PMD to SFO to IAD

It has been pretty cold in the High Desert of California since after Thanksgiving averaging in the upper 20s. We even actually had some rain which was very welcome after our dry year prior. In one storm we received more rainfall then the entire year before. Anyway, it's the cold that led to my problems on this Monday morning.

The Palmdale (PMD) service by United Airlines, operated by SkyWest, is a new service since June of 2007 so they haven't experienced their first desert winter yet. I arrived for my 6:00 AM flight at around 5:15 AM to find that the CRJ-200 was covered in ice just like my truck was this morning when I came out of my house. This normally isn't a problem at a major airport but at Palmdale, United is the only carrier and the only flight so they don't have any de-icing equipment available yet.

Anyway, to make a long story short, my 6:00 AM flight didn't thaw out and leave until 9:20 AM for San Francisco (SFO). This caused me to miss my connection to Washington Dulles (IAD) which left promptly at 10:05 AM. This also ruined my chance of an upgrade for which I was on the list on the missed flight. The Gate Agent at Palmdale booked me on the next flight which left at 11:00 AM which I barely made and, of course, my checked bag didn't. Luckily the United Baggage Representative tracked my bag to the next flight and offered to have my bag delivered to my Hotel. United has a website to track your bag which informed me my bag would be delivered between 1:00 and 5:00 AM. Sure enough, I called down to the front desk of The Marriott Courtyard and my bag had been delivered around 3:00 AM.

Once I was on my flight from SFO to IAD, it wasn't bad. I was still in Economy Plus so I had the extra leg room. I watched Transformers on the inboard entertainment system on the Boeing 767 and got to see a beautiful sunset out of my window. 4 hours and 20 minutes later I was landing in Washington DC.

Washington Dulles seems like it has been under construction since I can remember and they still use these bizarre shuttles to get you from one terminal to the other. I call it the people mover, but they refer to it as the Mobile Lounge. I hope someday they have a decent train system.

So I picked up my National Rental Car at Dulles and headed for my Marriott Courtyard in Landover Maryland. This property is located near the warehouse I need to work in this week to repair all of my broken gear that has collected over the past 12 months. I like Courtyard's because I always know what to expect. A clean room, free internet and a good nights sleep.