Friday, 18 October 2019
Leaving Tucson

To quote from a song from “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,”  Here it is 5am / and Here I am once again—waiting for my usual early morning flight on Delta to Atlanta.  For my 6am flight I woke at 3am and Will drove me to the airport at 4, arriving about 40 minutes later.

I don’t know why I do not have TSA PRE-check on this flight, which means I have to remove my shoes and belt when going through security.  Because of my titanium hip I always get patted down after going through the body scanner.  Today’s inspector is an older gentleman who is rather rough with the patting—but all in the name of security.

The flight is full, but I am quite comfortable in Row 2.  The breakfast I chose in advance is not very good, but I look forward to lunch on the next flight, from Atlanta to Newark.  The flight arrives in Atlanta on time, which gives me a little over an hour to get from the Main Terminal to Terminal D, with the help of a wheelchair.

The flight to Newark is delayed, first for late arrival of the plane, then for late arrival of the cleaning crew.  Once on board there is a longer delay to replace a major computer component, but we finally take off about two hours late.  The arrival in Newark is uneventful and with the help of a wheelchair pusher and a luggage carrier, I make the trek to the Hilton Hotel shuttle.

The hotel—where I am using United Airlines frequent flier miles to get a free room—is quite nice, although there are several conferences going on.  I have arranged to extend my stay through Dayuse.com, which means I won’t have to check out until after 4pm for my 8:45pm flight.  I have dinner in the lobby bar, with a limited menu and a very loud rock band playing very loud music.  But my shrimp cocktail and Mac and cheese do the trick for the night.  I plan to turn in early, so further details will have to wait for the morning.

Saturday, 19 October 2019
Newark Airport

I spend today, morning and afternoon, relaxing in my hotel room watching a “Mission Impossible” marathon on television.  Or rather sleeping through most of it.  Checkout is at 4pm and I head downstairs for the shuttle back to the airport.  I am lucky to find someone to help with my luggage and we head up to the Lufthansa check-in where I can rid myself of the two suitcases (did I overpack? I’ll let you know).  Then it’s another wheelchair ride through security, this time with TSA Pre-check, so no shoe removal, and a very nice looking young man doing the pat-down.

I now await my 8:45 pm flight to Munich in the Lufthansa Business Lounge, with free food and drink.  The lounge is comfortable, but small compared to others I have enjoyed.  At 7:45 I will be delivered to the gate and the waiting Airbus.