Well, THAT was Brutal!

I am SO referring to last night’s flights – Boston to Seattle and Seattle to Bend, Oregon. All in all it was about eight hours in flight and four hours of sitting around in airports. Ouch.

Yep, I must be in love.

Now then, I was painfully and unintentionally (fer once) early for my flight out to see my handsome, wonderful Ten. Here’s something I learned (and not for the first time): if what I wanna bring doesn’t fit in my wee backpack and my decidedly NOT big purse, then it ain’t worth hauling. Sure sure, I could buy one of those dandy wheelie suitcases which’ll fit in the overhead bin BUT I HATE those things (I'm a backpack kind of a gal) AND I despise large, bulky purses – they throw off my already dodgy balance AND I can never find anything in them when I need it. My wee rucksak is fine (if not exactly capacious) – the small purse too.

The ideal amount of luggage

So, anytime I had to walk anywhere last night, toting my heinously egregious impedimenta, I was a radically tippy mess. Not pretty.

Back at being early though…what to do when I’ve already zoomed through security and have two solid hours before the big silver bird takes off? Yep, you guessed it…DRINK! Problem, the Seattle flight was leaving from a gate at the ass end of Logan's Terminal C. There’s no chi-chi Legal Sea Foods (where I could get calamari with my tasty cocktail) to be found here. No Wolfgang Puck’s, Wahlburgers or Stephanie’s either. I’m no alky (RILLY!) BUT long waits preceding VERY long evening flights necessitate a bit ‘o’ vino. It does! I was resigned to waiting until, in flight, the air hostesses came around with the drink cart. Then I spied a Beer Works kiosk. HUZZAH!  There was no seating BUT they had wine – a dandy red actually which paired nicely with my Ray Bradbury short story collection.

I’m wondering, when did it begin that most? many? airlines charge extra (significantly so) if you want to choose your own seat? Now, I don’t mean an extra room type seat or First versus Peasant Class. Nope. I’m talkin’ simply window or aisle.

Also, when was it that airlines got to be so ridiculously, no-frills chintzy? They’re now like airborne versions of the Trailways and Greyhound bus lines of my so very long ago, country crisscrossing youth. It’s all first come, first serve so ya better get there early AND be ready to bully push to the front of the line.

When Jen and I go to Iceland we know to fly Icelandair and NOT the cut-rate, stratospherically ill-named Wow Airlines (which only qualifies as Wow if the words which immediately follow are WHAT an awful airline!). I’ve mega kvetched about them before. Deservedly!

Is Icelandair worth the extra cost? Oh god yes – though they’re NOT heavy on the frills, there’s adequate legroom for folks of greater than munchkin stature, they don’t charge extra for seat choice and, when you ask for a cuppa water, there’s no additional charge. Ya know, I don’t need the sun and the moon when I fly. The in flight meals, two free glasses of wine and trips ending with hostesses bringing hot towels around. (British Air used to do that) were veddy nice BUT I get that those days are over.

Within the US, I fly jetBlue – they’re inexpensive, usually have BRILL service and I can choose my seat. There’s free gourmet crisp packets, soda, juice and water. Best I can tell, nobody else does this now. I would’ve flown jetBlue last night but they don’t do connecting flights to Redmond.

BUMMER!

How was Alaska Air? Apart from more than doubling their price (seat choice), not bad. Def not awful. Legroom was fine and water was free. Actually, they comped me my glass ‘o’ the grape – possibly because communicating with a deafie was too much work at the mo? I’ll take it!

Meanwhile, this morning EVERYthing hurts *whine, snivel*