A long way to fall...

[MikeO]

26th September 2024 (continued)

Eventually, it stops raining, but the rainclouds are still open for business...

I venture out in son-of-duckling. I hadn't realised quite what a run-down area of Syracuse this is (I'm guessing - maybe it's the jewel in Syracuse’s crown

) - there are lots of people shuffling about pushing trollies, and several pawn shops on the main road. It feels like I'm on the wrong side of the tracks...

I'm on the hunt for a particular thing from a grocery store. Weirdly, there aren't any Albertson's or Safeway’s in the area (according to Agnes), so I try Trader Joe's - nada.
Trader Joe's is where you would shop if you were looking for organic beef from cattle that had agreed to be in the meal in the first place...

I try a couple of supermarkets, but no one has what I'm looking for (it's a gift, so I can't say what it is

). I get some stuff from Walgreens Pharmacy and ask the checkout girl if she knows where I might find some, "It's really hard to find - sorry".

Hey-ho, I drive back to the hotel. They have taken a bold step with this Hampton Inn and painted it in quite a striking colour...

I get up to my room and my 'phone pings. It's a text from Vikki, who's kennelling Harry for me. She says she hopes I'm having a great time, and tells me Harry has taken to sleeping in the cat's bed...

This simultaneously causes me to laugh - and makes me miss him. He's surviving just fine without me...

 

[LOLGEOFF]

What's the betting you'll be face timing him next?

 

[MikeO]

26th September 2024 (continued)

@Skoron on ADVrider comes up with a lead!

It takes me 10 minutes to get to Wegmans - and I'm able to find what I'm looking for! Thanks Colin

Driving back to the hotel, I divert to a restaurant which is actually in the parking lot...

I've never been to a Korean BBQ before - it's a restaurant with instructions...

You cook stuff on the hot plate in the middle of the table - there is a vast buffet of items to choose from...

I start carefully, with crab cakes and dumplings...

...but soon I venture into belly pork and lobster balls (surprisingly large)...

I think I should try another visit at some stage with someone else. Preferably someone who can cook...

I get back to my room and see if I can come up with a plan for tomorrow.

At least I've got all of the purchases I need to make before I fly back done now...

 

[Northern jock]

Ask Chrissy to come along, she'll be pretty good with the bbq I'll bet

Might take her a wee while to get there but it'll be fine

 

[EVskiy]

Good man.
You're getting into this beer lark. People do like a beer & food picture.
Great trip report by the way. I'm making notes for my next Doc does series.

Good Man!!!

Are notes for more wordage between pictures, as you are sure not a man of a few words in person, that I know of.

 

[Doc]

Good Man!!!

Are notes for more wordage between pictures, as you are sure not a man of a few words in person, that I know of.

Very shy person me. and taking notes from the pro trip writers.

 

[MikeO]

27th September 2024

I sleep fitfully and wake at about 07:00. I get showered and dressed, then pack my kit. It's amazing how much more I manage to spread out when I'm somewhere for two nights, rather than one. I roll my stuff out to the car and then come back in...

In the breakfast area, I eschew the healthier options on offer...

...and get some eggs, spuds and ham...

I fill my coffee mug up and, when I've finished, stroll out to son-of-duckling.

Someone has been thoughtful enough to put a recycle bin in the parking lot...

It's a beautiful morning - I won't be going far today, but intend to a bit of exploring on the way...

It's already 16 C, and the rain from the last couple of days seems to have cleared all the crap from the atmosphere and you can see forever...

Almost immediately, I spot this old guy for sale on a trailer...

Looks to be in good order, except for...

...a missing and mangled boot (trunk) catch...

I travel through several small towns...

...before I'm once again distracted...

This looks good from far, but is far from good - it's definitely a project...

$6000 obo if you're in the market...

I notice it has deer whistles stuck to the bonnet (hood). They produce a high-pitched noise (too high for the human ear, but well in the range of deer), and the idea is that they scare deer out of the way.
The truth seems to be that they make no difference at all. One of the inmates on ADVrider administered a huge trucking fleet in the USA, with combined mileages of may hundreds of thousand miles per month. They fitted 50% of the trucks with whistles, and 50% without - and had no difference in the number of deer-strikes...

A little further down the road, in the splendidly named town of Throop, I spot this rusty old boy at the roadside. I think it's too far gone and is returning to nature...

I return to the car, and have barely got moving when I spot a load of MGBs...

The owner of the place - Dayton - comes running over and asks what I'm doing. I explain I was taking pictures for my journal and he apologises and invites me to look further. He's had a legal dispute with the authorities about how many vehicles he can store, and was concerned I was collecting evidence for them...

He takes me on a whirlwind tour of the massive collection that he has...

He and a (now deceased) buddy built this Spitfire from nothing - and its bonnet (hood) conceals...

...a V6 engine. My first car was a MkIII Spitfire and I am very impressed with what he's done here. It has a Datsun 240Z rear axle - his buddy welded, ground and ceramic coated those headers. It looks completely stock with the bonnet closed - it must go like a rocket...

Dayton has several Stags, in various stages of fettle...

As well as a sprinkling of TR6s and TR4s...

Some are "parts cars", but he expects to restore all the ones that are saveable...

He has fitted a similar V6 into this Stag - which apparently had the Owners Club clutching their pearls, but - as he points out - he is able to remove the engine and fit the (problematic) Stag V8 into it without having made any modifications...

Dayton is 60, and a retired corporate lawyer. He is (still) married - which I congratulate him on

...quite where he is going to find the time to do all this, I don't know - but I wish him the best of luck with it...

Lots of old cars - it's about time we had a bridge, what?

I drive into the town of Seneca Falls - which seems faintly familiar - I probably came through here back in 2004...

I spot the National Women's Hall of Fame - and thought it would be worth a visit (if only to get some feminist merch for a friend - Hi Catherine

)...

Unfortunately, it was closed. It listed summer opening times (which I was within), but I guess September isn't Summer any more...

Never mind - there was this cool pick-up advertising a hair salon on the corner...

I drive along Main Street, still having a weird familiarity with the place...

I find a parking slot and - just for giggles - let son-of-duckling park himself...

I used to have auto-park on my Focus - used it all the time. Son-of-duckling is perfectly parked in no time at all...

I find an eatery (a sports bar) and take seat at the bar...

They have a colourfully named selection of draft beers...

...but, more importantly, they have nachos...

They arrive promptly, along with lemonade. The bar tender tells me why I feel this place seems familiar...

Seneca Falls was the location for the fictional town of Bedford Falls in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life - which you can find on TV every Christmas...

Stuffed - I drive out into the surrounding countryside for an explore...

It has some great barns - and we've not had many of them recently...

I check in to the Starlite Motel at about 15:15.

It's an ageing Mom & Pop in desperate need of a refurb.

However, it's clean, the AC works (it's now 23 C), the Wi-Fi is quick and...

...it has a Jacuzzi...

 

[Hairnet600]

hoping you visited the bridge,.......

 

[MikeO]

28th September 2024

I sleep fitfully and wake at about 0600 as a truck starts up and departs. I drift back off to sleep and wake at about 08:05.

I don't like this motel. It is so in need of a refurb. There are two power points for the whole room. You can have the TV and cable connected, or the fridge - or your laptop. There are no bedside lights for chrissakes

You switch the main light off then feel your way to the bed. I cross the Starlite Motel off the list forever.

I'm quickly up, showered and dressed and load son-of-duckling. I head back into Seneca Falls, and then start heading West...

I miss a turn and have to loop back - past this house, whose inhabitants have leaned well in to Halloween...

I get on the highway. It's a beautiful day, and already 17 C...

Pretty soon I find what I'm looking for. A café with a full car park...

Now and again the system will fail you. At the entrance, a middle-aged woman is showing a young man how to put the orders on an iPad. This goes on long enough for me to interrupt and ask if I can sit anywhere. She briefly looks up and says, "Oh - anywhere". I pick up a menu and find a seat. After a few minutes, the young waiter comes over and asks if I'd like coffee - I said I would, but could I have milk in it instead of cream? He says"Milk?", as if I'd asked for plutonium...

Anyway, he fills my mug to the brim with black coffee, then brings a small jug of milk. He asks if I have decided what I'd like to order, I said, "Yes please, I'll have the 'Hungry Man' (an apt description at this point)". OK, he says and takes my menu. I wait for a beat and then say, "Don't you want to know what I want with it,(there are a dozen options)?" In the end he shows me his iPad and I indicate which things I want...

I'm not blaming him for this - it turns out this is his first day and his training has been woefully inadequate - they'll be lucky if he's back tomorrow...

The food's OK when it arrives - I'm definitely no longer a hungry man

, but the entire time I'm eating there's a continual series of requests from other diners for a fill-up of coffee, or condiments to go with the meal he's delivered etc...

I go to the counter to pay - to see that he's charged me $3.99 for milk. "You’re charging me for milk to go in my coffee?

". He looks nonplussed and gets the matriarch over. She takes it off the total and then takes my payment. "First day?" I ask. "Yes," she says, "you just can't get people – no one wants to work".

I'd suggest no-one wants to work with no training or supervision - and likely on minimum wage, in what is a high stress and chaotic environment.
I don't leave a tip - this business needs to sort its staff out and I don't intend to reward incompetence...

I climb back down off my soap box and get into the car...

When I came out to the car this morning, my 'phone didn't connect as it usually does. After breakfast I fiddled about with various connections and resets, but no joy...

I pop today's destination into the duckling's GPS and an awful female American-accented voice gives me directions. The lack of CarPlay means I can't listen to my audiobook either...

It's clouding up and getting warmer. I put the AC on low, but keep the fans on low too, so that I can hear myself think. I'm steered onto the Interstate for a bit, which gives my auto-toll device a bit of a workout.
I expect.

I'm getting fed up with the Interstate, so turn off at random and find somewhere to park up. I get a USB lead out of my bag and connect my 'phone to the duckling using it. Huzzah! Success!

I re-join the route in time to listen to Das Boot attacking a British convoy...

Look at that - isn't she a beauty?

About half a block long...

...with, what I can only think is load space on either side of the spare wheel...

I've come across a lot of roadworks on my travels, and today is no exception...

In need of a pee break, I stop for gas in the town of Lockport - son of duckling has got a little thirstier - 27.18 per US gal; 32.7 per UK gal.

I am steered into Niagara Falls, my target for tonight. My hotel is clearly in the cheaper end of town (who knows, maybe this is the best part?). I stop off at a huge mall and find a Petco, where I buy something ridiculous for Vikki's dog (who's likely putting up with a ton of crap from Harry), as a way of saying thank you...

I arrive at my hotel, and (after a laborious check-in - made more annoying by my filling out all the details, including a pic of my Driving Licence, yesterday, at their request

), I take the lift (elevator) to my lovely fourth-floor room...

It has turned into a warm and very humid day - and I'm feeling tired, so I'll leave going to see the Falls until the morning.

 

[jags]

had exactly this today

wasnt raining in south wales as i started out

within 10 mins hammering it down

didnt stop raining till i got to blandford

sun came out as im walking from the car (glad i took the car now after the last coupla days)

also have done the booking the hotel you think youve changed and the phone has kept the previous detail you were looking at

never funny at the time is it

we went into the best western in huntsville ontario and they couldn't find our booking. it was for the holiday inn next door.

 

[MikeO]

29th September 2024

I slept fitfully - don't know why, the bed was comfortable and the room quiet, but I eventually surfaced at about 08:30 not feeling well rested.
I ablute and pack, then wheel my world down to son-of-duckling, waiting in the car park. It has rained heavily overnight and the leaden overcast sky laughs off the forecast for today being dry and sunny...

Time for some breakfast. The hotel must be pretty full, and the breakfast buffet is busy...

Aha!

Hmmm...

I try a forkful and give up. On the plus side - their 'light roast' coffee is excellent, so I fill my mug up and decide to find something to eat on the road...

I drive up towards the falls. As might be expected with this huge waterway passing through it, the town is a hub of heavy industry.

I drive onto the splendidly named Goat Island, pay my $15 parking fee at the Niagara Falls State Park...

...where I notice, the police are equipped with ATVs, and then walk over towards the falls...

There is a huge amount of spray hanging in the air over Horseshoe Falls...

...and a steady roaring sound, as more than 3000 tons of water flow over the falls per second...

I wasn't surprised to see this...

I dropped my water bottle...

Do you know what? I'm going to leave it...

I came here back in 2004 - the place wasn't nearly as crowded, or as commercialised - it really is a tawdry collection of money-grabbing businesses now...

This is the border with Canada - and Canada has by far the best views of the falls...

A collection of these boats - jointly named "Maid of the Mist" will take you into the arch of Horseshoe falls - they supply waterproofs, but I'm guessing they're just a token effort...

This is Rainbow Bridge (which must be a concern for any dog owners crossing it), and is the US/Canadian border. I considered driving over to see the falls from the other side, but I hadn't checked if son-of-duckling was insured for Canada (probably is), but what put the nail in it was the huge line of stationery traffic waiting to get into the USA...

With a final look, I get back into the car and get Agnes (the 'phone is now connecting completely normally again

) to find me a route to Binghamton, where I have a reservation at the Hampton Inn...

She's straight on it - taking me past this lovely old barn...

...and past a Six Flags amusement park, with huge roller-coasters...

The roads are quiet, but the weather is getting more threatening all the time...

This should help. I only noticed the sign for Beef on 'Weck when writing this up - I might have tried it otherwise...

It's a lovely old place - just what I needed...

...and it has some intriguing offerings on the menu...

I order the Meat lover's Garbage Plate. My camera-shy waitress Jean tells me that this is not a dinner garbage plate, so doesn't come with meat sauce. I tell her I have no previous experience of garbage plates...

It was delicious. My Mum used to make something like this when we were kids, and called it Farmer's Breakfast...

Jean kindly fills my bottle with iced water and I set off again...

I go through a couple of belts of rain, whilst listening to the U Boat crew's experiences being depth-charged on Audible...

New York has some good signs...

...and some others...

...eventually, I reach my hotel...

...and wheel my gear in and set up to update the journal.

Good day...

 

[850GS-J]

Superb write up and a great read Mike - thank you.

For some reason, I love the dissonance of the tension in your current chosen audible choice as background to your fall colours trip!

 

[MikeO]

30th September 2024


This is a lovely hotel room - but I still don't get a restful night's sleep. I've decided to stay here for a further night, to sort packing etc out, then start heading towards Boston...

I wake at about 07:45, shower and dress and repair to the breakfast room...

Selecting...

Scrambled eggs and slices of suspicious-looking smoked sausage, to accompany my (excellent) mild roast coffee. I grab a banana, just to say I've eaten fruit...

Seems some riders arrived during the evening...


I get into son-of-duckling and singularly fail to get CarPlay to function. Even connecting via the USB cable doesn’t work. No matter, I get the BMW sat nav to guide me.


I'm going to Best Buy again, but I have learned from experience and have not paid for the item I want in advance...

[Morgan Freeman] But he had not, in fact, learned much at all, as he was still putting his optimistic trust in Best Buy[/Morgan Freeman]


I arrive a few minutes early...

...and pick up my ‘phone to check stuff online. I can't get online...


I open the Three app (my service provider) and it tells me that my account has been cancelled - there is no option to do anything about it...

It will later transpire that the entire Verizon network is down - but at present, I am taking this quite personally.


My mood doesn't improve when I enter Best Buy and ask for the Mac mini that their website shows they have in stock - to find they don't. No problem, they can ship it to me in a couple of days (I point out that this is a problem). Aaron tells me, "You can't rely on stock numbers on the website - it's never accurate"...


[Morgan Freeman] Mike considered for a moment how much his day would be improved by just walking out, or by setting fire to the store, but then remembered he still needed another item [/Morgan Freeman]


I buy a dock for the Mac mini...

...which not only provides some extra connecting ports and a card reader but has a slot for an additional SSD hard drive to be mounted internally...

Whilst I'm waiting for Aaron to get the gadget for me, I idly look at the Galaxy display - including the Galaxy Ring...

$400 - with a seven-day battery life...


I go back to the hotel and try - unsuccessfully - to find somewhere with the Mac mini I want locally.


At length, having chosen to spend my last (Tuesday) night in Worcester, MA, I go to the Apple website and their rep Cazz guides me through the intricacies of ensuring a device is available, where will be a good place to pick it up from etc.


I order the Mac, and AppleCare, and will be picking it up from the Apple Store at Solomon Pond Mall, in Marlborough, MA. I even have to specify a collection time

- so I say 16:30-17:00 tomorrow.


I decide to go out to lunch - and treat myself to a visit to IHOP...

...where another Aaron(!) brings me...

A bacon Steakburger with lemonade...

I returned to the hotel and spent an hour and three quarters on the 'text chat' with Three Customer Service. The first guy just ghosted me after 40 minutes...

The second one eventually got it fixed. Apparently the 'use it abroad' facility only gives you 28 days per year. I was aware of this and they had been texting me saying it was being extended daily, at £5ish a day. She asked what she could 'cap' the cost at between now and when I fly home and I told her £40.

Immediately the phone starts working normally...

The first message that comes through is from Apple, telling me that they are unable to sell me AppleCare because of my UK address - they have refunded this part of the purchase price.


I check the UK site - it'll cost me £119, rather than the $99 over here...


Re-reading this - it is a tale of First World problems and privilege, isn't it?

 

[MikeO]

1st October 2024

Rabbits.

At last, a good night's sleep.

I wake just after 08:00 and get up, ablute and dress. I'm just going to pile everything into the car today, and have a careful sort-out and final pack at the hotel this evening - I've got to ensure I don't inadvertently pack some forbidden item in my carry-on.

I load everything into son-of-duckling, then wander back in for a spot of breakfast...

Egg-white frittata(?), sausage patties and Yukon Gold potatoes. With the token piece of fruit and half a gallon of light roast coffee with milk...

We have four and a bit hours to go today - I'll be staying at Worcester. Agnes calculates the route, which will be predominately Interstates and Freeways...

It's a beautiful morning, and temperatures will climb to around 23 C by midday...

I'm cruising at 66mph on the HUD. This is because I have noticed that Agnes - who calculates her speed off GPS signals - has worked out that this is 65 mph actual...

I know - I'm such a fucking nerd...

Son-of rolls along at a comfortable pace. I'm still listening to Das Boot - and they're damaged and trapped on the sea floor - it's heavy stuff. Three-quarters of U-boat crews who set sail didn't return - I believe that beats RAF Bomber Command's tally by a fair way...

The autumn colours (fall colors) are really starting to show here. As ever, the camera doesn't reflect the true colours - it's pleasant. In Maine, where there are larger numbers of maples, the colours are far more vivid - but I've arrived a little early for that this year...

Even now there is some low-lying cloud in the valleys, but none in the roadway...

This sign says, "State Law: Three texts Lose License" - sorry about the quality, I'd just texted someone and was in a rush...

The right-hand lane has a poor surface - a result of heavy traffic using it - so, when it's not getting in anyone's way, I drive in the left lane...

I felt sure the colours on the left would come out better than this - the bright sunshine is really making them pop...

I get Agnes to find me some fuel, so we come off the Interstate - and I snag a quick barn pic...

Look at this horror - blaring out adverts while you fill up...

As I have got older, I've noticed my bladder dictates stops, rather than the need for fuel...

Anyway, son-of-duckling has been doing 31.2 miles per US gallon, and 37.5 miles per UK gallon over the last 400 miles...

Today's trip is going to cost just under $10 in tolls - except it won't, because they are included in the extra I paid for the toll gizmo...

Lots of roadworks, but no hold-ups - plus here comes a bridge...

Did I say a bridge - there's two of them...

I really need to get out more...

At about 12:30 I entered Massachusetts and started thinking about finding somewhere to have a spot of lunch...

God - has it come to this?

Nah - it's just a food court in a service area - I decided to have something from D'Angelo...

Ham and cheese sub with strawberry lemonade. I'd wager the closest it got to lemons or strawberries was having the words printed on the label...

It was freshly made and delicious - I keep one bottle for the road, and go back out to the car...

I'm now on the Mass Pyke - the Massachusetts Turnpike - marked by a Puritan-style hat...

Massachusetts State Police cars are really stealthy...

Suddenly I'm turning off the Interstate and Agnes steers me through a maze of urban roads, until I arrive at the Hampton Inn.

Now - I have a mission. It's about 15:00 when I check in, so I grab a luggage trolley and empty the car. I get the lift (elevator) to the fourth floor and enter my beautiful room...

At the end of the corridor is the guest laundry - I changed a roll of quarters when checking in, as well as buying a detergent pod for $2. I sort all of my clothes out, take everything dirty down to the laundry and set it going. I then come back to the room and start laying stuff out and choosing which bags it will go in.

Thirty-five minutes later the washing is done, so I put it in the dryer for an hour.

Now I go back to the car and follow Agnes's directions to the Solomon Pond Mall, where my Mac mini should be waiting for me. I have an appointment(!) to pick it up between 16:30 and 16:45...

I arrive at the Apple Store at 16:38...

...having driven 270+ miles and done my laundry. My time management rocks...

The middle-aged chap who dealt with me was completely different to any Apple employee I have dealt with before. He didn't have a clue what he was doing. He kept on asking me how big it was, so he knew which type of bag to specify. When a woman brought the Mac (and a bag) from the rear part of the store, I checked the box carefully to ensure it was the correct unit. He said, "So, I suppose you've paid for this already", I said "Yes", "Oh OK"...

Everyone I've dealt with in the UK Apple Stores I've visited has been keen and knowledgeable - this chap was quite the other thing. Weird.

Malls like these seem anachronistic now. The last one in the USA was built in 2006 - it just feels like an old-fashioned space...

No room in my luggage - dammit...

Anyhoo - Agnes and son-of get me back to the hotel, where I retrieve my laundry from the dryer, then fold it to carefully wrap fragile objects within my checked bag. I pack the Mac mini and the docking station in the checked bag, as they only insist on devices which contain lithium batteries to be placed in your carry-on. So far, things look like they might actually fit...

My flight doesn't depart until 19:10 from Boston Logan (about 90 minutes away), so I'm planning to get there at about 16:00, in order to hand son-of back and sort things out. The flight should arrive at 06:50 on Thursday 3rd October - and hopefully, my car will be waiting for me...

I got a text from Vikki, my housekeeper, who has just cleaned the house top to bottom, fitted new bedding and cut the grass...

She also said Harry had started to get on with the cat. I'm sure there's a story or two there...

 

[Doc]

I like the 100% real

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Thanks Mike another great adventure, it sounds like you really enjoyed this one.

I've tried sleeping fitfully but I could only manage unfitfully.

And don't believe anything Harry tells you and Vikki, he's probably ended up in a coercive relationship with the cat...

 

[MikeO]

October 2024

Not a bad night’s sleep - I’m up at about 08:30 and, having abluted and dressed, look at my cases. I’ve carefully packed anything on the TSA’s “Don’t you dare “ list in the checked bag, which looks full, but manageable so.

I put my - not inconsiderable - weight behind getting the halves to close when, with no warning, the complete zip runner comes off in my hand

I have a moment's panic, as I think this will render the case unusable, before remembering that it is fitted with two runners. The other secures the case, but it means it cannot be locked.

I never lock my checked bags (probably should).



Pretty soon I have both bags packed, with room to spare, and a shopping bag with all my immediate access stuff (headphones, water bottle etc).



I wheel my bags down to son-of, load them and then return for some breakfast…



The granite table tops have power points set into them…



I’m out and on the road at just after 10:00…



…and Agnes steers me towards Boston. I have absolutely nothing planned for today, except listening to the end of Das Boot, and doing the NYT various word games (in a desperate attempt to arrest my decline into senility)…



OK - I had one thing planned - this is the exterior of the bar where Cheers was set. The interior was a studio set, but the place is open and is called the Bull & Finch Pub…

Traffic here is a nightmare - I’ve had enough of it. I decide I can wait the six-odd hours at the airport, which has free high speed WiFi and plenty of places to eat and drink…



I put the rental car returns address into Waze and Agnes quickly steers me (through a lot of tunnels) to the multi storey car park (parking garage) where the SixT team are waiting.
I suddenly realise I haven’t fuelled up

No problem - the SixT chap tells me how to go the half mile to a gas station. I’m obviously not the only numpty he’s had to deal with

I use up some dollar bills topping son-of up.

For those interested, I’ve driven something over 1827 miles (took mileage at first fill up - likely around 2000), and the car averaged 30.45 per US gallon (59.9 gals) or 36.5 per UK gallon (49.95 gals). Nothing went wrong (apart from my self inflicted software update . Fuel costs, around $240.

I wheel my world over to the shuttle bus…



…which efficiently takes me to Terminal E. I print my boarding pass and, finding somewhere comfortable and cool to sit, start to write my journal.

I get a text from my BA benefactor telling me that this evening’s flight is rammed, so an upgrade isn’t likely. Hey ho - it’s a shorter flight than I usually take, I thank him for his efforts

 

[MikeO]

2nd October 2024 (continued)

I check my bag in and the outstanding desk chap not only changes me to an aisle seat, but blocks out the seat next to me
I make my way to TSA and, for some reason, the lady gatekeeper directs me to the First Class channel - no waiting



They have a new generation of detection machinery here - they look like mini-MRIs. It means you don’t need to unload iPads and laptops - the whole bag goes through.

I’m done within five minutes of entering - so I sit and listen to Stephen, the superb pianist, for a while…

 

[MikeO]

2nd October 2024 (continued)

I refill my water bottle and go in search of my Gate - 14.

Unreal - it's the nearest one...

So - these granite-topped desks are marked as Disabled areas but have two companion seats next to the space for a chair. I decided to set up here and move should anyone need the space (both sides are empty)...

This is a good spot - the Departure Gate right behind me and the loos and water fountains within easy reach...

I have God's own job trying to get the free Wi-Fi to connect to the MacBook (it's done so on the 'phone and iPad without a snag). Eventually, it connects - the problem seems to lie in the splash screen that's meant to appear (so you can tick "I Agree") - there doesn't seem to be a way of making it appear - anyone got any advice on how this might be done (this isn't the first time I've come across this snag)?

It looks like my ride has arrived - more later (perhaps)...

 

[MikeO]

Oh, joy! They have just asked me for feedback on the guy who ghosted me after 45 minutes of "customer support" - I have a keyboard and time on my hands - buckle up Three...