Traveling still messes with my head
… and I dont think thats about to change. Leonie and I left yesterday (tuesday night NZT), stayed last night in San Francisco (had a bit of a look around, not a lot – just into town and out for dinner), then this morning to Chicago and Madison.
The long-haul one was, for a change, easy. Check in, sit down, eat, sleep for 8 hours (yay sleeping pills), eat breakfast, get off. Totally painless. Having the “extra” security check done before we got to the duty free area (so everyone has to do it now) made life so much easier and quicker.
I ended up giving my seat up on the Chicago-Madison flight tho – in exchange for a free return trip to anywhere in the US 
. I already have it earmarked for Leonie for the Christine Kane weekend
One thing, which I think kiwi’s forget, is just how GOOD AirNZ is. I dont have that many carriers to compare it to – United, Qantas, Gauruda, and Lufthansa in the last 12 months – but it’s head, shoulders and more above all of them. The inflight entertainment, seat sizes (even in economy), food etc are all top notch. One differentiator, however, is the lounges. The comparison between AirNZ and United is….. startling. Red Carpet is uniteds version of Koru club, but without any food, a bar you have to pay for, and non of the other useful stuff. AirNZ really has it sorted – especially the one in LA. Atleast United did have comfy seats, which made the extra 2 hours a lot easier.
One thing I did notice, which I hadn’t before so much, is the number of people on cellphones, and the addiction people appear to have to them. I’m not just talking about crackberries, but just normal phones. Walking around Chicago airport, I’d guess 4 in every 5 people were talking on a cell, not to mention that until the doors are closed on the airplane, people can talk – and they do, loudly. The second the wheels hit the tarmac – bing, the cell is back on, “hi, I’ve landed”. WTF?
As a side note, the blackbox M14 headphones I picked up on the way out are not shielded against GSM noise (not much is – this is not a rap on the headphones, they totally rock) – but I could make out two distinct signals on the plane, at 15000 ft…. so much for people turning them off…..
Anyway – I’m in Madison now – Leonie is dong the Gift in Chicago, so I have a bit of a drive on sunday. Nice to finish traveling for a while tho! Now, breakfast. Or is it lunch time….?
