off down the phone as by chance she also had a dead battery! We got back to Williamsburg and just crashed, completely worn out from all the adrenaline running through our bodies almost constantly

Tuesday 29th June - UA920 IAD-LHR Boeing 767-300 N643UA

Tuesday was the day I had been dreading.....going home day. I got up and packed just after going through my usual morning routine and this time I managed to get all my stuff including the extra accumulated garb into my suitcase. At Xmas I was over for three weeks and failed miserably to pack my extras into two suitcases resulting in a large parcel arriving on my doormat a week later! We popped into Williamsburg where I got my friend Jonny a rather natty pitchmark repairer / ball marker utility tool thing and I also got my brother a William & Mary rowing crew T-shirt, to make amends for the fact I wasn't at home for his birthday this year. The weather was baking hot and so we made a stop at the Baskin Robbins where I got all a little carried away with having more than two flavours to choose from and so went for three rather sickly oversized scoops turning my tongue blue and my insides a gross amalgam of the spectrum. My flight was at 6.30pm and bearing in mind the traffic on I-95 we left at 1pm to be on the safe side. The traffic was fine and this time we managed to avoid getting lost, I am rubbish at goodbyes and so the last journey is always the worst, that swelling up and overall feeling that you don't want to return to a country with bad weather and a worse legal system. We made a timely arrival at Dulles, I was surprised to see the departture level choked and the line appeared at first to be originating from the Lufthansa check-in desk. I was surprised to see the airport so busy as my usual departure flight is a late evening on British Airways, around 10pm when the airport is near empty. I checked in with no wait at the United elite lines and then went to find the end of the security line, to my surprise the security line was the enormous line snaking around the terminal. I had hoped if the line was short that Kirstin and I could go and get a coffee before I go airside, however, with the line being as long as it was I didn't want to take a chance. Don't tell the TSA but she joined me in the line that was actually a lot faster than it appeared as a number of security stations were open. We were in the line, went past the point of no return and Kirstin stayed with me until we had a rushed and emotional goodbye and she ducked under the railings and made for home. I got through security without any drama and got on the moon buggy thing to take me off to Concourse C. I found the RCC and made camp and bought :mad: myself a beer which caused a right scene as the woman behind the bar didn't believe my ID. I have no problems for a week and then in the last 100yrds of American soil a rather embarassing scene is made involving raised voices from the other side of the bar. I once again try my hand with the upgrade vouchers hoping that IAD staff may not be so familiar with the status match versions of the SWUs, unfortunately I was outfoxed once again and had to make do with 20A. Nevermind, I didn't feel I was being outdone just disappointed that I have four vouchers that look like going unused for the time being. I boarded the plane hoping the 'LH*G' notation would cause a new, more comfortable row number to be spat out and nada. It was only a six-seven hour flight so no real issues with being in the back so I made do. The 6.30pm departure was timely and we soon banked round to the northeast and headed off back towards the United Kingdom, all the while looking out to the port side and to the US mainland that was rapidly disappearing behind me. I watched the sun go down with the beer offered to me in the first drinks round as I watched 'Catch Me If You Can', and there was me thinking that airline movies were meant to be up to date. I watched CMIYC with my meal, chicken at which point another FA said, 'Are you old to enough to drink beer :rolleyes:' once again I offered to show my ID although they didnt want to take me up on my offer. On the second drinks round sarcy FA asked if I wanted, 'A glass of milk, cupcake?'. Not sure whether to laugh, cry or blush. Catch Me If You Can, a rather good film incidentally made me wish I was around in the 1950s and 1960s when flying was rather special. This was followed by 'Calendar Girls' which would have been a good film had I been female, thirty years older and not had shameless marketing for one of the Upper Class seats that Virgin currently has. I mean the upgrade scenario was completely unrealistic, four people no status on Virgin flight to Los Angeles, upgraded both ways.....and they said they were upgraded to 'First Class' :rolleyes: [/ VS rant]. After the films were over I switched to the airshow which I hadnt followed all flight and my god we were just off the tip of Ireland! This wasn't meant to happen, by my judgement if we were going to land straight at Heathrow without being put into a holding pattern (which at 6am was frankly laughable) it would have been a sub 6hr flight! I took a number of photos of the sun rising while passing just off the Irish coast (viewable in my photo album) all the while trying to avoid: 1) frying the CCD on my camera 2) looking like a geek. Needless to say we got the customary annoucement that since Heathrow is busy at 6am...noise abatement......yadda yadda yadda. Well I was happy since out of window I could see numerous 747s circling close to us but didn't envy the job of my driver that morning who would have to get out of bed at some ungodly hour due to my timely arrival. As we made our final circle of the stack and came in over central London I saw another aircraft behind us to the right peel of banking hard round to join us. Made a nice smooth landing on 27R and saw the parked British Airways Concorde, G-BOAB parked off on runway 23, soon to be displayed somewhere in or near Terminal 5. After parking the obligatory grand switch on of cell phones began and I had a message from another FTer, CT-UK who had heard on the grapevine I was in the London Lounge, however I was 8 days late picking up the message...I sped past all the dawdlers in the trip back to immigration and as a result was a fair distance ahead of compatriots from my flight. My bag was one of the first off the carousel and there were only about three people at the side of the belt when mine arrived, always a relief to see my bag coming through those flappy doors, my fear is that one day mine will not come through, or be the open one with my underwear splayed across the black vinyl! For the first time in a long while I felt rather unsure of the time, usually on my 10pm BA flight I can get a bite to eat, put the bed down and get some sleep and wake up just in time for landing. I would be immediately in British time, however with this I flight I had no sleep and it felt like it was midnight to me. Dad put me in the back of the car and let me put the passenger seat right forward and I got my reclining business class seat for the 90 min drive home, the best service I'd had all day!

All in all a superb trip, as for the flights, with economy you get what you pay for. Bad food, not comfortable seats etc etc but I was very grateful for the extra 4'' in E+ and for £430 ^ . As for the lounges it was great to have a choice at Heathrow and the London Lounge certainly comes recommended and a hands down winner for a lounge hopping Star Gold. At Dulles I was disappointed with the RCC, lack of any food other than little nibbles and having to pay for a beer and then get all that backchat was :td: although i have learned that as a non-UA Star Gold I should have been given drinks vouchers when going into the RCC.

Many thanks for reading this trip report, I certainly enjoyed writing it. If you enjoyed it perhaps take a look at the others I have written:

-British Airways Concorde from London - New York with pictures (September 2002) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182467)
-Day trip to Berlin in British Airways Club Europe with pictures (August 2003) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182377)
-Washington DC with an overnight stay at James Madison University with pictures (September 2003) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182368)
-London to Washington Dulles on British Airways Club World with pictures (December 2003) (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182420)

Finally completed, hope you enjoy reading it

Please leave feedback, including on the photos :)

[U][B]I found the RCC and made camp and bought :mad: myself a beer which caused a right scene as the woman behind the bar didn't believe my ID. I have no problems for a week and then in the last 100yrds of American soil a rather embarassing scene is made involving raised voices from the other side of the bar.

Is there something specific about RCCs that mean the minimum legal drinking age is something other than 21? Your profile indicates you're 20, is all. Or are you just sour because you got busted on your fake ID? :D

Thanks for the descriptions of the rides, they sound quite lunch repeating!

...On the second drinks round sarcy FA asked if I wanted, 'A glass of milk, cupcake?'...

LOL!

There are some gems buried in there but finding them almost warents another trip report! :)


-- Dambus

Is there something specific about RCCs that mean the minimum legal drinking age is something other than 21? Your profile indicates you're 20, is all. Or are you just sour because you got busted on your fake ID? :D

yeah yeah you busted me!

I actually presented my legal UK driving licence when asked for ID. Have a look at your driving licence and the DOB format, then translate my details into that format. Then you'll see why I had no problems elsewhere on my visit.....plus the fact half the time people looked at it for a second didn't know what it was and just presumed that I was legal since I had the gall to present it

yeah yeah you busted me!

I actually presented my legal UK driving licence when asked for ID. Have a look at your driving licence and the DOB format, then translate my details into that format. Then you'll see why I had no problems elsewhere on my visit.....plus the fact half the time people looked at it for a second didn't know what it was and just presumed that I was legal since I had the gall to present it

Heh. I recall (unwittingly) avoiding a young-renter charge at Europcar LHR in a similar manner -- I'd have paid the £7 if asked, but since nobody asked me, I was forced to presume (heh) that the charge had been waived somehow. Later, I looked at the details on the rental form and figured out what had happened, given my driver's license that reads "11-02-1979."

I'm not sure I'd have the stones to try your move in such a law-enforcement-heavy environment as a US airport, though ;)

In my book, there is nothing worse than a phony. :rolleyes: (in reference to the OP)

To which I would reply, you don't get what you deserve, you get what you can negotiate....

Great report, too detailed for my limited time now!!!

Heh. I recall (unwittingly) avoiding a young-renter charge at Europcar LHR in a similar manner -- I'd have paid the £7 if asked, but since nobody asked me, I was forced to presume (heh) that the charge had been waived somehow. Later, I looked at the details on the rental form and figured out what had happened, given my driver's license that reads "11-02-1979."Don't you think it's a bit risky?

Surely, if you had written the car off or needed to make an insurance claim, wouldn't your coverage be invalid on the premise that the details given were indeed false or incorrect?

Surely, if you had written the car off or needed to make an insurance claim, wouldn't your coverage be invalid on the premise that the details given were indeed false or incorrect?

It would indeed be invalid.

Apologies if you could not access the photos but the password has now been changed back to flyertalk

If anyone has any problems accessing the photos please drop me a PM and I'll sort it as soon as possible

Thanks
Fraser