Wednesday, July 28, 2010 - Fly to DC

Woke up to the alarm before 7:00, made coffee, packed our bags, got the dogs settled in the lounge, checked on the horses, and were out the driveway by 8:30. Stopped at the grocery store to pickup sandwiches and snacks for the day, then went for breakfast at a Holiday Inn near the airport, then arrived at the airport around 10:00. No problem with security, at the gate by 10:15. While the flights were relatively uneventful, it just didn't seem like this airline, Delta, had the same professional level as our American, which we usually fly. The people seemed bored and tired of the tedium of their jobs, every time I asked a question I felt like I was imposing on them, the overhead compartments were very small and we had to put our carryon about 10 rows away from where we were sitting. They didn't have diet lemon-lime, our preferred drink, and they didn't bother to announce gate connections coming into Minneapolis. Then when I called to to change out return flight, I was told they couldn't do it because we were "in transit", therefore outside their system, and we'd have to wait until we got the DC. Crazy, and not very efficient. Arriving almost half an hour early, though, but by the time we changed our flights, it was nearly 9:30 anyway. Stepped outside and got blasted by 90 degrees temps and high humidity, despite the fact it was already dark. Caught the Metro to our favorite downtown hotel and settled in, having gained three hours, and will now need to adjust to, though our first meeting isn't until 1:00, so we'll have plenty of time to get ourselves straightened out. Coming back on Saturday will be the greater challenge.