Day 28
Or, 4 weeks on the road. Though, it feels like it lasted longer. Bike vacations always do, and
that is why I love doing them. But all good things come to a end, and today is that day.
Here's a nice shot of the pool that I passed everyday, so as you might have guessed, I don't
really do pools.
Nice having a Ihop next to the motel. Did a dinner there one night. Nothing special, but nothing
bad, typical Ihop.
I had plenty of time today, so I watched a couple of Premier games, and yes, the motel had
good enough wi-fi to handle it. I packed all my crap, which, because I packed most of my stuff
in the storage locker with the bike, means just the backpack. I asked for a late check out, which
they didn't have a problem with. From there it off to drive to the airport, which is about a 1/2 hour
drive.
The no problem dropping off the minivan. Though I had to return it a bit early (1pm) as not to
get another day added on.
Tampa airport expansion
So here I am at Tampa International 4 hours early. Wasting the time is no problem as I can
always work on this blog. I did upgrade to First Class tickets, but that still doesn't get you
into the Delta lounge. But still, why not try. The lady at the counter was nice and decided to let
me in. My first airport lounge, well, is, little underwhelming. But the drinks are free, and so
is the food. Plus as a place to work, it is great. I was able to finish Disney day 2 while
there. The 3 hours went fast, and soon it was time to head down to the gate. It's a 2 part
flight, with the first leg to Atlanta (Coach), a 2 hour layover, then first class from Atlanta to
Toronto. For the first part I booked the back of the plane hoping to get the seat next to me
open (I actually ending up getting whole row). With a 2 hour layover in Atlanta, I'm in no
hurry to get off the plane fast.
How I don't want to leave Florida .
The first time I've seen one of Amazons Prime air planes.
I make it to the gate and wait for boarding. Now compared to Orlando international, I love
flying out of Tampa. It's a better airport. Short lines for TSA, more places to shop. Give me a
choice and I'll pick Tampa any day. Orlando feels like a meat market where they just want
to push as many people through as possible.
One of the reasons I like Delta, is the back seat entertainment. Don't get me wrong, I have
a tablet and can watch stuff, but the back seat tv just works way better. Plus I had a really nice
flight attendant at the back of the plane giving me some extra snacks for the flight. Good flight.
Bye, bye Florida. But not for too long. I plan to come back for a week off work in late February.
A hour and a half later we land in Atlanta, and to one of the worse landings I've had.
Congrads to the pilot. the wind was brutal.
I have a love/hate relationship with Atlanta international. It's a great airport, but you do walk
forever, and with no moving sidewalks. But if you have a layover, it's one of the great ones. I hit up
one of the Delta One lounges and try to get in. No Dice. The restaurant choice here is really
second to none, so I decide on PF Chang's. A couple of appetizers, a great waitress,
and a good hour plus wasted. I've never see Atlanta not busy, have you?
So I start to head down to my gate, but to my mistake I thought it was in the domestic terminal.
Oops, so I have to head over to the international terminal. So down to the subway that runs between
all the terminals. It's fast and the hardest part is just getting to it. A good selection of Duty free
shops. But I am pressed for time, so I head off to my gate to make sure it's the right one. I've
missed flights before, so now I tend to be real careful.
Well this is new to me, and as you can guess, it makes boarding take a lot longer.
As with all new tech, it doesn't always work. Hopefully this won't be coming to every airport.
The flight goes well, and of course it does when your in first class.
Too soon we get there, and here are the lights of Toronto through the clouds
Finally the clouds open I'm seeing the east end of Toronto.
I can see Greenwood Yard from here. It's one of the locations which I work from.
I can almost see Chris and Vanessa's home from here.
Not all pictures come in great.
Then we even fly over my Apartment building, honestly it's down there.
We even land early, and since it past midnight, I fly through Canada Customs. The shuttle
tram that takes you to Terminal 1 and UP express is down for service. Luckily the Airport
Rocket is waiting at the post, and we're soon off to Kipling Station.
It's nice when it's not too busy.
Well that's about all, I take the bus to Kipling Station, hop on the train and talk to one of
my workmates all the way to Kennedy Station. Where I can easily hop on a 34 bus which
takes me to my door. It will be nice sleeping in my own bed after a month. tomorrow morning
I'll have to go out and get supplies before going to work.
What a trip.
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