Drron rambles around the USA

[drron]

The staff at breakfast were great but there was a problem-only teaspoons to eat your cereal-finally they found some soup spoons.A short easy drive to BNA.Lifts are small and we had to proceed separately to the departures floor.All kiosks and just 2 bag drop counters open-we tried to proceed to the First class bag drop but were told to use the kiosk.but a problem-it wouldn't let us check in 2 bags each and wanted to charge us $100-apparently it kept insisting all 4 bags belonged to mrsdrron-probably not too far off the mark..So we ended up checking in at the F baggage drop anyway.So bags now 50,46,41 and 26 lbs.
We had a Starbucks before going through security.Even using the "expert flyers"line it was slow.Some didn't appear to be too expert!The Agent on the line though was a real character and kept us all entertained.Then to the AC-really nice-open,light and very few pax.Had to ask for our drink coupons but no worries.
AA2491.BNA-LAX.ETD-1355.ETA-1550.
An older MD80.It arrived late~1330 but a really quick turn around and pushback at 1400.This older plane was subtly different(As they are ewvery time you fly).Overheads on A,B side were smaller than E,F side.Not as much leg room when seat in front reclines-as it did from takeoff.

Efficient service but without the flair of Brian.Absolutely full flight.Once again drinks service only-really that is poor for a 2 hour flight.Good view of DFW as we circled-below the storm clouds and through the pollution-

At gate at 1550.3 of our bags were the first out.Our 4th was last-it didn't have a priority tag.at least it showed priority tags did mean something.So downstairs and catch the shuttle to the rental car centre.This time we get the car booked and do not have to pay for the tank of fuel-just as well as we are just hanging around Dallas.Off then to the HGI Grapevine/DFW North.Another new HGI so we change to a 2 queen room to get a bath.
next-getting crabby.

 

[ellen10]

Still enjoying your trip report and photos. Liked your quip about who the bags belonged to!

 

[drron]

Unpack and then we walked over to Joes crab Shack for dinner.We had appetisers of garlic mussels-very good,fried oysters-small and not so good,and then a bucket of dungeness crab-very,very good.so we got a refill.wine here cheaper than all other chains we have seen.so all of this came in just under $A90 on our Amex.
Waiting patiently-

That's more like it-

Happy as last-

Saturday and I was going to play at The Cowboys golf club.Eighteen holes,cart,GPS plus all you can eat or drink(non alcoholic) for $200.Well this is Texas after all.However rain,cold and thunderstorms on and off all day so another day of shopping-Grapevine Mills(which is quite close to DFW) and the outlets and shopping plaza at Allen-north of Dallas.
For dinner it was back to a P F Changs-we do like our Asian food and this chain is at least consistent.Many US Asian restaurants are not great.
Next-our reason for stopping in dallas-Big Tex.

 

[drron]

Our original plan for this trip was just to overnight in DFW then on the Saturday fly home.But we found out that the Texas State Fair-Big Tex was starting this weekend so we extended our stay.I must confess in a past life I was a Show Society president so am a bit of a show tragic.Sunday was our day at Big Tex.We got there soon after the gates open.I was able to get in as a senior.
The food offerings are quite incredible.You can get anything deep fried-coke,coffee,green tomatoes,margharitas,beer,moon pies-the list goes on.food though as is usual was expensive.there was a Texas wine interesting tasting area but a bit of a rip off-$1 a sip or $10 a glass-you could get reasonable wine at the food outlets for $4 a glass.
The place is huge so you really dont feel crowded.lots going on.Many concerts-mainly country artists.Was Pie judging day.We also watched the pig racing-a real hoot.then there was the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps-not a band and the only surviving drum and bugle corps in the US.They put on a great show with an incredible array of music.Then at night spent a little time in Midway-sideshow alley.A big day.
So a few pictures-only 6 at a time due to rules.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Fantastic photos and TR so far drron! Big Tex sounds like fun. Country music is my thing (and who could say no to a pig race!)

 

[drron]

So to continue the food theme-

My deep fried beer-

Big Tex himself-

A fair police presence-

 

[drron]

In the grounds are a railroad museum-

Also the Women's museum-

The Cotton Bowl-

and the pig races-

 

[drron]

One of the highlights for us was the performance of the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.the commander and his deputy spoke to the audience beforehand.true professionals,so polite but great presenters.the music was inspiriong,the soloists fantastic.

The little building behind the Corps is the Daughters of the Revolution building.more like the CWA.
In the early evening there was a parade.

next-nighttime pics.

 

[drron]

Night time from the gondola ride-

Next-last day in the US.

 

[drron]

After the long day at Big Tex we took it easy on Monday.Took a stroll around the Grapevine Botanical Gardens.A nice little oasis.

A very appropriate sculpture seeing the gardens are under the DFW flight path.

In the USA most museums are closed on Mondays-Dallas is no exception.So a little drive around and some last minute retail therapy.included was a Nordstrom Rack-the upmarket retailers outlet-these are usually freestanding and not part of an outlet mall.Find them here-
Nordstrom Rack Locations, Locate Nordstrom Rack Stores Near You, Nordstrom Rack Store Locator - MapMuse - Mapping Portal
Or shop from home-
International Shopping | Nordstrom.com
That evening it was back to Joes Crab shack for some more Dungeness crab.
Tuesday and our AA flight to LAX wasn't until 1600 so we had a late breakfast and the headed to AA's museum-C R Smith museum.Costs $4 but for us over 55s only $2.Most staff are ex AA employees.It was an interesting way to fill in a couple of hours.A good short Imax film-though all about a pat on the back for AA.
learnt a lot of trivia.the pilot of the first accepted AA flight was Charles Lindbergh.FAs had to be registered nurses-this requirement was dropped in 1942 as the war meant there were no RNs around to become FAs.Y was only introduced in the late 40s-all F before then.The first AA planes were all called "flagships".Soon after the Admirals club opened at LGA in the late 30s they had to temporarily change the name to flagship club as someone suggested the AC was only for naval officers.The first AA B707 had 56 F and 56 Y seats.Learnt what SABRE stands for and that it was introduced in 1960.

next-a few more shots of the museum.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Keep the pics coming drron.

Loving it!!!

Good thread and l really enjoy you updates.

Happy travels and hope to see more.

 

[drron]

Love the old DC3-

and here you can walk right through one-

The overheads are basic-

The galley would test crew-

Find out about it here-
C.R. Smith Museum: Home
and a final tip-if you have to fill up your rental before returning it then the gas station over the road from here was $2.52 a gallon,the station near the car rental return-$2.85.
Next-off to LAX.

 

[drron]

Drop the car back to the rental car station.Shuttle bus to TerminalC.Easy check in.Bags now 51.8,47.8,44.5 and 41.8 = 186lbs.That is 100lbs more than when we arrived at ORD 24 days ago.Mrsdrron however feels she could have shopped some more as not all bags are at their limit-well not in weight but more of that later.Straight through security and into the AC.Now what somewhat bemuses me is that DFW is AA's major hub,many international flights leave from here yet there is no flagship lounge.
We once again though are offered a T mobile card though declined.Sat in the cell phone free area but phones used in and also inches away from the area making the sign useless.Bought a turkey panini-nice but reading the ingredients it has a days salt intake in it.Funny that the packet of lays that comes with it has less calories,salt and sugar than healthy cereals-pity about the fat!
AA2459.DFW-LAX.ETD-1650.Seats 4E,F.MD80.
Pushback-1648.F is full.According to crew 10 pax have missed connection to this flight.Once again truly amazed at the carryons.One has a 4 wheeler that could only fit down the aisle sideways.Y pax putting their carryons in the F bins.For the meal we ended up with no choice-a tortellini with a creamy mushroom sauce( the chicken dish had gone).Tasted a lot better than it looked.It came with shrimp with a spicy tomato salsa and a caesar salad.Then a cherry brownie cheesecake over Ben & Jerry's vanilla icecream-yummy.

Turned down the cheese and fruit plate.very efficient crew.Kept checking if pax wanted anything-our wine automatically refilled.Then had a short chat with the guy in 4A who was returning to SYD.We took a slight northerley course so Lake Powell was off to our left and we had views of the upper Grand Canyon.Utah NPs with the city of St.George out our window.but then into cloud.probably went right over Las vegas.
Followed I10 off to our right into LAX.A really smooth landing.Straight in to the flagship lounge as QF16 leaves from here.A good selection of wines and food.The hot selection was turkey,baked tomatoes and potatoes.later pork chops were brought out.We also enjoyed a nice shower before wandering down to the gate just before boarding.
Next-QF16.

 

[trooper]

Just had a chance to sit down and read this thead.. Excellent! Thanks a lot...


I do feel a BIT old now though... you have shots of USS Midway as a museum piece..

I recall her vividly operating aircraft in the Persian Gulf in 1991! (Her last operational deployment) :shock:

 

[drron]

It is a funny feeling boarding the last flight of a long trip.you feel good that you will soon be home after 2 months away but said that the adventures are at an end.
There were a lot of pre-boarders-young families and old fogeys.some of the older pax looked my age and were certainly more mobile than I.We were the first of the rest.
QF 16.LAX-BNE.ETD-23.20.ETA-0605.
Seats 3A,B.
As often out of LAX we waited a while for the assisted pushback.again as per usual 1 glass of champagne and the glasses were collected.And when collected we were reminded that the brekkie orders had to be filled out and collected prior to takeoff-why?definitely seems to be for the convenience of crew,not for pax.We had quite a wait at the gate pushing back at 2350.After takeoff there was a supper service-really nothing that took our fancy so a couple of shots of anaesthetic and off to sleep.Awoke about 3 hours out of BNE and listened to some music.Lovely sunrise-

Then our brekkie arrived.for the first time in years a hot breakfast when arriving back into BNE so I just had to take a photo-

We were only a little late into BNE touching down at 0610.It was also the Captains last trans pac flight-he had one more sector to SYD before officially retiring.The crew were advised of a debriefing after disembarkation-I hope it was a good one.By the way the landing was perfect and all on board applauded-not usual on QF flights.
Once again 3 of our bags were out quickly-the other had a good reason for being slow-more a little later.
However we had beaten other arrivals in so through Immigration and customs quickly,met Tony from Little Mountain limousines and we were home on the Sunny Coast by 0800.
Now time to plan the finer details of our next trip-flying out to Christchurch 6 weeks from today and in 7 weeks once again boarding the Orion for a cruise to Antarctica.
Now some may remember through this trip that I had warned mrsdrron of overpacking.now she knows why-

So until next time,signing off.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

It wasnt me overpacking ... it was those rough baggage handlers

 

[kpc]

too funny...

 

[straitman]

It wasnt me overpacking ... it was those rough baggage handlers

....and you expect the cynics here to believe you :?:


Sent from my iPhone using AFF Mobile

 

[docjames]

They say a picture tells a thousand words..... :shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:

 

[totalk]

The viands are amazing it makes me jealous in a good way.
Great TR.