Tasha dropped me at the airport this morning after a bland, uninspired, overly priced breakfast at New Beginnings restaurant. There were hugs and kisses and I Love You’s all around and then I was off on my big adventure.
The trip from Grand Rapids to Atlanta was uneventful. The plane was small, 50-passengers and over sold at that so two folks had to find another ride. Rather than being an intimate feeling of snug comfort, It was rather like riding on a city bus with a bad suspension; not that horrible jarring feeling you get in turbulence, but a steady shirk, jerk, and rattle that makes you think perhaps it’s time to put this particular plane out to pasture. The guy next to me was small and got the window. He kept to himself and either dozed or read during the two hour trip, which was fine with me because it meant that I got the aisle, a little extra room to spread out, and nobody chatted me up while I was trying to read.
Atlanta airport is big, that was my first impression having never been there before. I mean, fuck, they’ve got their own train between concourses. My 2-hour layover was extended as my plane was late and let me write this post, grab a snack, and read some more. So the 1:42:00 drive (according to GoogleMaps) from the Atlanta airport to the hotel room is looking more like 2½ hours waiting for a plane and then 45-minutes on said plane followed by however long it takes to drive from the airport to the hotel. I should get there in time for dinner. I love travel.
Had to run, they changed my departure gate twice before the plane actually arrived. Then we sat waiting to take off for what seemed like forever. The actual flight was only about 30-minutes but it was still 5:30 by the time I got to Columbus, forty-five minutes late. But I’m here at last.
The ExtendedStay America Hotel I’m in is okay. I’m on the second floor with a view of the entrance roof and parking lot. But there is a microwave, stove, and refrigerator if’n I decide not to take advantage of the two meals a day that JLL is providing me. The place has laundry facilities and wi-fi (it’s slow, but invaluable). So tomorrow I’ll hit the town and get some impressions of the place. As it stands my impressions are, looks like everyplace else, only warmer.
Here’s a bummer, the van here doesn’t have an AUX port for my ipod… good thing I loaded it up with audio books. Sigh.
