But I'm not playing in a travelling band, I am on the 737 heading into SXM!


I had always wanted to vist SXM because I a a big fan of aviation and to see the jets land at Maho Beach was a must!

Tropical Storm Ana was heading towards the island. Well, Ana fizzled out. But then came hurricane Bill. I decided to postpone the trip until the following week. I kept a watch on the weather and saw that Bill was projected to turn north about 300-400 miles from the island and totally miss. Great news! The trip planning was back on. The flights were wide open in each direction since it is low season so I booked a hotel on Wednesday evening and departed Indianapolis on Thursday morning.

I flew a Delta Connection Embraer 175 from Indianapolis to Atlanta and got first class. The flight was smooth and we were there in just over an hour.

The next leg was a Delta 737-700, this time in business class. It was a smooth flight of about 3 and a half hours. I was impressed with the Delta meal and inflight entertainment, but then again I am partial. You can listen to CDs and even create your own playlist. I spent the time listening to a mix of Depeche Mode, New Order, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, and Sting. The meal was a chicken stir-fry with a salad and chocolate cake. I drank some gin and tonics.

Our flight path took us down through Georgia and into Florida. We flew directly over Jacksonville and then went south along the Florida coast until about Cocoa Beach. We then went east over the ocean, crossing over Nassau and on down into Saint Maarten.

At about 2pm we were on approach over the famous Maho Beach. This is one of the big reasons I came to Saint Maarten. The aircraft make a very low approach over the water and seem to just clear the airport fence. There are many videos and pictures of this on the net, just google SXM or Maho Beach to see.

Customs and Immigration took about 15 minutes and I seemed to be in the slowest line. Next it was off to Maho Beach!


I saw that the KLM flight had not yet arrived so I was going to try and photograph it landing.

I left SXM airport and walked over to Maho Beach. It was about a five minute walk. The weather was not bad, with it being mid 80s and low humidity. I got over to Maho and waited. The water looked so refreshing but it would have to wait until KLM arrived. I chatted with a guy from Montreal who was really into aircraft also. There were about 10-20 people there. We saw some departures, including American 757 to Miami, Jetblue Airbus 320 to New York, and Corsair 747 to Paris. Finally, I saw the KLM MD-11 turning onto it's final approach! I took my shots and also got some video of some others. It is an amazing site for both lovers of aircraft and non. After the KLM flight, it is pretty much small island hoppers so the crowd dispersed. I walked back to SXM airport and caught a taxi to my hotel. It was about 4:30 at this time.

The hotel is called Mary's Boon Beach Resort. I found it on the net and since it was the lowest price, I booked it.

I quickly checked in and then went out the beach. I swam out there in that beautiful water for an hour.

Later, I went to dinner in town. It was called Uncle Harry's. I had some scallops that were decent but the place it self was only all right.

After my meal, I went back to the hotel and had some Red Stripe beers at the bar. I went to sleep at about 10.

The next day I woke up at 7 am and hit the beach again. I was in that water for a couple of hours knowing that I would soon be departing. It was so refreshing! I checked out at noon and headed over to Maho Beach again for some of the big arrivals. Continental and US Airways brought in their 757s and Air France with their Airbus 340. At about 1:30, I went over to SXM airport and checked in. I grabbed some Dominos Pizza there at the airport and went upstairs to the gate and waited. There were 30 open coach seats and 4 business but I did not have an assignment yet. The flight was scheduled to depart at 3:25 pm and I was given my seat at about 2:45. What's this? 1D.....business class again! What luck! After a little delay for ramp congestion, we were flying over Maho Beach on the way to Atlanta. This flight was a 737-700.

I listened to the same mix of music as before and also watched the movie "17 Again". The meal was chicken fajitas. I consumed a few gin and tonics also. We arrived into Atlanta at about 7:30pm and the customs and immigration process was 15 to 20 minutes. They always get suspicious about me being gone for only one day but when they hear where I work, it's end of discussion.

My connection to Indianapolis was at 9:48 but I saw that there was an 8:28 departure so I tried to get over there to see if I could get it. My connection to Indianapolis was at 9:48 but I saw that there was an 8:28 departure so I tried to get over there to see if I could get it.
Atlanta is the world's busiest airport and it took some time getting over there. When I arrived, they had just closed the door. Oh well, off to gate A32 to wait. This flight was going to be tight. It was showing only 14 open seats and there had been lots of weather problems so I did not know what to expect. I saw that I was number one on the list so that was good. They also showed 15 open in coach and 1 in first. The luck was probably going to change......or was it? I cannot believe it! I got seat 1C, another upgrade! We were all boarded up and ready to go and even taxied out of the gate. Then we went nowhere. Our MD-88 aircraft was sitting in a long line of aircraft waiting to depart. The Captain finally came over the PA to tell us that a thunderstorm had moved in and that departures were going very slow if even at all. No big deal. I was tired and wanted to get home but at least we were on the plane. We were supposed to be in Indy at 11:30pm but we did not even leave Atlanta until that time. There was lightning all around and we flew close to it but within 20 minutes, we were in the clear and on the way to Indy. I finally got to Indy at 12:30am and was home at 1:30am.

What a great time, even if it was short. We are planning on going to Europe or South America or Central America for Fall Break but just maybe I will have to consider Saint Maarten also..........

In October of 1995, part of the N.A.T.O. group were heading over to London for a week and asked if I wanted to go. Well of course I would!
They all flew Virgin out of Boston on the 4th but I decided to set out early in order to accomplish something I always wanted to do----Fly a 747SP and fly Iran Air. I had seen that Iran Air had a flight going Tehran-Geneva-Paris/Orly so I had to get to Geneva.
On the morning of October 1, I flew America West 1229, a 737-200 from LAS to PHX. The next leg was PHX to CMH on an America West A-320. I arrived in the late afternoon into PHL on board America West 250, a 737-300 from CMH. Once in PHL, i connected to Swissair 127, a 747-300 that went to Zurich by way of Boston. I was seated in seat 49H. The flight was routine and it was great to get a meal service on the PHL-BOS leg of the flight.

On the morning of October 2, I transited ZRH to Crossair 6928, an Avro 85 to Geneva. I arrived into GVA and immediately went out and explored the city. It is very close from the airport and has great connections by rail. After walking around a few hours, I went to the Iran Air city ticket office. The man was happy to sell me a ticket for the flight to Paris. Later on, after I had some dinner, I went to try and get a place to sleep. Not going to happen! There was a convention in town and there was zero rooms available. Bummer, well back to GVA airport where I would try and sleep. I first tried near the ticket area but it was bright and noisy. I did manage to get a couple of hours but decided to move. I found a dark and quiet place near baggage claim that worked well for the rest of the night.

October 3, 1995
I would finally ride a 747SP this day. It was Iran Air 735. Since this flight carries little to no local traffic, it was difficult to find the check in location. I did eventually find it and checked in. They sent me and one other passenger to the gate just about 20 minutes before departure. We boarded the aircraft by airstairs and I took an open seat in the middle section. It was a real quick flight and yet there was a meal service. I was impressed by that. After arriving into Orly, I chatted with one of the Flight Attendants and gave her a lapel pin of the airline I worked for. She was very appreciative. I left Orly quickly and went into Paris. Another co-worker of mine happened to be in Paris to visit a friend. He was a Pilot and he had met this girl on one of his flights. I did not meet up with him that evening because I was too tired but the next morning I took the Metro to the Pompidou Centre where we set off for some exploration.

October 4, 1995
We met up and toured Paris for the day. We had seen most of the sights and ended the day at Pere Lachaise Cemetery, where Jim Morrison is buried. We both had been to Paris before so we did not really have to see much. In the evening we met up with his friend and some of her friends for dinner. The place was called Le Petit Royal and was fantastic. It is no longer in existence these days which is really too bad. It was near the Rome Metro stop. After a wonderful dinner with drinks, we all went our separate directions. I went to my hotel, which was near Orly Airport and went to sleep.

October 5, 1995
I walked over to Orly for my flight to London. I had not paid attention the the time and I was really cutting it close. The lines were long and I was sure I would not make it. Luckily for me, many paying passengers were running late for AF 882 also. They were paging all sorts of names for final call and so I just ran as fast as I could. I got over to the gate and went on board. It was a light load on this Air France A-300 going to LHR. It was nice and sunny and clear on our way over to the UK. I arrived into LHR and was soon on the Piccadilly line of the Tube going into the city. We all met up at the hotel near Piccadilly Circus. It was called the Regent Palace and is no longer around either.
I was ready to go out into the city but they were tired after their overnight flights. George and I went across the street to the Devonshire Arms pub for some beers while the others went up for naps. George eventually went up for a nap also and so I explored on my own for a few hours. Around dusk, we all met up and went for dinner and then walked around a bit. We made it a relatively early night soon after.

October 6, 1995
This day we did a "hop on, hop off" tour around London. Of course, we saw all of the usual sights like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, and Tower Bridge. We had dinner at a place called The Stockpot.

October 7, 1995
They were staying in the UK for a few more days but I was going home today. I left early to Victoria Station so I could get the train to Gatwick. I was in a taxi, almost to the station when something told me to double check my bags. Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I left my airline ID at the hotel. I told the driver to return to the hotel quickly. I ran up to the room but there was no answer. This hotel had community bathrooms and so I thought George must be in one. I ran to the nearest bathroom and called out his name. Sure enough he was there. I told him to give me his key and I ran back to the room. The badge was right there on the bed. I grabbed it and went back to the bathroom to give George his key back. I hurried down to the waiting taxi and was on the way again to Victoria. By the time I had arrived at LGW, I had lost well over an hour. There was still 45 minutes before the TWA flight to STL departed but when I went to the counter, they said that the flight was already closed and that I would have to return the next day. I had other options so I checked into them. I found an NW flight to DTW and an AA flight to DFW. My airline did not fly to DTW at that time so I chose the AA flight. Good thing too because they gave me business class! American flight 79 was smooth and routine. It was a 767-300 aircraft. Once in DFW, I flew an AA 757 to PHX and then took America West back to Las Vegas.
That was a hectic end to a fun little trip.

I never did fly on another 747SP and the chance to do so today is very slim.

Well, the N.A.T.O. boys were at it again. The same group that went to South Africa were now off to Alaska. We took on the N.A.T.O. title because each of our last names begins with one of those letters. We ended up making several trips together all over the world.
In May of 1995, my buddies wanted to do a fishing trip to Alaska. I am not an outdoors person at all. I am not against hunting and fishing but It does not thrill me. They are not either, which is why I was shocked that they wanted to do this.
They arranged a package for all of us at a lodge in Soldotna, Alaska.

We would depart on May 16, 1995.

I am an airline geek. I often fly just to fly. On May 15, I did just that. I flew LAS-SBA-SAN-BUR-SAN-BUR-PSP-LAS, all on Skywest Metroliners and Brasilias. I started out at 7am and arrived back home at about 6pm. When I got home, I found out that I did not have one of my days off covered and so I would not be able to go to Alaska. My friends had flown to Seattle the night before and so I had no way to let them know I would not make it(how did we manage without cell or internet).
I was bummed out, especially since I paid my share of the trip and would not get that money back. I had to let them know so that night I took the America West red eye to Seattle. When I arrived, I just camped out near the AS ticket counter to wait for them. I finally saw them and told them the bad news. I went back to America West to board the same 737 back to LAS. I was seated and waiting for the door to close when an agent came on to tell me that my friends wanted me to deplane. I told the agent that I can't. She came back on and said they really want me to, but again, I told her that I wouldn't. Later on, I would find out why........
Upon arrival into LAS, I was met by my Supervisor who told me that my buddies had found someone to cover my day and they had done the shift swap over the phone. She told me to go back up and have a fun trip! The next SEA flight was not until about 1pm and it was only about 9am so I went home to freshen up a little.
That afternoon, I took America West 843, an A-320 from LAS to SEA. I transfered to Alaska 87, an MD-80 to Anchorage.
Our lodge was a couple of hours from Anchorage so I looked into a pass to get from ANC to Kenai. The Agent told me that a regular ticket was not much more than the pass would be, so I purchased it. I think it was about $80 return.
That evening, I arrived into Kenai on board an ERA Airlines DHC-8. My buddies met me there at the airport and we went to the bar. That is where I had my first taste of the greatest beer in America--Alaskan Amber!
They had rented a car and drove from Anchorage earlier that day.
We drove to the lodge and just relaxed that evening, amazed that it was midnight and still sunny!
The lodge was Orca Lodge and our cabin overlooked the Kenai River. It was a very relaxing place!

May 17, 1995
We were off to an early start, stopping only to get fishing licenses. We would fish on the Cook Inlet today and it was cold!
Well, it was about 50 but to us out on the open water, we were freezing! Our guide was very helpful, since we pretty much knew nothing about fishing. It was relaxing and quiet out there but there were many fishing boats around us. We were all drinking beers and having a good time but we did not have luck with the fish. The beers caught up to us and I could not hold it anymore so I piped up and asked how we could relieve ourselves on this little dingy! The guide told us to just go over the side. I was not too excited about that but when you have to go, you have to go........
After a few hours, Eddie caught a decent sized salmon, which ended up being the biggest catch on our trip. It was about 30 pounds. We were all alert again, awaiting the next catch. This time it was I. My catch was a 25 pound salmon.
We called it a day after that and went back to the lodge. We had dinner and drinks at our cabin and just enjoyed the nature in front of us.

May 18, 1995
We fished the Kenai River and Dwight caught a 20 pound salmon. It was warmer being on the sheltered river. We were all hoping that George would catch a fish but he did not, and he was the only one to leave empty handed.
Back at the lodge, they prepared our fish for transport back to LAS. We drove down to Homer, Alaska for a nice dinner and some amazing views! That evening, we went back to Kenai, where my friends dropped me off for my flight back to ANC. It was another ERA Airlines DHC-8 and I arrived into ANC at about midnight. I connected to Continental 245, an MD-80 to SEA. I made it to SEA bright and early and connected to America West 84, a 737-300 to LAS.
My friends came home later that day. I ate that salmon for months and it was excellent!
It was a short but relaxing trip and a I highly recommend the Orca Lodge. They gave us an airline employee discount but I am not sure if this is still applicable today.

That is all I heard from friends and relatives in the weeks leading up to my trip to South Africa.
I heard such things as "nice knowing you" and "you will be eaten by lions or killed in a race riot"
On the day I flew out, a fellow employee said "I will look for you on CNN"!
The date was October 28, 1994. I was going to South Africa and I was excited! This would be only my second trip off of the North American continent.
I had worked the night before until 2am, went home and got ready and went back to the airport at 5.
I flew Delta 974, a 757 from LAS to SLC, and was seated in 2B. The next leg was Delta 1424, a 767-300 to JFK. Once again, I was seated up front in 4C.
I was meeting three co-workers at JFK, who had flown in on red eye flights the previous day. This was back when most airlines traded passes for their company Christmas parties. This may still happen at some carriers but it has not at mine in years. We had two passes on South African Airways for two people each. We had to pay only the taxes, which came to a whopping $11!
My buddies had really done all of the planning and I was kind of along for the ride.
I arrived into JFK late in the afternoon and went straight to the SAA ticket counter. I was told by the agent to wait close by until my name was called. I was concerned that I did not see my friends yet. I was given my seat assignment and I went to the gate. I had thought about what I was going to do if they did not show up, especially since they had all the details of our hotels. I was relieved to see them at the gate and they were happy to see me as well. I had my seat changed to be next to them.
Soon we were in the air, on board the 747-400 heading to Johannesburg. I was in seat 55A. We were extremely impressed with the South African service. While dinner was being served, we passed through some rough air and a few people lost their meals and drinks on the floor. We settled in for some sleep on this ultra long flight. At the time it was the longest nonstop scheduled flight in the world. I can remember waking up the next day and realizing that we are still only halfway there!

Finally!
It is the afternoon of October 29, and we are in JNB! Our driver was waiting for us and soon we were in a van heading to Sun City. My buddies wanted to go here. I really did not care about it. I mean we live in Vegas, who wants to see more casinos! Oh well, I am glad we went. It was fun and relaxing. The drive took a few hours and we mostly napped.
When we got there, it was off to the pool and to get some lagers. We had stayed there 24 hours and got to see a lot, especially the nightlife. We stayed at the Sun City Cabanas. We had a hard time finding any decent food here and by the time we had to leave, we were starved.

The next day, we were to take the same van back to JNB. We waited and it did not show. We still waited and it did not arrive. My friend called the travel agent who said they would get things staightened out. Finally, the driver was there and we were pressed for time. He knew we had to hurry and he floored that vehicle! We were waiting so long that we never did get anything to eat. We had a flight from JNB to Nelspruit(NLP) that afternoon and it was going to be close!
Well, we did not make it. It was also the last flight of the day. I was not too worried, I just thought we could get some rest and try again the next day. At least we could finally get some FOOD! They had other plans. They sought out a rental car so we could drive in that night. This was going to be nuts! We were going to Nelspruit to get to the Idube Lodge for some game spotting. They were upset our already short two day stay at the lodge was going to get cut one day.
We got our car and were off. I did get a candy bar at the airport, so at least I ate SOMETHING! They did not eat anything but said they would wait until we arrived. Haha, yeah right! If they only knew......
There we were driving on the other side of the road, in torrential rains at night! I can remember the petrol getting low and Eddie not wanting to stop. I was pissed because we don't know where there are stations and the last thing we needed was to run out of fuel in the middle of nowhere! The trip had gone on for about 3 to 4 hours now and Eddie was getting sleepy, in fact we all were getting sleepy. I was dozed off when I heard screams and scraping. Eddie had dozed off also and was scraping the guard rail. OK, Now we are all wide awake! It wasn't long after that we arrived into the town of Nelspruit.
It was late and nothing was open. They were desperate to get to the lodge. We found out that there would be no way to get to the lodge that night. We kind of did all that for nothing. At least we would have an early start the next morning.
For the whole day, I had a candy bar to eat and they had nothing. There no places open to eat. We got a room at the Town Lodge motel. It was nice to get some rest finally.

October 31, 1994
We are up early and get to see the damage on the rental car. Not too bad. A van picks us up and we head out to the Idube. As we were closer, we saw some animals. I was not too big on coming here. I mean, I could see animals in a zoo if I wanted. My buddies were, however. I am glad we did come though. It was a neat experience.
We settled into our rooms and hit the pool. Later on we had some lagers, before heading out on our evening game drive.
We did not see much early on, except for a few giraffes and some kudu. I remember stopping by a river to relieve myself and the driver telling me to not get so close to the river because of crocs. He did not have to tell me twice! We found some hippos nearby also.
As the sun was setting, we finally saw one of the Big 5---a lion! It was great to see it there in the wild.
After dark, we saw another Big 5 animal--a leopard. It was amazing that the spotter could find this in the dark.
We were in an open top Range Rover and backing up near some brush, when I saw a snake up in a tree. It was about 5 feet away from our heads and I pointed it out. I guess it was a poisonous vine snake. Wow, how nice.........
Back at the lodge, we were treated to a wonderful outdoor feast! There were hyenas all around.
They told us to not go out of our lodge at night for any reason and about what to do in an emergency. Interesting!

November 1, 1994
We did a morning game drive this day. We got to see two more Big 5, including rhinos and buffalo. The only Big 5 that we did not get to see was the elephant. Kind of disappointing! In the afternoon, we went to NLP airport for our flight to JNB. We were only going to pass through JNB on our way to Cape Town. The flight was an Airlink airlines Dornier 228.
The crew let me sit up in the first row and let me listen in on ATC. How cool! They had told me that an American Eagle flight had crashed in Indiana and later I would find out that it was the ATR plane in Roselawn. How sad to hear.....
Once at JNB, we stood by for the Comair flight to CPT. Full! Next one was also a no go. SAA was overbooked. It looks like we are derailed again! We took a taxi to downtown Johannesburg and got a room at some hotel. The driver said he would be back for us in the morning. The driver adamantly told us not to leave the hotel, especially at night. Well, we were a bunch of dumb 22 year olds, so what did we do? We left the hotel, ESPECIALLY at night! It was not that bad.
We went back up to the room and one of our group went right to sleep. We had not eaten much today and I was not going to go without again. We other three went down to get some food. We found a place called Bree Street Cafe and it looked like it would do. There was just one problem. They were short on dishes so we had to wait until some customers finished up and then they would wash the dishes and serve us. Bizarre, but whatever! We went to the room and there was another bizarre occurrence. Someone had broken a key off in the lock. We knocked and Dwight let us in. We notified hotel management and they had us change rooms. Dwight was so upset and just wanted to sleep but the manager told him "Sorry mate, get your stuff and move".

November 2, 1994
The taxi was there as promised and we did get on the first Comair flight that morning. The two hour flight on a 737-200 was just fine and the service was impessive. This was before they became linked up with British Airways. I was in seat 4E.
When we arrived in Cape Town, I felt much better about everything. I think it was the weather. It was sunny and hot!
While the guys were getting our rental car, I went over to the Comair office to check return loads. A nice girl named Nikki helped me out and was asking questions about the USA. We exhanged addresses and I told her that if she ever visited the USA, I would be happy to show her around. Little did I know that a long lasting friendship would develop. I have actaully visited her 3 times and she has visited me in the US once.
We drove around Cape Town for most of the day and went to our hotel in the late afternoon. We stayed at The Cape Swiss Hotel. It had some great views. We walked all around Cape Town that evening until well after dark.

November 3, 1994
We drove out to Cape Point this day. Wow! It was absolutely amazing to be standing at the Cape of Good Hope!
It was still sunny and warm so it was a perfect day!
That afternoon, we went to the Victoria and Alfred waterfront mall. We did some shopping and I also bought some CDs of some great music that we had heard down there that we had not heard back home. One was an older Kylie Minogue and the other was Lena Fiagbe. Good stuff! We had a great seafood meal at the mall and then explored the area some more.
This was the last night here, so we made it a good one. Stayed out drinking a little bit.

November 4, 1994
Flew CPT to JNB on Comair flight MN702, a 737-200. I was in seat 12E. We had a few hours to kill at JNB airport until our flight home after 9pm. This flight would make a stop in Ilha do Sal. I remember seeing that and thinking Sal???
Are we stopping in San Salvador??? The actual code is SID and our flight would go JNB-SID-JFK. The stop was made due to the elevation of JNB airport. The flight was routine and soon we were all waking up to land in Sal. There was a quick crew change and a few people boarded. We all joked about getting pulled off here due to no space.
At sunrise on November 5, we were in JFK. We had cleared immigration quickly and they went off to LGA to get their Delta flights. I had other options that they did not have, so I took the America West nonstop to LAS and was home by noon.
They did not get back until later that evening. I flew HP 11, a 757-200, and was in seat 31F.

South Africa, and especially Cape Town has been one of my top destinations. I have been back three times but none compare to the first trip.

Thanks for reading!

Yes, I went to Kuwait. No, not by way of Uncle Sam but as a tourist.
Nobody could believe I wanted to go but the truth is that I have always wanted to see the Kuwait Towers.

I started out at Indianapolis and flew a Northwest Airlink CRJ-200 to Philadelphia. I had about 4 hours at PHL in which I just sat around the airport. The next flight was a British Airways 777 from PHL to London Heathrow. They put me up in Economy Plus. In London, I had a few hours again and so I just sat around the airport. I was able to purchase some breakfast with some pounds that I still had from previous trips. My next trip was on a Kuwait Airways 777, nonstop to Kuwait. I was impressed with the Kuwait service. I was also surprised about how many Americans were on the flight, including many Military. It was about 6pm or so when we touched down at KWI. The Immigration procedure was slow and took well over an hour, even though there were only about 5 people in line. I paid my fee for the visa and was off to the curbside. On the way out I saw many Military people waiting for inbound passengers and they looked at me like I was one. They were confused when I just walked right past them! I'm here as a tourist!

The first thing I remembered when I walked out was the heat. It was warm but not unbearable, especially since I lived for ten years in Las Vegas. My driver was there with a sign and soon I was off to the Sheraton Hotel.
Kuwait is extremely expensive. The Kuwaiti Dinar makes the English Pound seem like a real bargain compared to th US Dollar. The rate is about $3 USD to KD1. Naturally, I could not find cheap accomodations in Kuwait. Even with the airline discount, I paid almost $200 per night at the Sheraton. They did put me up in a huge suite with a fantastic view of the Kuwait Towers and the Arabian Gulf. I freshened up and went for a walk. The traffic was heavy and there were people everywhere! Mostly it was familys out near the beach. I found everyone to be very friendly. I walked towards the Towers and it took about 15 minutes. I went to the top and also snapped a few photos of the area. On my walk back, I stopped for a meal at Fuddruckers. I walked back to the hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning, I was up pretty early. I went down and had some breakfast. I then hit the streets again. It was real quiet out and I found out that most people stay inside during the day due to the heat. The heat was brutal this day but it is mostly a dry heat so I could deal with it. I walked towards the Towers again and got a daytime view. I snapped many more photos and then took a taki to the Marina Mall. It was so nice to be inside that mall with the air conditioning!
I walked all through there and bought some souvenirs at a Hallmark store. I also went to Cinnabon.
After the mall, I walked over to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. It was about a five minute walk along the shore. I stayed in there for over an hour, hydrating myself with lots of iced tea! After my meal, I caught a taxi back to my hotel. I had a flight that evening but the Sheraton let me keep the room all day until I finally checked out at about 5pm. I was able to shower and freshen up before heading to the airport. The hotel driver took me to KWI airport in about 20 minutes time.
I went inside and the place was packed with people. This was obviously a very busy time for KWI. I like to sample exotic airlines and so when I saw that I could fly Sri Lankan Airlines on the Kuwait to Dubai route, I purchased a ZED! After checking in, I wandered around KWI airport, purchasing a few gifts and also had a bite to eat at McDonald's. It was cool to see all the exotic airlines there, including Iran Air. At about 7pm, I was on a Sri Lankan Airbus 330. The flight would go Kuwait-Dubai-Colombo, but I would only ride until Dubai. The service was outstanding! They had a exterior camera to watch the take-off and climb out. There was also a full meal and drink service even thought he flight time was an hour or less. There was also a duty free service.

My intention was to arrive in Dubai and do a day trip but the flights filled up. I had about 6 hours in Dubai and did leave the airport but that is not enough. That trip was something to be done in the future.
Dubai airport is massive! I was hoping to do some of the "famous" shopping there but would not have time. I arrived back at the Emirates counter about an hour before departure and they put me on the list. She told me to be seated and she would call me. I am freaking out as time is dwindling in a hurry. It was down to less than 30 minutes before she called me up. She gave me a seat and told me to go to the gate. She did not tell me to hurry but I ran the whole way anyways and I am glad I did! I barely made it.
I settled in for the long flight to New York-JFK, onboard an Airbus 340-500.

Wow! Emirates is as amazing as they say! The entertainment was the best and included about 50 different movies and 600 music chanels. I had a hard time sleeping with all that! We arrived into a foggy JFK airport the next morning.
This was going to be a loooooooong day! I tried the first NW flight to Detroit and did not get on. I decided to take the bus to LGA airport since there are nonstops to Indy. Great, the fog has moved in worse! Why couldn't I get on that DTW flight! The airport was a mess! Many inbound LGA flights diverted to JFK. I sat in LGA all day long and finally hopped on the last flight to Indy on Northwest. I arrived back home at about 9pm.

That was my quest to see the Kuwait Towers! Another crazy nonrev trip down!

Thursday April 17
I flew a Northwest Airlink CRJ-200 from IND to LGA and then took the bus down to JFK. My seat was 4B
The next flight was an Alitalia 777-200 to FCO. I was in the middle at 38D but had the whole row to myself.
The service was normal coach service as in drinks just after departure, meal, more drinks, sleep/movies, we'll wake you for breakfast, and then finally arrival.

Friday April 18
The arrival procedure in Rome was quick and I was soon on the Leonardo Express into the city. I went to my Hostel, the Hostel Beautiful, which was across from Termini rail station. It was too early to check in but the nice host let me shower and leave my bag there. By 8am, I was outside the Hostel waiting for my friend from California. She arrived about 20 minutes alter and we were off to see the sites.
We took a "hop on, hop off" bus around the city and took lots of photos. The first place we hopped off at was Vatican City. We spent a good four hours there inside both St. Peter's Basilica and The Vatican Museum. We then headed out to eat lunch. It was a nice little Italian place near the American Embassy. I wish I could remember the name. I had some awesome four cheese ravioli! After lunch, we were out seeing the Colosseo. In the evening we went to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We enjoyed some gelato and then parted ways. I went back to the hostel at about 7pm and got checked in. I was sharing a room with a girl from Stockholm and a girl from Poznan. They were real nice and we went out to get some shawarma to eat. They were tired from partying the night before and I was tired from my daytrip to Rome, so we all headed back to the room to sleep.

Saturday April 19
I awoke early, at about 5 am. My flight was not until about 10am but I did not want to have any hassles. I took the train back to FCO airport and was there at about 8am. Good thing too because I was about to have a problem.
I went to the check-in zone for AZ628 to Chicago. There were about ten people in line in front of me. I was surprised that there was only one agent working the counter. I could not hear what was being said, but each time a passenger went to the counter, I could tell something was amiss. It was finally my turn and I felt sick when the agent told me that the ORD flight was cancelled. I asked him how it looked to nonrev on Alitalia's other flights to BOS, JFK, EWR, or MIA. He said I had a shot on the BOS but also that American had a Chicago flight leaving soon also. I had a ZED ticket so I told him that I would try AA first and if I did not make it then I would be back for the BOS flight. American told me that their ORD flight did not look good but their JFK flight was manageable. I told them I would take the JFK flight and they sent me to the gate.
The immigration line was long and of course, my line was moving the slowest! I finally arrived to the gate with about 30 minutes to spare. They called my name and I was on to JFK! It was an American 767-300 and I was in seat 38H.
I was not impressed with the AA service, being that there is no PVT and no free booze, but I was thankful to them for getting me home! They did have some good music to listen to though!
The AA flight was smooth and quick. The arrival process into JFK moved a little slow but within an hour, I was outside and heading over to Terminal 4, for the Northwest flight to Detroit. I was supposed to be in ORD so I had no idea how this flight looked and if I would get on. The agent listed me and told me it does not look good at all but to go to the gate because you never know. I waited at the gate as the time ticked down. It was only about 5-10 minutes from departure.
The agent told me and the other nonrev to go ahead but all of the sudden two runners came up. The agent now said that there is only one open seat and she said "Jeremy, you have more seniority, so you are on" The other nonrev jokingly said "you suck Jeremy"! I settled into the first class seat and was off to DTW onboard an NW DC-9.
I knew I would be in the same situation in DTW with that flight being overbooked also. It did not take too long for the agent to call my name. She said all that was left was first class and I said I'll take it! I sat down in seat 3A on NW 1015 from DTW to IND. This flight was another DC-9. I sure do love those classic DC-9s! By 10pm, I was back in my house, exauhsted from my latest nonrev adventure.

I thought Rome was nice but I like Lisbon and Paris better. The weather was fantastic! Sunny and warm. The exchange rate was murder! I think I will avoid Europe for awhile.