Houston, TX 17 Oct. 2009. I arrived at the airport in Houston-Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) at 6:20a and cleared TSA security without any issues, then headed to the Presidents Club for breakfast. I tell you this membership does pay off, I highly recommend getting some kind of airport lounge membership. After a much needed breakfast, it was soon time for boarding so I did.
The flight was quite full and I was only able to get an aisle seat, but I was happy. I always prefer a window seat going out there as the American topography is spectacular. It changes from flat lands, to snow capped mountains to green pastures to desert and lakes, just fantastic.
This pleasure was bestowed upon a Brazilian guy and his friend who were in the U.S. for ten days for a conference in Las Vegas. They had just arrived on the red eye flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil so were pretty exhausted. We chatted for quite a bit before takeoff and during the flight though.
We pushed back ontime and then had a clear path to the runway so we were off in no time. It is a 2:45 flight this morning and we would arrive ontime the crew advised. Soon after takeoff, we were served cereal with a banana and non-alcoholic complimentary beverage of choice. Alcoholic beverages were 6 USD which can be paid with cash or debit/credit cards. Headsets were 1 USD for the animated Disney movie UP, being shown.
I had a chance to get some zees as did other passengers including the Brazilians. These early flights are brutal! As we flew along, the Captain did come on and pointed out cool stuff. I love it when they do that. It was soon time for landing so we all prepared for it. You could see the mountains and brown desert floor outside as we descended into “Sin City.” It was 8:31a when we pulled up to the gate a few minutes late on this Boeing 737-800.
I headed for the Presidents Club which is fun to find if you’ve never visited it, where a similar breakfast as the Club in Houston and the airplane was being served. I got online and finished registering for the event, contact @sseagraves as he was attending and then headed out taking the train into the main terminal as Continental is in Terminal D at Las Vegas-McCarran. Sadly, I would miss the keynote address scheduled for 9:30a.
I found a waiting shuttle for 6 USD, paid and waited. Shuttles also cost 6.50 USD or 36.00 USD for a limousine and I assumed about 20 USD for a cab. At about 9:55a, we left for the Hilton from where I would walk over to the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall. I arrived there at 10:45a after dropping passengers off at Koval Resort, the Venetian, the Mirage, Treasure Island and the Riviera. It was a good tour but I was annoyed. I should have taken a cab.
