**REVIEW** Delta Airlines (and Delta Comfort)

I thought that I would use my experiences of this latest flight to review Delta Airlines for both their customer service and their Comfort seating offering.My itinerary was Anchorage (ANC) to Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) and to my final destination of Des Moines (DMS). Since this is a blended review, I will preface remarks with CS or DC when speaking about Customer Service or Delta Comfort.

The Anchorage counter staff was okay. Courteous and efficient, they didn't seem to have much to do since most passengers checked in electronically or via one of the consoles set up in the airport. I did (and always do) my check-in via a phone app. At the counter, I only had to hand in my luggage (pre-paid) and show I.D. to confirm my information. I even filled out and attached my own luggage tags.

Ted Stevens Airport (ANC) is pretty basic and I like that. Gates are called just that - "gates" - so that it's easy to locate and navigate where you need to be. With such diversity in the mix, simplicity and uniformity are important when traveling. That;s my opinion anyway. At Ted Stevens, gates and signs and walkways are easy to find and use.

That last point is going to come up later.

The flight crew on the ANC to DSM leg was kind of awesome. They were helpful but not overbearing. I wonder how many people realize that flight attendants are on board primarily to help out in the event of an emergency - not to just to serve and pamper passengers. I sometimes lose sight of that fact myself, but I appreciate an FA who makes the job look easy. There was just that kind of FA on my first flight. She was as nice to the "regular" passengers as she was to those in First Class.

Now. Here is where I have to talk about the worst part of this trip. It had nothing to do with the plane, the seats, or the onboard crew.

I'm not sure who to blame for the fact that when we landed in MSP we had to sit on the taxiway for about 20 minutes, but I'm going to blame the gate agents for not helping more once we docked and some of us had to race to make connecting flights.

This is where my trip went bad.

While taxiing, the pilot mentioned that we were going to dock at Gate F. My connecting flight was going to board at Gate C. I mentally ran through the letters - C, D, E, F - and thought, Eh, shouldn't be that bad.

Right. It shouldn't have been but... I did ask the agents standing on the jetway how far the C gates were. One was just robotically saying to each of us passengers, "We have carts waiting up front." So I assumed he was directing us to keep moving and we'd have some assistance making it to other gates. There are reasons that it's bad to make assumptions and, in this case, one of the reasons is that the gate agent was a liar. There were no carts waiting anywhere. I couldn't even find another gate agent to ask about this. Since it wasn't useful to just stand there being mad, I asked the first person I saw where to find the C gates and took off in that direction.

Here is where I hate the way things are labeled at MSP.  I saw nothing labeled directing passengers to gates. I did see lots of overhead signs indicating "concourse". A B C D Concourse. Because I was feeling stressed and worried about missing my connection, I really resented not having the assurance that C concourse actually meant C gates. Each time I passed someone wearing an airport badge, I asked if I was headed toward the correct gate. Just when my legs were getting stiff, I heard one of those carts coming up behind me. I practically carjacked the driver and demanded that he get me to the C15. If I'd had to keep hoofing it, there is no way I'd have made the boarding. As it was, I raced up to the gate agent and was waved through immediately.

So, yeah, I'm not too happy with that part of the trip.From what I could tell, C gates and F gates are nowhere in the same time zone. It would have been nice that, since our deplaning was delayed, if the Delta gate staff had been more helpful.

To sum up, I find that it is worth it on long trips to upgrade to Dela comfort. I've seen other reviews that opine the extra leg room doesn't make up for the narrow seating but, in my case, it helped. Tall people will definitely want to have the extra inches. Of course, I was lucky to have such lightly booked flights. (Although, it wasn't much of an advantage to have a row to myself when I couldn't raise the armrests!)

There is an older (and better) review done by The Points Guy.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Dot & Dot Packing Cubes

In all the moving I've been doing lately, I find myself living more out of my suitcases than I like. I'm an organizer by nature, so I've been struggling to keep things in order until I have lot of storage space to work with. (Of course, the more storage space I have, the more stuff I buy to store. #AmItheOnlyOne)

Since I have been traveling as if I actually have lots of money (but don't), when I saw these Dot and Dot Slim Tube Packing Cubes on Tomoson, I literally jumped at the chance to review them. Jumped because I have storage problems and because I'm forced to live so frugally that I first judge things based on use and affordability. (Well, okay - looks also matter. No use having something you can use and afford if you don't want it seen by nosy people.)

thought they were stackable

not stackable but cute

These run in the neighborhood of about $7.50 each, I jumped so fast at my keyboard that I almost spilled hot coffee on my laptop. Thankfully, my laptop is safe, so here is my review:

The first thing I noticed when I looked at the online photos was that the cubes looked stack-able. I thought that, even though they arrived separated as 4 individual bags, that they might interlock in some way. They don't. They are separate bags (or "cubes") with sturdy zippers and nice little fabric tote handles.

Here they are, empty and right out of the package,

empty & roomier than it looks

view from the top

the handle is stitched on tight

nice mesh to see what's inside

I like that the cubes are made of fabric (and pretty good fabric at that) because plastic would not have been as flexible when I want to squeeze in just one more thing. The cube that I stuffed, just to see if the fabric or seams would give way, held up to the challenge. Nice.

Part of the cube is netted so it's easy to tell what's stored without having to dump out the contents. Unlike another storage bag I've used, these have really good zipper pulls (and are attached with thin cords) that don't threaten to slip off. Just because some of the things I store in my luggage can leak (makeup, lotions, etc.), I often use plastic baggies. The problem with that is that the baggies eventually break down from  - usually at the closure. The only thing I would like more about these cubes is if they were waterproof. In the meantime, I am still loving them. I keep my baggied items inside these just because its nice to have something so uniform and attractive.

and the zipper pulls that won't pull off

There are really no "Cons" I can point out about these storage bags. I wish I had gotten to try the waterproof storage too. For now, I use the ones I have to organize what's in my luggage. When I'm more settled, I know that I will like using them to organize things in my bathroom pantry and drawers.

Once I used up this first set of packing cubes, other uses for them occurred to me:

• To use as what frequent travelers call "go bags" to keep makeup, undies and other personals at the ready for short trips away from home. ("Go bags". Doesn't that sound all "Criminal Minds" of me?)
• As storage for the various things we keep in our cars. Even when I am in a place of my own, I tend to use my car as a second residence, keeping spare everything in the back seat. This is Alaska. It's always good to be prepared. 
• For storing documents (such as passports, bankbooks, etc.)  that you don't want to leave in obvious and open places. These bags can be hung from a hanger in the closet between clothes.
• For traveling with kids. You can get everyone their own color to identify their items when packed in one suitcase or while staying away from home. Matter of fact, you can use this strategy to identify family member items around the house for toys, bath items, etc.

The storage options come in different sizes of cubes, folders and other organizers.

my tag shows the sizes and the waterproof bags I want

The particular cube set I have comes in 10 different colors. I think I want to go for the red and the black sets. You can get more information and purchase the bags here. Check out Dot & Dot Travel here for their other organizing solutions. I think parents will be interested in the stroller items that I thought would even be handy for bikers and such. Just an idea.

Peace

--Free

DISCLOSURE

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** American Airlines Mobile (app)

Because I have trouble remembering things (and because I get stressed when traveling), my niece recommended that, for this recent trip, I utilize American Airlines travel app.

This is what to look for in Play Store

I lost the notes I took for this review so bear with me.

PROS:

• I didn't have to keep track of a paper boarding pass. (Just had to keep track of my phone!)
• Gate and flight info updates (sort of)
• Update of flight changes/delays
• Because I created an account with American, I got expedited TSA screening because of my "pre-check" status - no removal of my shoes and pretty much a sail through security.
• To board my flight, I only had to hold my phone up to the scanner at the gate. Done.

CONS:

• Saving my flight/reservation info didn't work. At all. If I closed the app, I had to re-enter my 'locator' info all over to view my boarding pass and flight info. I ended up just leaving it on and locking my screen
• I had a "Duh" moment of confusion and panic when I didn't realize I had no paper boarding pass. When I checked in my luggage, the rep gave me that ticket-looking paper with my claim tickets attached. When I tried to use that to enter the checkpoint, the TSA agent is the one who explained that I had to use the mobile boarding pass. She also explained that I was cleared for expedited clearance through the checkpoint. (Shouldn't the airline rep have done this? I think the rep assumed that if I was savvy enough to have the app, I was savvy enough to properly use it!)

Even though the app is pretty glitchy, I was happy to have it. It was SOOO nice not to have to remove my shoes and reveal the ugliest part of my body to all those strangers. Also, because of the expedited security, I had a lot less hassle to deal with when sending my carry-on through X-ray.  Not that I had anything to hide, but I didn't want to explain my prescriptions (or that very large bottle of liquid makeup remover.) I figured out later that my laptop battery was dead, but I didn't need to turn it on for security, so... the expedited entry was pleasant.

In the CON department, I should probably mention that the app went a little haywire on the last leg of my flight. The gate changed randomly about 8 times in a row - while I am looking at the app - and then it corrected itself. It started with C7 and cycled through until it ended with C24. Perfect. There was a Wendy's right across the way. I bought a burger and settle in for my flight to be called in the next 10 minutes. As I chatted with a lady sitting next to me, she asked if I lived in Phoenix or was just going for a visit. Phoenix? Oh, HECK NO! I checked the app and it still read C24. I checked with the gate agent and she informed me that gates had changed. I was supposed to be at C7 after all...

Ugh!

Add backpack & burger bag. And my clumsy self...

I had to do an awkward trot to the right gate. Thank goodness that my backpack was all I had to worry about. Well, that and my hamburger. I hustled down to C7 just as they were calling my group number for boarding. ~sigh~ 

All in all, this app saved me some time and stress. It also caused me a couple moments of stress, but I would use it again.

Peace

--Free

**REVIEW** American Airline's Admiral's Club

For a poor chick, I get to experience some of the coolest things. Usually thanks to my fam. This time, I got to use the private lounge at the airport. One of my nieces and nephews gifted me with the money for this right after I was sobbing buckets of tears at check-in and after I thought about running back out of the airport and just returning home.

Have you ever used one of the private lounges at an airport? Years ago, when my sister and I were traveling with her (then) 3 year old twins, my brother loaned us his Delta Crown Room card. My sister and I didn't get to enjoy much of that treat because we were too busy changing diapers and hosing down the kids - who got all kinds of stomach-sick the minute we got to the airport. I remember that it was nice to have hot, fresh coffee, pastries and private changing/dressing rooms to use. Very nice.

Beats sitting in the main gate areas, yes?

I stayed away from the bar...

 Now, I didn't know before that a traveler can purchase one-day passes for American Airlines Admiral's Club. I got that information from a super-nice airline rep named Erin Moore (I think I got his name right, but I lost all my notes. He works out of Miami & you can hear the sincere kindness in his voice.)

On to the review:

One might think that these private lounges are only for business travelers. That was the type I saw most of, but I also noticed that there were parents with children; Coach-class-looking men and women; and a lot of young techy-type folk. (One of the most interesting fellows I noticed was the one who paced around, talking on his phone to someone about a "late supply order." He switched between English, Spanish and Chinese. A real workaholic type, no more than 25 years old.) I also ran into a really pleasand woman in the ladies washroom. She was from Australia. She gave me tips on how to fight my fear of flying: "Just pretend that the floor of the plane is terra firma. Don't think about being up in the air."

What's so great about the private lounge? Well, if you want free food and drink (everything from pastries and cookies to all kinds of  beer, wine and spirits), the lounge is perfect. I didn't drink because... Well, we all know I don't handle my liquor well - even if it's free. I did drink plenty of coffee. If I had gotten tired of plain brew, I could have tried the mocha, latte, espresso, etc. Nice.

Snacks, coffee, pastries

I spent most of my time in the part of the lounge that was set up for passengers using their computers. Plenty of charging stations and regular outlets, comfy chairs of all kinds - from loungers to straight-backs arranged around worktables.

Of course, I called and checked in with my family about a million times. When I told my niece about how nice the ladies washroom was (and it was nice), she was impressed. When I told her that their were other washrooms complete with showers, she wasn't as thrilled. She has a thing about showers in gyms, lounges and other shared spaces. I still thought about exploring the showers because I was told they were stocked with premium soaps and shampoos and such.

Nice, right?

Since I just wanted to relax for the 9 hour layover, I parked myself in a spot where I could charge my phone and computer and play Farmville. I did read about all the other amenities: meeting and conference rooms, a gym, etc. For the travelers who smoke, there was even a place for them. It was pretty packed.

Here are some more photos from American Airlines (and, yes, the lounge actually looks like this!)

Get some work done...

...Or just get some drinking done. It's complimentary.

Nice, huh?

My basic suggestions for anyone wanting to try out one of the lounges on a day pass:

• Don't worry about not being dressed right. I was worried that I'd look out of place in my jeans and "Alaska Grown" hoodie. I saw people dressed in shorts, ripped jeans, beautiful suits and wrinkled dresses. I understand that other lounges have a stricter dress code.
• Do try everything. Explore all the different parts of the lounge, from the gym to the showers. 
• Sample as much of the free food and drink as possible. The food served on board the planes is over-priced and underwhelming. Go ahead and grab a pastry or two to take on board.
• Because the lounge in in the secure part of the airport, you don't have to worry about enduring the TSA screening when your journey continues.
• $50 sounds like a lot of money, and it is, for most of us. On the other hand, your being fed and hydrated and kept nice and cool while other travelers are 5- and 10-dollaring themselves to death at the various food courts. The day I was at DFW, the temp was somewhere around 87-90 degrees. The temp in the lounge was a nice steady 70 degrees or cooler.

My one-day pass was worth every nickel that my family paid for me to enjoy my travel. If you are a more frequent fliers, you can get a 30-day membership for $99/per visitor. Annual membership prices vary. I have to tell you: though I was on a day pass, every member of the staff treated me the same as everyone else. The service was courteous and I was made to feel as much a valued customer as the business travelers. Super.

Peace

--Free

Live Blogging the Trip (first leg)

It's been a rough night.

Leaving for the airport is never easy when you are leaving loved ones, even if you are headed toward more loved ones. Leaving "Boo Boo" (DJ) hurt so bad that it knocked all the breath right out of me. I was doing a decent job of holding it together until he had a meltdown in the driveway.

Not  DJ
But I'm just saying

OH! Damnit, that kid broke my heart.

I won't go into how badly I cried off all my makeup once I made it past saying goodbye to my niece and nephew who brought me to the airport. It took both of them, yes: one to drive and onee to keep me from leaping out of the car and running back to Boo Boo.

Not me
But I'm just saying

Now a word about the American Airline phone app my niece had me download beforehand: This was a mixed experience. Trying to use the app to view my flights was tricky (and never actually worked), but once I did get it to show my "mobile boarding pass," things got good. For one thing, it was nice not to have to worry about keeping track of another piece of paper (even though I had a moment of wondering where that piece of paper was). The best part? Using the mobile pass to sail right through the TSA checkpoint.

Let me stop and tell you the worst part (for me) of going through airport security (I mean, other than the possibility of having to throw out makeup, lotions and potions that go over the allowed amount). For me, the very worst part is the shoe drop. Taking off my shoes around people who don't know me, love me, and won't run screaming from the callus on my right heel... Well, this is stressful.

Not only did I not have to take my shoes off but, because I am too lazy and absent-minded to carry and keep track of more than my backpack as a carry-on, I didn't have to submit to any kind of hassle. I just waltzed right through that scanner and went on my way. Nice. Saved me so much time.

Not my feet
But I'm just saying

With all the time I did save, I was able to get started early on my phobic fantasies of wings falling off the plane midair.

Another good part of the mobile boarding pass is that it's easy to keep track of. Also, it updates with gate changes and such. Super cool. Just super.

The flight was (thank my God in heaven!) uneventful. The worst thing I can say about actually flying that first leg is that the attendants were forgettable. I think I saw one of them crack a smile before she realized she had broken the rules by doing so... Also, I have to say that the airplane was one of the dirtiest I've been on. Dingy, grimy and raggedy seatbacks and dust that just seem to float in the air and stick in my throat.

I had a window seat so I got to cry some more as I watched Alaska disappear from sight. The ladies sitting on row with me were cool and I was embarrassed when they remarked that the plane seemed like one from the early 20th century. ~sigh~ They were a couple of either best best best friends or lovers. They are on their way from a visit to Alaska to a visit to New York. They had Polish (I think) accents and they were very funny when we all noticed the food prices on the on-board menu. There was a decent looking picture of an expensive pastrami sandwich. For what it cost, I'd do better to fly out and have lunch with Guy Fieri. (What is with me and all the Guy references lately?)

At any rate, I've had bad experiences with the way real food actually looks like no matter how good the photos are. For the price of airline food, I'm not letting my wallet take any chances.

Not the airline food.
But I'm just saying

The food was out of the question so I opted for a cup of coffee. I needed something to counteract the crying, wine and Valium. Too bad the coffee was only a poor imitation of anything that should legally being labeled and sold as coffee. It was brown, I'll say that much. Mostly, it was a lukewarm tea-like concoction. And I am insulting tea by even making the comparison. Like I said, it was brown.

I had a moment of panic when we started making the descent into DFW. There was some floaty-tippy-rocky kind of movement that lasted long enough to make that awful coffee bounce around in my gut. I calmed down long enough to say a lot of prayers and compose dramatic goodbye letters in my head to my family. Then we just landed.

Right now, I am in the Admiral's Club, drinking real coffee and using up all the wi-fi I can to play Farmville 2. (I knew Facebook would come in handy somehow, someday.)

Seven and half more hours to kill. I'll blog the next leg of the flight when it comes around...

Peace
--Free

Homer, AK (post-trip)

Okay, I did it. I made the trip to Homer. It was great & I have checked it off my list. My niece is happy that we spent the time together (well, at least the time outside the car), and I have told her that I've done my family outdoor-camp-hike-rough it deed for the cycle. When she wanted to know what "cycle I was talking about, I reminded her that I give in to her and do something outside my comfort zone about every 3 years.


"Oh, really? When was the last time?" she wanted to know.

I did have to think hard, but I had it. "When we did that glacier cruise thing."

My niece is a sharp lady, but she was looking a little confused.

"With Wolf for his radio station. The Breeze Cruise, remember?"

Her jaw dropped three feet. "That was ten years ago!" 

I did some more thinking and, you know what? She was right. My, my, time just flies, doesn't it?

Give me some credit, though. I did the Alcan with the nutso Ex. That kinda counts, right? And, when I was in Arizona, I camped in the back yard with a couple of the little nieces and nephews. That should count for a freaking lifetime of roughing it. There are lizards, snakes, scorpions and all other kinds of yicky-crawlies down there. (Okay. I did sneak onto the deck after the kids went to sleep, but, still...)

At any rate, I made the Homer trip and made it back mostly sane. I will not be taking any more trips with this particular niece. She knows and she knows why. Now - for the beauty that is this cold-ass state I reside in:

I knew it was going to be around a five-hour ride. Somehow, when you are looking out at this....

 ...you don't think about time.

This was awesome.

 But I think we must have

 been a ways into the drive because

 the other people in the car were

 starting to hate me. There are reasons.

When we finally

 arrived at the "Homer Spit" (I dunno), even D.J. 

was kind of pissed at me. 

He went to my BFF and just kept looking 

me like, well... you can see that picture of him.

He really got an attitude with me when we put on his sunglasses! Thought he was cute, little booger.

The BFF was just eating all that attention from the Deej. It was probably kind of a pop in the jaw when he lost interest in both of us after a group of bachelorettes pulled in next to us. We called it the Party Mobile:

"Last fling B4 the bling!" "Honk 4 hotties!" (the rest NSFanything)

The girls came over to tell us that they'd been kicked out of their last spot for "being too quiet." They saw me trying to get D.J. down for a nap & promised to behave. And they actually did. (I posted the large image so you can see how the ladies decorated. They wore custom t-shirts with a similar theme. Made me and the BFF glad Deej can't read yet.) BTW - they were a bunch of super-sweet young gals. The one getting married hugged BFF and I when we were leaving (even though she was upset we didn't want to toast her good news with a drink) and I sure hope she has a good life.

***

Despite the chill, it was nice there on the Spit (?). Peaceful.

And that creature of the air you see up there, that's an eagle. Wish I'd gotten a better photo, but it was like, "Look! Eagle!" I just pointed and clicked. He was a sight to see.

It was cold as Hitler's heart, but, damn! This was pretty.

And, yeah, D.J. and I made up. I started calling him "Stinky-boo" because he had a case of the toots.

***

For this next one, I sincerely apologize. I know the quality is awful, but I was changing Deej's diaper when the BFF yelled for me to turn around and get a snap of this sunrise. We were afraid it wouldn't last long! A photo can't capture that glory anyway. Even D.J. was in awe.

The rest are just randoms. Hope you likey.

The "Salty Dawg." (I stayed sweet & left well enough alone!)

I have more pics, but my camera is having attitude problems. Will post more if they are pretty good.

Peace
--Free