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A review of Patrick Smith’s Cockpit Confidential: Everything You Need to Know About Air Travel: Questions, Answers, and Reflections

I have been doing a lot of flying lately.  In 2014 alone, I’ve flown across the Atlantic three times.  I also flew to Virginia to see my dad for the last time before he passed away last month and flew on a couple of European flights, too.  In the years prior to 2014, I took quite a few trips by plane.  It’s not so much that I enjoy flying; I really don’t.  It’s just that flying is faster than driving is and some of the places we’ve gone haven’t offered a better alternative.

When I saw Patrick Smith’s book, Cockpit Confidential,  I immediately decided to buy it.  I did this not knowing that Smith has had a popular column on Salon.com and Web site called Ask the Pilot.  For years, Smith, who has worked as a pilot since 1990, has been answering questions put to him by the masses.  He explains in his book that he has been passionate about airplanes since he was a young lad and made it his mission to get into the industry.  And so he has… but I think he’s also a very good writer.  I really enjoyed his book.

Filled with personal stories about his time as a pilot as well as informative articles on how airplanes and the airline industry works, Smith does a good job educating his readers.  The book also offers answers to questions people have sent in.  Not only are Smith’s answers interesting and informative, they are also very entertaining.

I got a kick out of reading about how even pilots get harassed by the TSA.  Smith writes a colorful anecdote about how one time, his knife– the same knife that was used on the very aircraft he was about to pilot– was confiscated by the TSA.  The reason?  It was serrated.  Smith explains that it was a stretch to call the knife serrated, but because the knife had little ridges on it, it was deemed unsafe.  This, even though the passengers in the first class and business cabins on his airplane would be using the same knife as they tucked into their in flight meals.

Smith also writes about how pilots and flight attendants have to be screened like you and I do…  but the folks who are hauling your suitcases, cleaning the planes, and stocking the galleys with food can come and go with a simple swipe of their ID cards.  Granted, Smith explains that they are always subject to being searched randomly, but they don’t have to deal with the same screening ordeals the rest of us do.  If you think about it, that’s a little unsettling.

Smith covers a huge range of topics, which is why his book runs for 320 pages.  But once you’re finishing reading it, you will be a lot better informed about all things pertaining to the airline industry.  He writes about how to become a pilot and how it’s not nearly as glamorous or well paying as it might seem; in 1990, when Smith got his first pilot job, he was getting a mere $850 a month.  He writes about the history of some of our best known airlines, many of which are no longer around.  Some of his commentary is hilariously snarky, too.  His comments about some of the ad slogans and cutesy names airlines give their planes are pretty funny.

If you’ve ever wondered how planes fly, Smith has you covered.  He offers a detailed explanation about how it’s possible to get a metal tube filled with thousands of pounds into the air.  He also explains how some “emergencies” aren’t really emergencies.  And he even dares to explain why Chesley Sullenberger’s landing on the Hudson River was not as impressive as it seemed.  Ever wanted to check out the cockpit?  You can, you know… not while the plane is flying, obviously, but before or after the flight.  You don’t have to be a kid, either.  Smith says a lot of pilots are kind of flattered when people express an interest in seeing their work space.  Just ask a flight attendant to find out if it’s okay.

I like non-fiction books, especially when they satisfy my curiosity about things I’ve always wondered about.  I have read a number of books by flight attendants, but Smith’s Cockpit Confidential is the first book I’ve read by a pilot.  He did a great job demystifying the airline industry for me.  I would definitely recommend Cockpit Confidential to anyone who has ever been curious about the airline industry.  I also think it’s good reading for anyone who has ever considered a career in aviation.

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France and Germany… a send off from the Army– Part 12

On the night before our flight out of Savannah, I fell asleep at about 8:00pm.  By 1:00, I was awake again, trying to adjust to the Eastern time zone.  I had to take an Advil PM to drift off to sleep, which I managed to do… only to be awakened by Bill at about 3:30am.  We had a 5:30am flight to Atlanta and he was getting everything straight.  I got up and dressed and we took the hotel shuttle to the airport along with an adorable older couple.  They had “bad knees” that they’d had replaced, so Bill helped them in and out of the van. They said, “Maybe we should tip you!”  Too funny.

Bill on the plane…

When we got to Savannah’s tiny airport, we found it surprisingly busy.  The Delta agent who took our bag warned us that we needed to hurry to security.  There were crowds of people checking in and TSA, in its infinite wisdom, had only one security lane open.  They eventually opened a second one for those who were “pre-checked”, but there were still many people rushing to get screened in time to catch their flights.  It took a good thirty minutes just to get through security and we worried about missing our flight to Atlanta.  As it turned out, the flight was delayed.  We were among the last to board, but we still waited about fifteen minutes to get out of Savannah.

One good thing that came out of such an early flight…

When we landed in Atlanta, our flight to Houston was also boarding, so we had to rush to make that.  Once we got in the air, things settled down a bit.  We landed in Houston at about 9:30am or so.  It was my first time in Houston’s airport.  In fact, I’ve never even really visited Houston– just drove through it to get to San Antonio last year.  I liked the fact that there are trees there.  Bill graduated high school in Houston, so he knows the city.  Of course, it’s a lot bigger now than it was when he was a kid.  The flight to Houston from Savannah was $218 per person.  Had we flown to San Antonio, it would have been at least double that.

We rented a car to drive to San Antonio.  It wasn’t a bad drive at all… took about 3 hours and there wasn’t much traffic, perhaps because it was Sunday.  On the way to San Antonio, we called Bill’s mom, who had kindly let us park our car at her house, to let her know to meet us at the airport where we would be dropping off the rental car.  She said we should stop at Buc-ee’s, which is a gas station/convenience store chain in Texas.  It’s kind of a cross between Cracker Barrel and Wawa.  They sell candy and cookies and other stuff and they have funny signs that are vaguely off color because they refer to beavers.

Funny signs at Buc-ees to remind people to pick up after their dogs…

Well, we stopped at the one on the way to San Antonio and I have to say, it was a mad house!  Making matters worse were all the people trying every which way to get to a gas pump, which made the parking lot pretty dangerous.  There were swarms of people in the store, too.  It took awhile to get to a pump and I noticed the crowding didn’t have a very good effect on peoples’ affects, if you know what I mean.  Nevertheless, my mother-in-law had been talking about that place for ages.  Now I can say I’ve been.


Major traffic at Buc-ees…

 

We got the car dropped off and Mother-in-law picked us up.  We couldn’t get the dogs from Camp Bow Wow until 4:00, so we hung out at her house.  I was becoming really irritable and bitchy because I was tired and hungry.  Bill was also pretty tired.  By 4:00, we were pretty much dead on our feet.  We went to the kennel, got our dogs, and were told we weren’t allowed to bring Arran back there because they claimed he’d been “aggressive”.

Now, I don’t doubt Arran got bitchy during his two week stay at the kennel…  He’s not a bad dog at all.  He likes other dogs and people.  We got him from a beagle rescue where he was fostered with other dogs and he got along with them fine.  He does like his space, though.  We didn’t take the dogs to the airport location as we did in January because that location was fully booked.  I have a feeling the second location was also pretty well booked.  As we waited in the lobby for the dogs, we could hear the raucous din from the back where the dogs were kept.  Obviously, Arran needs a calmer environment than what is offered at Camp Bow Wow.  Our other dog, Zane, had no issues at all, but Zane is a super friendly dog who loves everybody.

I was pretty perturbed about how this situation was handled.  In their emails to us, the staff kept harping on how “sweet” our dogs are.  But then the assistant manager who spoke to us about our “aggressive” dog made it sound like Arran’s issues were all his fault and he’d put others at risk, though he didn’t hurt anyone.  We have a local contact in Texas who could have picked the dogs up if Arran’s behavior was that much of a problem.  We could have called Camp Bow Wow and given them payment information, too.  Obviously, they were more interested in the $945 I paid for the dogs’ care than actual safety.

When we got home and I checked the phone messages on our land line, there was one from Camp Bow Wow to let us know that Zane threw up once.  I know some dog owners want to know about such things, but as it was apparently a one time issue and we were in France (and therefore could do nothing for Zane), I don’t know why we needed to know that he puked one time.  If it were a repeated incident that required treatment, that would be another thing altogether.  I would have hoped they would have emailed us, though, since it’s easier to communicate that way when you’re abroad.

And then, I did some checking online and came across this article which, based on the author’s description, I’m quite sure is about the Camp Bow Wow chain…  I understand that the locations are franchises and they aren’t all created equally, but I have a feeling that this woman’s post rings pretty true for the locations in our area.  She writes of very crowded conditions and dogs being grouped by size and age rather than play style.  She also writes of dogs being squirted with water, and employees being told not to pet or play with the dogs.  I chose Camp Bow Wow because it got really good reviews on Angie’s List and Yelp!  However, it’s pretty clear that it’s not the best environment for all dogs.

After reading that article, I felt pretty ashamed that we’d left our dogs there on our two trips this year.  When we lived in North Carolina, we used Sandhills Pet Resort and never had any problems with Arran being “aggressive”.  What’s more, when our dearly departed dog, MacGregor, stayed there and suddenly got very sick (he had a spinal tumor that took an MRI at NC State to find), the ladies at Sandhills cared for him and loved him as if he was their very own dog.  They were also less expensive.

The bottom line is, should we stay in San Antonio, we will either find a locally owned boarding facility for our dogs that offers more personalized care or we will find a pet sitter.  No more corporate doggy day care chains for us.  Arran can’t handle environments where there are a ton of dogs in a small space.  It’s too stressful for him.  In retrospect, I’m glad Arran “told” us how he felt.  Given that Bill is still job hunting, I doubt we’ll need to board our dogs anytime soon anyway.

Zane and Arran get cuddle time…

“Aggressive” Arran…

I’m amazed by how quickly this week has flown by.  It’s hard to believe that a week ago, we were in Europe.  We had an amazing time and, once again, I am ever so grateful to the Air Force for getting us to and from Europe safely.  And I am grateful to our government for extending Space A privileges to us.  I hope we can do it again sometime in the future.

Thanks for reading about our trip!

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The saga of our Portuguese and Spanish Space A adventure…

Fifteen days ago, my husband Bill and I embarked on our second ever Space A adventure.  The first time we flew space available on military missions, we went to Germany.  It was May 2012 and we hit Cologne, Munich, Salzburg, Trier, Luxembourg City, and Rodange.  Our adventure lasted only eight days, but we crammed a lot into those eight days.  I blogged about that experience on The Overeducated Housewife if anyone is interested.  It’s there because I didn’t have a travel blog when we did that trip.

This time, we went to Portugal and Spain.  I was hoping we’d go to those places, since neither Bill nor I had ever been to Portugal.  While I had been to Spain in 1997 and we had both visited Barcelona in April 2009, Bill had never been to any other Spanish city.  We didn’t find being in either Spain or Portugal to be expensive, though in the past when I’ve tried to arrange travel there, I’ve found that getting there is either a pain in the ass or overly expensive.  So when we had the chance to fly to Lajes Field, an Air Force Base in the Azores, we jumped at it.  We knew that if we didn’t make the Lajes flight, we could always hang around at the Space A Terminal until later and try for the weekly Germany flight.

We have moved to Texas since our last Space A flight.  You’d think a military friendly state like Texas would have lots of Space A flights available.  We live very close to Randolph Air Force Base, where we can watch Air Force pilots train from our backyard.  But there are few decent Space A flights to be had in the San Antonio area.  We knew that our best and most convenient chance for a flight abroad meant that we’d need to fly to Baltimore.  At BWI, there is a Space A/AMC terminal.  The planes that leave from BWI are mostly normal planes… the same kind you’d find at any commercial airport.  The flights are charted by Atlas Airlines or another obscure air group that does charters… or sometimes Delta Airlines.

Bill and I made plans to fly to Baltimore on Friday, January 10th.  We dropped our dogs off at Camp Bow Wow of San Antonio.  Then we stopped at Target to buy Bill a couple of pairs of jeans because he had informed me that he was wearing the only pants he was bringing.  I vetoed that idea, knowing that we could get caught in wet or nasty weather wherever we went.  I also didn’t want him to be pantsless in the event we did laundry (which we did…  actually,  Bill did the laundry twice, so it was good that he had spare pants).

Our one way tickets to BWI were on Delta and cost about $550 or so.  I also booked us a room at the Aloft at BWI.  We had stayed at two Aloft hotels in North Carolina and knew Alofts are kind of a trendy brand of hotel, probably better suited to younger, hipper folks.  We couldn’t beat the price, though.

Bill on our very first of several flights…

To get to BWI, we had to fly from San Antonio to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Baltimore.  It was a fairly long process to get to where we were going.  During our layover to Baltimore, we got delayed…

We’re finally on our way to Baltimore after a lengthy delay in Atlanta…  the crew from this flight also stayed at Aloft.

Happily, Aloft is smoke free.

It took awhile to get to Baltimore and once we arrived, I was more than ready for a nice, strong margarita…  This one was made with Patron tequila, which really hit the spot.

Bill stuck with beer and ate the wasabi peanuts, which cleared out his sinuses…  You can see by the look on his face that he just ate a strong one.

After a good sleep, we rose very early.  Showtime for the Lajes flight was 5:30am.  That means we had to be at BWI and signed up requesting a flight by 5:30.  And since Bill is very anal retentive about such things, we got there even earlier.  There were only 23 seats up for grabs and a couple of families were already assembled in the airport.  They had young kids who were running amok.  I must admit I was only slightly annoyed by their antics, moreso because it was so early in the morning.

Signing up at BWI…

Having done Space A once before from BWI, we knew where to go and what the drill was to sign up for a flight.  A youngish bald guy in an Air Force uniform was behind the counter.  When Bill said he wanted to sign up for Lajes, the first thing the guy said was, “You’re not retired, are you?”

Poor Bill has always looked young for his age, but I guess his impending separation from the Army is starting to show.  He gave the guy a bashful smile and said, “Not yet.”

The guy sighed and said, “Well, since you’re “category III” (meaning an active duty service member on  leave), you might make this flight.  But I can’t guarantee it.”

I piped up and said, “We’re flexible.”  He gave us a big smile.  I think I uttered the “magic words”.

The guy told us some shocking things that he’s heard from folks wanting to fly Space A.  The first thing to understand is that you have to have all of your paperwork in order.  You have to have passports, military IDs for everyone (kids included), leave forms if you’re still in the service, and you must be flexible.  Our poor Air Force guy told us about some shameless people who made their kids go up and beg him to bend the rules so they could go see their daddy.  Though it clearly broke his heart to say no to the kids, rules are rules.  So get your shit in order beforehand to avoid disappointment.

Also, remember that no matter how long you’ve been waiting for a Space A flight, there is always a risk that you might be bumped by someone with a higher priority.  For instance, if someone needs to get to their duty station or needs to get somewhere on emergency leave, their needs will trump your desire to get to a vacation spot.  And sometimes missions get changed or cancelled altogether.

The Air Force guy also said that officers and their families often act entitled, which I was sorry to hear.  For God’s sake, Space A travel is practically free.  There is NO reason to abuse the poor folks running the show and helping service members, their families, and retirees get to other places.  And really, getting pissy with them doesn’t help.  In fact, in our experience, if you are nice to the people running Space A, they will bend over backwards to help you.

After giving the guy our info, Bill and I sat down to wait a couple of hours.  The flight was supposed to leave at about 9:00am and we’d find out if we were going to be on it a couple of hours beforehand.  More people showed up and when our friendly Air Force friend came out to tell us who was going to Lajes, we were on the list!  He smiled broadly, clearly happy he could help us out.  One or two folks in a lower category were not selected.  I think one was a guy who was “category IV”, meaning he was a family member who lived on Lajes.

Once we found out we were on the flight, we dropped off our bags and paid the airport tax, which for the both of us totaled $34.40.  When was the last time you flew to Europe for less than $40?  Then the guy behind the counter asked me my weight, which I naturally fudged.  In all honesty, I avoid scales at all costs.  He took our checked bags and sent us on our way.

Off we went to security, which was completely deserted.  We went through in record time and to the gate to wait.  As we were waiting, we started talking to some of the people going.  Everyone else on that flight lived at Lajes.  We talked to one Air Force captain who had her kids with her.  She said the plane we were going on came and went on a weekly basis and carried their mail.  The front half of the plane was reserved for the cargo, while the back part was a passenger compartment.

It was a very rainy day and cold.  The plane we were going on was due to arrive from McGuire Air Force Base during the mid morning.  But time was slipping past as we waited and waited.  I was glad I’d brought my portable hot spot, so I could surf the ‘net.

Bill plays with his phone at BWI.

The plane we went to Lajes on.

Warped and very uncomfortable bench…  At first I thought it was a rigid bench and too many butts had sat on it for too many hours, but it turned out the material was pretty flexible.

Behind the FedEx plane is one from Egypt, which apparently visits BWI often.  We later saw what looked like the same plane in Lajes.  We were told those planes carried a lot of goods.

The Crazy TSA agent…

Time marched on and we were getting antsier and antsier, though I was enjoying some of the Lajes folks, who turned out to be really cool people.  We were told that Lajes was a very close-knit place and everyone seemed to know each other.  Indeed, we watched one guy who works for the Armed Forces Network playing with some of the kids, entertaining them very effectively by racing down the empty departures hall with them.

While we were sitting there waiting for our flight, a black guy in a TSA uniform struck up a conversation with Bill.  He said, “Are you Army or Navy?”

I was surprised he could tell, but apparently Bill’s haircut gave him away.  Bill told him he was Army and the TSA guy immediately started telling us a number of what sounded like very tall tales.  He had a gift for story telling– don’t get me wrong– but I think about 85% of what he told us was utter bullshit.  He had all kinds of stories about being a DC cop, military service members who tried to sneak grenades back from war zones and got caught, and conspiracy theories.  It was a bit of a mind blower.  On the other hand, he was a lot more pleasant than the last TSA agent I had dealings with at the Philly airport after we got home from Italy and Greece.  If you’re interested in that story, check my posts from May and June on this blog.

As the guy was talking to us, I got a phone call on Bill’s phone from USAA.  They wanted to pay me to be in a focus group/survey.  It was weird telling the guy that we were about to leave the country.  On the other hand, my being on the phone seemed to send the TSA guy on his way.  As interesting and entertaining as he was, he wasn’t one to let anyone get a word in edgewise and was starting to talk our ears off.  We probably listened to his stories for a good twenty or thirty minutes.

Not long after the TSA guy– who had supposedly worked for and knew everyone in the Pentagon– left us, we were called for the flight.  I was excited.  We were on our way!  We all got in the people mover and got to the plane, sat our asses down in the seats, buckled up… and then were told we had to get off and go back to the terminal.  Psych!!!

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The flight home… seat recliners, carry on space hogs, the Beagle Brigade and the TSA…

StarGroup Taxi Services picked us up promptly at 8:30am.  I had been a little nervous about the timing, since the cab driver who had taken us to the hotel mentioned that Athens has a lot of traffic in the morning.  Having once lived in the DC and Atlanta areas, my husband and I have seen some serious traffic snarls.  We wondered if three hours was enough time, since we had no idea what Athens’ traffic really looks like.  We asked the hotel clerk about it and she said we wouldn’t have a problem making it on time for our 11:25am flight if we left at 8:30am.  She added with a smile that we’d even have time for coffee.

I want to reiterate that StarGroup Taxi Services did a great job.  I would definitely recommend them to anyone who needs a taxi in Athens.  Our driver even fetched a luggage trolley for us and loaded our bags onto it.

We dropped off our bags at US Airways, then set about finding our gate.  Security wasn’t difficult at all in Athens, though we did have to go through additional screening at the gate because we were headed to America.  I wasn’t looking forward to the flight, since it was scheduled to be about eleven hours.  I haven’t been to eastern Asia, so that was the longest non-stop flight I’ve ever taken in my life.  When I was booking the flight, I gave thought to using a different airline and breaking it up, possibly staying overnight in Paris or Amsterdam.  But in the end, US Airways offered the best prices and the most direct route home.  Besides, if I’m going to spend the night in a European city, I want to actually be able to see it.

Our flight was slightly delayed, but it turned out the headwinds were favorable, which meant we might shave a little time off the total flying time anyway.  I was glad for that.  Like many people, I find flying to be a pretty miserable experience these days.  From the terrible food to the cramped seats to the fact that a lot of folks just don’t care about anyone but themselves, long haul flights on most carriers are the pits, especially if you’re flying in coach.  As it turned out, our flight wasn’t completely full.  A couple of people even got the entire middle rows to themselves.  There was no such luck for Bill and me, though.  As we made our way to seats 20A and 20B, we found some guy already sitting there.

“Excuse me, you’re in my seat.” I said.

The guy looked at his ticket and realized he had overshot his seat, which was 19B.  He moved, but then as Bill was trying to stow our carry on baggage, he decided to get involved.  He said, “I want to make sure there’s enough room for my wife’s bags.”  Obviously, the fact that Bill also has a wife with one carry on bag was irrelevant to him.  Fortunately, since the flight wasn’t totally packed, we found space in the bin across the aisle.  When Bill and I fly, we often don’t bring on carry on bags, mainly because as a servicemember, he can often check bags for free.  But on long haul flights, I like to have a bag with me, just in case something happens with the checked luggage.

Flying out of Greece…

The guy’s wife turned out to be a very slim and pretty blonde I noticed at the gate.  She looked like she was quite a bit younger than he was.  Later, we heard them say they had just gotten married.  As soon as the plane was in the air, they both reclined their seats as far back as they could and stayed that way until we landed in Philadelphia.  In fact, when the announcement was made that people needed to return their seats to the upright position, these two had to be reminded personally.  I also noticed that the guy gave me a dirty look when I sneezed or coughed.  It’s not like I could help it.

I know the issue of seat reclining is controversial.  Personally, I’m in the camp that is against it in coach, because it really does take space away from the people sitting behind you.  I never recline my seat, even on long haul flights, because I don’t find that it makes me that much more comfortable and I empathize with the people who have to sit behind me.  At the same time, I know that some people are more comfortable when they can recline.  I think that’s okay, as long as people are considerate about it.  I have short legs, so the leg space isn’t usually a huge issue, but reclining does make it hard to use the tray table or stand up to go to the bathroom.  I find that a lot of times, if you have to steady yourself by grabbing on to the seat in front of you as you’re standing up, some seat recliners get a bit pissy.  In any case, while I realize that the seats recline and people have the “right” to recline if they want to, I also think it’s very inconsiderate to recline all the way for the whole flight, especially when people are trying to eat.  I ended up with a really nasty charley horse at one point that took several minutes minutes to abate thanks to these two.  By the time we landed, I was feeling pretty agitated.  It’s amazing how quickly my own sense of decency can erode when people are very inconsiderate to me.

I was so excited ten hours later when I spotted land below…

Once we landed in Philly, we quickly got through passport control and customs with no issues.  While we were waiting to pick up our bags, the Beagle Brigade came through to check peoples’ luggage for agricultural products.  Since Bill and I rescue beagles and didn’t have any contraband produce, we welcomed the sight of the adorable little hound doing her job.  It so happened the lady standing next to us had packed an apple in her bag.  The beagle made a beeline for her bag and sniffed it thoroughly, then sat down.  She looked up at the woman as if to say, “Sorry, you’re busted!”  The dog’s handler was very pleasant and professional, unlike the jerky TSA agent I later encountered on yet another security check.

Bill and I were in line, waiting to go through security again.  It was very hot, and I was tired, hungry, thirsty, and cranky.  I don’t remember saying anything that inflammatory.  I was just exhausted and generally crabby and probably looked pissed off.  Next thing I know, a TSA agent snapped, “Are you okay, Ma’am?”  His tone struck me as rather belligerent.  I shot back that I needed a drink… then clarified that I wanted lemonade, ice water, or chocolate milk.  I wasn’t about to get into trouble for being drunk when I hadn’t had a drop to drink.  😉

Frankly, that TSA agent really annoyed me.  I know the TSA is supposed to be about keeping things secure, but there’s no need to deliberately screw with people, especially when they’re jet lagged.  Air travel is undignified enough without hostile TSA agents harassing travelers and provoking them to respond angrily.  The experience was unpleasant enough to make me wonder if I really wanted to endure air travel again anytime soon.  Sadly, we do have to fly to Texas soon to find our next home.

After we cleared security, we stopped by Vino Volo.  Vino Volo is a wine tasting bar.  Back in June 2011, Bill and I spent a very nice hour in one at the otherwise unpleasant Newark Airport.  The one we visited in Philly was just a kiosk and not nearly as nice.  I ordered a sandwich that was supposed to have melted Brie on it.  The Brie was cold, so I gave it to Bill.  We did enjoy tasting a few wines and even met a really nice lady from Texas who gave us some tips on where to look for our next home when we move in a few weeks.

The flight to RDU was very full, but it was only an hour.  I fell asleep at some point after takeoff.  Bill woke me up for a cup of water.  That probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do!  We got home at about 9:30 or so…  I was very irritated, but glad the travel day was finally over.  We are considering going to Ireland on our next trip, but maybe it would be smarter to stay stateside and go somewhere we can drive to… or maybe just book a transatlantic cruise!  I’ve been wanting to do that anyway.

Even the beautiful views from above makes me hesitate to book another long haul flight…

 
Virgin America Airlines and Method came up with a handy video to remind people about courtesy…
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