Destination Birthday - Day 1

Today was the day...the start of the destination birthday with the family.  It was travel to LA Day for all of us.  Out of the six people traveling I would say that my excursion to the west coast was both the worst and the best.

Arrived at JFK airport at around 5:40am for my 7:00am flight.  Ate my apple, confirmed my exit row seat, was saddened to see my name at the top of the list of the upgrade standbys, boarded the plane and waited patiently for the push back and subsequent take off.  The plane had other ideas.  Mechanical problems now caused us all to deplane and wait in the terminal to see if Delta had the necessary part to fix our problem or they were going to give us a new plane.

Personally I'm okay with making sure ALL parts of the plane are functioning before taking off.  A little delay isn't a huge big deal.  I was meeting my mom at LAX but she was cool with waiting until I landed.  What's a measly two hours of time in the grand scheme of things. 

We boarded the new plane at the new gate just fine after waiting an hour and a half.  Sat back down in my exit row seat and was preparing to enjoy my little chick lit book when I see the flight attendant bearing down on my row.  She looks at me to ask my last name...I confirmed I was who she was looking for...she then tells me that I was cleared for an upgrade so please take the last empty seat in business class.  I tried not to do cart wheels along the aisle as I headed to FIRST CLASS!  This is only the second time I have flown in first and what a difference.  The leg room and seat size alone was fantastic.  My little sojourn to Florida to gain Elite status was all worth it when I sat down in my first class seat for the trek across the country.

The story gets even better when I realize who is sitting in front of me.  It was Missy Elliot.  Granted I don't own any of her songs but she is just cool and completely musically gifted.  She is also smaller and friendlier than I imagined.

My time with California friends Mrs. PhD, Deeds, Squishy and B-Unit was all I could ask for.  The trip to the "Original" Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills was just icing on the perverbial cake.  Yes, I did order my favorite dessert there - Strawberry Shortcake.

Now if only a Delta rep didn't call me to tell me my flight tomorrow is delayed by three hours...oh well...have to try to be flexible and go with the flow.  At least Joani and I will get to sleep in longer than the kids flying on American Airlines.