View from 1D on UA627

Friday afternoon I flew to Washington DC for an all-day NBTA Board meeting today. The flight was oversold, and when I booked it, I was assigned a middle seat, so I pulled the trigger on my upgrade certificates and upgraded the flight. For a Friday afternoon O'Hare rush-hour flight, we sailed out on time and even arrived in Washington DC a few minutes early. My cab driver was a fascinating Ethiopian who made the short ride to Alexandria a really interesting ride.

Got up this morning and ran a couple of miles in Old Town Alexandria and along the Potomac River. It had rained most of the night and it made for a really pleasant run. As I was wrapping it up, I ran by a Farmer's Market and so as soon as I finished, I headed back to the Market. I love markets like this. They're so visceral and work your senses. I saw some of the reddest peppers ever and tasted an absolutely amazing peach. And then I hit the bakery stand and I was done. Knowing that the TSA (speaking of the TSA, have you seen their new blue uniforms? Apparently, they thought this would make them seem more pleasant. It does not. That's all I'm saying) would probably confiscate any vegetables or fruit, I bought a loaf of sourdough to bring home. Take a look:

GORGEOUS!

My meetings actually go until tomorrow but I had to get home, so I bailed early and raced over to DCA to get on the last flight to ORD. I used my Clear pass for the first time and sailed through security. Can every airport please get this? As I checked in, I decided to see if I could upgrade this flight and I cleared the list. Boy, was I glad I did. Things were looking good...we backed out on time and went straight to the end of the taxiway and were about to roll onto the runway when we got the turn order to the penalty box...line of thunderstorms and there we would sit for the next hour. Here's a shot of what I kept looking at, as the minutes ticked by:

I was glad I was upfront. There was a screaming kid in the back and it was 100% full. Our flight attendant working up front reminded me totally of Professor Smith from "Lost in Space" - looks, demeanor - and that didn't bode well. But he turned out to be OK and made the hour long delay and the flight totally tolerable. So thanks to the miracle of heinously padded airline scheduling, we landed only about 25 minutes late.

So now I'm home, catching up and getting ready for Sunday. I talked to my mom twice today, as today is her birthday. Quite a lady, my mom. I first called her from DCA and she was insistent that I sing to her. I steadfastly refused, telling her I would sing to her once I was in my car in Chicago, so I fulfilled my promise. It was great to talk to her and here her laugh. Made my day!