United Sucks

After a couple of weeks of move chaos, and no sooner had the boxes been unpacked, I took a 5 day trip to Boston for a huge family reunion. Today's post covers the travel part of that trip.

Size Matters

I don't fly very often. When I do, I usually fly the same airline round trip, so I don't really have a sense of how different the airlines are. On this trip, I flew United from Portland to Boston (through San Francisco) and Alaska (direct) on the way home. They are radically different. United is a huge airline flying all over the world, but the number of centimeters between the leading edge of your seat and the rear of the one in front of you is staggeringly small. Alaska, on the other hand, is a smaller carrier who is just really getting started in international flights. The space between the seats, however, is actually quite comfortable as compared to United. Since I wasn't traveling to fix anyone's car, I didn't have even a tape measure with me, so I can't provide hard numbers. I just have simple anecdotal evidence.

Broken Plane. What a Pain.

airplane igniter

Adding insult to injury, my connecting United flight from SFO to Boston was stymied by a broken plane. The symptoms were not terribly unusual: all the lights and cabin air jets suddenly stopped operating while we were at the gate. I've seen that happen often on working planes, but this time it happened a lot. The pilot said something about the "igniter" after we had pulled away from the gate, taxied partway down the tarmac, and started turning around. Turning around is never a good sign. We returned to the gate, and a mechanic got on. After a while we were told that we'd be on our way in 15 minutes. Then we were told the plane was broken and we needed a new one, so everyone had to get off. I bee-lined for the c-store and bought a beer.

The Airport Bar

small portions & large prices

I drank a Stella, wandering around the terminal cul-de-sac and found another gate advertising a flight to Boston. "Sweet!" I thought and got into the queue at the desk. Minutes later, I was 5th in the stand-by list. Unfortunately, United had overbooked all of their flights to Boston that day (and probably other destinations and dates too), so they were asking ticketed passengers on that flight to accept $1200 in travel vouchers to fly the next day. They made no such offer to the folks on my flight. Instead, I headed towards an airport bar & grill and found my brother heading the other way. He was getting on the $1200 voucher flight. We grabbed a bite and a beer at the Lark Creek Grill and then I watched him board.

The Wait

SFO gate

By now, my flight was over 3 hours late for departure. We had been informed that they were hoping for a new plane by 4. 4 became 5 which then became 6:30. After nearly 6 hours of lolling around the San Francisco airport, we were ready to board. Had I left the airport and hopped a BART train, I could have spent the afternoon in downtown SF, but United hadn't been transparent about how long the wait would be. I suspect they knew all along, but chose to string us along instead. The flight itself was tight-packed, but we arrived just after 3:AM, Boston time. I read a bunch of my book, and napped as best I could in a seat that couldn't recline.

Paul's Revere Cab Ride
Since the flight arrived so late, the free shuttle from the hotel was not running, so I grabbed a cab from the taxi-stand. The cabbie was a local from Revere, and we talked up a storm the whole way. He knew where he was going, didn't bounce me all over the place and was genuine. Frankly, that cab ride was the best part of the trip since getting dropped at the Portland airport by T in the A4 at 8:00 the prior morning. $30 later, I was collecting my room key. I keyed into my room just after 4:AM.

Why United Sucks
There are lots of reasons why United sucks, but the airline flight attendants are not among them. United had the same crew who was supposed to run the original flight (12:30 planned departure) work the actual flight (6:30 actual departure). The attendants are only paid for time in the air, so while they also had to wait around, they probably lost out on some income on a connecting flight out of Boston too. United sucks because they overbook their flights. United sucks because they cram in at least one if not multiple extra rows into their planes, making the trip even more unpleasant. United sucks because they offer hollow apologies to the inconvenienced: go to this obscure web site that you better write down as we say it because you'll never be able to navigate there on your own (go here) and we'll offer you $100 of flight vouchers so you can have another god-awful experience. United, you suck. I spent more than that on the airport food and the taxi. $100 of flight voucher is not an apology; it is a middle finger. Fine. Here's two right back at ya.

That's it for today. I'll follow up with some actual family reunion stuff. Honestly, the trip was great after the United nonsense was over.

Hopping and Skipping through SF

NO BUS CONTENT today. Instead, I'm going to cover a whirlwind trip to the San Francisco Bay area. In some ways, this may feel like a re-tread of HNY from 2013 (link here). That's not just a coincidence; we tried to eek out a little honeymoon flashback out of this trip. This got really long. Sorry. While I recognize this is public, in a way this is how I record things for my own memory, so, details are important. :)

Departure
In looking back through my posts from last year, I realized that I never posted about a trip I took last Winter to San Diego. My sister and her family were thinking about moving to SF from SD, so Boo and I thought we ought to go visit and help them decide while soaking up some needed sun. Last Winter was a typical dreary, but less snow on the mountain than usual (but still more than this year), so we were in need of an adventure. Unlike our trip to SF described in the link above, the departure to SD was very smooth. The exodus from Oregon to SF was almost equally smooth this past week. Rather than a crack-of-dawn departure, we flew out around 7, so we both ducked out of work a little early and cut across town catching rush-hour traffic heading east out of Portland. It wasn't nearly as bad as it might have been, though. Even after missing the economy lot on the first try, we still had time to nab a sit-down bite to eat after cruising through security before our plane boarded.

BART It On Down the Line

SFO BART entrance

We picked SFO rather than Oakland because of the direct integration with the BART. Apparently, Oakland now has a $6 one-way people-mover from the airport to the totally-doesn't-feel-safe O.com stadium BART stop. Yeah... even with the people-mover, standing on that platform at 10 o'clock at night sounds awfully, uh... exposed. I'll take the direct step-onto-the-train deal at SFO, though the walk to the station was quite long. Our flight terminal'd about as far away from the main terminal as seemed possible. Maybe it was having full day-packs on our backs that made it feel so long. Maybe it was just the drain from flight. Regardless, SFO has all kinds of interesting things to look at, and I don't mean the people. Newark Airport is best for that. SFO has museum pieces strewn about in display clusters throughout the airport. We looked at a couple which had just concert posters from the 60's and 70's for venues in the Bay Area. Very cool. BART was a key component through our 4-day stay in the Bay Area. We love BART.

No Renoir and that's no Monet
The place we had honeymooned (Renoir Hotel) has been shut down for a while. Maybe that issue with not having heat during the cold snap did it. Maybe it was just time to renovate. Boo and I walked by it on our first full day in SF, and it has been gutted. It looks like they removed every bit of reusable material, from the marble to the chandeliers and the wood trim on the windows, it has been picked clean. The first floor has been stripped to studs. We wondered if the building was going to get razed, and replaced with some fancy new tower like the Twitter headquarters down the street. That would be very sad. Based on internet news, it looks like it there was a plan to go boutique and then there was a fire. Not sure what the plan is now.

5th floor hallway mirror selfie

Since they weren't open for business, we got a one-night room at the Hotel Whitcomb just down the street. With out late arrival time, we ducked into the bar before last call for a quick taste before checking in. The bar-tender was really annoying, acting the braggart buffoon to maximize tips from better dressed patrons, leaving we travel worn to fend for ourselves. At least he didn't hassle us like the others, so maybe we got off with the better experience. One short pour and an unsatisfying bottled beer later, Boo and I left unimpressed. The front clerk was efficient, and we were checked-in and in our 5th floor room quickly. The room was small, but effective. No coffee maker nor mini-fridge, but we were just looking for a safe bed. The fact that we were the room at the end of the hall next to the fire escape (the homicide room) wasn't lost on me, but I kept the "homicide" part to myself.

Thai Re-try
We didn't stay in the room very long. We were both more interested in getting some food and a better drink, so we hit the streets of Tenderloin. After a little walking about, we found Lers Ros again. Like the first time, it was sooo tasty. The management had added more tables, and the place was much busier than the last time, but the food and service was just as memorable. We'll go there every time we visit SF, so long as they're open.

5 Mile
The following day, we re-traced some other steps we had taken 2 years earlier after checking out. We visited some old Grateful Dead haunts (the Bill Graham, Warfield Theater, Great American Music Hall and the Fillmore), hit JapanTown for some incense and then BART'd to Berkeley to meet up with my brothers, sisters, their families and my folks at a rented house to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary. All told, we clocked over 6 miles with 20 pounds of day-pack on our backs. Bed, when it came, was welcomed. In a stark difference from the last time we walked through Tenderloin 2 years ago, the city smelled different. Two years ago, it was during a cold snap, and the homeless were in shelters, leaving just the skunky smell of cannabis. This time, it was sunny, warm and smelled of old urine. It was so bad that it clung to our clothes and we had to throw everything we were wearing into an immediate wash cycle at the rental house. Yuck.

50 Years

Friday was anniversary day. 50 years. We celebrated with a renewing of vows, led by my brother-in-law. There's a ton of back story on him, but for now, let's just say he's an Episcopal minister working with the SF youth through his Braid Mission. Through his contacts, we were granted access to Grace Cathedral on top of Nob Hill for the vow renewal.

Now, old couples are cute. They just are. When you put them in a big cathedral, surrounded by family while they repeat wedding vows, its all the cuter. The ceremony was little-kid-friendly short, creating time for the little kids to play on the playground in the park across the street (see picture). We picnic'd and then hit China Town. I had expected more culture and less kitsch, but it was nice to walk the street with my brother and sister. We joined the mass quitting-time exodus from downtown SF across the Bay via BART. The underground station and packed train were very different from the trips we'd had thus far, but everyone was polite, and went about their business.

Ca me plaît
My brother-in-law and sister hired a French chef to cater a celebration dinner at their house in Berkeley. Having never really had French food, I didn't really know what to expect. Wow. I've been ruined for red meat now. I don't know what it was called or how it was prepared, but we were cutting through rare steak with butter knives, the flavor popping and the meat melting in our mouths. Absolutely incredible. It was paired with simple vegetables and tiny potatoes, seeming almost like a simple country dish. Fantastique!

Walkabout
After eating far too well the night before, Boo and I chose to double-down and hit a local brunch place for breakfast the following morning. Unlike all of the storefronts along Market Street, none the handful of cafe's along Solano Avenue in Albany CA claimed to have the city's best breakfast. Yelp led to Bistro 1491 and Sunny Side Up. The Bistro didn't seem casual enough, so we slid into a window-side table at Sunny Side Up. We could have split a single breakfast, the portions were so big, but they were good. It felt very Portland; very chill and real with a mix of folks ranging in age and demographic. We routed my out-of-town sister and brother to go the following morning and they loved it too. Boo and I spent the rest of our final full day in the Bay walking the shops along Solano Ave, enjoying the sunshine and the sense of real free time.

Homeward
Our final day started with a flurry of get-out-of-the-house activity. With so many folks sharing one house, it was actually less chaotic than it could have been. Still, we had time for 3 pots of coffee, and conversation before we checked out. We ended our stay back at my sister's house on her sunny back deck listening to the birds before grabbing a final ice cream at iScream. Yummy.

The drive to SFO was longer and more heavily traffic'd than expected, including the "departure" curb at the airport. So, we arrived at the terminal a little more stressed than we'd like. Unlike the flight down, Boo and I were helping my folks get home too, so that added some pressure too. Once their bags were checked and my mom in an airport-approved wheelchair, they whistled through security. Boo and I made it through okay, but not nearly as easily as our last few flights. We dashed for the gate and bought some plastic-sealed sandwiches for dinner on the flight home.

PDX airport was its typical smooth go. We left the folks at baggage claim while we shuttled to the economy lot. By the time we got back, they had their bags and were ready at the curb. Home bound within 30 minutes after the plane touched down and walking in our front door 60 minutes later (after routing through the close-in East side) was way better than I could have expected. Overall, it was a great trip. Boo and I are already planning our next one, but it may happen before the Hootenanny.

That's it for today. Thanks for following along. More sanding and paint-related tales next time-