Waiting to find out if we are even getting on the aircraft is a bit nerve racking. What people do not understand is that it’s not always that easy when you are traveling standby. Sure, it’s great that I have the benefit of traveling however, it’s only if there is a set available and if my seniority is high enough to get the seat still. We lucked out!

Getting settled on the plane is only as easy as the people in front of you and how much stuff you brought yourself. Personally, I try to bring as little as possible.

TIP: Only bring what you are willing to carry. After you pick out what you think that you want to bring, put back something.

Also, remember that there are others on the plane and the faster that everyone is settled, the quicker you can leave. Please for all parties involved do not get every little thing out of your bag until everyone is seated. If you need your book for during the boarding process then get it out before boarding begins. If you insist on bringing a lot of luggage then may I suggest boarding as soon as your section is called.

Take your seat and then once everyone is on board, you can get something else out of your bag that you may have forgotten because the next time that you will be able to get that special something is in the air with the seatbelt sign turned off. If I didn’t already mention this, place your bags in the overhead right away or you may not be able to due to full compartments. We also ask that you are not an overhead compartment hog by placing once bag underneath the seat in front of you!

Funny story: now that it’s over anyway…there was a bag at my husbands feet that was not his on one of his flights. He simply thought it was the passenger next to him and was kind enough to let it stay only to find out later that it was the passenger behind and across from him that was too good to keep it at his feet yet wanted to have it within view! NEVER EVER do this as a passenger. As said above, if you don’t want to carry it, don’t bring it! Also, if it’s not your bag, do not be so nice and ask who’s bag it belongs to.

The rules on the different flights are obviously going to bring about variations in the rules. It doesn’t matter if you are flying on Comair or Delta, your electronic devices are to be turned off before the main cabin door is closed. The only actual difference is that mainline (Delta) is larger and therefore not as able to check every single passenger to make sure of compliance. Also, they have more flight attendants that can do the other duties while checking for said compliance. So, when I make the announcement to turn the items off, please do it. You will not die if you don’t get in that last 20 seconds, I promise. After over 12 years, I have not lost a single passenger. If after repeated attempt met with non compliance (or just one depending on my mood), you will either be met by someone with even more authority or I will personally confiscate the item until you are allowed to use it.

Sit back, relax, be respectful to the other passengers and the flight attendant(s) and enjoy the ride!

The only non-stop over seas flight from Cincinati, Ohio these days is to Paris, France.

When we decided to go visit some friends of ours in Switzerland, it seemed only natural to fly directly to France and then rent a car to drive down. I was on the other hand not too excited about flying into the Charles de Gaulle airport due the sheer size of the place. The issue is that unlike Cincinnati, where you can fly into concourse A and simply walk to concourse B or vice versa, if you fly into one terminal and are departing from another, you have to clear customs and security in order to go to the connecting flight.

Since we were not taking another flight this time, it all seemed so simple. Either that, or the airport has changed over the last few years. We walked off of the airplane, followed the signs where we quickly passed customs with a friendly agent and off to wait for the one bag we wound up checking. Even that, was not a big deal. The ramp agents were very efficient. The exits (sortie) are clearly marked and easy to find exiting immediately outside. After renting out car from Europcar, whom I highly recommend not only for courteousness but speed and efficiency, we picked up the car and were headed away from the airport within 20 minutes if that.

Overall, the experience with Charles de Gaulle this time was great and I no longer dread the thought. Hopefully the same can be said for the return flight!

Between physical therapy, CVS and bak transactions, I should have packed the day before. I realized hald way across the ocean that I forgot to bring a particular undergarment. Oh well, that’s something easy to purchase here. What I did wind up packing is:

1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of black pants, 1 long sleeve wrinkle free shirt, 2 sweaters (1 long sleeve and 1 short), 1 t-shirt,  pajamas, socks and other undergarments and then of course there is the dress that I wore on the aircraft with the super cute yet steady low heels and my work shoes that are flat blacks and very comfortable.

One thing to remember is that wrinkle free is a blessing when you travel.

Hello World!

Tomorrow, I am taking a big step. After having knee surgery in January and before I go back to work, we have decided to take a trip to Switzerland where some friends live. I am very excited to see them and their new baby! I am however a little nervous about the sitting there for so long (on the plane) so I have already asked to have the prescriptions refilled for pain and leg cramps. That’s totally a NTBW post though.

Right now, I have booked our tickets part way and already know where we are staying so I am pretty excited. Tonight I will probably pack and tomorrow gather some snacks for the youngest member of our travel party.

TIP: You are allowed to bring unopened milk and juices for your young children through security. I personally like these organic milks that I get from Kroger. They do not need to be refrigerated until they are opened although they never last that long! Be sure to bring sugar free cookies and Lunchables are a great idea also, especially for such a long flight.

Of course I will NOT be checking any luggage. I will let you know what I am bringing once I figure that out.

The usual is: 1 dress (wearing on the plane), 1 pair of pants (that don’t wrinkle), a couple of different shirts (long sleeve/short sleeve), socks and underwear and a comfy pair of interchangeable shoes. NOTE: since it’s winter, I will probably bring a vest and my boots also.

More on that later….

And once again, it snows. It never snows this much Downtown! Unfortunately due to one of the more recent snow storms, my son’s first birthday party here in Cincinnati with friends (we usually have a party in Florida with all of the cousins) had to be canceled! I tried to make it up to him the next day but I simply do not think it was quite the same.

So, this past weekend when another storm was heading our way, my husband and I decided to try and go somewhere to get away from it all. There were no more direct flights out of here so we decided to “get away” in town.

The husband suggested The Great Wolf Lodge. I had heard of it but we had never been. These last minute plans were mad on Valentine’s Day so no vacancy for us. Me in my infinite wisdom, booked a hotel as close to the lodge as I could get for a very reasonable penny and then the lodge for Monday night. I will not lie and tell you it’s an inexpensive venture however, what I would soon discover is that it’s really a cool place. I could not believe my eyes at the very size of this place. What I could believe is why it cost so much.

If you go directly onto their site, the most basic room is $209.95. If you visit another site like Expedia, you will be able to chop off a few bucks for a cost of $190.00. This includes 2 adults and 2 children for the room and the water park. Not really that bad if you were to consider the costs of water park tickets. ($27.99x 2adults + $10.50×2children = $76.98) This leaves the hotel room at about $113. In this most basic room is two queen beds, full bath, a semi-private living room with separate television, sleeper sofa and fireplace, a table with chairs, a mini kitchen and a balcony/porch.

The one thing that I liked (use with caution) is the wrist band that each guest receives. This is your room key, “cash” and admission tickets to the water park anytime you want. The kids get their own however, it only gives admission to the park. The water park is massive and has different areas for all ages including an adult only whirlpool and a family “hot tub” that is safe enough for babies. Various slides for all ages too, lazy river, wave pool…you get the picture.

Another great thing is you can get a 16″ cheese pizza for only $8.95! Everything else food related is pretty typical pricey. If you are smart, you can bring most of your own stuff and use the fridge and microwave in your room.

Another way to amuse yourself and your kids, is the amazing game room, with every game from skeeball to motocycle games, a roller coaster simulator and the fun ones that are like Vegas to win tickets for prizes.

Finally, if that’s not enough, you can purchase a Wizard’s wand and game book and play the largest scavenger hunt I have ever seen. With a wave of your wand over the correctly found object that span 4 floors, one receives a Rune. Collect all of the Rune’s and you may participate in different adventures, such as fighting the mighty dragon or helping the pixie with her failing crystal. It’s not as easy as it sounds so be up for an adventure!

I must say that I would most definitely recommend this “hotel” to anyone with children looking for a grand vacation all in one place. Of course, I did see quite a few business people there also. I know I had fun so perhaps it’s not just for kids…

I ran into another blog yesterday while looking for other flight attendant blogs that I thought you may be interested in.

As a US citizen, you don’t hear much good about places like Iran. Or, at least I do not. It seems like such a scary foreign place. Lot’s of dirt and crazy radicals, limited civilized amenities and definitely not somewhere I’d ever go. Or would I?

This new blog (new for me) is called: I thought you had the map?! The title alone caught my attention. Basically, it’s four Aussie’s that blogged their way from Australia to England. Left with three choices, go through Afghanistan (no way! they say), through China (too expensive) or go through Pakistan, quickly. Apparently, the folks in India told them that Pakistan was not civilized or safe, as did their travel insurance. Not so!

They tell of their adventures including video and pictures and tell of how nice the people are in Pakistan. I wonder if they would be so nice to us or if it’s just because these are Aussie’s they were dealing with?

As far as Iran goes, I have seen some incredible photographs of the architecture and ornate details in the Iranian buildings. I hear of great work and opportunity and a friendly people.

Have you been to Iran? What were your experiences?

sounds good right about now!

Have you ever visited the site VacationsToGo? You can’t find a cheaper cruise than there. I have been notified this morning that they have negotiated with Royal Caribbean for a $150 onboard ship credit per stateroom on many worldwide cruises and $300 per stateroom on Alaskan cruises. Yes  folks, it’s time to start thinking Alaska! Okay, so that’s not the warmest. Just really really cool! Of course, the best cruise season is from May to Septmeber with the warmest times of course being June and July, however, if you are willing to go a little early the price will be your gain.

 Watch whales off the side of your boat, take in the fresh mountain air through the Inside Passage and more. Or, perhaps you prefer to check out the Caribbean and get out of this cold weather?

I am not being paid by this company for anything. Heck, they don’t even know that I exist and yet I think that they are great. The site shows you the original price, the discounted price and offers they have been able to get just for us. Check it out even if it’s just dreaming.

If you have a destination that you are interested in, just let me know and I can do the research for you!

I was sitting in row 37 that day on an aircraft that they call the MD88. (The MD stands for the McDonnell Douglas). The woman sitting next to me offered some earplugs and I am very glad that I didn’t not turn down the offer. As we started at the stripes of white and down the active runway, the winding began to grow. During the flight, I did not even attempt to talk to the woman who obviously knew better as she sat and read a book. The engines had a loud roar that thundered through my head like no drum I could ever imagine. At some point during the decent, the variable changes in the engine switched back and forth from ear to ear like a songs instruments tease sounding as if coming from different sides of the room. Back and forth, back and forth. The vibrato of the humming shakes my entire body with the depth of the sound making my stomach churn. Physical pain. I cannot wait for the flight to be over.

Memories of holding my frightened child in my arms flooded back into my mind during the flight as I swear I would never fly on this aircraft again. Unfortunately due to my career, I have no choice although I hope I never have to sit by the engines again. The seat guru claims to know the best seats on each aircraft however, I am a little concerned when he shows 5 seats over the wings as good seats!

What I see outside of my window does not instill any further confidence in my mind as I see dirt and what looks like blood smeared across each massive piece of metal. Cracks like an old painting from decades ago and green primer. Luckily, I know that the paint job has nothing to do with the integrity of the performance. I still have no desire to fly on here anytime soon.

I think that unless you want to just sit back and let these              extremist take over and kill innocent people then we need to do what ever is necessary to protect ourselves.

Does this mean that I think we should go to or stay in a war with these people? NO

Does this mean that I think Revelations in the Bible is coming to pass? We need to pray more? YES

Another thing that we can do while we are still here on this Earth is to protect ourselves here in the United States. What can we do here on our own soil? Since I work for the airlines, my mind immediately goes to my job. When I here about some obviously Devil overtaken soul is trying to light his own underwear on fire even after the parents tried to warn us and he was already on a do not fly list (government=idiots?), there had to be another step.

Currently some airports offer a backscatter X-ray, also known as the “naked X-ray”. I personally have a knee replacement so I have been through the X-ray and it is not a big deal. Can the one trained person sitting in another room who is the only one who can see the screen and does not even know who you are see a little more than you may be comfortable with for the whole 30 seconds the scan takes? Yes. Are you really so uptight that you would honestly care if it meant safer travel?

This person cannot see your face. They cannot see you name and social. They have no idea where you are traveling to. What they can see is if you have any metal on or in your body or anything that doesn’t look normal. Since I cannot seem to find the post that I wrote on this when news first broke, I have gone back and found the 60minutes report for you here.

Check it out and see for yourself. Although I love (add sarcasm here) the “free massage” that I get EVERY time I go through security that comes with the hassle of waiting for some lazy TSA woman to take her time and hassle me in front of my crew members and others alike (you know who you are), I would love the convenience and added security of getting these machines into all of the airports.

I do not always post on hotels unless they are really bad, which this one is not. I am however, a little concerned about how they run some of the place. I am of course talking about the Crowne Plaza here at the airport in Detroit.

I have been pleasantly surprised that with such a big airport, the hotel van has been there waiting for us every time. No, this is not always a reality, although one would think so because we are crew and it’s supposed to “part of the contract”. Ha! The van drivers are very competent, strong enough to lift even the heaviest of crew bags so far and we haven’t had any near collisions en route to the hotel or airport like some other cities that I won’t name. LGA. Okay, couldn’t resist.

It’s also kind of fun that inside the van one will find bottles of water and a basket of tootsie rolls. I wonder, Are they made in Detroit? Nope. Chicago based actually and I just found out that they also make Junior Mints and Andes Mints. I love all 3.

The interior of the lobby area opens up into a large atrium where they offer free wi-fi and a large screen tv.  They offer a sports bar and a restaurant, an indoor pool and really decent workout room and different conference rooms for all types of events. The rooms are well laid out and comfortable. I am sitting at the large desk right now where there is more than enough room for my laptop, newspaper, and various other items that really don’t need to be on here but still fit. The pillows are okay, not the best or the worst but the bed is really nice.

Here’s where it gets a little crazy. I would love to have your opinions to think if I am thinking too much in to it. I am on the 11th floor, which is the concierge floor. I have stayed on other floors too yet somehow when I got my key last night, I expected a bit more. It has the same crappy coffee valet as the other floors and when I went to make coffee this morning, the coffee bin was dirty and the water was cloudy coming out of the faucet. I suppose this is why I usually use bottled water at hotels. But a dirty coffee maker on the concierge floor? Really? Maybe that’s why they offer them free breakfast in the Concierge Room in the morning. I simply used the bottled water that I got from the van, cleaned the filter myself and added the french vanilla creamers they leave.

I do have to say that the tub is the cleanest that I have ever seen in a hotel! I almost wanted to take a bath. I wonder if this is in the entire hotel or just the 11th floor? I cannot even find one black spot like in most hotels, even the really nice ones. There is also a nice bathrobe in the closet, possibly another perk of the 11th floor.

The television at this type of airport (and again on the concierge floor) leaves a lot to be desired. I suppose perhaps they think that guest will not be spending that much time in their room at the airport however, it’s an old box television that dates the otherwise nice room and the channel selection  is awful. My choices are local channels (I don’t need to watch the soaps or court shows), TBS, USA or HBO. They also have a golf channel and HLN that is talking about nothing but Tiger Woods. Double wammy. I suppose it really is a business hotel. Can’t a girl just get a little HGTV?!

So I’ve 14 hours stuck in a hotel because the weather is bad outside and I have been watching nothing but Tiger Woods Scandles, White House crashers and re-runs of King and Queens and Everybody Loves Raymond. Luckily, I did work out today and am writing this exciting piece of history.

All in all, I would recommend this hotel to someone who needs a place to crash before a flight or if perhaps it’s much cheaper than staying in the city and you plan on not hanging around too long. The staff alone makes the hotel great. Thanks guys!

What are your experiences at any hotels you have stayed at? Can you recommend a certain one in any city?