This weekend merits the happy descriptor of ‘among my most ambitiously itinerant ever.’ Free from class on Friday, I began the day with an exciting 4am wake-up. The morning saw me complete a load of laundry; pack for a harried eighty-hour marathon spanning over 10,000 miles, four destinations, and climates ranging from blizzard to balmy; commute down the well-worn path of Georgetown University GUTS shuttle bus, Washington Metro, and MARC commuter rail to Baltimore Washington airport (BWI); jet to Minneapolis aboard the state carrier of Minnesota; and be productively engaged for the duration of my approximately 2.5-hour flight, my labors facilitated by the enhanced space of an exit row seat. A note regarding the last point: I generally make an effort to work productively during my travels, to harvest a gain from the otherwise dead time of transit; I mention this explicitly because a weekend’s haul of 10,000 miles represents a treasure of time.
Minneapolis greeted me with a half foot of freshly fallen snow and bitter cold, all under a brilliantly blue heaven. Indeed, it would be difficult to generate more agreeable weather (from my perspective at least!). I rode the light rail to the city centre and proceeded to work and place some trades during the afternoon, the whole time ensconced at a Caribou Coffee within the downtown area’s maze of skyways.
Friday's early evening had me flying to Seattle, again on a Northwest Boeing 757 (though a -300 series this time, my first-ever ride on this variant), again in the relative comfort of an over-wing exit row seat. After a productive flight spent reading about development economics, I dashed aboard the express 194 bus into the neighborhood just south of the Emerald City’s Space Needle, where I thoroughly enjoyed a hearty meal at the unassuming, uncrowded Tandoori Hut. This hole-in-the-wall establishment is an old favourite of my Seattle visits. And, on a highly tangential note, I must report that the Indian version of rice pudding – the dessert that I enjoyed after filling up on spicy tomato soup, a lentil curry, and steaming plain naan – is just as addictively delicious as the Turkish recipe. Without further digression, here is the now famous restaurant:
An overnight flight to Detroit ensued, but unfortunately our Boeing 757 motored into car capital of America in too low a gear, and I missed my connection to Memphis. Thankfully, I rapidly accessed the Skyteam timetable on my computer while taxiing to the gate, and immediately upon disembarking knew to which gate I had to dash in hopes of a re-route. And that gate held a ready-to-push Delta jet bound for Atlanta. I sweet-talked my way on board, took the last open seat, and away we went. But, alas, take-off was delayed due to de-icing and inclement Atlanta weather, so I missed my tight New Orleans -bound connection at ATL. I finally arrived at the hung-over Big Easy (Mardi Gras was only a few days before) some two hours later than initially scheduled, although in the relative comfort of Delta’s F class, my first ride in the airline’s premium cabin, and an upgrade facilitated by a recent status match with Northwest. More on that strategic move in a subsequent blog entry.
Thus, Friday morning through Saturday afternoon is accounted for. More on my time through Sunday evening (i.e. the present moment) soon!
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