12:35 PM PDT
Got out of the house relatively on time, and went to the soon to be
decomissioned northside building at work to leave the car.
It's walking distance from the airport, so it's free and safe parking.
Filled out the appropriate form and then I dragged my suitcase until I
found a shuttle stop and road that to my terminal.
1:35PM PDT
Nothing too interesting going on at the Burbank Airport. The
United ticket counter moved
acceptably quickly. I had to bring my luggage over to the x-ray
device myself. (I guess this is why they really want to build a new
terminal building so they can have proper security.) The scanner took
a long time looking at my bag, which I can only guess is due to the
odd electronics in there. (Well, nothing
too odd, a few AC
adapters and a microphone.
Next step was the security checkpoint, where a nice gentleman wanted
to see what the weird things in my bag was. Having done this before,
I knew that he wanted to see that my camera was really a camera. I
offered to take a picture of him, but he declined.
I purchased a chocolate and vanilla swirl frozen yogurt to complete my
rushed lunch. Then it was over to the nifty computer shelf (lots of
AC outlets, only missing some stools) to see what kind of wireless the
Burbank Airport had. For more information on that, see my previous
journal entry.
2:05PM PDT Boarded the Boeing 737 and went to my aisle seat towards the back.
The beginning of the flight was uneventful, and Stitch and I got to
see the Grand Canyon.
Towards the end of the flight, 85% of the way to Denver, we
encountered the worst turbulence I've encountered on 70,000
frequent-flyer miles worth of flying. I was very very happy to be on the ground again when we landed.
5:40 MDTDenver International Airport is
HUGE. I think the
United Terminal (B) must be at least a mile long. And of course, when
you have less than half an hour to catch your next flight, it's all
the way on the other side. To complicate things I needed to pick up
dinner. The tiny bag of "Fancy Pretzels" just isn't a meal. (Insert
Rant on Airline Cost Cutbacks Here).
Knowing I was short for time (flight to depart at 6:20), I picked the
place with the shortest line. Because I hate paying the exorbitant
airport food prices, I also looked for something cheap. This happened
to be
Domino's. $2 for a Piece of "Pizza". How bad can it be?
So I got two. $4.31 total. While waiting in line, I noticed a red
sign on the cash register:
If we don't give you a receipt, your meal is free5:54PM MDTMy next stop was the gate, or so I thought. I got half way there,
decided I wanted more food. I found a Poppy-Lemon muffin for a little
under $2. When I pulled the money out of my pocket, I realized I had
never gotten a receipt! I calculated that I had enough time, so I
speedwalked back to Domino's and tried to get my money back. They weren't happy about it, but they did.
6:03PM MDTHaving resolved the meal issue, I scurred to the gate and boarded with
plenty of time, especially since there was a high number of people who
decided to board at almost the last minute. This time, a window seat,
so I can see all the flatness that is the midwest.
6:25PM MDTBy the time I got to eat the pizza, it was cold. Then again, if it
had been hot originally, it probably would only have been warm.
Considering it was free, it really wasn't that bad. There was a
little turbulence right after takeoff, but things smoothed out.
9:17PM CDTArrived at STL airport with a jarring bump. First few slides of the
Kida presentation are done. There was a very nice sunset visible out
of the side of the plane -- clouds turning all sorts of nice colors.
Made a quick call to the hotel to arrange a taxi, and then went to get
my luggage. In an amazing fit of efficiency, the luggage was already
coming out of the carousel when I got there, and my bag came out
quickly.
9:30PM CDTTook a "County Cab" taxi to the Chesire. Turns out the flat rate of
$21 only saved about a dollar over what the meter said, but if there
had been traffic it would have been a definite win. The driver was a
very nice guy and answered some of my touristy questions.
10:05PM CDTAll checked in, up in my room. Nothing special, but perfectly sized
for me. Two beds, and lots and lots of very nice looking wood
furniture. Not enough power outlets, nor an extra phone jack, but
that's ok. Local calls are free, so I can have a 28.8 connection to
the outside world if I so desire.
10:30PM CDTWandered back downstairs, and saw some people: Dominus, Dieter, Dave,
Damian, Kevin, Geoff, and others.. (Not all at once though...)
... And a few hours later.. went to sleep.. ready for YAPC - Day 1.
