gabbysz: I didn't see a mini golf course. That could have saved the night for me, darn it.

All the mini-muffins you care to eat

I was looking forward to visiting the Chicago RCC other than during the hours of 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. I usually connect during that window and as we know there is no food put out then. But today my flight from Toronto arrived at 8:30 and my Seattle flight didn’t leave until 9:45, so at last I would get to experience the wonders of ORD cuisine. I needn’t have alarmed myself. The entire snack service consisted of mini-muffins. Yuck.

Power was out in half of the carrels, so I had to hunt for one that I could plug my laptop into. I had time to download my email and post my trip report before heading to the gate. It also turned out My seat next month from LAX-MIA was indeed 1C, the side with less legroom, so I availed myself of the less-than-enthusiastic 1K specialist in the RCC and switched it to 1B.

Flight 333 was 757 service to Seattle. I boarded, turned left, and sat down in 1B, next to a nice lady headed to Vancouver to go to a food convention. This was a menu flight, so I took the menu offered and perused it. Filet Mignon with sauce Niçoise, Moroccan chicken with pita bread, or Boston scrod. After takeoff they brought around mixed nuts (yum!) and took the 1K orders first (there were four of us out of 24 in FC). There were three uniformed UA crew in the full first-class section, but I can’t say if they bumped any customers to ride up there.

We took off on time and the service was friendly and efficient. Stewardess Katrina, in particular, had a persistent and lovely smile which I always appreciate. I resisted the temptation to tell about the time I got scrod in Boston and ordered the filet, which I’m not doing again because it’s not one of United’s best entrees. It’s a thin cut and always seems overdone. I’m usually much happier with the fish. This time was no exception. This was actually one of the least appetizing meals I’ve had on United. The gratinee of pomme de terre aux fois gras that accompanied the steak turned out to be some mashed potatoes with a flavor I didn’t care for.

The movie was Instinct with Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Anthony Hopkins. I lost interest in it halfway through and worked on my laptop instead. I drank Diet Coke and water (separately) as I had real work to do when I got back to Seattle. The captain cam on the intercom and announced that flight time to Seattle for flight 333 would be 3 hours and 33 minutes! Eerie.

Again it was a very average flight, which is to say pretty good. FC service for the Friendly Skies. Upon landing—surprise, surprise!—the Priority bags actually seemed to come out near the front! Of course, by pure random chance that will happen sometimes. Let’s hope it’s a trend. My friend KMO met me at baggage claim and we rolled over the skybridge to a waiting MasterPark van. If you do park at MasterPark, you can get a coupon for about 20% off on the Internet at http://masterparking.com —just click on “Web Special.”

It was nice to be back in the USA where I could make all the phone calls I wanted without incurring 75¢/minute roaming charges. KMO and I put the top down in the beautiful sun of the last day of summer and headed off to our seminar. Next week we are going to New York and DC on business and will visit the Catman, Matt Wald, and Geo1004. Looking forward to it, but for now…

The end.

QL- Excellent report, as always. One small note for future consideration- I think the W New York is now the "former" W New York and the new New York InterContinental (of which there are now two!)

Really, doc---I didn't know that. I believe Starwood is opening two new W Hotels in Manhattan this fall, but they are not yet taking reservations.