I lived in the Northern part of the US a large part of my life and suffered as did everyone else in that same boat as I. I do not need reminded how lousy the weather can be--this last week for example. But Mother Nature laid it on real thick this week with a reminder that I can go back to the days of wet feet, cold hands, blowing ice water, fog and general mayhem that will cause cabin fever and generally dark behavior. Linda had the best solution--next year we will be on an island--away from this mess. Smart woman!!
I was in Mexico again this last week. High elevation and clear warm weather with the pollution in relative good order for a change. It is the dry season there, no real rain has fallen since September, so there is a lot of dust in the air. My sinuses were fine, just a general deposit of concrete in my noise. I was very busy with a project that we finally finished and had little time to do anything but work and eat. We ate a lot of local food, because that is all that exists in the area NE of Mexico City called Ciudad Sahagun. This week I had a couple of new dishes that I had somehow missed on my last 3 trips to this area. We had something that you put in a soft tortilla, they were large ant eggs with cilantro. Put on some red or green sauce and it was food. I prefer the green chili sauce. On the day we left, we stopped at the roadside BBQ for breakfast and had some bean soup, BBQ lamb and stomach. Put on some red sauce and off you go. By the way, the red sauce here would melt your face... and the next day melt the other end. I stayed away from that. A 3 hour plane ride with an upset tummy would be really, really bad timing.
Winter time travel is a crap shoot, I had said that for years and it is the best way to describe getting from Point A to Point B when snow or ice can cause delays. For example on this trip, three people were in my group from the US and we landed in Atlanta and then had one more hop to our home airports. I managed to get home on schedule. One got to the airport and had to hole up until the ice melted so he could get home on Saturday, the other missed his flight to Lexington and changed to Louisville and rented a car to finish the trip. They crapped out and I managed to hang on a little longer and make my home airport.
Now for the details: The plane left Mexico City late--it is Delta and expected- and thus we arrived in Atlanta and did not have a gate. Lost some time there. I had 90 minutes ( in the perfect world) between flights to clear customs and get to my connection to Nashville. I am watching my watch, like that helps anything, while I am in the line in customs. I think a 747 had landed just ahead of us and it was jammed. We slowly made our way to the customs agent and had some more delays as people had "lost" their passports and that really halted the process ahead of us. How do you loose the more important thing in your life at the time?? Are you that dumb?? Answer-yes. Finally cleared customs, got my bag, went thru another check and left my bag at the baggage check in the International entry area. I go thru the security screen and round up all the gear and I don't even tie my shoes at this point. My flight leaves in 20 minutes at that point. I check the board for a gate, it is not on the board any more and I am not sure of the gate. What?? My Delta app on my phone has a gate number for me. I head for the train with a small glimpse of hope. I am in Concourse E and my flight leaves from Concourse A, gate 34. Do I actually try to make it or just go get some dinner and make the next flight?? Well it is winter and you do not know what is in store. You gotta try. I could spend the night is friendly old Atlanta.
Just for your information, all connecting flights that I manage to get are at the LAST GATE in the concourse when I am really strapped for time. I refuse to run in airports, I walk fast, but I will not run to get a damn plane. I hustle to the gate, it is way down there, and by the time I get close and can see the door is still open with the agent out in the hall looking around and trying to find stragglers--me. I get in the plane door, sit down and in 3 minutes the door was closed and we were off to Nashville. Whew! By the way, I was really thirsty and needed to pee, I did not have time for either in the last hour in the customs or airport. Just regular old winter time travel activity.
I had been in nice weather all week and when I landed in Nashville. I pulled out two long sleeve pieces of clothing while on the plane and put them on. Got my bag and pulled out gloves and a hat and hit the cold air. I was stunned that we even came to Nashville, Southwest had shut down and it was snowing pretty good and the run way was slippery. I had missed an entire week of ice and snow, so they cooked up some fresh when I got back- I appreciate the honor, but I could pass.
I got my truck, which is a 4x4, at the offsite lot and they had done a decent job of deicing it and immediately got gasoline and finished the window cleaning. It had sit out in all bad stuff and was iced badly. I was heading down the ramp to I 40, which was slushy, and the car ahead was going 5 MPH. Not 7 or 9, Five!! You cannot go onto the Interstate at 5 MPH, it is sure death. I just passed on the berm, you can die, not me. I looked in the mirror as they were still going 5 as I went out of sight, it was nuts. By the way cars were tailgating them down the ramp. Comedy at every turn here. The interstate was drivable, run 45 and stay off the brakes, use your gas feed and stay off the brakes, repeat stay off the brakes. You drive in the winter with your accelerator and gears. My truck has the electric shift, so I put it in 5 so I could lug it along about 1500 RPM and we cruised home. I used the brakes at one stoplight, I just ran everything else when it was clear. I kinda weaved thru the lanes to maintain my clearance and momentum and made it just fine from the airport.
Now for my real problem with idiots driving in the winter. You do not need to run your flashers as you go down the Interstate, I can see you just fine. Driving on ice and snow is all about being smooth and controlled-relaxed. I do not need you making me nervous or anxious with your flashers, turn them off and drive your car. Running you flashers makes it no safer or better for anyone. I think if you need flashers, you need a cab or a hotel room. I DON'T WANT TO BE ON THE ROAD WITH YOU! Stay off the brakes too. Hint, if you hit the brakes on a FWD car and think you can turn or slow down, call your insurance company now. That is not what happens.
Yesterday I tried to find some salt and sand to get the ice sheet broken up a little. I found some sand and we bought a lot of table salt to get the melting started. But if you have a water softener and need salt, you may to drive to Houston to get some. The town was out of rock salt, period. The crap is breaking up, but the gloom looks like it will stay. Linda wants me to get my happy light out and she is right, I need some help this weekend. I am going to add some flashers to my couch just to let everyone know that the weather is bad and I am felling it. Share the pain a little.
Any planes headed to Miami this week??
I was in Mexico again this last week. High elevation and clear warm weather with the pollution in relative good order for a change. It is the dry season there, no real rain has fallen since September, so there is a lot of dust in the air. My sinuses were fine, just a general deposit of concrete in my noise. I was very busy with a project that we finally finished and had little time to do anything but work and eat. We ate a lot of local food, because that is all that exists in the area NE of Mexico City called Ciudad Sahagun. This week I had a couple of new dishes that I had somehow missed on my last 3 trips to this area. We had something that you put in a soft tortilla, they were large ant eggs with cilantro. Put on some red or green sauce and it was food. I prefer the green chili sauce. On the day we left, we stopped at the roadside BBQ for breakfast and had some bean soup, BBQ lamb and stomach. Put on some red sauce and off you go. By the way, the red sauce here would melt your face... and the next day melt the other end. I stayed away from that. A 3 hour plane ride with an upset tummy would be really, really bad timing.
Winter time travel is a crap shoot, I had said that for years and it is the best way to describe getting from Point A to Point B when snow or ice can cause delays. For example on this trip, three people were in my group from the US and we landed in Atlanta and then had one more hop to our home airports. I managed to get home on schedule. One got to the airport and had to hole up until the ice melted so he could get home on Saturday, the other missed his flight to Lexington and changed to Louisville and rented a car to finish the trip. They crapped out and I managed to hang on a little longer and make my home airport.
Now for the details: The plane left Mexico City late--it is Delta and expected- and thus we arrived in Atlanta and did not have a gate. Lost some time there. I had 90 minutes ( in the perfect world) between flights to clear customs and get to my connection to Nashville. I am watching my watch, like that helps anything, while I am in the line in customs. I think a 747 had landed just ahead of us and it was jammed. We slowly made our way to the customs agent and had some more delays as people had "lost" their passports and that really halted the process ahead of us. How do you loose the more important thing in your life at the time?? Are you that dumb?? Answer-yes. Finally cleared customs, got my bag, went thru another check and left my bag at the baggage check in the International entry area. I go thru the security screen and round up all the gear and I don't even tie my shoes at this point. My flight leaves in 20 minutes at that point. I check the board for a gate, it is not on the board any more and I am not sure of the gate. What?? My Delta app on my phone has a gate number for me. I head for the train with a small glimpse of hope. I am in Concourse E and my flight leaves from Concourse A, gate 34. Do I actually try to make it or just go get some dinner and make the next flight?? Well it is winter and you do not know what is in store. You gotta try. I could spend the night is friendly old Atlanta.
Just for your information, all connecting flights that I manage to get are at the LAST GATE in the concourse when I am really strapped for time. I refuse to run in airports, I walk fast, but I will not run to get a damn plane. I hustle to the gate, it is way down there, and by the time I get close and can see the door is still open with the agent out in the hall looking around and trying to find stragglers--me. I get in the plane door, sit down and in 3 minutes the door was closed and we were off to Nashville. Whew! By the way, I was really thirsty and needed to pee, I did not have time for either in the last hour in the customs or airport. Just regular old winter time travel activity.
I had been in nice weather all week and when I landed in Nashville. I pulled out two long sleeve pieces of clothing while on the plane and put them on. Got my bag and pulled out gloves and a hat and hit the cold air. I was stunned that we even came to Nashville, Southwest had shut down and it was snowing pretty good and the run way was slippery. I had missed an entire week of ice and snow, so they cooked up some fresh when I got back- I appreciate the honor, but I could pass.
I got my truck, which is a 4x4, at the offsite lot and they had done a decent job of deicing it and immediately got gasoline and finished the window cleaning. It had sit out in all bad stuff and was iced badly. I was heading down the ramp to I 40, which was slushy, and the car ahead was going 5 MPH. Not 7 or 9, Five!! You cannot go onto the Interstate at 5 MPH, it is sure death. I just passed on the berm, you can die, not me. I looked in the mirror as they were still going 5 as I went out of sight, it was nuts. By the way cars were tailgating them down the ramp. Comedy at every turn here. The interstate was drivable, run 45 and stay off the brakes, use your gas feed and stay off the brakes, repeat stay off the brakes. You drive in the winter with your accelerator and gears. My truck has the electric shift, so I put it in 5 so I could lug it along about 1500 RPM and we cruised home. I used the brakes at one stoplight, I just ran everything else when it was clear. I kinda weaved thru the lanes to maintain my clearance and momentum and made it just fine from the airport.
Now for my real problem with idiots driving in the winter. You do not need to run your flashers as you go down the Interstate, I can see you just fine. Driving on ice and snow is all about being smooth and controlled-relaxed. I do not need you making me nervous or anxious with your flashers, turn them off and drive your car. Running you flashers makes it no safer or better for anyone. I think if you need flashers, you need a cab or a hotel room. I DON'T WANT TO BE ON THE ROAD WITH YOU! Stay off the brakes too. Hint, if you hit the brakes on a FWD car and think you can turn or slow down, call your insurance company now. That is not what happens.
Yesterday I tried to find some salt and sand to get the ice sheet broken up a little. I found some sand and we bought a lot of table salt to get the melting started. But if you have a water softener and need salt, you may to drive to Houston to get some. The town was out of rock salt, period. The crap is breaking up, but the gloom looks like it will stay. Linda wants me to get my happy light out and she is right, I need some help this weekend. I am going to add some flashers to my couch just to let everyone know that the weather is bad and I am felling it. Share the pain a little.
Any planes headed to Miami this week??
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