WOOOHOOO. I just got an email that effective at midnight tonight our Nextel contract turns into a pumpkin. I am released from the grips of the evil empire and will be (once again) joining the ranks of Verizon.

An LH pilot had just landed at FRA. The FRA tower issued taxi instructions to the LH pilot. The LH pilot read them back in German to the tower. The tower replied "in English please." The German pilot was most upset about this and screamed in to the radio, "I am a German, flying for a German airline, at a German airport, why can't I speak in German??"

A lovely British voice came over the radio "Because, you lost the bloody war."

How many steam trains are still operating?

This is unofficially part of my company's orientation program for new employees.

So, how is parking at the In-N-Out near LAX?

I want to get in a couple of early evenings of spotting.

I've been to L.A. a few times and seen most of the touristy stuff, anything off the path that I should check out?

I'll probably head to the beach if I get off of work early.

haha, not bad. I will have to forward that to my friends in CGN

In my experience, it can get a little hectic as it is mostly street parking only. I stopped by twice and was able to eventually get a spot both times. Many of the people parking on the street are running into In-N-Out, so the turnover is pretty high. You might also want to check out Imperial Hill. It's a little harder to get shots from there without a long lens, but it gives a nice overview of LAX and a nice view of the departures. The parking up there is plentiful and there are benches and tables to sit at.

I went to the Reagan Presidential Library when I was there and really enjoyed it! Seeing the old Air Force One was very cool. It's about 30-40 minutes (without much traffic, of course) from LAX in Simi Valley, but well worth the drive IMO.

The Getty Center (in LA) is supposed to be nice as well if you are into art. I tried to go but unfortunately they are closed on Mondays. :(

LA is a bit overrated, IMO. I always feel like there isn't a whole lot to do outside of the touristy garbage.

Generally not too bad, i've never had a problem finding a spot. Like most In-N-Outs, you may have to hover for a few minutes to wait for a spot to open, but definitely nothing too bad.

Plus there's a little downtown area with tons of street parking in the vicinity, if you don't mind walking a little bit.

Definitely worth a visit.

Just found out that the Le Meridien Gallia is only steps away from Milan Central Station, and that there's a 7EUR Bus Connection from Malpensa to Central Station. Now I can spend a few hours in Milan, and get SPG Credit for my overnight, rather than stay at the overpriced Crowne Plaza Malpensa :D

Got back from LAX this morning. A few things that's relevant to this thread..

Spent whole day (like 6 hours) at the Getty Center on Sat. Definitely worth a visit. Probably the best museum in the world for those that don't really care about art! ;)

Went to the Reagen Library on Sunday. Very nice. You can walk through 27000! No pictures inside the plane, but I took lots of pictures outside. For those who won't be going to the Stans to fly the 707s, and those aren't buddies with John Travolta, this is the best one can get!

As for exit rows, I get 16A on the 752 outbound and 22A on a 753 on the inbound, all by doing OLCI at exactly 23:59 before flight time.

Very cool.

The Museum of Flight in Seattle has another 707 Air Force One (there were several of them). It's also open to walk-throughs, with no restrictions on photos.

The bus is cheap and relatively convenient, but figure 60-90 minutes each way in transit time. And you are MUCH better off in the city than out by the airport; there is truly nothing out there.

See the Duomo. Climb to the top of the tower and look out across Milan. Then grab drinks, dinner and some zzzz before heading back out to the airport. That was our schedule on our way to LCA 18 months ago and it worked out pretty well for us. Some pics here.

I heard that museum is well worth a visit. Will have to check it out next time I'm through SEA. The thing is, every time I go to SEA, I'd rather make my way to YVR as quickly as possible.

Finally made it to IAH a few minutes before midnight. After a quick trip through baggage claim and to get the rental car, I arrived at the IAH Sheraton only to end up waiting nearly 30 minutes to check in while they processed one angry and tired displaced passenger after another. I'm sure if I had missed a connection due to weather after a multi-hour delay, and then had to stand in the long lines I was seeing at CO's Customer Service counters, I'd be in a pretty foul mood too. But some of these people were incredibly rude to the Sheraton's staff. One woman started yelling when she found out that the hotel's restaurant was closed for the evening (it was nearly 1:30 AM) and that the only restaurant close by that was open that would take her food voucher was the Kettle on JFK. Her exact words were "I'm not eating at some nasty Kettle! I was told by Continental I could use this at this hotel!" And then there was the guy who was maybe 6 feet tall who swore he couldn't sleep on a double bed and demanded a king, even though there were none available at that point. He demanded to know who Sheraton's CEO was so he could send him a letter. Finally we had the woman who argued with the front desk staff for 10 minutes about what time she should get on the hotel's shuttle this morning to make her new flight at about 8:30 AM. I'm sure the lady who checked me in was thrilled to see I had a reservation booked over a week ago, and that I didn't have any form of voucher issued by Continental.

Summer time travel is so much fun, especially on the weekends. :rolleyes: