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All posts for the month June, 2018

Dealing with a HOT Car?

Posted by golfkat on June 21, 2018
Posted in: Action, Health, Travel. Leave a comment

Here in the Valley, and other “hot” spots around the world, there are some wise things you can do to keep the temperature inside of your parked car a little cooler.  Here are some ideas and facts (from Popular Science) to back this up:

A study in Pediatrics found that cracking the window 5 centimeters lowered the temperature in a car by about 28°F on a 98°F day . The interior air was still hot—it reached a stifling 122°F—but that’s still better than the 150°F they measured with the windows fully closed. Another study found a smaller drop in temperature on a cooler day, so the actual change in temperature will vary depending on the outside weather.

Opening the windows halfway kept the vehicle much cooler than opening them a crack, but this also makes it a little too easy for thieves to break into your car. So it’s best to settle for a smaller opening unless your car is parked in a very safe location.

Idea 2: Sunshades:  

A series of experiments at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), a research institute run by the University of Central Florida, found that these shades can reduce the interior temperature of a car by 15° to 20°F. Researchers obtained the best results with shades that contained a reflective surface turned to face the interior of the car (yes, the interior).

That’s only a mild improvement in air temperature, but their real advantage lies in their ability to shade your dashboard: The FSEC found that sun shades cooled the steering wheel and other surfaces by a whopping 40° to 50°F, allowing drivers to touch them without burning their hands.

The windshield is just one of the entry points for sunlight. If you can get shades for your windows too, all the better, although removing shades from all your windows can be a bit of a hassle.

As a more convenient alternative, if you’re willing to spend more, a good ceramic window tint will also cut down on incoming light. It may run you a few hundred bucks, but if you live in a perpetually sunny area, the investment may be worth it.  I might do that on my next car!

Idea 3:

If you find sun shades too expensive or annoying to wrangle, you can at least keep your seat, dashboard, and steering wheel from getting searing by keeping a beach towel or other cover in your car. Just drape it on the seat or dashboard when you exit to shield them from the sun. The air in the car will still get hot, but you’ll at least be able to sit down without burning your hands and legs.

If you want something a bit more elegant, cloth seat covers can protect your bare legs from sizzling leather seats.

Even if you forget a cover, you can try this trick to protect your steering wheel. When you park, turn the wheel so its top faces away from the direct sunlight coming through the windows. That way, you’ll have a relatively cool spot to grab when you return to the vehicle.  Some people I know drape a towel over the steering wheel or buy a nice steering wheel cover.

Idea 4:  Force some of that hot air out before you get in.To do this, open the driver-side door, roll down the passenger window, and then “fan” the driver’s door by opening and closing it several times in a row. This will recirculate the air quickly, making the interior comfortable enough for you to get in and start the air conditioner. Aaron Miller, cars editor at Thrillist, found this cooling method to work even faster than driving with the windows down. Sure, you’ll look a little silly in the parking lot, but it’s a small sacrifice compared to melting in the driver’s seat.  Not crazy about this idea!

I think they forgot a few.  Here are mine!

  1.  Park under a big shady tree.
  2. Only go out in the morning or evening when it is not as hot.
  3. Ride your bicycle (only in the morning).
  4. Have a cold beer once you finish driving!hahastop.comhot1Car that runs on wind energyhot3

The Worst Airport?

Posted by golfkat on June 21, 2018
Posted in: Entertainment, Food, Travel. Leave a comment

I saw an article in Business Insider about bad airports.  Here is some of their discussion:

New York’s LaGuardia Airport has a reputation for being one of the worst airports in the US. A 2017 study of more than 34,000 travelers by J.D. Power found that respondents were less satisfied with their experiences at LaGuardia than at any other large or medium airport in North America.

While renovations to the airport’s terminals, parking system, and drop-off and pick-up areas are underway, the airport is cramped, poorly-lit, and dirty in its current state.

I would agree, though some other airports, both inside and out of the country would qualify.  My choices would be Bogota, Columbia, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Katmandu, Nepal.

So, what makes a bad airport?  For me, it would be sanitary conditions, food options, comfortable waiting areas, and an absence of chaos.

But my memories of being at LaG are good, despite being a bad airport.  For one, most take offs or landing take the plane over the Statue of Liberty, always a great sight in NYC.  And aside from some business trips, I also made it over to the U.S. Open Tennis tournament at Flushing, where I had a wonderful experience.  I also got to play at Bethpage Golf Club (Black) on Long Island.

Any airport with low ceilings, dim lighting, and crowded walkways and waiting areas can be depressing.  There are numerous ones in the US and around the world.

By comparing LaG to newer, better planned airports, anybody can figure out why it is ranked so poorly.  Looking at both San Francisco and Chicago’s O’Hare, both are spacious, with great food options, CLEAN, and well-lighted.  And plenty of seats.  How difficult is it to place some seats in the waiting areas?

My new favorite airport?  Haneda in Tokyo.  Here is why:  The more than 75 million travelers who pass through each year enjoy clean and comfortable terminals, top-notch service, and user-friendly facilities. Highlights include a half-size replica of the 1911 Nihonbashi bridge, shopping and dining in the historically inspired Edo Alley, an outdoor deck illuminated by 4,000 LED lights at night, capsule hotel rooms for a nap, and rentable mini robot guides that speak Japanese, Cantonese, and English. Passengers also can make use of free showers, pay and free lounges, massage chairs, and a spa.

Maybe your worst airport is your own nightmare.  I also experienced the airport from hell in a little safari town in Africa.  You may recall, it was this short little French couple, and their short little kids.  They bobbed their heads side to side like the French like to do, all at the same time, and spoke quite loudly.  It took two airports to finally rid ourselves of them!!!!

 

Travel Stuff Even I Don’t Know!

Posted by golfkat on June 20, 2018
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Entertainment, Travel. Leave a comment

Our recent trip to Seattle brings to mind a concept that I never thought would confront me.  How much or how little do we really know about a destination?  Yes, I buy books, read all the web pages, and blogs, but mostly I like to rely on people who have “been there, done that.”  In some cases, that person is YOU!!!

But here are some things I never thought about or realized, in my reading, my travel, or my many conversations with knowledgeable people like you.

Sweden has the most islands of any country, with 267,570.  Marstand seems to be the “in” spot.

Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela has the most lightning per year, with 150 nights of lightning per year, 10 hours a day, and 280 times per hour.  Thomas Edison would have a nightmare.

The village of Tamri in Morocco has goats in their argan berry trees.

I have always wanted to see the underground caves in Cappadocia, Turkey.  The deepest are 279 feet below, and purportedly housed around 20,000 Christians who were trying to flee the Roman Empire.

Now, I like this.  There are more wooden bourbon barrels in Kentucky than people, by over 2 million!!!  And I loved their Maker’s Mark for my version of Mint Juleps served at our Kentucky Derby parties of the past.

I never knew that alligators and crocs co-existed in South Florida.  But I do know that fried alligator tastes like chicken!

You probably have seen this before.  In Japan, they make SQUARE watermelons that fit better in their smaller refrigerators.  Let it be known that they taste the same, but the salt falls off rather easily!

The largest island nation in the world, Singapore, must import all of their food, as they have no farms, despite being a rich country.  And food is relatively expensive there, compared to most SE Asian countries.

On my recent trip across Canada on the VIA Canadian Rail from Toronto to Vancouver, I did not realize it is the second largest country in the world.  And they have 60% of the world’s natural lakes.  I saw way too many!

The Sahara is not the driest place on earth.  That designation belongs to, of all places, Ross Island in Antarctica.  But I have been to the driest desert in the world, the Atacama in northern Chile.  We even had our car die out, pushed it down a small hill, and jump started it!  We were the only ones in the desert that day!!

Most of you, particular you former Catholics, know that Vatican City is the smallest country in the world.  But Monaco, the second smallest, is the most densely populated, and has the most millionaires, and billionaires, per capita, in the world.

Some of you have driven the Pan American Highway, some 30,000 miles long, stretching from South America to Canada.  But how many of you have been to the start (or is it the end?) of the highway in Quellon, Chile (or unofficially, Ushuaia, Argentina).  Not much there, save for a small, inconspicuous sign.

So, I am sure you have some of your own.  I would like to hear form you about those, and perhaps share them with other readers.dead seag gatetwelvechile

Coffee, Coffee!!

Posted by golfkat on June 13, 2018
Posted in: Cultures, Entertainment, Food, Travel. 1 Comment

Does having the most coffee shops per square mile mean that you have the best coffee?  Yes, there is a Starbucks, and usually one other competitor on every block.  There are a few Peet’s (our favorite), so there is hope for this city.  But do they have really good coffee?

Here is an “expert” at the Stranger:

Coffee shops in Seattle function as social clubs, community forums, shared office space, and study centers. Even the most utilitarian place offers mind-boggling overheard conversation and fascinating people watching. In my opinion, Starbucks’s coffee tastes burned and people look dumb walking around drinking coffee out of giant paper cups like they’re constantly at a high-school kegger. Espresso is best sipped scalding hot from a ceramic cup without a weird plastic sippy-cup lid filtering it through a petroleum product. Try it.

That said, if you’re going to go to a Starbucks, there is one I recommend. It’s not the very first Starbucks (in Pike Place Market) or the Starbucks Reserve Roastery & Tasting Room, but a Starbucks in the Central District.

Truth be known, that is NOT the original or first Starbucks.  That one is long gone, and this one is just there so Asian tourists can take their photo out front.

In the downtown area, where we tend to stay:  For a taste of old Seattle, visit Bedlam. This place harks back to the Belltown neighborhood’s pre-boom era, when World Pizza had punk shows and before the Speakeasy Cafe burned down. This is the real deal—no foam hearts or a bunch of fluffing about sources. Just really good espresso—rich and complex. Comfy couches, plenty of tables, and an old upright piano give this place a living-room feel. Not a hipster in sight. They make toast and pie. It’s on the north end of downtown. If you’re on the south end of downtown, go to Zeitgeist, a big, open, industrial-chic space with exposed brick right around the corner from King Street Station, where Amtrak trains arrive and depart.

Or venture over to Beacon Hill:  The Station is the soul of Beacon Hill. Everyone knows each other, and if they don’t, they will soon. Good and strong Fulcrum coffee is served with that rare magical unicorn: cheap refills! Cozy and dog friendly, the new location offers an expended food menu, as well as the Station’s classic drinks like the D’Angelo (brown sugar latte), Coco Chanel (chai and coconut), and Bowl of Soul (Earl Grey, honey, vanilla, steamed milk), all at lower prices than most cafes. The old much smaller space at 2533 16th Ave S will open soon as a wine bar “loud with conversation and music” as affable owner Luis Rodriguez puts it. “I’m going to get political,” he says. Rodriguez and his spouse, Leona, put on a real block party every summer, support the local hip hop scene, and host poetry readings.

Many well known Seattle folks live in Ballard:  Fremont boasts it is the center of the universe. This is very apparent in joints like Milstead & Co., where pilgrims come to double down on coffee wankery, near the famous Fremont Troll. If you’re in Ballard and need to rent a table workstation for the price of a cup of coffee, Cupcake Royale and Verite Coffee is there for you. If you want amazing small-batch French pastry that people stand in line for—the line goes out the door—go to Cafe Besalu. If you want to skip the line, head on over to Honoré Artisan Bakery for the kouign amann (a salty sweet crispy croissant situation), cannelé (custard baked into a cake with a carmelized crust), and macarons.

So, do you want to know what we do?  We bring our own Peet’s French Roast, and make coffee in our room.  And if we head to breakfast, it is usually at a Tom Douglas place, like Lola, or our favorite bakery, or LePanier near Pike Market, which serves illy.  If we need a mid day “pick me up”, we choose a local place, not named Starbucks.

 

UNESCO City of Literature

Posted by golfkat on June 12, 2018
Posted in: Cultures, Entertainment, Shopping, Travel. Leave a comment

 

I can’t think of a better city than Seattle as the very first UNESCO City of Literature.  The unique and massive Seattle Public Library, itself an icon of literature, stands as a visible reminder of this city’s great literary reputation.  They say the long, wet, dreary winters, and the abundance of coffee shops make it perfect for readers.

For starters, the four decades old Elliott Bay Bookstore attracts readers of all kinds. I love the name of their little cafe’ in the back, the Oddfellows Cafe’.  Maybe it is staffed by a guy named Longfellow?

As you know, I love visiting libraries and bookstores around the world.  My favorites are City Lights (San Francisco), Powell’s (Portland), and The Last Bookstore (Los Angeles).

For rare, and out of print cook books, head to the aptly named Book Larder.  It even has a kitchen in the back!   Every Monday, they host a lunch break cooking class.

So, where do techies go for books?  How about Ada’s Technical Books?  But not in a high tech setting, but an old world hipster style of techie madness.  Events range from lock picking to female scientist meetups.

Seattleites love the sea, and sometimes the Old Man, right Ernie?  For them, Sea Ocean Books rates high, particularly since their hours are by appointment or by chance!

Where do beatniks and the ultra cool people go for their poetry fix?  None other than Open Books, Seattle’s go to place for poetry books and events.  For example, you can find:  The shelves are stocked with progressive local books like Tess Gallagher and Lawrence Matsuda’s collaborative Boogie Woogie CrissCross, a book of poetry based on their three-year long e-mail exchange while she was in Ireland and he was in Seattle.

Even touristy Pike Place Market has a bookstore, Left Bank Books.  The place is described as an anarchist’s collective, with books on feminism, graphic novels, and the labor movement.  And rather interestingly, they publish books written by prisoners.

One of my favorite bookstores is located at Uwajimaya grocery in the International District.  Yes, most of the books are in Japanese, but that does not stop me from visiting Kinokuniya when we shop for Asian foods of all kinds.  They have great T shirts, and art books for those of us who do not read Japanese.  We stopped by on Sunday to buy several great gifts.

My second most favorite is both a bookstore and a cartographer’s dream, Metsker Maps, near Pike Market.  I have purchased maps for some of my trips, such as my Trans Siberian journey in 2014.  They have the best collection of globes, maps, and travel books I have ever seen.  We stopped by on Saturday, to buy a gift for my granddaughter, Kaila.

Believe it or not, Ripley, Amazon has a bookstore here.  I have visited the branch in Walnut Creek.  Because of popularity metrics, they have the type of books that you can read in three days, in either hard copy or Kindle.  But they say it is worth a visit,  just to see how the internal internet brain of book shoppers plays out in real life!  It is located at the Amazon campus,  just a few blocks away.  True to form, they have no cashier!!  Just carry your purchases out, and Amazon Prime figures out how and what to bill me.booksbooks1books2Seattle public library

So, will I spend my days in a bookstore while in Seattle.  It depends on the weather, my mood, and if I need a book!  Go figure.  Or go read!

Uniquely Seattle

Posted by golfkat on June 11, 2018
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Entertainment, Food, Music, Shopping, Travel. Leave a comment

 

Aside from being home to the world’s largest coffee chain, what else is Seattle famous for?

Boeing, originally a boat company, was founded here in 1916 by William Boeing.  It was Seattle’s largest employer during WW2.

The Space Needle was built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair.  It was built in just 400 days.  At the time, it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.  My grandparents went.  It sways one inch in either direction for each 10 mph of wind.

Contrary to popular opinion, the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, lives in Medina, WA, not Seattle.  I have driven by his compound on a power boat.  Seattle’s first millionaire was a sawmill operator by the name of Henry Yesler.  You can decide which photos above is Gates’ mansion, and which one is the famous gum wall.

Seattle still ranks as the most literate of all American cities, with the highest percentage (over 50%) of residents with a college degree or higher.

I love the Seattle Public Library, a true architectural gem.  But more importantly, Seattle has the highest percentage (80%) of library card holders in the nation.

Seattle was the first city in the US to play a Beatles song on the radio.

While we complain about the rain in Seattle, its annual rainfall is less than Houston, New York City, Boston, Atlanta or Chicago.

Pike Place Market is the longest (1907) continuously operating farmer’s market in the U.S.

Seattle is the birthplace of grunge, as if you did not already know that.  It began with Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, and now Macklemore and Heart.  In between were Kenny G,  and Sir Mix-A-Lot.

Better yet, Seattle was the first major American city to elect a female mayor.  Bertha Knight Landes (1926-1928) was known for being tough on crime.  But no female mayors since.

For more BS about Seattle, just fly on up and see for yourself.  You will love it here.

Since I enjoy live music, Seattle has the second highest per capita rate of live music performances in the US, after NYC.

I have mentioned before that Seattle was the birthplace of the greatest guitar player of all time, Jimi Hendrix.  Bruce Lee’s grave can be found at Lakeside Cemetery.

If you saw “Sleepless in Seattle”, you already know that Seattle has over 500 houseboats, the largest of any American city.  That particular houseboat sold for over $2 million recently.

I have a difficult time believing this one, but there are more dogs (140,000) living in Seattle than children (93,000).

I love the public transportation options here.   We take the light rail from the airport to downtown and back.  And we use either the light rail or city buses if we get tired of walking this very walkable and somewhat hilly city.  A giant drill named Bertha is digging her way under the city to replace the Alaska Way Viaduct, an elevated section of Highway 99.

Traffic is quite heavy in the downtown areas.  We rarely rent a car here, unless we head out to the countryside or to the National Parks.

What I like here is that people wear shorts here, even in cold weather.  And they do NOT carry umbrellas!

Wyatt Earp opened a gambling house here in the 1890s on Second Avenue, even though gambling was illegal at the time.

The REI flagship store is located here, as well as the Nordstrom flagship store.  We enjoy both!

One more thought regarding music here.  The Seattle Symphony crowd is quite different from the San Francisco Symphony.  Perhaps if the big boys in this city get involved?

Some sun, some rain, lots of good times!gates homemetskersstarbuckss mono

Return to Seattle

Posted by golfkat on June 10, 2018
Posted in: Cultures, Entertainment, Food, Music, Travel. 2 Comments

It is hardly a secret that Seattle is one of our favorite cities in the world.  First, it is only slightly less than a two hour flight here from our home in Clovis.  Second, we have consistently visited several times a year, on our birthdays, and anniversary, as we are now in June.  Third, we enjoy the food, shopping, scenery, and friends we have made in the area.

We never rent a car, unless we are headed out to nearby National Parks, or to visit friends outside of the downtown area.  We use public transportation, mostly the Sound Transit (light rail) between the airport and downtown.  And we enjoy walking this great city, particularly from the downtown area to the International District.

And yes, it does rain sometimes, even in June, like today.  But mostly, it marks the beginning of good weather for Seattle people, after a long and gloomy winter.  The arrival of the summer seems to brighten spirits, even though they will not admit it!  And they NEVER carry umbrellas!

We have done most of the tourist activities here.  But we still enjoy the restaurants, and the music scene here.  This trip, we will be at Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony, for a concert.  I generally walk over to Seattle Center to the Experience Music Project (EMP) for a dose of northwest music (Pearl Jam, Nirvana), Elvis, Dylan, and Hendrix.  They have renamed the EMP, now called the Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP.

We will miss a few of our friends, like Damon, Leicey, and Wendy, who have moved away.  But a few others remain.  And I am sure we will make new friends, as we do most everywhere we have been.

I have written about everything I can think of here in Seattle.  Having visited three times a year for so many years, there is not much left to dissect.  Music, food, sightseeing, shopping, Pike Market, Sleepless in Seattle, Frasier, Amazon, Microsoft, sports, music, we have left no stone unturned.

Interesting, how things have evolved here.  With Amazon so big, housing is in short supply, and hotel rates are through the roof.  Many businesses cater to the young Amazon crowd only.  I wonder how much longer Macy’s (the former Bon Marche’) can survive?  Pike is busy with tourists, of course.  We saw tons of Midwesterners, mourning the Cavs loss to my Golden State Warriors last Friday night.  Waa Waa!!!

 

Old Fashioned Road Trip

Posted by golfkat on June 8, 2018
Posted in: Action, Cultures, Entertainment, Food, Travel. Leave a comment

Travel experts are saying that the old fashioned road trip we made as kids is coming back.  Though the price of gas is now close to $4.00 a gallon, compared to about 19 cents a gallon back when we were kid, this is the trend.  So, if you want some nostalgia, and pop culture, here is your chance.

But, I am not the “Vacation” Chevy Chase type of road trip guy.  No more Disneyland (or Wally World for the Griswold), but more relaxing places like Scottsdale, Tahoe, San Diego, and the Pacific Coast.  There will be no Aunt Edna’s on my roof!!

We recently took Lexi on a long, by our standards, road trip to Arizona, via Las Vegas, Sedona, and to our ultimate destination, Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ.  We stopped in Palm Springs on the way home to break up the drive, as we did in Vegas on the way to Arizona.

There were long, boring stretches, and times when we really had to search for gas or food.  But we did enjoy being together, and having Lexi see the great American southwest.

Why did the trend die out in the first place?  Time, of course, a valuable commodity when the average American worker got only two weeks vacation per year.  It is a real time saver to fly to your destination, rather than drive, unless there is an ocean in between.

But flying, particularly as a family, has become very expensive.  So, a two hour flight versus 12-16 hours in a car is the easy comparison.  Many of us forget the flight requires arriving two hours in advance, not including the time to get there.  Parking the car at the airport incurs expenses as well.  What if you encounter a delay?  Travel by auto rarely has delays, and offers the options of frequent or interesting stops.  And you can carry more “stuff”, like food, drinks, and gifts.

Statistically, can you believe road trips made up 39% of vacations taken by Americans in 2016, up 22% from the previous year?  Two other factors might be the ease of taking pets, like us with Lexi, and the ability to take last minute trips.

Surprisingly, this surge is led not by retirees, aka boomers, but by millennials.  Even in their youth, they seem driven by nostalgia.  Maybe they heard some of the stories we told from our childhood, where the family road trip was the ONLY vacation we ever got.  Or simply, they might remember us dragging them along on road trips against their will, most of the time?

Respondents said they like the spontaneity of road trips, versus air, train and cruise travel.  The media, as always plays a big part, touting the “Great American Road Trip” in newspapers and magazines.  Then again, outfits like Triple A always tout road trips, along with the petroleum industry, auto dealers, and nearby convention and visitor bureaus.

I can certainly see why the spontaneity plays a big part, with millennials, and the rest of us booking last minute trips as we head out the door.  Smart phones and tablets allow us the plan the trip as we go.  It does not hurt that here in California, we have a long and beautiful coastline, mountains less than an hour away from most places, and a wide variety of weather conditions for seasonal recreation.

For me, google maps really helps on road trips of any distance.  I can recall many times, losing my way temporarily, only to get back on track with the google maps app on my phone.  But, in my experience, do not underestimate the value of printed maps.  Why?  You might not have phone service during a drive form the top of Chile, all the way to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Or crossing Russia on the Trans Siberian Railway.

Some guy, with nothing better to do, mapped out an efficient road trip for the contiguous 48 states.  It totals a mere 13,000 miles, and would take around NINE days.  The bonus:  one family friendly stop per state.  I for one, am certainly pleased that my trip to visit all fifty states took all of 67 years.  Very few were by car, Oregon, and Nevada, the remainder by a combination of planes, trains and cars.

Considerably more fun would be visiting all 59 National Parks, but maybe not on one trip.  Most people would take about a year to make this epic trip.  I may not make it to all 59, but I made it a point to get to the ones that I consider most important to me.  These would be Arches, Bryce, Zion, Yosemite (in my backyard), Yellowstone, Glacier, Teton, Grand Canyon, Canyonlands, Badlands, Olympic, Crater, Sequoia, and Kings.

Another take on this theme are the books that tout “Eight American Must Drive Road Trips” or something of that nature.  I really cannot comment on it, since I have never followed the advice of one of these “expert” must do drives.  But if you lack the time to plan your own trip, this might be a decent option.

Whatever you do, wherever you go, I do encourage you to take at least one good road trip per year.  It has proven to be both fun and interesting, especially bringing Lexi along with us.

Some basic things I always bring on a road trip:

Cooler with ice

Lots of water

Snacks

Favorite CDs

GPS or google maps

Sunglasses

Camera (or cell camera)

Good walking shoes

A plan

Laptop or tabletgriswoldsroad triproad trip1

Diverted Flights

Posted by golfkat on June 7, 2018
Posted in: Travel. Leave a comment

With the recent air travel issues, I wonder how many of you have been on diverted flights?  You can guess that I have been on my share of them over the years.  I will just recap the worst ones.

Internationally, we were diverted from Taipei to Hong Kong due to fog.  We had to stay the night in HK, but decided to switch our flight home to Singapore Airlines, the gold standard of flights.  We got to spend the day in the Singapore lounge, with all kinds of great food, a shower, and many entertainment options.  We got home a day later, did not have access to our luggage, but got to have the Singapore Airlines first class treatment.

Perhaps the most frustrating diverted flight occurred close to home.  We were on our way home from Santa Fe, NM on Southworst to Oakland.  We were diverted to nearby San Jose due to fog in Oakland.  By the time buses arrived to take us to Oakland where our car was parked, 6 hours transpired.  We got home around 3am and had to work at 9am the next morning!

But the most dangerous flights were two that I recall.  One, we were hit by lightning on our way to Spring Training in Scottsdale, AZ.  We had to stop in San Diego to have the plane inspected.  Thankfully, the Southworst flight continued on to Phoenix without incident or any repairs required.  My kids were on board, and were quite shaken by the incident.

Even worse than getting hit by lightning, are the turbulent winds in Denver on a stormy evening.  As we tried to land, I could see the wing on my side of the plane pointing perpendicular to the ground!  The pilot pulled out of the landing, and tried again, with no luck!  United and ground control finally decided we could not land in Denver, and were diverted south to Colorado Springs.  Landing there was only slightly better, but once on the ground, they bussed us back to Denver, and put us up in a hotel.  We flew home the next morning, thankful to be alive.

While I applaud the airlines and FAA for putting safety first, I wonder why they do not have better contingency plans.  Busses and vans should be on call to transport passengers on a timely basis.  My recent 16 hour delay on the VIA Canadian train out of Toronto is a good example.  With more passengers than one bus could handle, the rail staff ordered several mini vans to transport us from the hotel, back to the train station.

I also think passengers should be compensated, based on the amount of delay and additional expenses incurred.  While weather and safety are subjective, passengers are their business.  Why not try to treat us a little better?

I am sure you have been caught on diverted flights as well.  Maybe your stories are better than mine!diverteddiverted1diverted2