Tuesday, November 29th – Twenty Four

5:15AM, Dublin
Here I sit in the Dublin Airport.  On my North Face duffel bag.  I bid goodbye to my new/old Irish friends and left the last pub around 3AM.  Showered, packed, and sat realizing that I did not really need to leave to the airport until 5AM.

Last year, I took a trip to New Orleans to see the Tulane-Ole Miss game.  It was a whirlwind tour that took us from the streets of New Orleans, to the game in the Superdome, back to the streets of New Orleans, off to the airport, and finally to Raljohn (Palmer Park), Maryland to see the Redskins-Cowboys Sunday night opening game.  I had mentioned to my friends that if we found ourselves out in Bourbon Street past midnight on Saturday, we were better off buckling down and pushing through the night rather than going back to the hotel and sleeping for five or six hours.  Sure enough, that time came and we decided to push.

Morning came to the Bar Lafitte.  I would be the first to leave New Orleans so I headed back to the hotel to pack and catch a cab.  My friends followed.  Their flight would be a few hours later.  As I dropped them off at their room, and they lay down in their bed, I told them, “Do not fall asleep. You will miss your flight.”

They gave me their house keys and said, “Do not worry.  We’ll just be a few hours behind you.”

Well, as I sat in their house, watching their TV, eating their food, and looking at their Redskins tickets, the phone rang.

They had overslept.

Through five alarms.

And missed their flight.

It made no difference to me.  I had a couch and food and four tickets to the Redskins game.

That is why I am sitting in the Dublin Airport, one hour before the Continental check-in even opens up, waiting for my day to begin.

6:43AM, Dublin
My bags are checked and I am wolfing down an Irish breakfast.  Whatever that potato cake thing was it was definitely NOT like a hash brown.

7:25AM, Dublin
I have cleared the Preclearence at US Customs and entered the holding pen.  It looks like something out of V Is For Vendetta.

I still have an hour plus to go before I even get on the plane.  That gives me a chance to take inventory.

I was in Ireland for six days – five days in Dublin and one out.  I saw one college, three parks, four libraries, one jail, one castle, three art galleries, four museums, one boat, two megalithic gravesites, one distillery, one brewery, three churches, two cathedrals, one zoo, and far too many pubs to count.  I saw where St. Patrick baptized, the Vikings pulverized, famished citizens mobilized, Arthur Guinness fermentized, Pádraig Pearse oratized, England capitulatized, and James Joyce and others philosophized.  Not a bad trip, no surprise.

9:15AM, Dublin
Wheels up and in the air.  Nope, the seats have not gotten any bigger.

11:45AM, New York
Wheels down and into the gate.  I’m going to hop the NJ Transit and meet my brother for lunch in New York City.

3:00PM, New York
Lunch complete.  The city does not seem that crowded.  Of course, we are up by Central Park.  Off to the subway.

5:16PM, New York
Back at Newark and awaiting a 8:25PM flight to San Francisco.  I just want to get on the plane so I can go to sleep.  I am starting to dread going back to the Bay.  It’s probably just that post travel depression starting to set in.

9:24PM, New York
Wheels up and dinner served.  I should probably put dinner in quotes.  I think it is some sort of vulcanized chicken.  I think I ate better when I slept through breakfast on the previous plane.

1:33AM, San Francisco
Riding Super Shuttle back to the city.  What a disaster this service has become.  It was an hour wait just for a van that I had a reservation on.  The plane was at the gate by midnight and I had my bags and was curbside by 12:15AM.

I have only two complaints on this trip – Continental’s seat sizes and Super Shuttle’s curbside service.  If those are my only issues, it ain’t been a bad trip.

3:05AM, San Francisco
Finally back in SF and lying in my bed.  In between the cat naps on the airline, I have been up since 9AM Dublin time on Monday.  Today is Wednesday.

This trip accomplished a few things.  First, it did get me the 744 miles I needed to maintain my Premier status on United Airlines (benefits noted in the first post).  Second, it broke in my renewed passport (very important).  Third, it got me out of San Francisco and moving again (if only temporarily).  Finally, it helped me remember one thing and forget another.  But I still haven't found what I am looking for...