Showing posts with label SCCA National Convention. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SCCA National Convention. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Quick Post: Live From Las Vegas
Well I'm on my annual trip to Las Vegas for the SCCA National Convention and it came at the perfect time. This morning I left a snowy andbiterly cold Columbus Ohio for the sun and warmth of Nevada. Today was 57 degrees with temps forecast near 70 by the end of the week. Wow what a difference. Last week we had an ice storm with nearly one inch of ice covering everything and bringing down trees across my property.Today I ate In-N-Out Burger in a sweatshirt. Will I win anything? Probably not, but I feel like I beat the winter blues and not a moment to son. Forecast for home this week: highs in the teens with lows in the single digits to negatives...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Nice to be home
I returned from Las Vegas late Sunday. Its so nice to be home. I enjoyed my trip, but there is something so nice about a big hug from the kids who have not seen you in a few days. Flying out I took a Delta MD-88 followed by a Delta Boeing 767-300. It was such an enjoyable trip out for a few reasons. First of all both legs out I had nobody sitting next to me! Thats right--actual room to spread out and stretch. I sat on the 2 seat side of both planes. Flying into Ls Vegas at night is always a thrill. The lights of Vegas are second to none. Finally we had the in seat entertainment units on the 4.5 hour flight and thats not always a given. Even though the TV channels were mostly dark I was able to watch a bit and play some trivia as well as use my ipods and psp to pass the time. The return flights were again on Delta and a Boeing 757-200 from LV to Atlanta followed by another MD-88 into CMH. Unfortunately for me both were filled to the max. Overbooked actually although not to the Southwest level of overbooking. After making my flight by the skin of my bones last year got to the airport early this year. To the tune of 3:45AM.....Yeah
No issues with heat this year. Just a couple of backed up commodes...... No wonder everybody was happy to see me. The Convention was good and my region produced both the Rookie of the Year as well as the Presidents Cup winner. Its a good time to be the RE.
Moving along the Oscar nominations were today and for the first time in forever I had actually seen several films that were nominated.... Up in the Air, The Lovely Bones, The Blind Side, District 9 among them. Making that even more interesting is I saw them all free over the internet. Yes that is so cool Ask me where....
No issues with heat this year. Just a couple of backed up commodes...... No wonder everybody was happy to see me. The Convention was good and my region produced both the Rookie of the Year as well as the Presidents Cup winner. Its a good time to be the RE.
Moving along the Oscar nominations were today and for the first time in forever I had actually seen several films that were nominated.... Up in the Air, The Lovely Bones, The Blind Side, District 9 among them. Making that even more interesting is I saw them all free over the internet. Yes that is so cool Ask me where....
Monday, January 25, 2010
I'm Outta Here for a Week
Thats right its time to hit the road to Las Vegas. Not much gambling for me though. I will be attending the 2010 SCCA National Convention at the South Pointe. Its a nice place if you like being cooped up out in the middle of a dessert away from all the fun. I was there last year and unfortunately did not get to In & Out Burger. Not gonna happen this year as I will have access to a car. Since I'm the experienced guy going this year I will be the guide to the touristy places like Hoover Dam and the strip. I hope to get out to Nellis AFB for a few minutes to watch some fighter jet action. I am flying Delta and will be flying home for the first time on a 757-300 which is the stretched version of he 757. That means its an old Northwest jet and has no in seat entertainment either... I will bring my psp and ipod touch. Maybe even my laptop. Looks like my flight out is on a 767, but its changed 8 times since I booked it that who knows. Please turn the heat on for me!
Blondie not included.......
Friday, February 27, 2009
Continuing our story...LONG POST ALERT
When I left we had gone to the CBJ game on a Monday (school night) and the Jackets got a point for an OT loss. Tuesday came and now I was not hearing the bad noises from the sump pump. Unfortunately that meant that both pumps were now in fact dead and it was supposed to rain all day Wednesday. We had the discussion about what to do and my wife said let it go until you get back. I said thats probably bad and called the plumber. They could not come until Wednesday afternoon and I would be on my plane to Las Vegas so I asked my father to come over and help my wife not get ripped off by the plumbers.
Its a really good thing I did as both pumps were dead and the sump was filled to within a quarter of an inch of the top and the overflow and flood was minutes away. Once the new pumps were installed they ran for more than 24 hours straight. 18 seconds on and 2 seconds off for more than a day. We were lucky on this. However, luck was definitely NOT on my side that day.....
I had an 8:15 flight to Atlanta so I left at about 6:30 for the airport. I filled the tank with fuel so it would start when I returned. I parked and got on the shuttle and breezed thru security with no wait. We boarded and left the gate on-time. That was the last thing to go as planned all day. We taxied in the Embraer 170 and when we got to the end of the runway I noticed there was another plane parked off to the side. We then joined it as well. It was the earlier flight to ATL. The captain came on the PA and announced that ATL was closed due to weather and to expect a delay. He allowed us to use computers and cell phones which is a bad sign since the doors were closed. We ended up sitting for 48 minutes before taking off. I was not worried as I had about a 2 hour layover in Atlanta before my flight to Las Vegas. What could go wrong? I take this flight all the time and it only takes 1:10 minutes.
My first inclination of trouble was when we started to do donuts in the sky. Air traffic control had us in a hold to get us into a slot. I still had almost an hour though so no big deal. Then we did another, and then another and I started to look at my watch. When we finally started our descent I was concerned as the next flight was probably starting to board. It was no big deal because Delta would not hang me out to dry. hey KNEW I was coming in and it was not my fault. So I enjoyed the last mnutes of my flight sitting in the bulkhead with an empty seat next to me. Once we landed I looked at my watch and prayed we would be in the same terminal as my next flight. According to my boarding pass we were not. I always carry on my stuff whenever possible so if I have to do an OJ Simpson (No, not slash someone's throat. Running thru an airport like he did on the commercials for Hertz) I know my bags will make the flight. We pulled into gate B33 and checking the monitor shoed my next plane was at B3. In other words as far apart as they could be in the same terminal. The board also showed on-time and I had 7 minutes to get there. I started a panic run and quickly ran out of steam. I walked fast for a minute or two before I heard over the PA: Final Boarding call for flight XXXX and then my name. At that point I was still 10 gates away and exhausted. I finally mustered a last run and got there to a line of standby passengers trying to get my seat. It took awhile to get the attention of the ticket guy and then he scanned my pass told the other sorry and closed the door behind me. I ran dow the jetway and entered the plane where the flight attendant gave me a nasty look and closed the door to the Boeing 757-200. I made it to my seat and somehow found overhead space for my bag and climbed over 2 people to the window seat to find this plane did not have the personal video screen in front of me. Bummer. I was exhausted and my mouth was so dry I could hardly swallow. I had to go to the restroom terribly, but I had made my flight. What could go wrong?
So within minutes we taxied out and the Captain came over the PA announcing flight time would be 4 hours and 26 minutes. but that we were going to be on the ground for awhile as we were about 25-30 planes away from taking off. It ended up being 27 and we sat for over an hour slowly creeping forward. By the time we took off I really had to go. I love the takeoff in the 757 as it requires a higher speed as the wings are not the most efficient. Its angle is always greater although it bounces around a lot. Once I felt the plane level off I was up and moving when I heard the ding for the safety belt. Fortunately only one person got in front of me and there was a line of about 10 people waiting to use the lavatory when I got out. The rest of the flight itself was normal although with no video and being able to see only half of the tiny overhead monitor I really did not watch the movie. I listed to my ipod and watched a little video on it. Finally we made our descent into Las Vegas and landed. As we pulled up onto the jetway the door never opened. The captain then came over the PA to announce there had been a security incident in the airport and it had to be emptied and everybody re-screened. It also meant we had to stay on the plane. I just shook my head and read my emails. It was now I was able to find out all about the sump pump being fixed and how lucky we were. Ater 45 minutes we finally began do get off the plane. What could go wrong from here?
Delta is in terminal D and I knew the tram was down so we had only 1 instead of 2. The issue was 25 planes all dumping their loads at the same time and it took more than 1 hour from the time I left the plane until I stepped outside to get a taxi. My shuttle had long since left by more than 2 hours and now I had to pay to get to the hotel. After a $30 cab ride for about 7 miles I arrived at the South Point Casino. Home of the 2009 SCCA National Convention. I waited in a short line to check in and all seemed normal at long last. Besides, what could go wrong?
I tried to check in, but they did not have my name. No big deal as there were 7 of us going to represent the Ohio Valley Region. I gave the name of the person who had made reservations. Over and over they went thru the lists. Nothing. Its as if I did not exist. For more than 30 minutes I tried to figure out where I was supposed to be. The lady finally said I could just get a room, but I would have to pay. No way. She finally said to use the house phone to page the other overhead in the casino. Yeah right. So I left to figure out a plan. I finally decided to see if I could dial a number from my voicemail and call one of the people that had flown direct on Southwest Airlines. Luckily I got thru and help was on the way. It turned out the lady was an idiot and had never checked to see if the others had checked in. Which they had. They already had my room and all I needed to do was pick up the key at the desk. I had finally made it. Exhausted and late but I was there. Wasn't that easy?
Its a really good thing I did as both pumps were dead and the sump was filled to within a quarter of an inch of the top and the overflow and flood was minutes away. Once the new pumps were installed they ran for more than 24 hours straight. 18 seconds on and 2 seconds off for more than a day. We were lucky on this. However, luck was definitely NOT on my side that day.....
I had an 8:15 flight to Atlanta so I left at about 6:30 for the airport. I filled the tank with fuel so it would start when I returned. I parked and got on the shuttle and breezed thru security with no wait. We boarded and left the gate on-time. That was the last thing to go as planned all day. We taxied in the Embraer 170 and when we got to the end of the runway I noticed there was another plane parked off to the side. We then joined it as well. It was the earlier flight to ATL. The captain came on the PA and announced that ATL was closed due to weather and to expect a delay. He allowed us to use computers and cell phones which is a bad sign since the doors were closed. We ended up sitting for 48 minutes before taking off. I was not worried as I had about a 2 hour layover in Atlanta before my flight to Las Vegas. What could go wrong? I take this flight all the time and it only takes 1:10 minutes.
My first inclination of trouble was when we started to do donuts in the sky. Air traffic control had us in a hold to get us into a slot. I still had almost an hour though so no big deal. Then we did another, and then another and I started to look at my watch. When we finally started our descent I was concerned as the next flight was probably starting to board. It was no big deal because Delta would not hang me out to dry. hey KNEW I was coming in and it was not my fault. So I enjoyed the last mnutes of my flight sitting in the bulkhead with an empty seat next to me. Once we landed I looked at my watch and prayed we would be in the same terminal as my next flight. According to my boarding pass we were not. I always carry on my stuff whenever possible so if I have to do an OJ Simpson (No, not slash someone's throat. Running thru an airport like he did on the commercials for Hertz) I know my bags will make the flight. We pulled into gate B33 and checking the monitor shoed my next plane was at B3. In other words as far apart as they could be in the same terminal. The board also showed on-time and I had 7 minutes to get there. I started a panic run and quickly ran out of steam. I walked fast for a minute or two before I heard over the PA: Final Boarding call for flight XXXX and then my name. At that point I was still 10 gates away and exhausted. I finally mustered a last run and got there to a line of standby passengers trying to get my seat. It took awhile to get the attention of the ticket guy and then he scanned my pass told the other sorry and closed the door behind me. I ran dow the jetway and entered the plane where the flight attendant gave me a nasty look and closed the door to the Boeing 757-200. I made it to my seat and somehow found overhead space for my bag and climbed over 2 people to the window seat to find this plane did not have the personal video screen in front of me. Bummer. I was exhausted and my mouth was so dry I could hardly swallow. I had to go to the restroom terribly, but I had made my flight. What could go wrong?
So within minutes we taxied out and the Captain came over the PA announcing flight time would be 4 hours and 26 minutes. but that we were going to be on the ground for awhile as we were about 25-30 planes away from taking off. It ended up being 27 and we sat for over an hour slowly creeping forward. By the time we took off I really had to go. I love the takeoff in the 757 as it requires a higher speed as the wings are not the most efficient. Its angle is always greater although it bounces around a lot. Once I felt the plane level off I was up and moving when I heard the ding for the safety belt. Fortunately only one person got in front of me and there was a line of about 10 people waiting to use the lavatory when I got out. The rest of the flight itself was normal although with no video and being able to see only half of the tiny overhead monitor I really did not watch the movie. I listed to my ipod and watched a little video on it. Finally we made our descent into Las Vegas and landed. As we pulled up onto the jetway the door never opened. The captain then came over the PA to announce there had been a security incident in the airport and it had to be emptied and everybody re-screened. It also meant we had to stay on the plane. I just shook my head and read my emails. It was now I was able to find out all about the sump pump being fixed and how lucky we were. Ater 45 minutes we finally began do get off the plane. What could go wrong from here?
Delta is in terminal D and I knew the tram was down so we had only 1 instead of 2. The issue was 25 planes all dumping their loads at the same time and it took more than 1 hour from the time I left the plane until I stepped outside to get a taxi. My shuttle had long since left by more than 2 hours and now I had to pay to get to the hotel. After a $30 cab ride for about 7 miles I arrived at the South Point Casino. Home of the 2009 SCCA National Convention. I waited in a short line to check in and all seemed normal at long last. Besides, what could go wrong?
I tried to check in, but they did not have my name. No big deal as there were 7 of us going to represent the Ohio Valley Region. I gave the name of the person who had made reservations. Over and over they went thru the lists. Nothing. Its as if I did not exist. For more than 30 minutes I tried to figure out where I was supposed to be. The lady finally said I could just get a room, but I would have to pay. No way. She finally said to use the house phone to page the other overhead in the casino. Yeah right. So I left to figure out a plan. I finally decided to see if I could dial a number from my voicemail and call one of the people that had flown direct on Southwest Airlines. Luckily I got thru and help was on the way. It turned out the lady was an idiot and had never checked to see if the others had checked in. Which they had. They already had my room and all I needed to do was pick up the key at the desk. I had finally made it. Exhausted and late but I was there. Wasn't that easy?
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