Seat 2A

Thanks for the comments! Eh... I get a little rambunctious after drinking two or three big glasses of bourbon so I should probably tone down my comments on Business Class and those who think it's a great way to travel - in jest though those comments may be - because First Class is becoming increasingly difficult to procure, be it via award miles or good old fashioned cold hard cash. First Class cabins are shrinking or worse - disappearing altogether - and in the future, like it or not, I may have to accept Business Class as the best means of getting from A to B. Emirates is no longer affiliated with Alaska's Mileage Plan and the other airlines in the program that do offer International First Class seem to do so either at the very last minute and/or very, very grudgingly. As one who's logged almost half a million miles in true international First Class since the seventies, I'm really appreciative of the considerably larger amount of extra space and of course there is absolutely nothing as exhilarating as being wined and dined via a six or seven course meal aloft. Here's to SFO777 who continues to keep us up to date on international First via his excellent reporting.

As for me, I can only hope that the worst of this pandemic is behind us within a couple of years, because I'm definitely ready for a proper international excursion -as are I should imagine most of you. Also hoped for for me besides Rovos Rail and the Seychelles are a trip to the Marquesas Islands and a return to my favorite island of Tasmania. I just finished a 6000 mile excursion on Amtrak and am now enjoying a chilly night in Page, Arizona. What better place to reread Edward Abbey's classic "The Monkey Wrench Gang" and so I brought along a copy for that express purpose. And now, it's time for a glass or two of Woodford Reserve, a 750ml bottle of which was selling for only $29 here in Page. Amazing! Here's to Hayduke!