It's too early, 6:15... I am sitting in the Ft Lauderdale airport...
Having driven cross country, I am now flying back... Having been on the ground less than 12 hours, much of it spent sleeping...
Thanks to Gina's magic, I have been up-graded to first class... Gina has connections that should never be under estimated.
So, now, I sit in the airport, checking emails, writing this, considering a cup of coffee...
TSA seems to be doing random gate checks... 4 agents and a folding table set up an additional inspection area, just outside the jet-way... Ever more ways to have fun while traveling...
I have been paged, to the gate customer service desk... There are seating issues in 1st class... A broken seat, couples seated separately... I an flexible, and let them move me to the main cabin, exit row, with all 1st class bennies... There may be a credit involved, which would be weird since I was upgraded from main cabin (aka steerage, although steerage on VA is pretty good) mysteriously... The gate agents are nice apologetic, and handle all well. I am good with getting home, any perks are a wonderful bonus...
Now aboard, we, thankfully our flight was not selected for additional TSA "special" attention... Now seated in my exit row... I think I am supposed to be studying the emergency card for a test, confirming that I speak English and am prepared to open the door masquerading as a window next to my seat... I hope the test isn't too difficult. At least I won't have to wait in line in the event of an emergency landing...
It took us 135 hours to get from San Mateo to Ft Lauderdale via the highway... It will now take me 6 hours to get home... I spent almost exactly 12 hours here, most of it sleeping, the rest drinking and eating.
The pilot is welcoming us and describing our route... Out, over the Atlantic, then turning back, westward, across Florida, across the Gulf, regaining land near New Orleans, across Texas, passing just south of Four corners, over the painted desert, across Lake Powell, over Area 51, then home... 2,700 miles total... It sounds like a road trip, but isn't, it will be a bit quicker.
As a First Class refugee, I get fed like a first class passenger... A full breakfast, drinks, a snack later... More drinks... A bit weird when sitting in the main cabin, and the first class cabin attendant comes back to check on me... Only me... I am sooo... special.
Now at 10:07, Tampa Bay is out the cabin window to the north... We are now over the gulf.... 36,000' 538 mph... Much as predicted by our pilot a few minutes ago...
Breakfast is served... On a china tray, with metal flat wear, and a really cute airplane salt and pepper shaker... It is going home with me.
At 10:47, still over the gulf, now south of Gulf Port, we turn northward, not too the north, but rather a few compass points towards the north... If the seat back map is correct we are now over the delta, will soon pass by New Orleans... I was there yesterday... The journey by car took about 14 hours... By big jet airplane it has taken a few minutes less than two... I will have to trust the map, there are clouds below, reaching up to at least 35,000'... Below, they will likely have thunder showers today.
Dishes cleared, I am working on a couple of blog posts, this one, and a second on my thoughts on the various historic sites we visited along the road trip... The flight attendant delivers a donut... Faux First class is pretty good.
Virgin America ( Best dam airline in the world!) has an in seat entertainment system, aka "Red", with Movies, TV (including Giant's TV), music, games, and an interactive map with flight information (location, altitude, airspeed, outside temperature (currently 51 degrees below zero) and such...
Much in the spirit of our late great road trip, I have assembled a play list from available selections... There is some Zappa, some Dead, Bob Dillon, Jimmy Buffett, Radio Head, and Willie Nelson... It makes sense to me.
Now 12:52, eastern time, over New Mexico... Local (mountain)time 10:52... At home (Pacific time) it is 9:52.... One more time zone to go... About 1:15 eastern, 10:15 pacific, we cross the Arizona/New Mexico line, and I am once again in the Pacific Daylight time...
We are passing over Northern Arizona, out the window I can see Comb ridge, Monument Valley, Lake Powell and beyond, Escalate Grand Staircase...
The last time I crossed this landscape via jet plane, about a year ago, the views were obscured by smoke... Much of the west was burning... This there are no big fires... There were several in Colorado earlier in the year, but not now... Just the clouds of the monsoon... Clouds that stretch across much of north central Nevada...and into Idaho to the north... Clouds that will either bring welcome rain, or dry lighting and fires... The cloud cover breaks a bit before Tonopah...
11:30 (pdt) or so, we fly over the southern edge of Mono Lake... Reach the east slope of the Sierras... Back in California... We are starting to loose altitude... Not the pitch over for final approach, but we are starting to drift downward... Hetch Hetchy is below... Our drinking water comes from Hetch Hetchy... We are over our home watershed... The idea is a flashback to college... Watersheds, river systems, divides are all very Berkeley School of Geography way of looking at our world... Tina and I met as Geography students, at Berkeley, 35 years ago.
11:37, we pitch over, starting the formal descent into SFO... Below we are now over the edge of the San Joaquin... The flight map says we are 102 miles out. Hwy 99 is below... The Delta is off to the right....
11:48, Now over Del Val, once part of the Patterson Ranch... Then over Mission Peak... They are extending flaps, trimming the plane... Ardenwood is off to the right... We are dropping down fast and it is time to power down the Ipad.
On the ground... The cell phone is on, a call is made... the lovely Tina is already at the airport, waiting... We rendezvous... The luggage takes its time getting to the carrousel... There is confusion... On the plane they announced our luggage could be reclaimed at carrousel 3, but arrives at No. 4... find, recover
my bag, head for the car, head south on 101... For a lunch date... A reunion...
Home, gifts given... Un-packing... I make Jambalaya… for tomarrow’s Cajun Zydeco festival… Docents must be fed…I blog... I check email
Now, a bit after 9:00, I am ready for bed.
I am Home
I am Home
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