I packed up and got a cab to the Airport. My sea bag now weighted down with a few extra books and a Laptop bag was a bit hefty. I wondered how much it would weigh, and if there was an additional fee.
Let me tell you, there is a fee. That’s 50 USD on top of the 20 USD fee per bag overweight. The very nice folks at Continental weighed it for me, and informed me it was 3.5 pounds over. The lady asked me if there was anything that I could pull that was 3.5 pounds. “Ma’am, I don’t know!”
Wait….I wonder how much an AOTC guide weighs? The guy at the counter pulled everything off he scales, put the book on it, and through the crowds gave me the thumbs up. Apparently it was exactly 3.5 pounds.
The flight went out with no problems. Good bye AU, until next year.
Houston
I got to my connecting flight at Houston, looked out the window and what did I see. No Snow. Where is the snow that I Twittered about? I mean no one seemed to care that much at AU about the impending travel disaster, and this is why. No snow.
Security
I stepped outside to get a look, and no snow. There were people getting on planes etc. I had been hoodwinked. So I went back through security, and this time the buzzer goes off. The foil on my breath savers got me. Dude, seriously? I told them ‘whatever it takes to get on that bird, fine by me’. Here’s breath mints and a belt buckle too, have at it. “As long as I am not THAT guy”. They looked at me. “You know”, I said, “Excuse me sir, would you come with us please” I said in a humorous voice, “That guy”. Fortunately I got the fellas with a sense of humor cause they all smiled and waived me on. Kind of on the edge of wearing out my welcome like certifications yesterday.
I waited for my flight to board. While sitting there, something in the window caught my eye. The smallest wisps of snow flakes. Nothing spectacular mind you, but sure enough it was barely snowing. By the time they began boarding, it was kicking! Snow went from clear to sticking in minutes.
After boarding the plane, I looked out the window. The plane next to us is covered and the markings are fading into obscurity. I puckered. At least being stuck in Vegas was more enjoyable than stuck in Houston. We taxied and waited for over an hour. They were deicing the planes one at a time. My bird finally got blasted, and they immediately hit the gas.
Go baby Go!
Airport Games
Nothing further notable occurred. I landed at Eglin AFB, and played hide and seek while my boys desperately tried to see me coming from the aircraft. The object is to sneak around behind them, but as they get older, and security gets tighter, it is more difficult to fool them.
I was happy to be home with my family. AU was a very busy time, and I can use some rest.
