Minneapolis 2026 - The Glamour of Air Travel

 If one looks at photos of air travel back in the day, things were quite different. People dressed nicely and there were in flight meals, even for short hauls, air travel was an experience. 

It is still an experience albeit a slightly different sort of one. I had an early Friday morning departure time. The airport was packed and just short of total chaos. The security line was comparable to the line of the most popular ride at an amusement park on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Our gate was changed from the central terminal to one on the outer edge, without exaggeration, 3/4 of a mile away. I felt for the elderly couple in front of me, trekking with their carry ons to an entirely different section of the vast structure which is O'Hare airport. I'm not certain but the gate I eventually left from might have been in a different county the the original. 

It's a short hop, 1 hour. Drinks and difficult to open packets containing, perhaps, 2 pretzels were begrudgingly distributed by indifferent flight attendants. As soon as we attained our cruising altitude we began our descent. Years ago a particular airline's slogan was "The only way to fly." These days it's, "We'll get you there, eventually. Your luggage is another matter entirely."







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mexico 2026 - Guadalajara - The Southward Trend Cotinues

 For the sake of convenience we had breakfast at the hotel the next morning. We went out, ordered an UBER to where we thought we were going which turned out to be not where we were going. A guidebook had misled us.  We ended up by a beautiful, venerable cathedral. It was Sunday. There were a couple of black robed monks outside, the sounds of a mass emanated from within. We stood in the doorway, mindful of the service, and looked at the grand interior. We wandered through stalls outside the cathedral courtyard walls and started walking down a road that seemed right though we were soon to discover that it wasn't. We suffered several moments of total desolation and utter futility. I suggested we put the neighborhood in as a destination as opposed to a specific address. We got a hit, a driver would be meeting us shortly.
Read more

Mexico 2026 - Guadalajara - The Journey Turns South

 What's travel without a little adventure, right....right? Our adventure began with the taxi from the airport. The driver told us what it would cost in U.S.dollars and we settled in for the ride to our hotel. Along the way a policeman on a motorcycle rode up beside the cab and asked the driver something in Spanish. The driver replied, gesturing to us in the back seat. The back window was rolled down, the policeman peered at us, the window rolled back up and we were allowed to proceed. Arriving at the hotel we tried to pay with 3 different credit cards, 2 of mine and one of my Travel Buddy's. All were declined. We paid him in U.S. dollars the amount we had agreed on, checked in and were shortly receiving fraud alerts on our phones. The cab driver had attempted to charge us over $400. The next half hour was spent on the phone straightening out the whole affair.  Next order of business, getting pesos. Nowhere in the vicinity of the hotel could we find an ATM that allowed translat...
Read more

Mexico 2026 - Guadalajara - Let There Be LIght

 I've eaten lunch at the same restaurant on each of my visits to Guadalajara. We noticed that throughout the historic area of the city there was a massive amount of construction fencing, which included a fountain which usually creates a lovely vista from the restaurant. The waitress informed us that the Festival of Lights, usually a February event, had been rescheduled due to a soccer tournament and was being held instead the upcoming weekend. all the construction was the extensive set up for it. Although we wouldn't be in town then we did get a sneak preview our final night as they tested the light displays and the orchestra rehearsed. A lovely soprano voice was practicing Mozart's Ode to Joy in Spanish, a first for me. 
Read more