Woke up in Atlanta and took a shower and got ready with the small amount of toiletries they gave us. Guess it was better than the nothing that we were expecting since we didn’t get our bags back. At 940 we went and waited for our shuttle to head back to the ATL airport. Much to our surprise it felt like it was 20 degrees outside and so after 10 minutes of waiting outside, we decided that it was much smarter to go back inside and wait. The shuttle arrived and took us to the airport and since they had already given us our boarding passes the previous night, we were able to go straight to the gate.
Oh, and before I forget I wanted to talk about the crazy guys last night on the tram. So most people know that Atlanta is a very big airport and to go in between terminals you can take a tram that lets you get there faster. Well, the night we arrived in Atlanta it was past midnight and it was obvious by the number of people throughout the airport that the only people who were there were people that had planes delayed and were trying to rush to their connection or try and get rebooked. So, needless to say most of the people were very tired and upset on these trams. A couple guys throughout our rides on the tram were not so upset though. When the tram starts going it gives you a good jolt and so one guy decides that he is going to grab onto the poles and hoist himself up and scream “WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE” at the top of his lungs. It was extremely annoying to everyone around. And I would never say anything to someone even if I was extremely annoyed, but even I let out a little bit of a “shh.” After we had failed to find a Delta desk to rebook our flights, we had to get on another tram to take us to the AirFrance desk and on this tram there was another guy that decided he was going to hold onto the straps coming down from the poles above your head and try to do pull-ups. In the process he thought it would be funny to yell and grunt as loud as possible. Very slightly amusing. Plus its now 1 am.
We had no problems boarding our plane for New York. They said that the plane might be a little delayed because of traffic in planes departing, but we got out fine and the plane ride was quick so we actually arrived in New York a little before schedule. JFK Airport is not very close to downtown Manhattan, but I was able to see some of the skyscrapers in the distance. I would like to come back one day, but probably wouldn’t want to stay very long. I am not much for huge cities.
We had a three hour layover in New York so we found our gate, which for some reason was in a newly constructed wing with no insulation. So the seemingly “20 degree Atlanta weather” was nothing compared to the seemingly “3 degree weather in New York.” I have obviously been desensitized by the heat of the South. I don’t think I could make it in Wisconsin for 10 minutes. So we decided not to wait at the gate but we found a food court nearby and got some lunch at Burger King and I set up my computer and finished some verse memorization for the book of James. The plane started boarding around 6 pm and it was obvious that most of the occupants of the plane were over the age of 60. Interesting, I thought. Then Mom reminded me that Venice was a huge port for cruise ships. Makes sense. We met a couple as we boarded the plane and the man was a Cardiologist and so we talked a little bit about medical school and he praised UAB’s medical school which was cool.
Let me go back about 30 minutes though before boarding. We were waiting in line to see if there was any way that I could get an exit row seat since for some reason the airlines decided when they designed seats that everyone is 5’2”. The man in front of us, about 75 years old, also wanted an exit row seat and when the desk attendant helped him, she informed him that the exit row seats had already been taken. You know, I don’t expect the plane that I get on to ever crash or for there to be some instance where that exit window needs to be operated, but I noticed when we got on the plane that the window/door weighs approximately 52 pounds. 52 pounds!!! I STRONGLY believe that if someone wants an exit row seat, they should put a 52 pound sack next to the boarding desk and ask whoever wants to sit in the exit row to hoist that 52 pound sack over their head and walk 10 feet and back. Because if the plane is in a downward spiral, I’m sorry but I DO NOT have faith that 75 year old man can even unlock that door. No offense, Granddaddy if you are reading this, but you are big and you could probably do it anyways. This guy, however, maybe weighed 75 pounds. But it gets better. We get our seats changed and we end up getting one of the bulkhead seats so there is a little bit more room and at least I don’t have to worry about someone leaning back on me and crushing my knees. We get our seats, which ironically, are on the same aisle as the exit rows but in the middle of the plane. 75 year old man appears right next to me and starts arguing with the people already sitting there that this is his seat. Lord knows how he even got a boarding pass that had that seat since I heard the desk attendant say all the exit seats were taken. He will not budge though and a flight attendant ends up being called to address the situation. The couple that were sitting in the exit row end up getting moved to first class and the old man gets the seat. More than that, he decides that the compartment above his seat is his personal possession. I try to move my backpack to this spot and he gives me the stare-down. I highly doubt I will get up to get anything throughout the entire flight. But that is enough of my Exit Row Rant.
The flight was decent. They serve dinner pretty quickly which is some kind of pasta that was decent. Had some white wine that was complementary with the meal and realize after tasting Italian white wine, that this airline white wine is more like water. 75 year old man bites his pride after 15 minutes of trying to find the headphone jack for the movies, and I inform him where it is. I’m just mad that I didn’t get his seat. Haha. I watched Terminator Salvation on the flight and start part of another movie, but I decide not to finish but to try and sleep a little bit. I think I get in about 3 or four hours of sleep on the 7 and a half hour flight.
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