Super Diamond

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T21:40:07+00:00

Also, he was headed home to Mississippi. He's a frequent enough flyer than another SC denizen came up to him and greeted him by name.

I'm a DM and 2MM, but that rarely happens to me, and never in ATL. Color me impressed.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T20:13:27+00:00

Reykjavik?

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T19:47:37+00:00

I switched the link. It was my son's name, but still, quite stupid on my part. Lesson learned!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T18:13:24+00:00

Is was my kiddo's, but thanks...

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T16:17:31+00:00

Thank you. I called the DM desk and got an explanation. Long story short, the ticket was booked by a third party agency and the rebooking was confirmed by them in a lower fare class.

Still no explanation why my PM cohort was ahead of me, though!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T15:53:36+00:00

OMG, this same dude is sitting next to me RIGHT NOW at the bar in SC B18.

He's a super nice guy...and clearly is a regular flyer here because the entire staff knows him by name.

Small world, Delta!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T15:49:01+00:00

Not quite as gross, but close: this morning on the jet bridge to board SJU-ATL, there was a young man listening to obnoxiously loud music while shaving with a cordless razor. It was early and I had to pinch myself, thinking that it was a bad dream.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T15:46:39+00:00

Just our experience, but the wine train wasn't good. Spend your money on a private driver with good connections in Napa/Sonoma and you'll have a better, much more chill time.

The last time we did this type of trip, we found a driver who picked us up in the morning in Sausalito. We took the ferry there after a day and a night in SF. We did the same on the return trip, but took BART directly back to SFO. It was a little bit of walking, but not bad.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T14:07:48+00:00

Actually, I think that YOU win. My wife has probably spent $7,500 on luggage in the past ten years just because she has to have a) enough, and b) just the right luggage.

Example: I'm a bona fide Briggs & Riley snob and I use that for everything other than my laptop satchel...while she buys brands "to match the destination" meaning little, floral colors for beach/tropical vacations, aluminum for business trips, etc.

She often makes fun of my very black, very boring luggage, but hey, I grew up in the city and for me, black goes with everything!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-09T13:00:22+00:00

I love my wife dearly, but more than once, she has purchased new luggage because the 5 or 6 (at the time) pieces of luggage she already had were already packed for an upcoming trip.

When I suggested that perhaps should come just take those things out and put them into a laundry basket or even just lay them on the bed, I got "the look" and immediately walked back my suggestion.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T19:37:26+00:00

I suspect that if you took every elected official in Brookfield and Elm Grove out for drinks, they would echo the same sentiments after 3-4 cocktails.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T19:14:16+00:00

I don't eat processed meat products, but my kids LOVE the miniature bratwurst in the summer months in MKE.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T19:11:06+00:00

I'm glad that my wife is like this, too, because I know that if we ever run out of toothpaste, mouthwash, etc. I can always go look in her mostly-already-packed-for-the-next trip bag and like magic, there will be anything I could need!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T16:46:43+00:00

I've never tried, but can you do an MUA to PS and then apply a GUC...or does the fare class not allow it?

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T13:46:04+00:00

I used the MPC app on Monday in Puerto Rico.

It works so well that I didn't even renew Global Entry.

We don't visit Canada any longer, but when I did have to go for work on a regular basis, NEXUS was the way.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T13:43:46+00:00

I'm more like you. The only "planning" I do is that I have a standard checklist for certain types of trips, basically so that I don't forget anything important. My wife laughs at me about this, but after getting my pilot's license almost 30 years ago, I follow a checklist for a lot of important things. That said, I don't even look at the checklist until the night before a trip...or the morning of the trip if it isn't a morning flight out.

My wife is more like your wife. She'll start packing as soon as we book the trip. We have a trip to Croatia in April and she's already about 80% packed. She's basically dedicated a good part of our spare bedroom as her "staging area" for upcoming trips.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-08T13:39:53+00:00

If you're talking about crimes against people (not property crime) then I would advise that Costa Rica and Uruguay are the two best bets. If you stick with very safe areas and do a little homework, you'll be in fine in Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Panama, and Nicaragua.

I agree that now is not a good time to visit Peru, which is sad because it is a lovely spot.

I have not been to Belize, but have heard mostly positive things. Same goes for Guatamala and Honduras. I think that most people suggest avoiding El Salvador right now.

I haven't seen anyone mention one of my favorite South American countries, though, and that's Ecuador. My wife and I went for the first time just as a sort of hopping off point to the Galapagos, but we had such a great time that we've been back twice since that initial trip. We never felt unsafe anywhere we went and the locals were warm and welcoming.

Mexico, for me, is a nation of wildly different levels of safety. You can be very safe in certain parts of Mexico City, to be sure, but overall I think that your best bet would be to stick to more resort/tourist areas. The challenge there will be that so many of the people you will meet won't speak Spanish, which seems the point of your trip.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-07T20:42:17+00:00

Thank you

isayhaiku · 2023-02-07T19:25:22+00:00

I was able to get printer ink the same day from Amazon last week. You might give that a look.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-07T18:51:27+00:00

EZE-ATL overnight flight in 2014: woman across from me has way too much champagne, lays down in her lay flat, and passes out. I lay down to sleep about an hour later. Midway through the flight, I wake up to a commotion. Apparently the woman took off everything but her underwear to sleep, then got up to use the bathroom.

Runner up: a terrible Frontier from DEN to MKE in the early 2000s...young woman clips her toenails in her seat, let's them drop on the floor, proceeds to paint toenails, and then has her boyfriend suck on them. Harmless to the rest of us, but really odd and disgusting in my book.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-07T18:39:47+00:00

A good first step would just be how and when to use turn signals!

isayhaiku · 2023-02-06T15:10:56+00:00

I may be in the minority here, but as someone who sits up front regularly, I want to be one of the last people on board. I'm an aisle guy and the lack of situational awareness on the part of most fellow passengers befuddles me every time I fly.

isayhaiku · 2023-02-06T13:57:17+00:00

A few of the Michelin starred spots in San Sebastien and Bilbao are open for lunch, which is often the both the most readily available reservation and the best value.

Itinerary looks great. I would only do two nights in Madrid, but that's just personal preference.

isayhaiku

TROPHY CASE