US and Canada in winter - Ice Pilots NWT Yellowknife geek

[Justinf]

It was wonderful seeing the ground below change colour.
As we entered Californian airspace, the white turned to brown.











LAX came into sight and then we headed out above the Pacific Ocean.






By now it was obvious we were in a holding pattern. We circled a few times and then came back and then a hard right turn allowed great views of downtown LA.
My connecting flight to Denver wasn't until 1.40pm, but I was cutting it fine in trying to get to my NBA game. The flight wasn't meant to arrive in Denver until 5.07pm and with a tip off time of 7pm, I didn't have much margin for error.







We touched down on time at around 10.30am.

 

[Justinf]

I was pretty anxious to find out the status of my flight to Denver with the whole NBA being very time critical.
And yep, true to form, Delta was an hour late.
Flight time now at 2.40pm with an arrival time into DEN of 6.07pm.
With tip off at 7pm, I was now resigned to missing at least some of the game, probably even the first half.
Any further delay to this flight would see me pretty much miss out altogether.
My flight left from terminal 3 and as I have said before, Terminal 3 at LAX is a dump.
With plenty of time on my side, I decided to check in at terminal 3 and then catch the free airside shuttle to the much better Terminal 2.
I pulled up a stool at the bar and these two 'gentleman' were holding a media conference.
I won't make any further comment.



I kept a close eye on the departures and there had been no further change so that was good news.
After a couple of beers I caught the shuttle back to Terminal 3 and it was now looking likely that my flight to Denver would suffer from no more delays.
After boarding, I took my seat at 2A on an Embraer 175, which I LOVE flying on, but had never been up the front in one of these things.



I was feeling a bit peckish and was looking forward to a meal onboard.
After take off, the scenery below changed back to white.



After 45 minutes or so of this two hour flight, I asked the FA when the meal service was coming out.
"Oh," he laughed. "We don't do a meal service on this flight, never have."
So this is 'first class' on Delta on a two-hour flight? rightio. What exactly did I pay for?
I had to settle for a glass of vino and a small packet of chips.



Can anyone shed any light on why there was no meal service? I am genuinely in the dark.
I decided to get at least some of my money's worth and guzzled a few wines.
A bit of mix and match from white to red.



The flight was uneventful, apart from the absence of a meal.



Before long, Denver was in sight and I was plotting how quickly I could get to the Crowne Plaza Hotel and then out to the Pepsi Center in record time.

 

[Justinf]

I was quite frantic by now.
I had tacked on this NBA game at the end of the trip with considerable cost money wise.
But I was also really keen on seeing my team the San Antonio Spurs play.
I haven't followed the NBA and basketball for long.
I went to a game in Salt Lake City a few years ago and really enjoyed it. So much better than what you see on TV.
So I loosely followed the Jazz for a little while, until I went to Texas and completely fell in love with San Antonio the city.
And it made sense really.
I follow Tottenham Hotspur quite pssionately and it all dawned on me. Tottenham Hotpspur, Spurs, San Antonio Spurs.
Do you get the Spurs theme?
Plus Patty Mills plays for Spurs and it was a no brainer.
I started following the NBA quite closely and made it my mission to see them
I rushed to the bag carousel hoping like hell the only thing Delta had done well throughout my trip, priority bags coming out first, was to continue.
By now it ws 6.15pm and with Friday night traffic and DEN being a looooong way from downtown, I was beginning to lose hope.
Still, I would go regardless of whether I saw five minutes.
Finally my bag came out and I jumped into a cab.
Explained the situation to the driver, who was your typical super cool Jamaican guy who said: "Don't worry man, you will see the game."
To make a long story short, he drove like a trouper. He knew how important this was to me. He didn't break any laws or road rules, but he knew the road and got me to the Crowne Plaza by 7pm.
Traffic was pretty bad once we got to downtown.
I organised with him to wait for me while I checked in and dumped my bag in my room
Before this occured, he said the rate would be US$80.
Now, I probably got fleeced. But having done the Denver Airport to downtown in a cab before, it was US$55, so I thought with waiting time, plus the extra few miles out to Pepsi Center, it wasn't too bad.
I literally ran into the Crowne Plaza and checked in and then hightailed up to my room, dumped my bag, changed into my Spurs gear and rushed back downstairs.
Eventually I made it to the stadium at around quarter time, which was remarkable considering the time frame I was working with.
I gave the driver US$100, so a US$20 tip, and he was happy. Expensive, but without him, I wouldn't have made the game at all.
I was surprised at how many people were still waiting to get in.
Fortunately I got in and got my seat. I sat down about halfway through the second quarter, which, again, was incredible, considering how late I was.
I was happy and that was the main thing.
I sat next to a young couple who were also Spurs fans.
It was a close game throughout.
I'm a big fan of Patty Mills. He has done so much for indigenous Australians and I was proud to see him out there.





My man Patty MIlls.







Half time came around pretty quickly and I was absolutely hanging for a beer.
There was a guy seelling tall boy cans on ice just outside the door where I was for US$9.25. Convenient hey? I grabbed one and handed over US$10 and said 'keep the change' which is exactly what the thought behind charging US$9.25 is from I would have thought. I had a Dale's Pale which was thrown down in record time.



With that beer gone in milliseconds, I grabbed another and went to take my seat for the second half.



It was a close finish, but unfortunately for me, the Denver Nuggets got up by 3 points.
I was really disappointed, but so glad and happy that I extended my trip to include this.
It was fantstic to see.
Even though I was wearing the opposition team's colours, not once did I feel like an imposter. The Nuggets fans were great. No aggro, not dramas.
The end of the game was dramatic but the Nuggets held on.







Leaving the stadium was easy.


At the end, I got into a cab at the taxi rank and the driver was less than impressed I was only going to downtown, which wasn't far.
He said "Ten bucks flat".
Umm yeah, OK brah. Ten bucks it is.
I can understand. He was probably hoping for a trip to Boulder, but instead got a short trip.
I gave the guy US$15 and told him to keep the change. I am too nice sometimes.
Once I got to the hotel, I was pretty keen to head out for a beer.

 

[Justinf]

Leaving the stadium was easy and hassle free.



I decided to head out to a bar considering there were quite a few withing walking distance of my hotel.

I can recommend the Crowne Plaza. Close to the pavilions and to the 16th St Mall.
I headed out to a few bars and FaceTimed the family back home and called it night around midnight.
Henrys Tavern was a reasonable choice, but big and loud and not very intimate. I was Friday night after all.




I had a full day in Denver tomorrow before making my way home on the Sunday.
By now I was starting to query whether it was worth upgrading to F for the flight home.
With a 10pm departure time, I figured I would be sleeping anyway and given that at that time of night, I would sleep pretty well whether I ws in F or J.
So I thought of cancelling my upgrade bid.
An outlay of 54k points, but I would earn $21k points and get an 8K bonus. In the end I figured that with those numbers in mind, 25k point outly for F was probably worth it, especially when I had to go straight to work when I landed.
Wht do you think?
I decided to let it be. If I got it, then all good. If I didn't then all good.

 

[RooFlyer]

I would have gone for the upgrade.

Gee, your trips away are a lot more exciting than mine!

 

[Justinf]

Slept quite well after a looooong day yesterday.
Today I had a full day in Denver before making my way back to LA and then home.
Today I had a mission.
To find Maybelline make up for my women folk back home.
Oh joy of joys. Just what I wanted to do.
Fortunately Walgreens came to the rescue and I was able to complete the task inside of an hour or so.
Much of the day was spent just walking around.
Temp was around 1 degree which was quite cold for Denver at this time of year. They'd had a fair dumping of snow a few days earlier and the remnants were still there for all to see.
It was very weird. At 1 degree all I wore was a hoody, a beanie and no gloves. That would be unthinkable back home.
I had a couple of early arvo beers but not before one last treadmill session.













After a bit of a lay down at the room, I decided to hit the town on my last night. It was Saturday and the 16th St Mall was pretty much buzzing.
I went to Bayou Bob's and the 5280 Burger Bar and a few others. The burgers at 5280 are absolutely magnificent.
I had quite a late night. One local wanted a pic with my premiership cap.Who was I to refuse?

Denver was awesome yet again.



After a pretty long day, without having done a lot, I was in bed by 1am and knew I'd be feeling the pinch for my long flight back home.
I hadn't received a text message from the upgrade fairy but then I realised that I wouldn't get one as I had a US SIM card.
I logged onto Qantas and behold! I'd gone from seat 13F to seat 3F and my upgrade request had been granted.
I can't say I was excited. Geez I'd come a long way since my bucketlist F trip to Texas. Still, I was grateful and at least I knew I would sleep well. I also got the chance to check out the F Lounge at TBI which I would later be very happy with.

 

[Justinf]

Oh my head!
Woke up feeling very seedy.
With a 3.55pm departure from DEN I had virtually the entire morning to myself.
I'd love to say I woke up chipper and went for a walk and all that, but I didn't.
The hotel's check out time was noon, and I took full advantage of it.
It took ages to pack my bag. I had accrued so much stuff over the past few weeks.
At noon I checked out and got an Uber out to the airport.
The Uber driver was wonderful, with a rating of almost 5. I could see why. All her tips went to a charity that she started to help house homeless men in Denver. Needless to say I did tip very generously. It wasn't a scam. I checked the website she had and it was legit.
Check in at DEN was long and laborious.
It was painfully slowand very busy being a Sunday.
Eventually I got through after I reckon a 30 minute wait in line.
I still had a couple of hours until my flight so I did what I always do when I am on holidays.
I went to the bar.
Bud Light is horrible. Genuinely awful. But at 4% alcohol it was my best bet seeing as I had a long afternoon and evening ahead of me.
Thankfully the flight was on time. Yay Delta.


Eventually it was time to board and I was in 'first' but obviously I wasn't expecting a meal.
This flight was on a Boeing 717 and although I had flown on a 717 many times, I had never flown at the front. I had seat 2B.
Yep, I was right. No meal service so I decided to make inroads into the supply of Blue Moon beer.



Obviously some people in 'first' think this is OK.



The flight was pretty uneventful.



I decided to mix things up a bit. So much for taking things easy. It was about now that I was thankful that I was in F flying home.



I arrived at LAX at around 5.20pm. With a 10pm departure time to MEL I didn't know what time check in would be open. I took the time to sit outside for a bit before trying my luck.
My bag came out reasonably quickly.

 

[Justinf]

I decided to check out the line to see what time check in opened.
I went to the F/Platinum etc line at 5.50pm and was very pleased to see that check in opened at 6pm.
There was one person in front of me so I took my spot in the line.
Check in opened at 6pm right on the dot and before long I had my boarding pass and was upstairs in line waiting to go through security.
Security didn't take overly long although there were several passengers who just didn't understand the words "Take your shoes off".
Eventually I made it through and with over three hours before my flight, I went to the Apple store to use my last remnants of $US and buy Miss 17 some Apple earphones.
The whole day (and night before) was really getting to me now so I decided to head straight up into the F lounge.
The pearly gates awaited.



The Lounge was reasonably small, but not small. If you know what I mean.
I liked it.
I find the J Lounge at TBIT to be pretty good, but it's very big and busy.
This was a perfect size and quite intimate.






I took a seat at the bar and decided to whet the whistle with one last US domestic cough beer.



I have to say, the two young guys serving behind the bar were fantastic. Really friendly and couldn't do enough for their customers.

 

[Justinf]

The F Lounge was very nice and they had my favourite chardonnay there - Berringer Reserve.




With a few hours to go, the wine was really hitting home, so I decided to take a shower. There was no queue and i headed straight in.







Gee it was nice to be able to enjoy this guilty pleasure. The hot water felt incredible and they had nice little shaving kits so I decided to have a have knowing that I had to go straight to work after landing in MEL.

Back out and at the bar, I decided to go for a cheese platter and some more Beringer chardy and also watch the 2017 grand final again...as you do.



With just over an hour until departure, I knew we'd be boarding relatively soon. I was dead tired by now and a little tipsy. I was looking forward to being able to sleep well in F.

.

 

[Justinf]

After a few more Beringer Reserve chardys it was time for boarding.
I changed almost immediately after taking my seat.









I was too tired to start a movie and the cheese platter (an excellent cheese platter mind you) had filled a significant spot so I wasn't that hungry either.




Still had room for the appertifs.



The menu.

 

[Justinf]

I did accept the offer of a meal, though, but my eyelids were very droopy.

I had a salmon salad and it was actually very nice.



I couldn't finish the main. I think it was a boccocini. I was really struggling.



After the meal I decided that a Baileys before bed would be nice.



And a prayer to finish.



Sleep came quickly and mercifully.
I can't say I slept that well to be honest.
But at least I can say I was more comfortable than those in Y.



I woke after about five hours and felt immediately hungry.
While on a good cheese platter roll, I thought I'd keep it going. Gee it hit the spot and then I was able to roll over and get another hour or so of sleep.



I woke with about 5 hours of the flight remaining and just generally sat there and had the massage function on my seat working overtime.
Breakfast was served with about 3 hours remaining and it was startlingly unremarkable, but decent all the same.



We got stuck into a holding pattern over Gippsland and eventually made it to Tullamarine.

I'd changed into my normal clothes quite early.





One of the first off the aircraft and got to the e passport machine quickly. The process was quite quick, but my bag took an ice age to come out.

Eventually got to work at around noon and to be honest I didn't do much, but it was the best t hing that could have happened. Keeping busy and keeping awake was pretty awesome.
I remember going to bed around 8.30pm that night and being pretty good as far as jetleg is concerned.
Well, that's it.
My next TR will probably be January 2019 when I go to check out Spurs new stadium in London and then go to Iceland, FInland and Norway. Until then.
I hope you enjoyed this. Let me know if you did.

 

[JohnM]

Always enjoy a @Justinf TR. Do you show this stuff to Mrs Justinf?

 

[Justinf]

Always enjoy a @Justinf TR. Do you show this stuff to Mrs Justinf?

Yes! She cops most of it with drunken Facetime calls back home.

 

[Noel Mugavin]

Very enjoyable, apart from all the reminders of that dark day in September.

 

[NoName]

Loved it! Look forward to the next one.

 

[JohnM]

Yes! She cops most of it with drunken Facetime calls back home.

Where does one find a tolerant woman like that?

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for your efforts in putting this together.

 

[VPS]

Always enjoy them Justin - keep them up

 

[RooFlyer]

Great TR, thanks.

Iceland, FInland and Norway, eh? Start saving now if you intend to keep sampling local brews there!

 

[cjd600]

Great stuff.