A guest post by TexasYankee – The blog will never be the same – part 2

Welcome to day two of our run that I covered here and the final bits here. If you missed part one of TexasYankee’s version of this little trip from this morning, please O’ please go back and see what you missed. Also, I have to share a little story that was not shared in my post or in the text below. You see, during the redeye to JFK, I was asleep in the window. TexasYankee had a drink and Luvo “stuff” and then put on his C-Pap machine. At some point in the night, I wake up, he turns to me, waving his hands in the air with mask and stuff hanging off his face, looking like the creature from the black lagoon – I almost had an accident it was so funny. I am still to this day trying to sear that image from my mind. Oh my. So keep that thought in mind as you hear about day 2!

The good part of dealing with the “frugal” gate agent that night was that we were able to talk her out of 3 drink vouchers each. This should have been an indication that we were not getting the bump vouchers OR the upgrades from LAX to JFK … Since the flight was a transcon we were able to have free drinks so the coupons were saved for later.

Upon our early arrival in JFK we were fortunate that the Skyclub was next to our departing gate so that I could borrow a NYTimes. We then ended up waiting at the gate for the agent to give us the upgrades (1 and 2 on a list of 4). As there was a long delay for the correct agent to open the flight, René and I were able to interact with the pilots who had no other place to go – much to their dismay! After the flight took off we gave the Flight Attendants a big bag of Chocolate covered cherries from Costco – but I made sure that the pilots saw the bag … The Flight Attendants told us that the pilots came out and demanded a tall cup each full of the chocolate!

Yes, it was nice that Delta upgraded us to FC, BUT the seats were old and frayed. The foot rest cushion fell off on my seat and then was caught under the seat interfering with the seat function. One good part was that this seat made me realize that I need to lose weight as I could not reach or see the seat controls without getting up out of the seat!

I have to admit that I was excited to have the eggs and sausage breakfast but cannot understand how what they served could be mistaken for sausage!

Now we are in SFO with a 4+hr layover. René has this wacky plan to try every club at the airport, but since the new Skyclub had not begun construction he decides that we should go to the SFO Centurion Club which happens to be on the other side of the airport. After walking forever and then taking a few tram rides (or so it seemed) we come to the final destination only to find that we must exit and re-enter security. What? I then need to go through my carry-on to remove extra water bottles and a few um Woodfords Bottles that accidentally fell into the carry on (René says: see opening image folks). Fortunately I had an extra quart bag! Still grumbling over all of this as the ever positive and happy René stops to take pictures of the entrance to the Centurion Lounge. Upon entry at the reception desk René is treated like a king and I am allowed in on his card (I was too lazy to pull out my card!). The first question is do we want a shower and I went first as there was only one available. Oh and did I forget to exclaim OMG! If I did then OMG! As you can see from René’s write up this lounge is amazing! Makes the Skyclubs seem like Contemporary Ghetto Clubs! Naturally the food was the most impressive – actual real food! On the level of the International Lounges in Asia or better.

I was also amazed with all that René describes as well as the fact that the bar seems to be on the level of some high end Hotel bars I have experienced. Many Top Shelf choices at the bar for “free”. I watched the bartender make an Irish coffee from “scratch” and was amazed! As a personal lover of Bacardi and Diet Coke this bartender made the most perfect “Cuba Libre” I have experienced. (I guess I use too much rum at home …)

Did I mention how awesome the food selection was at the Centurion club? Ok, so René was right again. Unfortunately we did not make it to any other club in SFO and that was just fine.

Interesting was that we were upgraded for the final 2 flights 6 days before the time to check in.

The SFO-LAX flight was delayed and we SDC, cleared at the gate, to the earlier flight which gave me snoring time. The LAX-AUS flight was uneventful but nice due to the upgrade and extra room.

Mileage Running with René was quite a learning and exciting experience. He seems to know people everywhere you go who were more than willing to share points tips with us.

Now to tackle the international mileage run! – TexasYankee

Maybe now when I talk about a “Fun Run”, you will have a teeny tiny idea of what I am talking about. I mean, a run is always good, kinda like chocolate, but add an old time FTer or a blogger like MJ and you have the recipe for a giggle-fest that goes on for miles!  – René
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