LIVE IT UP!

All of my stuff was now relegated to a 5' x 10' space.

The time for the Adventure was upon me. I drove to the airport with M in tow and as we got there I started yelling out the window goodbye to things. And people. And places. And animals. Because BUH-BYE.

At check-in I asked the agent to see about the extra leg for me. Could she get me a ticket London to Glasgow. She looked into it and all the options went through Amsterdam. Sign. Was is it with the Universe wanting me to go over there (and get stuck?) I said no thanks, I'd take a train.

My first bag was underweight (win). 2nd was exactly 50 (super win!). 3rd was overweight. DANGIT! I asked if I could carry my pillow and she said that was fine, so I pulled it out of my duffel where it was packed and moved some stuff (plates, boots, jacket) over to the duffel to take the pillows place. We re-weighed and the bag was still 52, but the agent was nice and she said she would "round it down" so it went in as 50 (awesome!). The third bag then rang up for $285. Yipes. Any time you ever thought you wanted to bring more stuff on an International Trip, just say NO. If I had known it was going to cost that much (I had guessed $25 or $50), I would have put shoes and coats in storage. Too late now. Holy hell. So I paid and we were off. I said bye to M and went to find my gate. I was 5th on the standby list and there were 32 open seats. Not too shabby. Nothing is ever guaranteed on stand-by but those odds are pretty solid. Really it became more a question of would I get upgraded to first class or not.

People have been asking alot how I keep getting upgraded, so let me just dictate an explanation right quick. Since I am flying as a non-rev (non-reserved?) I am technically flying under/as the person who sold me the ticket/buddy pass. So in the airline system, I was associated with that employee and anytime the airline can reward its workers, it does so. So after all the people with mileage/ridiculous perks get upgrades, if there are any spaces left, they upgrade the non-revs. That's how I flew first class so much when I had the companion benefits in 2012.

So I made it on the first plane, service to the land I promised to never go (Detroit. Necessary evil in this case). And I got the upgrade. Yeah. They served us lunch and I had an Asian beef salad with lima beans and slaw, paired with Italian breadsticks and hummus, with a side of fine cheeses and grapes. With cherry cheesecake for dessert. NOM NOM NOM

The flight went okay, but I got a little bored. Played some different games, tried reading, tried talking to the lady next to me (she wasn’t really into it). The guys across the aisle didn’t stop talking for one second the whole flight.

When we landed in Detroit, I looked up my connecting gate and off I went. Took a tram, stopped to exchange a bunch of currency (enough that I had to fill out a special “high value transaction” form). Then went to wait. Made some phone calls to say last goodbyes and then saw the standby list. I was 4th on the list and there were 16 open seats in first class. Huh. I may just get upgraded again. Didn’t want to get my hopes up too much, but that would rock!

Got called to the podium a few minutes later, and they had mixed up some boarding passes, because when I said my name the lady was like, "wait, waht? I just gave..." and she repeated my name. "That's my name." So instead of getting my pass and going back to sit down, I suddenly found myself being ushered onto the plane in front of other people so that they could make sure I got the seat they thought they had given me in the first place. Sorry to whoever else thought they had my seat but it was a lie. I literally still had my computer charging cord attached to my laptop, shoved into my pillowcase that’s how quickly I got ushered onto the plane. Mess.

When I got to my seat, I was like WHAT WORLD IS THIS? My seat came with a built-in massager, and didn’t just recline, it legit turned into a full-out bed. Like vertical lay-down we are talking. I felt like I was in a candy store and liked chocolate and had no spending limit. Since I missed out on the lunch, and wanted to showcase some of what First Class flying is about, I took pictures of what they gave me for dinner. For your enjoyment (jealousy?)

Grilled Shrimp with Roasted corn salsa to “settle in.”

Then beet and goat cheese salad with potato leek soup as the starter.

For the main course I opted for the seared beef tenderloin with loaded mashed potatoes and baby mixed vegetables (I’m on an airplane, right? Not some restaurant-in-the-sky-dealio?). Other options were Chicken Cacciatore, Three-cheese Macaroni, or a Chilled Deli Plate (cold fried chicken and potato salad).

To wash it all down, they offered vanilla sundaes, but I went for the fine cheese offered with fresh fruit route.

I must say, if these flights are any indication of what’s to come, then bring on the dream-living because this has been AMAZING.