Adventure: On Stand By

On round two we made it no problem. Sioux Falls to Atlanta, Atlanta to John F. Kennedy, and JFK to Dublin in business class. And as we sit on the plane I can't help but feel so grateful to be married to such an amazing woman, a woman who tells me to remember ow sweet she's being now when she's feisty later. We're going on an adventure and it's because we sacrificed and saved, received so much generous help and now we get to enjoy it. - 9-14-09

Flying Stand-by is fun. sure it can be stressful at times, things don't work out, you have to sprint to make it, but when you do, you're in. You're on a trip and just hours away from discovering some place new or re-discovering somewhere you've been before. Being at the destination isn't the only part of the adventure, it's an adventure just getting there. Carrie and I were able to fly both in to and out of Dublin in business class. Lots of leg room, gourmet meals, comfy seats you can actually fall asleep in. Everyone shoud get the chance to fly business class some time in their life.

On the way out dinner was filet, exotic cheeses, balsamic vinagarette and romaine hearts, ice cream sunday and tomato basil soup. Then for breaktfast we had a full Irish breakfast of Irish bacon, eggs, sausage, grilled tomato and brown bread. I'm definitely a fan of a full Irish breakfast. One of those and you'll be full for a week. Carrie had salmon that had been steamed and was both moist and tender, and on top of that it even was flavorful (our experiences with salmon have always been miss or REALLY miss). I think I watched 5 different movies on the two flights crossing the Atlantic.

On the return flight I had chicken parmegean and a mushroom soup. It's like a combination of a four star restaurant, 5 star hotel and flight.

Then, on the way home, after flying business class I had the very last seat on the plane from JFK to Atlanta. Last row, supposedly a window seat. But since the engine was like 4 inches from my ear, there was wall instead of window. My seat didn't lean back, but the seat in front of me did, and the passenger took advantage of it. I swear when he fell asleep I could rest my chin on his forehead if I'd wanted to. On top of that there was a big guy sitting next to me. It ought to be illegal to charge full price for that seat.

Still part of the adventure of buddy passes are seats like that. And how could I complain? Part of the reason I enjoyed and appreciated business class so much is I've experienced the cramped quarters of the forgotten seat 4 inches from the engine. (I think I have most of my hearing back).