San Diego Business Trip (Last updated on 2008/03/08)

2008/2/27 Going to San Diego, CA

To the airport

I woke up at 6:00am and was 9F outside. Finished packing and reported to work around 9:00am. I got a call from the American Airlines and was told the flight out of DTW in the morning has been cancelled. so I had to pay premium to guarantee the seats on the flights to the destination. The price for the trip jumped from $1,000 to $1,500 (I am glad this is a business trip. I don't want to pay it out of my packet...). Stayed at the office until 11:50am and headed out to the airport. The road was not that busy but the Blue deck was full so I had to park at Green parking. Got on a shuttle bus which goes to McNamara terminal first before going to Smith terminal. I arrived at the terminal by 1:00pm due to the time I had to spend to find a spot for my car. I passed security

DTW-DFW AA1799 2:15pm-4:15pm

There were some delays on the schedule so we had to wait for a while. At least I had a time to buy and eat my lunch from Quizuno's. The boarding began at 1:55pm and everybody was rushed into the plane. The plane took off in the air, and surrounding was all snow covered. The flight to Dallas was smooth.

AA1799 at DTW Just took off in the sky. Detroit is still snow covered.
DTW airport is snow covered. Flying over St. Louis, MO
Branson, MO Snacks in the first class

The plane landed too early and we had to wait for 15 minutes before we can get to the gate.

DFW-SAN AA831 6:00pm-7:10pm

The connecting flight was very my chasing the sun light. The outside was already getting dark as the plane left the gate. Had dinner, and by the time when we arrived at San Diego, it was already dark.

 Leaving DFW to San Diego near sunset time. First class dinner, the beef was too dry and not that good...

 

Approaching San Diego. Bright while lights are from military base Arrived at San Diego airport

To Vista, CA

Got a rental car, and took my coworker to Vista. We took I-5 to Carlsbad, then headed east on 78. The road was not too clouded and okay. Driving in a dark where I don't usually drive is not something I wanted to do (Especially when I am sleepy...). I just needed to be careful of police cars and other fast moving vehicles. Driving to Vista and finally got off from the freeway. Before heading to the hotel, I drove to Japanese restaurant where two other coworkers were waiting. We had a quick dinner then headed back to the hotel.

2008/2/28 Visiting the customer

Woke up at 6:00am, stretched my body and headed for a short run outside. The air was pretty cool and good for running. Had a pre-meeting with coworkers at hotel from 8:00am, then we headed to the customer. Meeting was over by 2:00pm, but I had to do onsite work so I stayed until 5:00pm. I came back to the hotel but the sky was cloudy, I don't think I get to see the sun set by the beach so I just drove on Carlsbad Blvd for a while. The outside had still some light so I could see the ocean.

Mazda 5, too tight for me to drive.

2008/2/29 Coming back to Detroit

To the airport

Woke up at 5:00am, I just cannot adjust for the time zone changes... Stretched but too tired to go out and run in the morning so I just had breakfast and packed my bags. Left the hotel around 8:50am, headed to San Diego. I should have refill before reaching to the airport, and I had hard time finding a gas station in downtown, I found Exxon on the first street, phew. Returned the rental car and arrived at the airport around 10:15am. I know it's going to be a long flight and will be after 4:00pm when I get there, I had to buy a lunch.

SAN-DFW AA878 11:20am-4:15pm

The boarding began on time, but as soon as I sat down on the seat. Everybody was told to switch the plane to the one at the next gate. It was chaotic. The plane this time was good to go so it left around 11:20am, headed to Dallas.

AA878 at San Diego. Taking off in foggy air
Salton Lake Colorado River
Sun City, near Phoenix.  DFW in sight

  Stadium being build, and baseball stadium

The plane took off to the west, headed back to the east after a short moment. The cloud was gone by the mountains, and I get to see Salton Lake, Colorado River, a part of Phoenix. I spend time talking with a guy in the next seat, he told me he is an author (http://www.calvinmillerauthor.com/). Pretty cool. The plane landed on time, and I walked toward the new gate.

DFW-DTW AA2312 5:35pm-9:10pm

I guess changing flights and delays are not avoidable these days. The plane again, had to be changed so we moved from terminal A to D, and waited until 6:00pm to board. Not only they had to re-bag everything but also needed to fuel. The plane did not take off until 7 something. Plane flew by Little Rock, AR, Indianapolis, IN on the way back. The ride was quite bumpy so I had to eat quick. The passenger next to me was not so old but looked very established. He used to work for AT&T and now owns 20 houses. He does not have work to live. Wow... The plane arrived after 10:00pm and Detroit was under snowy weather. It had hard time parking because the plane kept skidding.

Dinner; salad, ravioli and wheat bread. Back in Detroit, snow falling at the time.

To home

Picked up my baggage and got a ride to Green parking, the driver did not take me to the car so I had to walk for a couple of minutes in snow. The car was covered with a half inch of snow but not so bad. It did not take too long to remove it. Started to driving back on I-94 then I-275. The 275 was covered with snow so some places are all white and people had trouble driving on the correct lane. The speed was around 40mph where 70mph is the limit. The ramp to I-96 was frozen so each time I tried to speed up, the car started to slide so it was tense moment. Safely got back to the apartment, went to bed around midnight.

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