Text 3248, 98 rader
Skriven 2010-10-30 16:23:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: trip 673
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They had a supposedly upgraded room for me at the Hilton,
which doesn't have free wi-fi, or, in fact, any wi-fi at
all, except in the lobby (where it is free, using the promo
code LOBBY). The room had a water view, though Lilli, whom I
am to meet today for leg one of the VIE Do, tells me all the
rooms have a water view.

The wired Internet wasn't working, either, and anyhow the
manager asserts that they charge even golds and diamonds
for it (perhaps the memo hasn't come through).

Speaking of water, the tap stuff is brackish and moldy, so
I had to use one of the bottled waters. There are two big
Glaceau Smart Waters in full view, $5 each; down underneath
there are two little Hilton waters, free (I hope).

The bed was very comfy, though, and I got six joyous hours'
sleep.

A bad start: I can't get on the Internet upstairs so go to the
lobby to pick up my e-mail and a flood of Easy Updates the
gist of which is that we're now scheduled to spend about 5
hours in LAX. Maybe we should take a field trip to In-n-Out
or Encounter - this latter less likely, as I've checked the
:mr. yuck face: re-envisioned menu and see things like

Pan Seared Maine Diver Scallop's On a Peruvian Tarragon Mash
with a Lemon Basil Midori Emulsion Pomegranate Reduction
from encounterlax.com

UX6322 SAN LAX 0946 1032 CRJ 8A

Seatmate said that we should try to get on the previous
one, as one never knew with the fog at SAN. The flight
was Y3, so we asked - shot down due to weight restriction.
In the end, no worries. Our trip lasted 16 minutes. The
only particularly exciting part was that it took off on
time and came in a bit early, so we had 15 extra minutes
to enjoy the clubs.

UA 934 LAX LHR 1245 0710 777 8E

I kept getting Easy Updates. They ran in the usual way.

So we had a whopping 5 hours in the airport. I suggested
an In-n-Out run, but that particular brand of burger greps
her, so Lilli nixed that. I said the Encounter menu looked
chichified and not worth the trip outside security.

Checkin as Star GOld was easy and got me free booze coupons.
Club member checkin got coupons only on request.

All was well in the end; we used them on Jekel Cabernet -
not too bad actually for one chit each. The bartender
appeared to like us, and the wine was good enough for
seconds.

Some guy came up and ordered a drink with his wallet open,
as if he were going to give a nice fat tip. When he was
served, he snapped it shut, took the drink, and went away.
In Lilli's considered opinion it was a deliberate, practiced
act. How naughty.

At length it got sort of boring at the bar, so we went off
to the Continental President's Club (now available to us as
they are subsidiaries of United, or United is a subsidiary
of them, or something), where the free red wine from Canyon
Creek was some of the nastiest I've ever tasted. The lounge
guardians were nice as usual.

Jody Maroni's Sausage Kingdom: the regular footlong tasted
decent (I got a splotch of mustard on my luckily already
somewhat mustard-colored shirt); the "boudin" slightly
spicy, a bit porky and livery, but of a sausage rather
than a boudin texture. Okay food, not too much money.

Back to the RCC, where we received a tribute of additional
coupons (perhaps because of the length of the delay?
Perhaps because the system doesn't track you as well as we
feared?) and went back for more of the same.

Around 3:15 we went off for our rescheduled 3:47 departure.
We boarded around 3:47.

Row 8 middle isn't too bad. The legroom and recline appear
to be as good as anywhere.

Our very senior crew was reasonably attentive and reasonably
nice, with the possible exception of one rather painted FA
of a certain age, who kept making peculiar and personal
remarks, to which I said nothing. They related mostly to
what she thought I wanted to do to or with white women.
Annoying, yes. Out of line, yes. Worth reporting, probably
not.

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