Wednesday, November 26, 2008

The French Caribbean Connection: Miami International, Miami FL (MIA)

Outside the new Concourse H


The French Caribbean Connection

Its been a while since I've wanted to do the Caribbean flight to the French islands (territories). Well, that time is here, so I'm off to Miami, FL (MIA), then to Haiti, Guadeloupe, Martinique and then to French Guiana. Oh, and there is a side trip to Monaco.

Come on, you knew there had to be a twist :-)...

The French Caribbean Connection: Arriving in Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH) from Downtown Houston, TX

26NOV08 Houston Intercontinental, Houston TX (IAH)

We did not have a long wait for the parking shuttle to show and we were in luck as we were taken directly to Terminal E. Once there, we had no issues clearing the security area after which we headed for the ticket office. We needed to get tickets for our Paris-Orly, Paris France (ORY) to Nice, France (NCE) to Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) trip. This is our side trip for this journey.

This journey will be Houston to Miami to Haiti to Guadeloupe to Martinique to French Guiana to Paris to Nice to Amsterdam and back to Houston.

Once that was accomplished, we headed to the Presidents Club where we relaxed for a bit. I checked the flights and it did not look so good for the Miami, FL (MIA) flight. Our backup was Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL), but it left only five minutes after the Miami flight and was at gate E-14. The Miami flight was at c-37, which was a world away. I started to look at other options just in cacs we missed that flight. I noticed that Fort Myers, FL (RSW) was at 7:50p and had room. It would be a little drive down to Miami, but at least we were in the same state.

There was also a flight to West Palm Beach, FL (PBI), but I think it was at the same time as the Fort Lauderdale and Miami flights, so I did not bother to check it. We had come up with a cut off time to make a decision and that was at 6:30p.

So once 6:30p rolled around, we headed for the gate for the Miami flight. On my way there, I noticed that the West Palm Beach flight was at 7:50p; relief we can try the Miami flight and not worry as it was open.

It was 6:45p when we both got middle seats on the flight to Miami. It was time to board. I was calling Avis to check on the price of cars from West Palm and the guy on the phone booked it although I told him not to, geez...

The French Caribbean Connection: Leaving downtown Houston, TX (IAH)

26NOV08 Leaving Downtown Houston, TX

It was 4:07p when I met my colleague downstairs in the lobby area. We headed for the parking facility and got in the car. Before long, we were on I-45 heading to the airport via I-10 and US59. The traffic was pretty light for a Thanksgiving Eve, so before you know it, we had arrived at the airport.