Sunday, November 18, 2007

Winding Up In Wine Country

Leaving Las Vegas Review
In a recent post I mentioned that we planned a trip away from Las Vegas. Where do Vegas residents go for fun and frolic? Anywhere they want. In this case we went to northern California to taste a bouquet of the grape and to visit an old high school buddy and college roommate whom I hadn't seen for 30 years. But before that trip could commence we had to find our way to the airport and through the maze of security. Code puce, I think.
McCarran airport which serves Las Vegas was our jumping off point. But before we could jump on an airplane to jump off, we had to decide how to get to the airport. In a city of 2 million people one would think that an airport shuttle would be available and if you so thought, you'd have erred. No such shuttle exists so if you don't want to search for a parking spot you can either call for a taxi and hope it arrives in time to get you to the plane on time, or a limo if you command the big bucks, or beg a neighbor or relative to drive you at 4:30 a.m. in order to assure you'll get their in time. We opted to drive and found a spot in overflow parking with little difficulty.
Navigating security was another issue. Behind the first door were the ID checkers who were either smiling or in a stupor. Then the line that snakes and refolds 8 times before you get to the B.A. TSI (B.A. is for Bad Attitude). I set out my quart ziplock clear baggie with the 3 oz. clear plastic bottles of liquid, but the baggie would not close tightly and the rookie asked the supervisor what to do. "Take items out of the baggie until it closes." So I lost my hair conditioner.

Southwest Airlines, my favorite, has joined the others in punishing the passenger. In the "old days" I'd print my boarding pass early (I usually get #A 2 or 3) and arrive early so I could board early. This time I printed my boarding pass 24 hours less one second before departure and got #A26. No matter how early I printed my pass or arrived at the airport, potentially 25 others, plus preboards were ahead of me. That could easily mean one-fourth of the seats were taken when I board. Whoever approved that one is a Ding-dong in my blog.Otherwise the trip was great, the wine fabulous, and my visit with my friend Geno was superb. I'll end this post with a little blogging music.... "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?"
Dr. Forgot

No comments: