The Widow and the Spinster: The Search for Adventure, Enlightenment, and the Quest for Forbidden food - Bacon, Bacon, Bacon, and New TR Link! 5/23

[franandaj]

You once recommended that series to me as vacation reading. I loved it!

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I loved young Ramses, and Emerson is still a hoot!

 

[franandaj]

Oh, my dear... you already have. I invite you to review the list of places you mentioned in your first post. If that's not the start of an amazing bucket list, I don't know what is.

Yeah, but I'm already on track to visit those places, so it doesn't really count. I need to find places/things I've never done that I want to experience for the fist time.

I'll have to inquire into Jill's travel agency service.

She says she's willing to serve, but she ain't cheap!

Meh. Milton stole it from the Egyptians. I'm going with that, based on absolutely zero knowledge and research.

1. I remember you talking about that book.
2. Precocious son experimenting with mummification? This is the stuff serial killers are made of!

Nah, it was for scientific research. He had lots of humorous adventures.

Hey look at this! We are already on page 2! I think it's high time for an update!

 

[franandaj]

Here we are! The day that the trip begins! Or should I say the day that I begin my 30+ hours of grueling travel?

My Jim-uber arrived at 5:30 and even though I'd planned to leave at 6PM, I saw no reason to wait around. I'd said goodbye to all the kitties, scratched their heads and said I'd see them in a while and told them I'd miss them.

It's very weird traveling with just me. If you remember previous trips we maximized the luggage allowance. We always had four very large checked bags, and definitely two carry ons a piece. Several of my recent solo trips have been carry-on only. This trip I have one big checked suitcase and two carry ons.

Anyone who's been following for a while here's a bit of trivia. Remember the cruise in 2018 where our suitcase exploded and we had to tape it together to get from the cruise ship to MCO? Well I'm using the suitcase we bought in the airport. It's a Samsonite. All our others are off brand cheap suitcases that Fran got for bargain prices, so I figured I would use the best one for my big trip.

But I digress, I was packed about a week before leaving and I'd set aside all my shirts months before. One of the first things I did after Fran's passing was pack up all her clothes and then immediately take over her closet space. During that process, I identified all my completely plain T-shirts, and set them aside for this trip. I have far too many, so for the most part, I picked pastel colors. Folks recommended against wearing white as it gets dirty in dust storms, so I chose mostly pinks, blues, lavender and greens, with a few earth tones and one dressy shirt (for Jill's birthday). That was the original reason for the trip!

So the day arrived and I was all packed. I had stuff to do and that was all done by 4PM. Jim called and said we can leave whenever, but I didn’t see any reason to leave any earlier and I'm glad I didn't.

Ontario is not a bustling airport. There are evidently limited flights in and out. When Jim dropped me off, there was no one at the baggage check in counter. I waited a bit and some other passengers showed up with various grievances/needs. One guy seemed to think they would be back at 7:30, and lo and behold about six agents came out to help folks right at 7:30 on the dot. I checked my bag and proceeded to security. Of course they had to check my "personal item". They didn't care about the tiny bottles of Vodka that were gone before I got on the plane, but they looked at every plug, adapter, and even a metal Winnie the Pooh Barret that I should have put in my checked luggage.

I found my gate and since I had over 2 hours until the flight was boarding I found the bar. I figured that I deserved an adult beverage while I waited.

They were doing maintenance that night so the bar closed at 8:30 instead of 10:00. That was probably good cause it forced me to go to my gate and just sit. I updated this TR while I waited so you can thank me for all the detail!

The incoming plane landed somewhere around 8:45PM cause passengers were still getting off the plane around 9:15. It was definitely a full flight to Charlotte and I was glad to be flying Business/first class with guaranteed seats.

There was no in flight meal service but I did have a glass of wine or two before I drifted off to sleep. The plane made a very rough landing in Charlotte right at 6AM. Boy was that a jolt awake!

My flight to DC left about an hour and a half later, I found my gate and decided I was starving. There was a place selling pizza by the slice and that sounded good. It hit the spot.

Jill and I were texting, her flight was almost ready to board.

Being in First/Business Class they offered a pre-flight drink. I got a bloody Mary. (Note the plastic cup).

Here we are getting ready to take off.

Jill is already in the air.

Soon we were both on our way to DC. She got breakfast service as her flight was three hours long.

I didn’t get breakfast service, but I ended up having three bloody Mary's total on the short flight. Now we’re having glass stemware. The stewardess was such an enabler!

My plane obviously got there first, so I retrieved my bag and went to find the Turkish Airlines Counter where we agreed we would meet.

With the lack of sleep on my red eye flight and all the Bloody Mary's, I kept dozing off in my seat. Jill finally texted that her baggage would be at Carousel #1 when she finally landed. When I was searching for the Turkish Airlines counter, I had spoken to a woman at an information kiosk. She told me that on the lower level there was a Starbucks and suggested I wait downstairs, noting that it was much nicer.

I hadn't had any coffee and an iced coffee was sounding quite good so I went downstairs only to find that it was a Capital Grounds coffee company, not Starbucks, so I couldn't use my gift cards stored in my app. I decided to visit the litter box (as Fran used to say) and I noticed that I was right in front of baggage carousel #1. Jill said she was landing soon so I told her I'd just wait at the baggage carousel. We met up about 20 minutes later.

Just like the night before with American, there was no one at the Turkish Airlines counter. Some people came out and were rearranging the stanchions in front of the counter. We asked and they said that they would be out at 12:30 to start checking people in. That was a half an hour away, so we went and sat down to wait.

Finally we got all checked in, and were on our way through security. This time my other bag got scrutinized, but it was quicker than the night before. And soon we were on our way to the Turkish Airlines Business Class Lounge. We were so happy to be flying Business Class. On such a long flight it was going to be nice to have sleeper seats and great food.

We found a nice little corner in the back of the lounge and started to enjoy the amenities. They had Turkish meatballs, some sort of chicken stew, as well as rice, hummus, pita bread, soups, and assorted salads.

We had enough to stave off the hunger, but not overly stuff ourselves. We both changed into new clothes for the next overnight trip. Pretty soon we were boarding. This was my first time on a plane with these Business class pods. Jill had been watching YouTube videos for the past year about how these things worked. I probably missed out on some of the features due to my lack of preparation, but I think I got pretty good use of them. Here we are in our own seats.

Everyone had their own personal monitor and it wasn’t just a tiny little screen.

We were served a refreshing beverage, I chose raspberry.

Jill had lemon mint.

Here is the steward serving the guy behind me.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]


Then we were presented with the menus.

We didn't get a lot of time to read them. The chef came by almost immediately and took our orders for our mains. I chose shrimp. Jill got the chicken.

After I finished my refreshing beverage I noticed they spare no expense here. We are drinking from Reidel glassware!

They gave us this nifty little freshen-up kit. I seem to remember getting one of these on Air New Zealand when Fran and I flew there many many years ago. There was also a pair of slippers at the seat which I took with me. I used those as my slippers in the hotel rooms for the rest of the trip.

I browsed the movies and remembered that I never watched Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, so I put that on. Pretty soon they started the dinner service. I had a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Jill went with the Taittinger Champagne.

Then they came around with the cart and did this elaborate presentation. There was a little candle plus all these condiments (for lack of a better word).

And then the appetizer cart came by. My view

Jill’s view

The tomato soup was offered first and it was very tasty! There were like seven other things to choose from, but I don't eat salmon, eggplant, or beets. There were two others I wasn't sure of so I went with the tomato and mozzarella, Caesar salad, and a chunk of beef filet. They also brought a roll. Turns out Jill chose the exact same thing.

Then my main course came out. Even though it was only three shrimps, I couldn't eat it all. It was good though.

Jill got the Sumac Chicken Brochette with sauteed zucchini and onion, and potato puree.

Then they came by with the same cart loaded up with desserts. I didn't get a picture of the cart. I chose a lemon poppyseed cake (not my favorite), chocolate mousse and some fruit. By the time I finished this I was stuffed and tired.

Same for Jill on the stuffed and tired front. She got the strawberry Ice Cream, and some sort of pistachio baklava. She says both were excellent.

One of the cabin stewards offered to make up our beds. This was cool! Even though I had the sleep flat ability I wasn't able to sleep that well. I probably only slept about an hour and a half or so before I woke up for a bio break. I calculated how much longer we had to go and one of the stewards confirmed it. I decided I should sleep at least another two hours and then try to wake up that would put me somewhat on local time. By this time I had been about 24 hours in transit and some sleep was definitely in order.

Next up: Breakfast, landing, and yet another flight……

 

[pkondz]

Yeah, but I'm already on track to visit those places, so it doesn't really count. I need to find places/things I've never done that I want to experience for the fist time.

Yes, you do... but it definitely counts. A bucket list will (hopefully) have items stroked off too.

She says she's willing to serve, but she ain't cheap!

Nah, it was for scientific research. He had lots of humorous adventures.

That sounds suspiciously like what a serial killer would say... hmmmm....

Hey look at this! We are already on page 2! I think it's high time for an update!

Except I'm crashing now, so it'll have to wait.

 

[juniorbugman]

Your trip sounds so exciting and adventurous.
I love that you are posting semi live so that we feel we are there with you.
Can't wait to follow along on the rest of your journey.
And as others have said start making your bucket list even if they are small items.
One of mine was to be a balloon handler for the Macy's parade and I got to do that at Universal Florida back in 2011.

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Looking forward to hearing all about this amazing trip!

 

[pooh'smate]

Joining in and it already sounds like a fantastic trip

 

[zanzibar138]

Sounds amazing, count me in!

 

[bcwife76]

Loving it already!! Count me in

 

[franandaj]

Yes, you do... but it definitely counts. A bucket list will (hopefully) have items stroked off too.

Well Jill and I started working on that bucket last night over drinks, on the Nile...

That sounds suspiciously like what a serial killer would say... hmmmm....

Nah, he doesn't like taking any form of life, unless he really has to. Which he did to save his mother.

Except I'm crashing now, so it'll have to wait.

Well OK. Maybe we'll be on page 3 by then!

 

[franandaj]

Your trip sounds so exciting and adventurous.

It's not like anything I've done before!

I love that you are posting semi live so that we feel we are there with you.

After about a week of busy touring days, we had a few days of downtime. I was able to download a free copy of Photoshop Express on the spare laptop I brought so I was bale to process my pictures after all.

Can't wait to follow along on the rest of your journey.

It's been a jam packed week with more to come!

And as others have said start making your bucket list even if they are small items.
One of mine was to be a balloon handler for the Macy's parade and I got to do that at Universal Florida back in 2011.

That sounds awesome!

 

[franandaj]

Looking forward to hearing all about this amazing trip!

I'm glad to have you following along!

 

[franandaj]

Joining in and it already sounds like a fantastic trip

And nice to see you again!

 

[franandaj]

Sounds amazing, count me in!

Glad to have you following along!

 

[franandaj]

Loving it already!! Count me in

Thanks for joining in!

 

[justafigment27]

Following along … what an adventure! Those lay flat airline seats look so neat - I really enjoyed your play by play of that flight.

 

[franandaj]

Following along … what an adventure!

Those lay flat airline seats look so neat - I really enjoyed your play by play of that flight.

They were quite comfortable! My first time having them ever!

 

[pkondz]

The day that the trip begins! Or should I say the day that I begin my 30+ hours of grueling travel?

Meh. Merely a blip in the average human lifespan.

It's very weird traveling with just me.

All our others are off brand cheap suitcases that Fran got for bargain prices, so I figured I would use the best one for my big trip.

Good plan. I bought an expensive bag years ago... never regretted it once.

I identified all my completely plain T-shirts, and set them aside for this trip.

Why completely plain? Do you mean ones without phrases on them?

they looked at every plug, adapter, and even a metal Winnie the Pooh Barret that I should have put in my checked luggage.

Sounds like somebody was bored.

It was definitely a full flight to Charlotte and I was glad to be flying Business/first class with guaranteed seats.

Do you know if they bumped anyone?

The plane made a very rough landing in Charlotte right at 6AM. Boy was that a jolt awake!

Which means you got a bit of sleep. That's good. I typically don't sleep at all on flights, regardless of duration.
Then again, the longest flight I've been on has probably been around 8 hours.

There was a place selling pizza by the slice and that sounded good. It hit the spot.

For airport pizza, it doesn't look half bad.

I got a bloody Mary. (Note the plastic cup).

Noted, but... now I'm wondering why they served in plastic... This was before take off... so maybe quicker to get rid of or less dangerous (not as heavy)? No idea.

I ended up having three bloody Mary's total on the short flight.

Whoa! Were you drinking two at a time?

Now we’re having glass stemware. The stewardess was such an enabler!

With the lack of sleep on my red eye flight and all the Bloody Mary's, I kept dozing off in my seat.

I bet!

I decided to visit the litter box

On such a long flight it was going to be nice to have sleeper seats and great food.

Nice. Maybe with that, I'd be able to sleep. Maybe.

We found a nice little corner in the back of the lounge and started to enjoy the amenities. They had Turkish meatballs, some sort of chicken stew, as well as rice, hummus, pita bread, soups, and assorted salads.

Quite the spread!

Huh!
I decided, just for fun, to start watching all the James Bond films in order. I finished Dr No the other night and am onto From Russia With Love now. I just finished the scene where he's talking to Moneypenny and saying "You've never been to Istanbul?" And here you are flying off to it!

This was my first time on a plane with these Business class pods. Jill had been watching YouTube videos for the past year about how these things worked.

Wait... You need to research how to use them? They have more features than the lie flat option?

You look pretty chipper for not having much sleep.

What strikes me the most is not the size of the monitor... but the foot rest!

After I finished my refreshing beverage I noticed they spare no expense here. We are drinking from Reidel glassware!

I'm completely ignorant when it comes to glassware, but I take it by your comment that it's a good one.

There was also a pair of slippers at the seat which I took with me. I used those as my slippers in the hotel rooms for the rest of the trip.

I browsed the movies and remembered that I never watched Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, so I put that on.

Reminds me, I haven't seen it either. Probably on Disney+ now.

Yep... it is. Added to my ever growing watchlist.

Then they came around with the cart and did this elaborate presentation.

Wow!

And then the appetizer cart came by.

Another cart???

Then my main course came out. Even though it was only three shrimps, I couldn't eat it all. It was good though.

Your meals looked amazing for airplane food. No little tray with unrecognizable food on it.

By the time I finished this I was stuffed and tired.

I bet!

One of the cabin stewards offered to make up our beds.

Nice. So you didn't have to learn how to do that after all.

Well Jill and I started working on that bucket last night over drinks, on the Nile...

Good! Would be very curious to see what you came up with.

Well OK. Maybe we'll be on page 3 by then!

Nope!

 

[franandaj]

Good plan. I bought an expensive bag years ago... never regretted it once.

Yeah, I really like this bag!

Why completely plain? Do you mean ones without phrases on them?

I didn't want anything controversial, just plain Jane or Alison, Jane is my mom.

Sounds like somebody was bored.

Pretty much, there's not much going on at Ontario. Long Beach is busier.

Do you know if they bumped anyone?

I doubt it. You buy your seat when you buy your ticket. I got mine back in May. It's just different than traveling on Southwest where you have to fight for your seat.

Which means you got a bit of sleep. That's good. I typically don't sleep at all on flights, regardless of duration.
Then again, the longest flight I've been on has probably been around 8 hours.

Well on a 5 hour flight, I got maybe 2-3. I don't remember when I actually dozed off because I was self medicating!

For airport pizza, it doesn't look half bad.

No, it was actually pretty good!

Noted, but... now I'm wondering why they served in plastic... This was before take off... so maybe quicker to get rid of or less dangerous (not as heavy)? No idea.

Probably easy to throw away at take off.

Whoa! Were you drinking two at a time?

I had one before take off. One right after, and then I wasn't going to have another, but I changed my mind.

Nice. Maybe with that, I'd be able to sleep. Maybe.

I had a hard time....they also didn't really let me self medicate. They were somewhat stingy with the wine.

Huh!
I decided, just for fun, to start watching all the James Bond films in order. I finished Dr No the other night and am onto From Russia With Love now. I just finished the scene where he's talking to Moneypenny and saying "You've never been to Istanbul?" And here you are flying off to it!

Fran and I tried to do that once, we only got a few movies in before she lost interest.

Wait... You need to research how to use them? They have more features than the lie flat option?

Well, I don't know. Jill has a lot more forced time planted in front of a computer while she's bored. She can go down YouTube rabbit holes. Me? I'm usually racing to get stuff done and rarely have time watch videos and stuff.

You look pretty chipper for not having much sleep.

I thought I looked pretty bleak. My eyes are half shut, I'm laughing cause I'm so freaking exhausted.

What strikes me the most is not the size of the monitor... but the foot rest!

When the seat lays flat that's where your feet go!

I'm completely ignorant when it comes to glassware, but I take it by your comment that it's a good one.

Well I just googled on Amazon. A set of 4 is $60USD for 21oz glasses. I would have cut and paste, but I'm on a "spare" computer that doesn't have all the bells and whistles of my own computer. As it is I had to download a free version of Photoshop Express to edit my pictures. It doesn't do everything I can in PhotoShop, but I haven't needed to do any heavy lifting yet. Just resize or crop the pictures. A couple "spot healing", but no removing large objects or such.

Reminds me, I haven't seen it either. Probably on Disney+ now.

Yep... it is. Added to my ever growing watchlist.

Same with me. Only Murders in the Building is next on my list. I just finished the Oroville.

Another cart???

Same cart, just dressed up with appetizers. They did the same thing for the mains and desserts.

Your meals looked amazing for airplane food. No little tray with unrecognizable food on it.

Turkish Airlines are known for their "Flying Chefs".

Nice. So you didn't have to learn how to do that after all.

I managed!

Good! Would be very curious to see what you came up with.

Well, I still have to write it down. We were just talking while we sipped daquiris.

Nope!

But we will be soon!