Joys of Travel

Had a wonderful time in California last weekend.  There were a few set backs (mostly with flights) but getting 4 days with my hubby made it all worth while. 

About those flights though...

I'm kind of torn on United Airlines, while almost every flight I was on was delayed or cancelled, I did make it to my final destinations on the intended travel day (albeit several hours later than anticipated).  This wasn't much different than US Airways last time around either, so I'll just assume delays & rerouting are the new status quo for air travel and not a foible of United specifically.

Their staff wasn't overly impressive either.  While they were efficient in getting new itineraries, that's about all I can say to their benefit.  Most that I observed (had several hours to kill) lacked conflict resolution skills.  I can forgive a lack of sympathy, after a while I'm sure everyone sounds the same clamoring about how their plans are ruined due to something an attendant can do nothing to prevent or rectify.  However, their job is to make the situation at least appear better, not worse, and help with what little they can control. 

Case in point: There was one poor bastard at Palm Spring Airport that got the unofficially-official goat-rope.  He & his family disembark from the plane (PSP uses open stairs, not enclosed catwalks) and while his family continues in, he stops *just* before entering the building & remembers they have door-checked luggage.  The United ticket attendant sees him, calls him into the building to ask why he was going back & he explains about the luggage.  She then informs him that since he stepped into the terminal, he could no longer exit again & his luggage would then be sent to baggage claim. O_o  He points out that she called him in, apparently that didn't matter, he was in the terminal.  Thus ensues a rather Abbott & Costello-esque argument.  Eventually, a porter comes and moves the bags the whole 10' to the door so the gentleman could make his connection.  FYI, there were no signs stating you couldn't go back.  All she needed to say was "wait a moment and I'll have a porter bring the bags over" instead she kept escalating the situation by telling him he couldn't go out there and there wasn't anything she could do.  *sigh*  I'm not sure how the frequent fliers do it anymore.  I used to love flying, now I keep recalculating the cost of driving.

The above situation notwithstanding, I really like Palm Springs Airport.  It's small, easy to get in & out of and they have a lovely outside waiting area between security and the terminal buildings.  It costs about $50 - $100 more than flying into Ontario or LAX, but with the the extra drive time & the cost of gas, it about evens out.  The reduced stress counts for a helluva lot in my book as well.  I'm to 29 Palms in about an hour and it's a straight shot vs 2 1/2 hrs+ and the need of a GPS.  Not to mention LA traffic!      

I actually stayed on base this trip, which was quite an improvement from staying in 29 Palms proper.  I have to give props to the Sleeping Tortoise, I've never been so pleasantly surprised by hotel accommodations.  The room was comfortable, clean and extremely well priced.  Our room had the largest kitchen I've ever seen in a hotel room (full size fridge / freezer, dishwasher, stove top, sink & microwave) and a large, serviceable bathroom / shower (it wasn't spa like, but the hot water never stopped and the exhaust fan was damn near industrial).  The room included internet, cable, outdoor grill stations, picnic area, playground & continental breakfast.  All the staff were courteous, helpful and efficient.  The only thing I would have changed was asking for a non-courtyard room to avoid the playground noise, but there may not have been any available.  Overall, I would recommend staying there to any military personnel / family passing through the 29 Palms area.  I'm actually looking forward to staying there again.

Post about the actual weekend forthcoming :-)

 

Thoughts from a weekend in California

1.) Crying on the phone will get you a better discount
2.) It's advantageous to have flexible travel arrangements when flying US Airways; they tend to overbook flights and give out $400+ vouchers if you can wait for the next plane.
3.) Californians don't believe in posting speed limits in a logical manner and are firmly against them being visible at night.
4.) Yes, a four lane highway *can* dead-end into a military base, stop looking for the turn off

5.) Joshua Tree National Park is worth visiting if you're in the Palm Springs area.  It's nice for a day trip but also has enough variety to explore over several days. 
6.) Being disarmed sucks.  I missed my gun almost as much as my dogs. (Is that healthy?)
7.) I could use recommendations for good food in the Twentynine Palms / Yucca Valley / Palm Springs area(s).  We like eating local (ie, not Applebee's) but kept finding duds all weekend. 

Overall, I had a unexpectedly wonderful weekend and should have some pictures up soon :-)

Disappointing Day

I found out earlier this afternoon that my husband got the green-light for a 96hr leave this w/e and subsequently found that travel's too expensive for me to be with him.  Looks like it's me and the dogs this weekend.

**Correction:  Where there's a will, there's a way

Flying the friendly skies

Heath and I had to fly from Ohio to Texas this past Thursday.  We flew out of the Akron-Canton airport instead of Cleveland Hopkins and we will strongly prefer it in the future.  Surprisingly, the whole experience was fast, smooth and (relatively) non-invasive.  We arrived a scant hour before our flight and still managed to check our guns and get through security with time to spare.  The guns were a non-issue, we didn't even need to reopen the case for TSA.  All of the security personnel were polite and kept lines moving.  No porno-scanners!  Overall, there was an effort made by the employees to counter the TSA stereotype.

We snagged a decently priced, 1-stop flight through Delta; they were timely & uneventful flights with a short layover in Atlanta.  In the world of fees and cost cutting, they still serve free drinks on all flights (no peanuts).  I did have to claim the gun case from their baggage office once we arrived in Houston.  I'm not sure if that's a Delta thing or a flying-in-general thing, but I am glad they make sure it's the owner walking off with a case full of guns.  However, it still freaked me out a little when the carousel stopped & our case hadn't arrived.

As for why we flew one-way to Texas ..... momma's got a new set of wheels!