Day 7 "Long Day's Journey into Night" or "American Airlines You Suck!"

Today's post will be written in segments. We have to be out of here by 10:00, no late check out available. We will drive down to Albuquerque, maybe stopping for the pine nuts truck on the way. You do realize that since we have plenty of time we most likely will not make any wrong turns. Rob is still waking up on close to Eastern time. I on the other hand... well, I do get up, eventually. We did most packing last night. This morning is just taking care of the last minute things, checking drawers, under the bed and loveseat to make sure that we have not forgotten anything. We got out of there in time and since I was driving we made one more try at finding the pine nuts guy. No luck. We are heading out of town and I see a sign handicraft sale. I commented that I wish that there was a farmers market. Rob asked why, so that we could buy pine nuts. Yeah, I know Ahab. Oh, there was one near where we stayed. He did not think that we would want to go there to buy produce on the day that we are leaving. Oh well, I can get them somewhere else. The drive down to Albuquerque goes quickly, seriously, how fast do people drive here? It is beautiful landscape in a barren sort of way. We stop at Costco to get gas. Rob looks up Albuquerque farmers markets. There are two, one is done for the day and the other will be done in 15 minutes. It will take us that long just to get gas. He finds some sort of produce market and it is not that far away. We follow the GPS and get there easily. It opens in August. Doh! Time for El Modelo. We had already looked at the menu and know what we want. When we were here last week we were there for dinner there were just a few people waiting for their orders. Lunch on Saturday it is packed. They are still not allowing anyone in. From what I can see they have redone the inside so there is even less space to wait in. We give them our parking spot and luckily find a table in the shade near our car. We both get Burrito De Carne Desebrada. They are pretty busy so it is a while before we get our food but it is worth the wait. If you are ever in Albuquerque I highly recommend this. If you are more concerned with atmosphere than food, you might want to skip it. It is in a rundown industrial area but the parking lot and street were packed with customers. http://elmodelomexicanfoods.com/

Lunch was delicious and I now know that at least there the red chili is hotter than the green chili. We stop one more time for gas since we have to have a receipt from a gas station within 10 miles of the airport. Rob puts in less than a gallon, but we have a receipt. Now we head for the airport, um, is this where we exit for the car return? Give it a try and we are correct. We find where to drive in. I have to admit that this is the first time that we have rented a car since January of 2020 but usually someone comes out to meet us. We get out of the car, gather up everything and look around. There isn't anyone around. I ask Rob if we are supposed to leave the keys in the car. I made sure to leave them but is that what I am supposed to do? Another man said that is what he did. We walk past a line of about 8 cars when we see a sign that reads: Leave Keys in Car, Take All Personal Belongings, Note Milage and Time. Well this would have been nice to know earlier. Luckily we had left the keys, checked for belongings and had noted the milage. I just guessed on the time. We walk into the building. OMG, the line is even longer than when we were here last week. Rob got in line and I asked people if they were returning or picking up. They were all picking up. There is only one person working the counter. Rob goes up and asks about returning. He is told to just do what we have done and they will email a receipt. OK, if you say so. He does hold on to the gas receipt just in case. I thought that there was a shortage of rental cars. There were about 30 rentals cars in the return area and not doing anything with them. We get on the shuttle to the airport and soon he pulls up to the curb. Everyone start to get off. We had not heard which airline this was for. Oh, there is only one stop. We head in and find a place to sit. We have over 3 hours before we depart and we still have soda and water to drink. Rob gets up and looks around. We found a spot at a boutique airline gate. We have a table, an outlet and it is quiet. Nice. I plug in my cube and we start to charge things and get our computers plugged in. We are finally down to the last sodas. We froze bottles of water to keep everything cold so those will get dumped somewhere. Keep in mnd that so far everything has gone smoothly, no wrong turns, found a quiet place to sit while we kill time in the airport and we are not rushed. However this is an "Andrea" story so you know that there will be a twist. It is about time to head to the gate. We made sure that our water bottles were completely empty and we head for security. We have TSA Pre Check we do not have to stand in long lines, pull out liquids or remove our shoes. I go first. I have my boarding pass pulled up on my phone and have my ID and "I have an artificial joint" card ready. The woman looks at my license and types somethinng in. Hmmmm, she types again and calls someone over. My birthdate is wrong. When our flight was canceled last week we got rebooked and my TSA Pre Check did not transfer because it is the wrong birthdate. They tell me to go to the regualar security line. There are about 10 people in front of me but I still have to zig-zag through the security lines. I get to an officer. They look at my license and type something in. My birthdate is still wrong. I explain what I was told at TSA Pre Check. Nope, you have to go down the American Airlines counter and have them make the change. Luckily this is not a huge airport. I get down to the counter. There are three groups ahead of me. One is checking luggage, they do not understand why their suitcase is overweight if the last time that they flew with that suitcase it was not overweight. Do you suppose that maybe you packed heavier things in it? They remove a few things and transfer them to their carry on. Oops, now their carry on will not fit in the carry on thing. They have to check that suitcase. I have to pay for that one too? I swear that I could not roll my eyes any louder. I finally get to the front of the line. I explain, she types in and finds my record and changes my birthdate. Then she needs my known traveler number. I look on my boarding pass, nope, not there. I call Rob who has gone on to the gate. He has to boot up his computer to find my number. I tell the woman that she can take the next customer. She cannot because mine is an open record. OK, fine. Now I get to listen to a gentleman ask why it costs so much more now to buy a ticket than it did 2 years ago. Oh, the ticket is for tomorrow. That could be part of the problem. He is actually trying to get the clerk to give him a discount. Rob calls back and I give my "Known Flier Number" to the clerk. No, that does not work. We try again, nope, still will not work. Fine, just give me a boarding pass, oh yeah, and one for my next flight so that I do not have to do this again in Dallas. I run, well, I walk pretty darn fast to security. I have to zig zag again to get to the officer. There is a group of seven people from Gabon. Half of them did not have on masks and were not real interested putting them on. One TSA agent finally told two of them that he would not allow them past until they put on masks. None of them had ID's out ahead of time. I am really starting to fidgit. Do I have liquids in this suitcase? Oh, no, I have the dirty clothes, Rob got both liquids bag. Good thing that he did not have to pull them out. I fidgit some more. Come on people. The second agent calls me to step ahead of part of the group. I get through just fine, then he realizes that I have already been through, no, I did not make it through. Oh yeah. The group from Gabon that was behind me push ahead of me. One man takes off his shoes and puts them in the top bin of a stack, then puts his bag in a bin on top of another stack and gestures for the TSA agent to pick the bins up and put them on the table. She is trying to tell him that he needs to take off his jacket and belt. She grabs his shoes and puts them in the bin with his bag and tells him to put his jacket and belt in there. He is not happy that she touched his shoes. Really, lesson 1 do not tick off the TSA agents. I get to put my stuff into bins and am told that we do not have to pull liquids out. Yes, I tell them that I have an artificial joint and they told me that they do not care, everyone is going through the body scanner. The people from Gabon are trying to grab things out of the Xray machine and are told to stop it. No one seems concerned about my knee. I stand at the end and hear my phone go off, Rob is calling. I cannot answer as my phone is now being Xrayed. I get my stuff and take off for my gate. I get there and they are well into the boarding process. Rob tells me to go to the bathroom, he will make sure that they do not leave without me. We get on and there are two people left who are waiting to see if there are any empty seats. OK, deep breath. I am on and we will be taking off for Dallas. The drink service begins. We have the option of water, apple juice or coffee. I choose water. Yum, room temp water. They really did pull out all of the stops for us. We land in Dallas at gate B10 and need to get to B21. Wow, this is amazing, we do not have to run through the airport. We do not have long to wait and they are loading. They are doing it pretty fast and there are not that many people here. Is our flight not packed? Oh that would be nice. We settle in, there is an empty seat on the aisle. They announce that the boarding doors are closed. They are checking empty seats and making sure that people are in the correct seat. We have to wait for the catering service to load. It is hot and humid in Dallas and the doors of the plane are open so it is getting hot and humid in the plane. I suggest to Rob that since they are not boarding anyone else that he move to the aisle seat. I think that they are finally loading on the catering, or at least loading something in the back. We are now 20 minutes past our take off time. Rob some how manages to sleep. There is a flurry of activity in the front of the plane. There are more people boarding 35 minutes after they announced that the boarding door was closed. Yup, we lost our empty seat. A man and his daughter have the two aisle seats, they had been standing on a plane for 20 minutes waiting to get off but they could not let passengers off for some unknown reason. Rob tells them that they were lucky that catering was behind schedule. We finally take off 45 minutes late. The flight is fairly smooth and I watch the moon rise and we go. I get a can of Sprite Zero, I am not drinking caffeine this time of night. I am almost done when I knocke my cup off of my tray. I now have soda down one leg and in my lap. I do not get that upset, it is just how the day has gone. We land at 12:15. We are near the back so it is a fair amount of time before we get off and start the trek to the other end of the airport. For some reason they do not use the close gates. Something about size or whatever. I usually ride the tram. Only one tram is running and it will not be there for 3 minnutes. I will just walk, and walk and walk. We get out to the sidewalk and try to figure out where to stand for the shuttle to our parking. There is a sign with an arrow that reads "Off Site Parking." Yup, that is what we are looking for. We have parked at "Fast Park." There is also "Value Park" another off site parking. They both have lime green busses, not the best idea. Everyone has hit the sidewalk at the same time. There really is not a line, it is just people on the curb and where ever the bus stops that is the front. Some people have decided that they are in line and are getting mad at other people who they think are skipping. Come on folks, it is late and we are all tired. There is a group that has been on a mission trip in Albuquerque. They are not the most aware group. You know the kind of group that gathers in the middle of a walk way not paying attention to the fact that they are blocking the flow of traffic. They are some of the most vocal about people not being in line. One couple starts to load their luggage onto the bus. She will not allow anyone else on until after they have their luggage on. I count, they have 10 suitcases and duffle bags, this does not count their backpack and tote bag. I wonder how long they have been gone. We do not get on this bus. I and a few others stay on the curb to wait for the next bus. There is one coming, but it is Value Park, it pulls up further down the sidewalk. Ah, here come Fast Park. People are starting to push. One of the mission trip women is getting upset. I asked her which she was waiting for Value or Fast Park? She wants Value Park, the bus that stops in front of us is Fast Park. She is pushing to get ahead of people. I point to her bus, she gets upset with me. "Why does the column read 'Value Park'?" I do not know, read the bus. We get on with our suitcase and I see them running down to the other bus and trying to get on it. At last we are dropped off at our car and head for the exit. I love this place, they give you a bottle of cold water when you pay. Uh oh, the cooler with the cold water is gone. Drat another cutback. We realize that this was just one more thing that could carry the virus. I get it, but was really looking forward to a cold bottle of water. The drive home goes smoothing, I am nervous driving at this time of night since this is after bar closing. We arrive home at 1:55am, the cats are happy to see us get home and we go right to bed. Thank you for coming along on another adventure. This time we went on a vacation that did not turn into another international incident.