That is the mark of classy bar. The ice has not an iota of trapped air in it – making it completely transparent inside the drink. The branding of the restaurant name – RPM – on top was a nice touch too.

Oh! The Old Fashioned was nothing to scoff at either!!

Dinner with office folks by the riverside.

Somehow, the systems in Avis did not think so.

This was a bad Avis karma week for me. At Charlotte, instead of walking into a car, I had to wait in a queue 32 people strong – that too in the preferred center! The normal Avis line had way more. Ultimately decided on Uber.

And then faced the above fiasco in Chicago the next day. Again had to wait in a queue to get it resolved.

I am sure, by now, you have spotted the problem.

I was with American for about 13 years and Delta for nearly 15. Four million miles with American and nearly two with Delta. (I used to travel mostly international while in Dallas and mostly domestic after moving to Atlanta).

In just about every aspect, I have liked Delta always better. However, there are a few things American scores better than Delta to me. First, the passengers are far more orderly while boarding in American flights. Also true for United. Somehow boarding in Delta flights reminds me of the queue discipline that I used to experience in India.

But my biggest complaint with Delta passengers in first class is that they always keep the windows closed. It is like we are always in the dark. I can’t understand why would we sit 35000 feet up in the air and not look outside and marvel at the beauty below and also what we have created. Plus, I am claustrophobic and it creates anxiety.

American haas no TV for every chair. So at least that partially explains why they do not care about it being bright inside. But they also work on laptops and watch videos on phones and iPads. But somehow the American windows are always open. Delta’s are closed.

Never quite figured out why.

Statue of Liberty

Yesterday, while flying into Salt Lake City, I got a notification on my news feed that the mask mandate in planes had been struck down by a Federal judge in Florida. In the evening, I got a note from Delta that masks are optional in their flights. But they also warned that not all TSA agents and airline employees might receive the memos in time. So, we ought not to push the case for a day or two.

And I got on my return flight today – the first day of mask mandate not being there. 25 months after my last maskless flight! Be it the airport, security gates, Delta sky club or the plane – most folks had their masks off! Nobody bothered anybody. Even the Uber driver told me I did not need to put a mask on!!

Now I have to pay attention to shaving carefully 🙂

Never ceases to take my breath away.
Multnomah Falls near Portland, OR.

This is a tree in the vast Stoller Winery property. Now Google the winery up. Check out the logo. It is this tree!!