I've been lurking for a few weeks now, but this is my first FlyerTalk post. Apologies for the length, but I'm certainly not one prone to brevity! (Also, apologies for any typos since it's late at night, but I wanted to get this posted before a mini-vacation in NY this weekend)

July 15
HP152 PHL-PHX 7:15A dep
HP2805 PHX-SFO 10:50A dep

This was my first solo transcon flight, and considering my first solo flight last spring (nightmare flight on now-defunct Eastwind), anything would be simple in comparison. Thankfully, everything went rather smoothly. Arriving at the joint CO/HP ticket counter, the line was barely moving as departure time ticked closer. Finally, they called the passengers on the PHX bound flight over to the Elite line and check-in proceeded to go swiftly.

I guess I knew my flight would probably go well when my gate was only about halfway down the concourse, not all the way at the end. I had seat 17F, which I had booked online with my e-ticket, and since the flight was probably only 50% full at the most, I had the whole row to myself. The plane seemed like it was a recent addition to the fleet.

The flight took off around 7:32 and we were scheduled to get into PHX a little bit early. Breakfast was a choice between an egg and cheese biscuit with a fruit cup and granola bar, or cranberry almond crunch cereal and a banana. I chose the former, which was okay. The westbound movie was Mission to Mars, but I opted to instead read Bill Bryson's new book, In a Sunburned Country. I loved the view of the Arizona desert outside the window as the plane was on its final descent. We did arrive in PHX early, but it made no difference since we were directed to a holding pen. At least I had a view of the airport fire trucks practice spraying their water cannons to keep me occupied.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat and reading a leftover copy of the Arizona Republic during the layover, I boarded the plane for SFO. The flight was full and they were asking for volunteers to be bumped. I had originally requested seat 13F from the online seat map, but when I was issued the boarding pass in PHL, it was for 8A. It still turned out to be a window seat, but it was the first row in front of the bulkhead and quite cramped. Originally, the middle seat was empty, but a woman came onboard at the last possible second and they assigned her that seat. This plane was older than the one from PHL-PHX.

The flight from PHX-SFO was uneventful. There was beverage service with a packet of peanuts, and at least they were nice enough to give two of the mini water bottles on request. What a neat landing to have the bay directly beneath as you approach the runway. A little unnerving to see all that water fast approaching, but lots of fun to watch.

I had to wait for my relatives to arrive and pick me up, so I waited on benches in the concourse and watched them unload the luggage from the plane. When we made it to baggage claim, not all of it had arrived yet, but I was lucky and my suitcase was already off to the side, ready to be picked up.

Although I flew into SFO, most of my trip was in Las Vegas, and it was my second time there. I spent one night at my aunt's house and then early the next morning we all piled into the van and set out for the 9 hour drive to Las Vegas, where we stayed at the MGM Grand. I'm still 2 years away from being able to gamble, so I couldn't partake in any of that, but we spent the week exploring various casino hotels and also went to the Showcase Mall and Nellis AFB. (My uncle is retired military) We also saw EFX at the MGM Grand, starring Tommy Tune. I enjoyed it, but being a Broadway fanatic, the show didn't have enough substance for my taste. It was mostly a collection of different themed segments loosely held together by a plot based on dreams. Especially now that Notre Dame de Paris announced it will close this Saturday, I wish I had seen that on the trip, but EFX was still a fun night.

Throughout the course of the week, we ate at various buffets: MGM Grand (once for dinner, several times for brunch), Circus Circus (dinner), Excalibur (breakfast), Luxor (dinner), Mandalay Bay (dinner), Caesars Palace (seafood dinner), Fiesta (Hawaiian night), Bally's (lunch). The MGM Grand was consistent and obviously convenient, and we didn't mind returning there multiple times. If we had encountered the 2 for 1 brunch coupons on the Bally's-MGM monorail sooner, we might have eaten there even more often than we did. I think we all agreed that Circus Circus was our least favorite. The selection wasn't widely varied, food wasn't great, drinks were small, and considering the number of kids running around there, it was odd that there was no ice cream available. (One of my cousins looked forward to ice cream at just about every meal.) I guess we got what we paid for with that one. Excalibur was average, although the setup makes it very difficult to return for a second time through the buffet. I liked Luxor's dinner (especially their bread pudding) and their service was definitely the best of the bunch. The server quickly bussed the tables and was good at refilling drinks. Mandalay Bay had a very nice selection, including both veal and prime rib, and their seafood seemed to be everyone's favorite. Caesars was the most expensive of the bunch at $24.95, but it included one lobster per person, and since my uncle hit a few small jackpots on our trip, the cost wasn't a big deal. I really wasn't too keen on the rest of their food (IMHO, worst prime rib out of all I tasted there) but that lobster was wonderful. If it wasn't for my uncle's coworker, we wouldn't have even gone to the Fiesta (didn't even know it existed), but it was better than I expected. They had a very wide selection of food at different stations and live entertainment. I really liked the setup of Bally's Big Kitchen Buffet, which was one of my favorites. Everything from the Chinese, Seafood, and Dessert to the "regular" selections was tasty. If there's one buffet I regret missing out on trying, it was the one at Paris, with food from different French regions. It sounded really interesting, but they were taking reservations the night we tried and that was when we ended up at Caesars instead. With the time it took us to get to Caesars from Paris, we could've just as easily waited around for the next available seating, but what's past is past...

To entertain my cousins, we went to the arcades at MGM Grand and Excalibur, along with the theme park at MGM, the IMAX 3D Journey to Atlantis simulator at Caesars, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, and the Adventuredome/Midway at Circus Circus. The Journey to Atlantis simulator was my favorite because I have a penchant for simulators, although I wish we had the time to go to Star Trek: The Experience, since I'm also a Trek fan. I'll have to save that for next time. Journey to Atlantis was nothing like the Spiderman 3D ride at UIOA in Orlando, though - hands down, the best simulator I've ever been on. We also did the "magic motion simulator" at Excalibur at my cousin's insistence, but that had to be the worst one I've ever been on. I was yawning for most of it, and the movements of the simulator didn't match the movements on screen well enough to generate any excitement. Shark Reef was entertaining, but it was on the small side, and the tinier free aquarium in the Forum Shops at Caesars was just as enjoyable, if only more limited in what it could present.

Out of the various casino hotels we visited, Paris was my favorite, followed by New York New York. I've always had an affinity for things which are French, and from the second we stepped into the retail corridor linking it to Bally's, I was delighting in the sights around me. Similar to Caesars Forum Shops, it has a faux sky and the illusion of being on a Parisian street, and that continues in the casino area. The 2/3 scale replica of the Eiffel Tower with three of the legs protruding into the casino is a wonderful photo op outside and the Arc de Triomphe is brilliantly lit when viewed from the Strip at night. The uniforms worn by the "cast members" also add a Parisian touch. As mentioned above, I'm a Broadway fanatic, so I guess it was natural New York New York would also be among my favorites. The faux skyline looks really sharp at night when viewed from the walkway connecting NYNY to Excalibur.

The week in Las Vegas flew by swiftly, and before I knew it, we were piled up in the van for our return trip to the Bay Area. I spent my remaining days there visiting relatives, and then it was time for my return flight on the evening of the 25th.

July 25
Originally Scheduled:
HP2555 SFO-LAS 8:55P dep
HP776 LAS-PHL 11:45P dep

I admit it was a little unnerving to see a news item about the Concorde crash in the morning, but I had a flight to catch that night, and there was nothing I could do about that. Somewhat luckily, my uncle didn't have CNN, so it gradually slipped to the back of my mind because I wasn't preoccupied with watching news reports about it. Scurrying about like crazy, trying to get See's Candies for an aunt back east before catching my flight, one of my aunts drove me, my grandma, and cousins past the factory en route to SFO, but alas, their store was already closed so we headed for the airport. We arrived at the airport sometime after 7:30 and proceeded to HP's check-in counter. When I called about 2 hours earlier to confirm my reservation and see if I could switch my seat assignments to window seats, the agent had told me the flight was on time. However, according to the monitor at the airport, my flight had been pushed back to at 9:30, which lessened the amount of time I would have to make a connection in LAS. After a lengthy wait I got to the counter and as soon as I got up there, the agent asked if I was scheduled on HP2555. Sure enough, I was. Apparently, there was some sort of mechanical problem and she offered to try and reaccommodate me. (Does anyone happen to know if HP2555 did end up leaving at 9:30? I'm curious and forgot to check it on the computer when I got home.) The man at first-class check-in next to me also seemed to be in the same predicament. I believe TWA had a direct flight from SFO-PHL that night, but they had already transferred other passengers to that flight and it was no longer available. At first, I was offered a flight to JFK on TWA and then a connecting flight on Delta to PHL, but there would be a layover of about 2 hours, and I wasn't keen on taking a short hop flight from JFK-PHL, either. I thought about making JFK my final destination and having my parents pick me up there, but figured it would be harder to get out there. I then asked if there were any available flights to EWR, since we either fly out of PHL or EWR according to fares, and UA had one scheduled for 10. Bingo, I had my flight and arranged for my parents to pick me up there. HP also gave me a dinner voucher for $8.50, which was nice. The man next to me got lucky, too, because TWA agreed to free up a first class seat for him on their JFK bound flight.

Rescheduled flight:
UA78 SFO-EWR 10:00P dep

However, everything was far from over. We had to cart my luggage over to the United terminal, which was all the way across the airport and fall in line there to check in and obtain a boarding pass. I knew SFO had the CTX scanner, but never having encountered it before, I wasn't aware that it would eat up even more of my time. Finally, we passed through the regular metal detectors, and luckily, my gate was right there...and so was See's Candy. They didn't have the particular assortment my aunt wanted, but I got her a box anyway, and we proceeded to look for a place to eat. We found a deli where I put my voucher to good use, but I wasn't really in the mood to eat and watched as my relatives ate. It was getting close to departure time, so we quickly went back through security and to the gate, where only a handful of people were still in line at the gate check-in. I said my teary goodbyes and boarded the plane, with about 5 or 10 minutes to spare.

My seat was 14A. As soon as I sat down, well, I noticed something different about it. Particularly in comparison to the cramped seat I had on HP from PHX-SFO, this seat was spacious! There was actually enough room for me to stow my carryon under the seat and still have my legs in a comfortable position, and I'm not even a tall person. Watching the LCD display on the back of the Airfone, I was in for a treat when I saw it said "Welcome to Economy Plus." I certainly wasn't complaning, although I couldn't figure out why I was seated in this particular section. (I assume I fell under the full-fare Y criteria according to the class printed on my UA boarding pass, but my HP fare had a net discount, so if they had a comparable section, I doubt I would have been eligible. I guess I have the agent at SFO to thank for that particular assignment.)

While sitting there and waiting for the plane to take off, I also realized that I'd finally have my chance (hopefully) to listen to ATC on Channel 9. Takeoff was breathtaking with the lights of San Francisco and the Bay Area dotting the ground, looking like patches of gold leaf against a dark sea. Once we took off, I decided to check, and sure enough, it was on. Unfortunately, UA's movie schedule was the reverse of HP's, so once again, the film was Mission to Mars. My cousin wanted to see it while we were in Las Vegas, but it was unavailable each time we tried on PPV, so I figured I'd take advantage and watch it this time around. I listened to Ch9 while beverages were served and while waiting for the movie to start, then watched the movie for a while. However, I thought most of it was boring, and since I was also tired, my attention span wasn't at its peak. I kept switching back and forth between Ch9 and the movie during the flight while periodically nodding off.

Now that I've finally heard Ch9 in flight, I can see why people like listening to it. At one point, I woke up from a brief nap and saw a lights down below that clearly seemed like a sizable city, so I guessed it was SLC. At that same point, our pilot was asking over the channel whether anyone else heard him because he wasn't on the same frequency as SLC ATC, yet we were directly over it. Had that been any other flight, I probably would've just had to be content with my assumption. The weather was also a little stormy in the Midwest, and I liked being able to eavesdrop on the talk of weather up ahead and possible alternate routes. It also provided a nice way to keep track of roughly where we were at any point according to the ATC handling the plane at any given moment. I've always enjoyed flying ever since I was little, and my first flight was also a redeye. This particular flight brought back memories of how much fun it can be to fly at night as we passed from seeing the glittering lights down below to watching the brilliant colors appear on the horizon as daybreak approached, and then observing our descent into the gray, damp confines of EWR. It was a terrific way to cap off a memorable trip, even if that night hadn't gone as it was originally planned.

-"StageDoor"