Training across the country

Before I get to the tale of today's run, let me first mention a little about the trip out here. I flew out of Jacksonville, through Atlanta and Phoenix, and finally made it to San Diego a little past 7:00 last night (PDT). Two connections... and both were actually pretty good for my training!

We were sitting on the plane in Jacksonville, having boarded on time, which was kind of a surprise to begin with. After a little while, we realized something -- we were still on the ground. About ten minutes after we were supposed to push off (1:05), the captain came on the PA and told us that there was a ground stop in Atlanta due to weather, and he was bringing the jetway back to give us some A/C. At 1:45, he told us that we were going to have to sit for at least another 15 minutes. We finally got clearance to leave at 2:09, which was 5 minutes before we were supposed to land in Atlanta. Now, this guy was one hell of a driver, because he got us there pretty quickly, although it was really bumpy going into Atlanta. We landed at 3:30 or so. No problem -- my next flight leaves at 4:15. Which means that it started boarding pretty soon. I only had to get from B8 to A20, which isn't that bad, but I still went pretty quickly to get there.

Fast forward another four hours, and we land at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ at 5:15. My next flight leaves at 6:15, so this again, shouldn't be a problem. Except that my boarding pass has no gate information on it. Naturally, I would normally find the little monitors and find out where my next flight is, but I'm in a Delta terminal, and my next flight is on USAir. Now, this is where I start to appreciate just about every other airport I've ever been in, including Atlanta. Most of the time, if you're just switching terminals to get to another airline, there is some mechanism to get you there without having to go through security again. Not here. So, I exit security, wander around until I find the exit, catch the bus to terminal 4, and see a loooooong line at security there. And it's important to remember that a plane leaving at 6:15 starts boarding at 5:45. So now it's 5:30, and I'm at the back of this line. It moved pretty quickly, and I didn't have that much of a problem, but let me tell you -- if you're a terrorist trying to get through an airport security line, pick another airport. These guys inspected my ID more than anywhere else I've ever been. Good job, guys, but definitely irritating. Oh, and then I got to the plane and realized that I left my copy of Marathon, by Jeff Galloway, on the other plane. Whoops. Don't worry... I've already hit up Amazon to get another copy.

Finally, I get to San Diego, grab my cab, and head out. And the cabbie was nice enough to take me through the drive-thru at In-N-Out. Oh, was it good...

Now, seasoned traveler that I am, I stayed up until my normal time to make sure that I'm fighting the jet lag. But I did eventually go to bed, which leads to my next post...