There was someone sitting in my seat when I got there, so I offered a trade.  It was funny as the ladies were really very friendly and I told her that I would not get up all night so she said I could sit in the window.  I would not have minded sitting in the aisle, but they insisted as she said she may get up during the night.  They were perhaps the best seatmates I’ve had in ages.

We soon pushed back and headed out in the cool night skies.  My best thing about Las Vegas is taking off at night and seeing all the lights below.  There is really nothing like it.  We took off with the Strip on the right and then making a right turn so we could see the Strip from the other end as we gained altitude on this wingleted Boeing 757-300.  I had noticed the winglets until we pushed back.  This is the first Boeing 757-300 in revenue service with winglets.

I was way tired so sleep came really quickly as I covered up with the plastic wrapped provided blanket.  A pretzel and beverage service passed through, but I was full from the barbecue at the Hilton so I declined anything.  Landing seemed to come quickly on this 4:15 flight touching down at 5:22a.  I don’t think I will make the connection flight I thought.

As I was in the back of the plane and we got to the gate at 5:30a, I missed the 5:45a which was in the other finger of Terminal C at rainy Newark airport.  The agents moved me over to the next flight, a Boeing 777-200ER at 7:45a.  I then went to find a place to take a photo of the wingleted bird which was now heading for Orlando, FL (MCO) at 7:00a.  I could not find a place though due to its gate assignment at 102.

I did however find a spot in the Presidents Club that would give me great pictures.  And so at 7:00a when it pushed back, I got a few pictures in the rainy dawn.  I also had some breakfast of cereal and mini muffins.  I left almost right after the pushback as I did not want to lose my place on this flight.

At the gate I collected my middle seat boarding pass and headed onboard.  It was freezing in the jetway, I thought these things had heat.  As I waited onboard, a guy came for the aisle seat, but no one showed for the window.  Once the doors were closed, the guy asked if he could take the window as I was about to move over.  He said he wanted to sleep; I guess I did not look sleepy.  I obliged him anyway and he was thankful.  I was psyched about having that empty seat as I believe it was the only one on the plane.

We pushed back a few minutes late and made the long trek to the runway and took off  into the rainy morning skies.  I reclined my seat and the guy behind me protested that he was tall, annoyed I un-reclined and tried to fall asleep.  Maybe I should have complained about the noise his little girl was making…The flight attendants did come by with a breakfast offering of cereal and bananas; At this point, I kind of wished the offering was a bit different, oh well.

This airplane has power at the seats which I utilized and audio/video on demand which I did not use as I could hardly keep my eyes open.  I did hear the Captain come on and say that due to the winds we would have to fly past the airport and then come back which would cause us to arrive at the gate a few minutes late.

As we descended, the guy’s daughter kept kicking my seat back and tapping it with her hands.  Her father never once told her to stop it or apologize for her behavior and I never said anything to him.  Some people can be really selfish it seems.

We landed without incident and headed to the gate arriving about five minutes behind schedule.  I then called Metro and was advised the next bus was at 10:51a, good deal I had enough time.  This was a pretty good trip.

How are you spending your weekend?

Houston, TX 17 Oct. 2009

The flight was quite full and I was only able to get an aisle seat, but I was happy.  I always prefer a window seat going out there as the American topography is spectacular.  It changes from flat lands, to snow capped mountains to green pastures to desert and lakes, just fantastic.

This pleasure was bestowed upon a Brazilian guy and his friend who were in the U.S. for ten days for a conference in Las Vegas.  They had just arrived on the red eye flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil so were pretty exhausted.  We chatted for quite a bit before takeoff and during the flight though.

We pushed back ontime and then had a clear path to the runway so we were off in no time.  It is a 2:45 flight this morning and we would arrive ontime the crew advised.  Soon after takeoff, we were served cereal with a banana and non-alcoholic complimentary beverage of choice.  Alcoholic beverages were 6 USD which can be paid with cash or debit/credit cards.  Headsets were 1 USD for the animated Disney movie UP, being shown.

I had a chance to get some zees as did other passengers including the Brazilians.  These early flights are brutal!  As we flew along, the Captain did come on and pointed out cool stuff. I love it when they do that.   It was soon time for landing so we all prepared for it.  You could see the mountains and brown desert floor outside as we descended into “Sin City.”  It was 8:31a when we pulled up to the gate a few minutes late on this Boeing 737-800.

I headed for the Presidents Club which is fun to find if you’ve never visited it, where a similar breakfast as the Club in Houston and the airplane was being served.  I got online and finished registering for the event, contact @sseagraves as he was attending and then headed out taking the train into the main terminal as Continental is in Terminal D at Las Vegas-McCarran.  Sadly, I would miss the keynote address scheduled for 9:30a.

I found a waiting shuttle for 6 USD, paid and waited.  Shuttles also cost 6.50 USD or 36.00 USD for a limousine and I assumed about 20 USD for a cab.  At about 9:55a, we left for the Hilton from where I would walk over to the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall.  I arrived there at 10:45a after dropping passengers off at Koval Resort, the Venetian, the Mirage, Treasure Island and the Riviera.  It was a good tour but I was annoyed.  I should have taken a cab.

I got ready, called down to check on a shuttle then headed downstairs to checkout and have a quick breakfast before heading to the airport.  The ride to the airport was short as the airport is across the street.  I had a good talk with the driver who was from Dallas, TX and says he misses his son who lives there.

At the airport, Robert checked me in after waiting about ten minutes behind five people.  He only checked me in for that leg though.  I asked for the other leg, but he said I had to do it at JFK.  I then headed to the TSA and cleared without any incident.

I remembered that the last time I was here, there was a US Airways Club.  I am a Presidents Club member with Continental Airlines and I know that as a new Star Alliance member on Oct. 27, 2009, Presidents Club members can use the US Airways Club come October 27, 2009.  I popped into the Club and the nice lady there said I could use it early.  Cool .

The Club is pretty nice with some muffins, juices, a bar and a Flavia coffee/tea machine and the usual airport Lounge stuff.  Wi-Fi is provided by T-Mobile at a charge.  I stayed there for a while and chilled just before the flight. I headed out at 7:44a just before brewing some lemon tea, but not before taking this picture.

At the gate, everyone was getting ready for the flight.  At 7:48a, a guy came running up to the gate for his flight to Boston at 8:00a.  Only that flight had the jetbridge pulled already.  He was none too happy.  When the agents came up from the jetway, I could see him trying to get onboard.  It was kind of fun to watch.  They did eventually re-book him on my flight at 8:20a via JFK.

I boarded late and took my seat after saying hello to the flight attendant who looked very familiar.  I got settled in on N763JB, an Airbus A320 called “Unforgettably Blue.”

Before we left the gate, Captain Tom told us that our flying time was 1:03 and that we should make it to JFK early.  I was skeptical though as arriving at JFK does not really happens.  He continued to introduce his co-pilot Jason and the cabin crew, Anthony, Nick and Susan.  They were the same ones from my flight from Orlando to Buffalo yesterday.  He concluded by saying that we would cruise at 21,000′.

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge joining Staten Island, NY to Brooklyn, NY

We pushed back at ontime at 8:20a and was airborne by 8:31a.  It was absolutely beautiful while heading down to JFK.  We passed right over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which connects Staten Island with Brooklyn, then we passed over Far Rockaway and came in for a landing into JFK at 9:36a.

As we taxied up to the gate, I noticed sixteen airplanes waiting for takeoff; good grief.  Our Captain had said that JFK was experiencing fog, but it should not affect us on landing.  Although I did get a tweet from @wanderingarmean saying that his flight was taking on extra fuel in case of delays coming into JFK from Houston-Hobby.  Unfortunately, he would arrive after I departed, so we would miss each other. I told him I’d wave to him as we passed each other.

A Cathay Pacific (CX) Boeing 777-300ER at the gate in JFK

We got to our gate at 9:49a, eight minutes late as we had to wait for an airplane to get pushed back.  The final leg of this All you can jet venture is at hand in less than two hours.

How is your Sunday morning going?

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I got a ride from a colleague who is heading to Seattle, WA (SEA). Once at the airport, I made it through security (seemed like forever).  They did not even have the bins available.  It was really annoying to watch one of the TSA agents gab with his colleague while we waited for the bins.

Once that was over, I headed to the Presidents Club that is close to my gate.  While I waited, I booked my hotel for the night in Orlando, FL.  I was happy, but surprised at how reasonable the hotels were.  I guess it must be the off season.  After some wine complemented with some cheese and crackers, it was time to head to the gate.

There, I got my window seat on this Boeing 757-300.  When it was time to board this full flight, I did.  Soon, everyone was onboard and it was time to go.  I did think that the Lead Flight Attendant looked familiar, but thought nothing of it.

The door closed at 7:00p and we pushed back at 7:06p as the emergency demo played on the overhead monitors.  The Lead Flight Attendant did add that all window shades should be open; fantastic I thought, never heard that before on a Continental flight.

We headed out to runway 33R-15L and took to the dusk skies at 7:06p.  Soon after takeoff, we were served pretzels and drinks the flight is not a mealtime flight as defined by Continental.

On the overhead screens “30 Rock,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Samantha Who” and “Parks and Recreation” were shown.  Headsets were 1 USD, alcoholic drinks are 5 USD and you can pay with cash or credit/debit cards.

Flying time was short at 1:46 as the co-pilot said we had a 100mph tailwind.  We soon started our descent into the Orlando area.  It was really nice to see the towns below; lights everywhere.

It was 10:02p when we touched and 10:10p when we made it to the gate.  The flight attendant ended his speech with “All Rise” and it was then that I realized that he was the same one I had on my Houston to Austin flight last weekend.

I deplaned and headed for the trains which showed up right away and whizzed me to the airport center.  I then walked down to the hotel shuttle stop, called the hotel and waited.  The signs in Orlando are horrible, so it took me a while to find the stop. Only doing so after calling the hotel and they told me where to stand.  Come on Orlando!

As I walked around, I did see the following buses that serve the airport: 11, 41, 42 and 111.  They go to various areas around the airport including the Florida Mall which is nearby.  I thought it was interesting that they were running so late at night.

Soon, my shuttle bus showed up and I headed for the airport having a great conversation with the driver who is originally from Venezuela, lived in Miami, FL for a bit and wants to be a pilot.

Checking in was smooth after which I went to the nearby TGI Friday’s for dinner.  Not such a good experience as the bartender did not ask me to join some Club of theirs and by the writing on my receipt I was due an appetizer up to 8.00 USD.

What are your plans for the weekend?

I disembarked and located the Presidents Club which is next door to the American Airlines Admirals Club across from gate 13. I stopped in to check it out as well as check e-mail.  Having a membership is killer as I save so much on airport food and in the case where I need a shower after a redeye, I’m sometimes lucky to have a Club at that airport with a shower.

I decided to head into town, so I caught the #100 for 0.75 USD from the arrivals area.  It left at 10:40a and takes 30 minutes to get downtown; you can’t beat that?  While on the bus I noticed that a day pass was 1.50 USD, so I just bought that, since  I do have to return to the airport and in case I need to grab the bus again while downtown.

I sent out a tweet about suggestions and got the following back:

• ssegraves@mskonfa1990 the Bob Bullock Museum is interesting. Don’t forget that ACL [Austin City Limits] is this weekend so downtown will be crazy
• jonberrydesign@mskonfa1990if time permits – amazing bbq at Salt Lick, but go to original location 30 mins S of Austin in Driftwood

I did see the Bob Bullock Museum, but did not get a chance to stop in.  Did not see Salt Lick either, a reasons to head back and see more of Austin, TX.

Austin is really lively today with a street fair blocking 6th street around San Jacinto St. (similar street names as Houston).  Say, random thought: how come Houston or Dallas is not the capital of Texas?  The street fair made for the bus detouring.  In addition there is a college football game at the University of Texas and the Austin City Limits music festival so all this made for a crazy day in the city.

People were everywhere mostly in orange t-shirts with the Texas Longhorn on it.  Quelle jour.  I walked around a bit after exiting the bus at the UT campus.  It is a very nice campus, I want to go back to college, umm…  I then checked out the state Capitol (taller than the one in Washington D.C. I’m told) which is really cool and then headed to the street fair at 6th street.

By now I was tired and sweaty and wanted air conditioning.  So I headed back to the bus stop.  This was not as easy to find due to the detour so I missed it, but did see the one going in the opposite direction.  As fate would have it, it is the guy who I had initially.  So I rode with him all the way back to UT.

The temperature had risen by at least 15 degrees and now there are so many cars and people on the streets.  What a mess. Get me out of Austin please.  After many detours and twists and turns we were out of there and on US 183 heading for the Austin-Bergstrom airport.

It was a great time in the city albeit quite short.  Another visit is due and soon.

Have you been to Austin?  Did you like it?  What did you do?  Let me know please by commenting here.

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The bus came three minutes late and the driver did a Metro-directed detour as he said the road was blocked due to an accident.  Except he took a wrong turn despite us telling him where he needed to go.  I was a bit worried that I’d miss the bus, but it worked out well and the connecting bus arrived on schedule at 6:56a.

It was 7:55a when we pulled into Terminal C.  I made my way through security without incident and headed for the Presidents Club closest to my gate.  I needed breakfast.

Now waiting for my flight to Austin, TX (AUS).

How is your Saturday going?