Tour of Duty: 27th June 2018 to 28th July 2018
Part I: 27th June
The Flight and First Night Out

I got wind of a possible trip from New Haven, Indiana to Carson, California. I started looking into the possibility of flying into FWA but then heard the truck was not ready yet. Instead I learned there was a truck that needed to be moved from Winamac, Indiana to Canton, Ohio followed by a trip from Winamac, Indiana to Newfield, New York. An air ticket was booked to CMH as air ticket was lowest to that destination as opposed to MDW, IND or DTW. I was able to get a flight out of LGB with a change in OAK.

Wednesday morning came and I had an early rise. I got transport to LGB and checked in and my bags weighed 41.0 and 44.5lbs. I cleared security after a queue and opted out and was patted down. Both my boot bag and briefcase were given additional screening. Total time it took from start of check in to clear of security was 32 minutes.

Southwest #1098 LGB-OAK B-737-700 Boarding Pass B19
Seat 23A Cruising altitude not announced. Estimated flying time not announced, actual 0:54
Depart: Gate 1 Scheduled departure 07h55, actual 07h51 Taxi: 8 minutes
Arrive: Gate 24 Scheduled arrival 09h10, actual 08h58 Taxi: 5 minutes

We boarded via stairs and I chose the rear stairs. The plane was not full and I had an entire row to myself. Pushback was 4 minutes early followed by takeoff to the northwest. We went into the clouds at 38 seconds and over the clouds at 55 seconds. The clouds blocked the view of us going overwater and making landfall. Clouds broke and I saw we crossed US101 over Thousand Oaks at 0:08 and California 118 over Simi Valley at 0:09 then we crossed California 126 at 0:11. We went over the south San Joaquin Valley at 0:16 and I saw Maricopa, CA. I saw Taft, CA at 0:18. I got pretzels at 0:19 and seatbelt sign went off at the same time. I saw Avenal, CA and the prison there at 0:27 and I felt descent at the same time. I saw Coalinga, CA at 0:28. I got cup of soda at 0:29. Seatbelt sign went on at 0:33 and descent was announced and it was 57F at OAK. I saw Mt. Hamilton Observatory at 0:43 and I saw San Jose and SJC to the distance at 0:45. I saw Interstate 680 at 0:48 then Interstate 880. We went into the clouds at 0:51 and under the clouds at 0:52 and over the Bay before landing south to north. We arrived at the gate 12 minutes early and deplaned via jetway.

Southwest #980 OAK-CMH B-737-800 Boarding Pass C30
Seat 30C Cruising altitude 35,000 feet Estimated flying time 3:59, actual 4:05
Depart: Gate 30 Scheduled departure 10h30, actual 10h37 Taxi: 6 minutes
Arrive: Gate A4 Scheduled arrival 18h00, actual 17h53 Taxi: 5 minutes
Reclaim checked bags 26-29 minutes after arrival

We boarded via jetway and the plane was nearly full. I was unable to get a window seat and was fortunate to not be stuck in a middle seat given my boarding position. Pushback was 7 minutes late followed by takeoff to the north and then a turn east. Because I did not have window seat I did not have a good look outside and the window shade on my side was closed for much of the flight. I got snacks at 0:55, Pretzels, "Plane Cookies" and Fritos. I got cup of soda at 1:17. I got second cup of soda at 1:37. Seatbelt sign went off finally at 1:39. I felt bumps and seatbelt sign went on at 2:56. At 3:32 it was announced we would be starting descent early. It was announced it was 82F and cloudy with scattered rain showers at CMH. I felt descent begin at 3:38 and felt bumps during descent. We made turns and landed east to west on a wet runway and there was some rain but the rain ended. We deplaned via jetway.

After I got my bags I got into my rental car. The rain was over and the weather was clearing. I went into downtown Columbus and took some pictures before heading to Marysville, OH where I had evening rations at Frisch's Big Boy. The service was not great there. I saw fireflies at dusk. I drove some and ended up spending the night in Ft. Wayne, IN.