Thursday, March 13, 2008

Arusha, Tanzania: Arriving at Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

On the bus to the terminal, I was talking to a lady who was going to a city that is between Lima and Cuzco Peru. I can't remember the name, but she says it is 20 minutes by plane and 10 hours driving! That area is very mountainous and she says the town is between two mountains; I thought that was an interesting random meeting.

At the terminal, I cleared security without issues; but there would have been had this guy put his baby's stroller in the x-ray unit!

I headed for the Presidents Club while my colleague headed to his gate for his flight to Seattle/Tacoma, WA (SEA).

The Club was packed! I got some reading material, some refreshments and then headed to the gate at about 3:00p.

I arrived at the gate at about 3:05p and there was a crowd there. I was not sure what it was so I stood on one of the lines that was there. After a while, I asked the agent if he had cleared the standbys and he told me to go talk to another agent. I continued to wait until I overheard another agent saying that they had unseated me; oops…I stepped forward and advised that I was here and got my BusinessFirst seat back. I told him that I had asked the other agent about a seat and he told me to wait. He said, no issue and handed me my boarding pass after checking my passport.

It was now 3:10p, I presented my boarding to the agent who had sent me away before and he apologized saying he was had not know which flight I was on. He thought I as on the London flight. Yet another agent scanned my boarding pass and then I was good to go. As I walked down the walkway, I got a clear view of the Boeing 767-200 that would take me across the northeastern U.S., across the Atlantic Ocean and then to Amsterdam, the first stop on my trip.

Arusha, Tanzania: Off to Arusha, Tanzania

Well, the decision is made, I will attempt to get to Arusha to see my college bud who is there for a meeting.

I was ready to take the bus to the airport when I found out that a colleague was also going to the airport to catch a flight to Seattle, WA. I hitched a ride and arrived at the airport in good time as there was no traffic.