airport drunk

I love waking up to a couple of emails saying that my two flights from Costa Rica (SJO) to Houston and from Houston (IAH) to Vegas (LAS) have been upgraded thanks to my elite status... Tomorrow is going to be one relaxing travel day. I even stocked my Eeepc with some great vegas movies like 21 and Oceans 11.

I have to say, it's really convenient that Continental runs direct flights from Costa Rica to Newark... I decided to take a long needed vacation in New York and Boston, and having the nonstop flight all the way to the northeast was a pretty nice change of pace. My EeePC held up great for the whole 5+ hour flight... Watched two full movies (we unluckily had a plane without in flight entertainment... I've been noticing that more and more on Continental flights and it's kind of unnerving...)

EWR is a bit of a zoo, ended up having to take a shuttle to a nearby hotel where my rental car reservation was at, then was on my way. Spent a couple nights in Jersey, did a mini Sopranos tour (I even saw Tony's house and the Bada Bing!), and partied with a few friends... Then off to Boston, which was actually a really nice drive... New England is beautiful in the fall (and I'm not much of a cold weather guy either).

Yes, I'm on my way to Vegas again. Flew International Business Class this time... It's been a while since I flew first class, but damn do I miss it! Started on my first bloody mary before the first economy passenger was even on board... Breakfast was great too. I actually chose the traditional Costa Rican rice and beans breakfast just because I knew I'd get my fill of bacon and eggs over the next 9 days in Las Vegas, and it was quite good. It's so nice having a dedicated flight attendant just for us. You really notice the benefit of carrying on your luggage when you fly first class, nothing like being off the plane and out of the airport before the last coach passenger even deplanes!

Now I'm in IAH in the Presidents Club lounge, enjoying a comfortable armchair and free alcoholic drinks and wifi. Great because I know I'm not going to get any work done over the next week, so I may as well cram it in now while I've got the time. It's been a while since I was in the Presidents Club, now I'm considering buying a membership. With my elite status it won't cost that much yearly really, and you more than make up for it with the free wireless and drinks. Apparantly they are raising the prices later in the year though. Hmm...

I cannot believe I actually did this, it's been years and you think I'd learn. My flight back home from SFO bounced through both IAH and FLL. What a horrible travel day. It is always worth the extra money to limit your flight to only one stopover (or direct if it is available). I can't believe how much of the day I spent preboarding, taking off, and taxiing. What a waste of time.

San Francisco was cool, went to some awesome parties (most of which I can't really describe here since it's a "family" blog ;) Took the Alcatraz tour which was totally badass, I recommend it to anyone who visiits the city. The Golden Gate bridge was, well, a long bridge. Nothing really that special about it (unless you consider it's impressive suicide rate). Drove out to Napa and Sonoma, took two wine tours and did several tastings... very picturesque part of the country, I quite liked it.

Now I'm home for a bit to work. Where will my next trip be? Hopefully not vegas...

Had some business to take care of in Fort Lauderdale, and in San Francisco, both the same week... So I booked a direct flight from SJO (San Jose, Costa Rica) to FLL via Spirit Air, which although being a ghetto as hell airline is still the cheapest and fastest way for me to get to the USA. I paid the extra $30 to reserve exit row (ghetto first class!) and had a great flight. Spent a couple days in one of the beach hotels, got my biz done, and started on part two of the trip.

Flew Continental from FLL to IAH to SFO... Not the recommended way to do it, but I've got my Elite Status to maintain ;) The first flight to Houston left ridiculously early in the morning, which I absolutely abhor, but what can you do. I scheduled a short layover because I didn't have to go through customs this time, so no Sky Box. Just had enough time to pick up a Robb Report (the ultimate airplane reader, the people who sit next to me keep staring and wondering why I am reading reviews of $18 million yachts!

Landed in San Francisco at the perfect time to rent a car, drive in the sunshine for 12 minutes, and hit a massive wall of rolling fog. Checked into an insanely overpriced hotel, and checked out downtown... Great shopping actually, I spent over an hour trying to track down this pair of white leather Giorgio Armani shoes in my size that were featured in an insane sale at Saks Fifth... Never found em though. Oh well, should be a fun (and productive) week.

I just can't stay away from this place! Just checked into the Venetian, which by the way is my favorite hotel in Vegas. It just seems like the service is so much better, and the rooms higher quality, while only being a bit more than the others... Plus you've got Caesers Forum Shops and Canal Shops nice and close for overpriced retail shopping (I like to browse and then buy my shit online haha).

Anyway it was a great travel day, flew Continental like always, took carry on luggage only, breezed through Customs nice and quick, had a great lunch at the Sky Box (they've changed their menu somewhat though and got rid of my favorite grilled chicken pesto panini, but have replaced it with a similar grilled chicken and cheese snadwich so I'll live). They were also out of Bass so I had a couple texas-sized Sam Adams instead.

Good friend of mine picked me up from McCarran, and we had pho at the vietnamese noodle place in Treasure Island... Sounds silly but after being in Costa Rica for so long I really miss stuff like pho.

It's gonna be a busy week, meeting up with a realtor tomorrow to look at foreclosures. Vegas' real estate market is plummeting and it's a good time for people with cash (ie. me) to buy!

Alright, so I totally picked the wrong airline for this convention in Phoenix. I completely forgot that they are the hub for US Airways and I could have flown direct (albiet at twice the price), and instead stuck with my trusty Continental... Oh well. First flight of the day was pretty early, watched Mister Magoriams Wonder Emporium (I think Dustin Hoffman captured the Willy Wonka spirit well), customs went smooth, had a few pints at the Sky Box... It went pretty smooth.

Side rant: It's amazing how painless and easy air travel is when you know what to do and how to do it efficiently. I can't stand how 95% of the people in security in front of me haven't read the basic shit like take off your fucking shoes, take your laptop out of your bag, no you can't take your scissors onboard, etc... I mean where have you been the last 7 years?! Yes, they are bullshit rules, but if you are prepared and on the ball you'll breeze through security so quick. How about schedule a layover that's not 27 minutes? The only thing that makes landing and taxiing to the gate worse is having the loser beside you complain about how he's going to miss his connecting flight so he has to deplane first... I actually look forward to a couple drinks, a good lunch, and catching up on some emails.

Anyway, PHX rocks. I'm definitely going to have a fun few days in this city... Tempe is Hot Girl City, and the convention I'm attending is basically four days of straight partying anyway. I've done the smart thing and scheduled my return flight for 3 days after the convention so I don't have to fly hungover. It should be fun.

Had a very short nap on my way over to IAH from LAS... I never sleep well in coach, even with exit row. I've even been thinking of trying out one of those goofy U-shaped travel pillows. On the plus side though, flying Continental is always a stress-free experience, and I love the Houston airport. I'll post about Houston some other time, but let's just say that so far it's bee my favorite.

The Fox Sports Sky Box helps a lot, although usually I'm there for lunch (nothing like a Texas-sized Bass Ale to celebrate landing in the United States), so I wasn't sure what to do... Turns out the Sky Box is open for breakfast too. Had an omelet with great hash browns and some average coffee. Was feeling a little shitty from the lack of sleep, so I didn't even bother digging my laptop out... I mean hell, after two weeks in Vegas I just wanted to go home and go to bed. I keep telling myself I will never book another overnighter again, but then I keep on doing it. Live and learn?