San Juan

I was able to spend a whole week in San Juan, Puerto Rico recently and it was really nice.  I was there for work, but did have a few hours each day free to explore.  I went on an excursion to the El Yunque rain forest and then did a historical visit to Old San Juan.  Once I sort through all of my pictures, I will post some for everyone to see.

Leaving New York

On my last night in New York I did venture out a little.  I went to Central Park.  Yes, alone at night.  I really couldn't see much, but what I did see looked nice.  

There were some key things I learned during my few days in NYC.  First, when you step off of a curb to cross the street, you need to commit to crossing the street.  Do not hesitate.  Second, people are constantly in a hurry.  Regardless of where they are going or what they are doing, they are in a hurry.  Lastly, people in New York actually use their signals when they drive.  They may drive like maniacs, but they signal their intentions when doing so. 

All in all it wasn't a horrible trip, but I am really glad to be going home. 

New York City

Today is the start of day 3 in NYC and I have to say I am not terribly impressed.  I am staying near Lincoln Center and the area is dirty and smelly.  My hotel room is so incredibly tiny.  I have never seen a room this small and unimpressive.  Today is another day of meetings and then I will head home early in the morning.  I wanted to see NYC because several people have told me it is beautiful.  So far, there is nothing compelling me to plan another trip back. 

American Airlines Sucks - Southwest Saves the Day

This was my worst travel experience ever. I left Tuesday for a business trip to Charlotte, North Carolina. Although getting to the Austin airport was a challenge (there was an auto/pedestrian accident that blocked traffic for a while), the flight from Austin to Dallas was on time and okay. Then in Dallas, my flight to Charlotte was delayed an hour. This part of the flight was not too bad, it's the return home that became the nightmare.

I arrived early at the Charlotte airport and started noticing that all of the flights out of my terminal were delayed. So when my flight took off on time, I was pleasantly surprised. Then the fun begins. About 45 minutes in to the flight, we begin smelling something that smelled like a cross between burnt food and cigarettes. Just about that time the pilot announces we are turning around and going back to Charlotte because if this unknown smell. When we land, our plane is instantly surrounded by firetrucks. When landed really hard and they actually escorted us in. They wouldn't let us off the plane until they knew there was nothing on fire outside. Then several firemen come on board and ask us to get all of our luggage and get off.

Once off and back in the terminal, they didn't tell us anything for a long time. When several of us started asking and complaining, they started trying to find us other options. One option they did offer me was a US Air flight that was leaving in about an hour. It is now about 9pm and our flight originally left at 7:15pm. Even though American and US Air are technically one company now, the person helping us couldn't book us in their flights, so we had to go over to the US Air terminal to see if there was an opening. There wasn't. So, we had to go back to the American terminal. About that time they tell us another plane is coming and they will get us to Dallas tonight, put us in a hotel, and find us connecting flights on Friday. They were supposed to feed us on the plane, but that didn't happen.

We arrive in Dallas at 1am. The Super 8 hotel they booked us in never came to pick us up. When I called to complain, they said the shuttle stopped running at 1am and the airline told them we would be there by 12:30pm, so when we weren't there, he left.

It is now about 2am and I am beat. I have been up since 6. The flight they booked me on was to board at 7:50am .I would have to be back at the airport in 3 hours. So, by the time I would get to the hotel, I would have to come back.

I checked for flights on other airlines, but nothing was available. I thought about renting a car and driving the remaining 3 hours, but they were all closed. I called our company travel agency emergency line, but no one answered.

I decided to book a flight on another airline at another airport. Southwest Airlines to the rescue. I booked the flight, called the cab to take me to the other airport. and am now waiting for my 6am flight home. When I got to the new airport, Dallas Love Field, everyone was super nice. One of the security guards showed me to a new lounge they just opened and are letting me and a couple of others hang out until it is time for our flight.

I can definitely say, I will NEVER fly American again. In addition to this horrible experience, their flight attendants are not very friendly and they don't seem to be very good at handling situations that don't go as planned.

To Dallas and Back

I travelled to Dallas and back today for a business meeting.  I opted to fly instead of drive so I wouldn't have to deal with the frustrations of driving back in 5pm traffic.  The plane flight up there wasn't bad at all, but the plane flight back could have been better.  There were twins girls sitting in the row behind me who were about 7 or 8 and their parents were sitting next to me.  One of the girls was panic attacks at every little bump in the flight and the other one was getting sick.  You would think that the parents would be concerned or try to console the girls, but that wasn't the case at all.  The dad just stared out the window and the mother sat there staring straight ahead with her hands on the back of the seat in front of her.  Twice the mom handed the girl getting sick a clean barf bag, but never said anything.  I felt really bad for the person sitting next to the two girls.  Thankfully it was only a 35 minute flight. 

Heading to Charlotte

This morning I am heading to Charlotte, NC for a couple of days.  I am going to be in meetings for a day and a half, so not doing anything exciting.  I am looking forward to meeting several of the people.  I have been talking to them on the phone and would like to put a face with the voice.  I had to sneak the suitcase out of the closet a couple of days ago and have been slowly packing.  So far, the dogs haven't gotten freaked out this time.  I guess as I travel more, the suitcase is no big deal to them.  I am not even going to get to say goodbye to hubby this morning.  He will still be asleep when I leave.

Charlotte, NC

I have been in Charlotte since Sunday night (7/25). I had meetings all day on Monday (7/26) and then had a pretty light day today with just a couple of meetings in the middle of the day. For the next two days, I will be in a training class and then headed back to Austin.

Ironically, the one thing I was looking forward to on this trip (vegging out on the sofa and watching TV), is not as much fun as I had imagined. I am by myself, so I want to talk to someone about the show and there is no one there. I am ready to go home and be with hubby and the doggies, so hopefully the next two days goes by quickly.