Tuesday, May 05, 2020

San Francisco - And Flying Fun.

The first time I went to San Francisco, I did so by adding a couple of days onto a training project I had contracted to do for AARP in Sacramento.  I rented a car, and drove the back roads across through Napa into San Francisco from the north.  The only time I ever drove a car into San Francisco.  The second time I went to San Francisco was related to another consulting contract for AARP. I was scheduled to present a training in Santa Rosa.  I had made pre-paid non-refundable hotel reservations in San Francisco to spend a long weekend after the training and then fly home.  About a week before the program date, the training was cancelled.  We had more staff flying in then they had attendees signed up.  I thought about it for 15 minutes, I was going to lose several hundred dollars on the hotel reservation.  I was able to get a Delta Airlines seat with frequent flyer miles, I think the first time I had flown on award tickets.  I had a wonderful time in San Francisco, and an exciting trip home.  I was flying from SFO to Atlanta, with a change in Atlanta for Lexington, Kentucky.  Someplace over Texas the lights went out, the electrical system on the plane had suffered a major failure.  We went from 40,000 ft, to on the ground in Dallas in about 15 minutes. Fire engines followed us from the runway to the gate, there was smoke coming out of the engine cowling. I was shuffled onto another flight to Atlanta, spent the night there and flew home the next morning.  Then there was the time I was coming home one Thanksgiving, changing planes in Atlanta, and the baggage conveyor dented the side of the airplane.  We sat there for half an hour or so, and the captain announced, we have a dent, but engineering assures us it is safe to fly.  If you want to get off, please do so, as soon as we can we are on our way.  Half the people left, one of the most comfortable slights I ever had at Thanksgiving time.  Then there was the plane in Charlotte that backed into another airplane, pulled forward and backed into it again.  Tore wintips off of both planes.  

Have you had adventures in flying? 

17 comments:

  1. Not like that. That would make me nervous too. The plane better be ship shape or I'm not flying in it.

    You made me think now, of my San Fran trips....and every year we always hit the Napa and Sonoma for a day each...one vineyard after another...total bliss.

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    1. I have never done the Vineyard tours. J does not drink, and I feel guilty sticking him as the designated driver.

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    2. Oh it's glorious!!!!!!!! Even if you don't drink, the scenery alone is incredible! We always hire a car for the day. Mt friend Kimberly has a bottomless pit it seems.

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  2. I know that signpost above! had my first taste of REAL SF sourdough bread there.

    I flew from 78-90, when I quit flying for good. no adventures.

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    1. It is still a wonderfilled place.

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  3. Anonymous5/05/2020

    Thankfully no excitement as you describe.

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  4. Wow! I've had some bumpy flights. One flight from Dusseldorf to NYC had rollercoaster turbulence for 4 solid hours. All you could hear were people vomiting into bags. Oh, the smell! but I have never in all my flights had accidents or scares like that. As I said, wow!

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    1. I have had a few bumpy flights, one trans-Atlantic that never really smoothed out.

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  5. I am knocking on wood that my flying adventures have all been VERY tame, and I'd like to keep it like that!

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    1. This was enough adventure. Still it didn't really bother me.

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  6. No flying adventures, thankfully. I really don't like flying for what it does to my sinuses and ears. Our last flight was in 2009. Destination was Maine via a flight from Indy through somewhere (I've forgotten) to Boston. Car from there.

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    1. I know there will be a last time for me, I hope I know when enough is enough.

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  7. I would probably never fly again if that happened to me!

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    1. It takes a lot to freak me out, I grew up in little airplanes. The big ones are remarkably robust, if the pilots are competent.

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  8. One of the reasons why I am Timorous to travel is having an adventure just like this one.

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