By Land or Sea

Went to San Jose for Christmas with my daughter and family. We flew from Providence to there thru Las Vegas.   Never did get a chance to play the slots at the airport.  The flight out hit a 150 knot headwind and we only had a few minutes to make a connection - so missed that time.  Southwest Airlines still got us to San Jose on time.   

On the way back we had a 2 hour layover - so figured we would have planty of time.  When we got in we looked at the departure monitor and found out that instead of a 2 hour layover,  our flight would be delayed for 4 more hours - arriving at around 4AM.   There was a lot of snow in the north and the northwest.  We went to a desk and signed up for standby for a delayed flight that would get us to Providence via Baltimore. Since we figured we had a small chance to get on, we decided to grab lunch  - by the time we got back to the gate we got called and made it…  Good lesson - always check the monitor immediately.  The people that grabbed a beer and lunch before checking the monitor probably didn’t make the standby list. 

Of course with Southwest’s open seating, we were close to last in line to pick out seats.   I really like the aisle seats - there were none in sight.  I spotted what looked like a young couple with a coat in the middle seat and told them the plane was full and would they mind if I sat in that seat  - she moved over so I had an aisle seat   - SCORE!!  Another lesson  - look for a couple.

We did get to see the Grand Canyon from the air on both flights  - pretty impressive with the snow on the tops.  Las Vegas is interesting from the air.  I have not spent much time in deserts. Arond here - if land is vacant there are trees. Out there - it just seems vacant.     The town seems to be built block by block.  There are full blocks next to empty space.    In New England - people seem to spread out more - of course water is not as much of a problem.

 We got into Providence at around 1:30 AM -  that was 10:30 Pacific time  - not too bad. Home and in bed by 3AM.   Some jet (sleep) lag today. Got up on time to pick up Effie at 9.  She stays in a kennel with some friends that raise Newfoundlands - some of the best show dogs in the country - including my buddy Jimmy.    They like her and treat her well.   She was still very happy to get in the car and come home  - big walk and some treats—.