One Week In

Traveling via airplanes can always be a fun or a not so fun experience. Maybe things go well and maybe they don't. When I departed for my destination I had a long journey a head of myself. 31 hours of sitting in airports or in the air flying. My first flight out of Redmond was a piece of cake. Checked in just fine and had my bags checked all the way to final destination. The flight to Portland went faster than normal (30 minutes versus 40). There was barely enough time to serve up the snacks and beverages and then clean up before we landed.

I was curious during the flights how many Harry Potter books I would see. In Redmond I spotted a few in the waiting area and on the plane. I was a little irritated that they made me put my fabric oversized travel wallet under the seat; while they let the people keep their Harry Potter books on their laps. I thought that a flying copy of the newest Potter book would have done much more damage than a light fabric wallet, but I don't get to make the rules.

The flight out of Portland to Los Angeles had some issues and ended up leaving an hour late. Not a big deal, because I had about five hours at my next layover, so spreading it out wasn't a big deal. I walked around the airport spotting more Harry Potter's and watching the clock. Finally it was time to board and off to LA.

I hadn't been to LAX in quite some time so it was a bit confusing about going outside to get to my next flight. I made my way to the Qantas check-in and the woman at the counter quickly got on the phone and said, "We've got a tall one here". That meant exit row seats for me. I crossed my fingers that my bags would be checked through just fine and headed upstairs to the gates. I was hungry since no meals had been served beyond snack mix and beverages, so Burger King looked good enough. I always love the airport prices on food, with the sandwiches being pretty decent in prices, but the drinks nearing the $3 range.

Waiting around for my midnight flight to Sydney, our gate was switched once and there was a mass of people coming off another flight from JFK, that was our plane, with many of those same passengers re-boarding. Of course as the boarding time neared it was clear that it wasn't going to happen. People lined up and the area seemed more and more crowded. About an hour later we started boarding. There was an issue with someone needing extra help seating in the first-class area, so those passengers had a wait a while to board. GASP! First-class, not boarding first! I was waiting for a riot, but I guess everyone was calm enough due to the late night hour. Finally we were off.

I was a tad-bit worried about my seat. Sure, it was decent with leg-room, but this was a 14-hour flight. Groan. About 30 minutes into the flight I was approached by a flight attendant. "Sir, I'd like to offer you a better seat. Would you mind if we moved you to business class?" Mind? Hell yeah! I think I jumped up faster than if I had been bitten in the ass by a fire ant. It was like those beer commercials with Bob Uecker, "Must be in the front row, great seats buddy!".

I will say that if theirs ever a time to get the free upgrade to business class, it's on the 14 hour international flights. Try it sometime, you'll thank me. Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Better seats, better service, better food, free wine and cheese and warming towels. Oh yeah!

Now, of course since we had departed late, it also meant arriving late. Now, when I had booked all of this in advance I figured a couple of hours would be enough time to get through customs, immigration and transfer over to the next terminal in Sydney. As I followed the long line in customs, I saw that the clock was ticking. 30 minutes until boarding. Now customs isn't the kind of place you want to appear rushed either. "Let me in! Let me in!" Nope, calm and collective. Thankfully it went fast enough and now I had to wait to collect my bags. I also was worried that maybe they went here. Finally I saw one, and grabbed it. I frantically looked for my next bag and looked at my watch. THERE! I had it. Off I went blasting to the next line. Thankfully they saw my next boarding pass and got me on my way to the transfer area. Of course there is always someone walking slow or getting in your way at time like this.

I arrived at the transfer desk and the clerk looked at my boarding pass saying, "Hopefully we'll get your bags on the plane". It was about time to board now, and I still had to pass through security and ride the transfer bus. At security I was rushed to the front of the line where I promptly walked through the scanner and set it off. "Oh, my wallet," I thought I went through again setting it off. "Oh, my belt", nope! "Oh, my shoes", nope! Finally I realized it was my huge metal watch. Duh! I grabbed my stuff, almost forgetting my belt, and passed though the next area to the transfer bus. We zoomed across the runways toward the domestic terminals. Would we make it? We finally arrived about 15 minutes after boarding had started and I was a bit worried if I or even my bags would make it. I rushed to find the gate number and rushed over to the gate which was very full of people. As I approached the counter I wondered if I had missed my flight or what was up. "There's a problem with the flight attendants seat," was the word. After the adrenaline rush it was hard to calm down, but about an hour and a half later we finally boarded. Yep, my bags made it in plenty of time too.

Jake said: