Flying stupidity in the US

We arrived back from Florida exhausted. Airline travel here is sooooo frustrating. I would say inefficient and downright ridiculous and possibly backward!! This is what total cost cutting resorts to. When I booked the flight, there was a price. Then when I picked the seat, I had to pay extra depending on the seat I had - anywhere from $10-$80 and this is NOT first class seats. 

Airlines also charge for checked bagged here so EVERYONE takes their luggage onboard with them cause they don't want to pay $25. This means there is little-to-no overhead space and it's very very slow to board because people are stuffing around trying to find bag space. We've seen people bring prams, child car seats and boxed electrical appliances on board. Now there's only so much storage space right, so it runs out. The people still boarding have to make their way back to the front of the plane to hand in their bags so it can be checked for FREE. So like good sheep and cattle we reverse and jostle for this to happen and then board again. It is just seriously the most stupid process I've ever seen. 

There are also boarding groups, about seven of them and they board group by group in order. So if you're like us and are not important, Platinum, super Platinum, any other bloody Platinum, Gold or whatever other colour they have, military, rich, good looking or know how to chat up the gate hostess...then you board last and frankly, you're screwed for any luggage space at all. So we always ensure our backpack fits under the sit cause we always board last!!

The most stupid thing of all though is that they always OVERBOOK the flight so they have spares in case people don't show/fly that day. So just near boarding time, you hear announcements asking people who are willing to delay their flight - they get a $300 voucher for their troubles and get home later on another flight. I was tempted the other day to get the $300 voucher but Deb was not impressed !! If they can't get volunteers, they resort to offloading people but I'm not sure how they decide who to offload. Given we are on the bottom of the shit heap for boarding, I'm worried it might be us.

So people, if you really want Australian airlines to compete for the cheapest flights possible, this is what you get and it's crap. I'm quite happy with the service we get now in Australia and actually feel a bit safer too.

Moving on to something more lighter and funny......I’ve talked about the place we have brekky after our morning run, before work. The young girl there is fantastic – very lively, funny, efficient and she takes complete care of us. We hadn’t been for 2 weeks so she was very pleased to see us this week. She made such a fuss and was saying….hello ladies, how y’all doing, I waz only saying to the other girl yasterday that I ain’t seen my Ellen DeGeneres gurls for a while and then her y’all are now. I’ve never been referred to as an 'Ellen DeGeneres' girl before but it was nice I thought. 




The weather is certainly hotting up. We are getting high 20's and into the 30's and it's humid. I like it - very much the weather I grew up in, in North Qld. It's a hot walk for the dogs but the forest canopy keeps it pleasant. The dogs swim EVERY day - they know where the creek is and they bolt ahead and jump in. The squirrels and chipmunks are out in mass and yesterday, Macey had her nose fair into a hole, digging and snorting away. I let her go for a few minutes - she was enjoying herself and she left with a dirty brown nose, feet and chest.

 

I made a carrot cake today and made my own taco/burrito seasoning mix. It's pretty easy really and it's cheaper than buying sachets all the time. I'm very addicted to Mexican food. The other week we tasted Queso dip - wow, that's so bad but so yummy. Apparently it's all over Texas so we will be definitely be looking forward to visiting Texas next year.  I've also got a wholemeal loaf of bread in the maker - never made brown bread before. I threw in some pumpkin seeds to add some crunch. 

I've got some baseball games lined up with my mate Bob. We are going to a game against the Chicago Cubs in a few weeks. They are the top team in our league and a good team by tradition. Can't wait to see that one.

And to finish with a picture of Cricket enjoying a snooze outside while I cook in the kitchen. Macey lays on the floor in the kitchen while Cricket prefers the bed outside. Such good company they are. Never know when a little tid-bit might come their way.