August 27 MSY-ATL DL734

Flight is scheduled to leave at 3:45 PM, but the plane did not get in until 3:15 PM. Checked in at the CRC and had a drink, uneventful overall. Much to the credit of the gate agents, loading was quick and efficient and we were airborne around 4:00 PM, meaning that we had made up all of the delay by the time we got to Atlanta. Pixie and I have the aisle and middle seat in row 23 of the 757 (I took the middle). Very uncomfortable with the man of great stature who sat in the window seat, but only an hour flight ... Got a cup of soda and I declined the Jungle Mix.

ATL-BOS DL404

We arrive at ATL and I look at the screens and the next two Boston flights are showing 6:50 and 7:15, which immediately alerts me that something is wrong since the flights are every hour at :40. We go straight to the CRC in T concourse (nice thing about those Boston flights, they all leave out of T). The agent says she can waitlist me on the 7:15 flight (which is really the 5:40 flight) and we grab some sandwiches at the Miami Sub before going to the gate, where our boarding passes were already waiting. Turned out that the L-1011 was not that full, they even bumped two non-revs to first right before departure. Pixie and I had four seats to ourselves basically (we were in the middle and a gentelman had one aisle seat and I took the middle and Pixie took the other seat).

What was really nice about this flight was that it was late, even though for us it was actually early, so they showed us a free movie (Entrapment) and gave us free alcohol. The snack was pretty good I thought (pita), though as always, not enough food.

We arrived into Boston around 10:15 PM, about 15 minutes earlier than our originally scheduled flight was supposed to land, so the "delays" turned out pretty good all around.

Hertz

I had reserved a convertible at Hertz using my AAA rate of $35.99/day. I joined AAA a few months ago, and just this week I got a magazine with a Hertz advertisement, basically I can get any car up to a full-size for $24.99/day (not bad for a full-size), but the real gem is I can get a Premium, Luxury, SUV, or convertible for $35.99/day! We get to the lot, hop in the car and head towards the Sumner Tunnel. We hit some traffic before the Sumner Tunnel and a light the instrument panel catches my attention ... "Low Fuel" ... I look at the gas gauge, the car is completely empty. ...?!?!?! I get off and try to turn around, getting lost for a bit, but finally getting directions and managing to find our way back to the Hertz lot. I'm pretty pissed at this point. They fill up the car and give me a $20 voucher (which I lost ), but they refused to give me another car and made me wait while they filled it up (Hertz got an e-mail from me about that this morning already).

Westin Waltham

Check-in quick and efficient. Carpet in the hallways could use replacement, but the room was very nice. Why is the SPG floor the second floor and not a higher floor though? Very nice hotel overall, didn't get to try any of the dining though, but it looked good.

August 29 BOS-ATL DL1097

BTW, whoever warned me about the traffic and roads in Boston, I must confess I thought you were exaggerating ... I'm sorry I didn't believe you. Talk about a mess, I have never seen anything like that ... most third world countries probably have better roads than Boston ...

We dropped off the car at Hertz without incident and go to the terminal. The check in counters are a zoo ... the Medallion/FC line doesn't look too bad, but we opt for the CRC. Wait at security in line for a bit then get to the CRC and get checked in. Boy, it sure was crowded for a Sunday evening ... I'd hate to see it on a weekday! They did have Sam Adams on draft though

The call for Medallion level flyers and the lady in front of me starts explaining to the gate agent that she's Medallion but her family's not and can they all board and so on, and the agent says no. Of course Pixie is not Medallion, and we always board together, and I've never had a problem, nor do we have a problem when we board right after their attempt. My theory in a case like this is don't ask if you might not like the answer, try first ...

We end up having three seats on the 757 to ourselves, so the flight wasn't too bad. Sky Deli flight, I'm just glad they put mayonnaise in the Sky Delis now instead of just Dijonnaise. They showed the usual news segments on the TV followed by an old episode of Seinfeld.

We land and get in a little ahead of time and head to the A17 CRC ...

ATL-MSY DL897

After trying to use one of the computers in the CRC (DL's internet access wasn't working worth a crap for whatever reason ...) we head to the gate. We board the 737-800 and were again on the aisle and middle, and someone shows up to claim the window seat (I think the flight was pretty much full). They serve drinks, no inflight entertainment, but they did show the Map and the Plane (SkyMap or whatever its called) on the TV screens.

Landed a few minutes late, and went the car.

Overall DL was good (especially the ATL-BOS leg on the "late" flight that was really early for us), the Westin Waltham was very nice, and Hertz sucked.