We had to get ourselves together to return the rental car and be at our gate at least an hour and half before departure and we'd hope that on the way, we could grab our lunch at the In 'N Out. This unfortunately, "was not meant to be", because the In 'N Out we stopped at didn't open until 10:30am. What we DID see was people already in their cars or trucks at 10am waiting for In 'N Out to open! We decided that with the time as it was and not knowing how long it would take to return the rental we couldn't wait - it was a hard, hard decision but this too was a good one because the Alamo people didn't have their act together at the rental return at all. People were lined up all the way down the ramp because Alamo wasn't removing cars from the return so people could leave. It took about 15 minutes before a supervisor came out yelling at the Alamo garage dweebs that people would be missing their flights if they didn't get their act together. They must have respected that guy, because a new sense of urgency got our car returned in no time after that.
McCarran Airport was packed, and we made it to our gate about an hour and 10 minutes before departure. In another "meant to be", Jeffy got our seats upgraded to Economy Plus at the gate, since we hadn't been able to get the automated ticketing at the counter to do it when we checked our bags. (My idea, since we had so much to bring back, which we'll get to in a minute.) We were sooo happy, and we were in the very first row - nobody to lean back on us.
The reason we're including the flight back is because of the stewards, all male, on the flight. These guys must have been used to First Class service because that is what WE got. They were, and we say this emphatically, fantastic and I personally have never before said that about any flight stewards or stewardesses I have ever been on with United, American or Continental. They refilled your coffee regularly, brought you anything they thought you needed. They were observant and happy to serve, and even happier when you acknowledged what they did. How often do you see that?
After we touched down at 9pm and went to baggage claim, 2 of our bags arrived, but the one with important stuff (like eyeglasses, prescription meds) did not. I panicked , but Jeffy went to baggage claim and found that this one bag, a small leather duffel bag, missed the flight and was scheduled to arrive on a later flight coming from Denver. We asked them to deliver it, and Jeffy, to get my mind off it (I have never had a bag delayed or lost - and yes, I'm stressed) decides we should just drive to the Charles Town Races and Slots and not end our vacation right away. And we hadn't had dinner so why not? So, at 10:30pm, we were at the slots playing my favorite slot game, Aliens. We played for an hour and half and had breakfast at the Mountainview Diner right across the street from the track. On the way home at about 1am, my phone rang: it was a guy at United at Dulles who had my bag in his hand, and did I want him to drop it by on his way home as he lives a mile from us (another "meant to be" moment?) He was so accommodating that we told him we were still on Vegas time and if he would do so, we'd meet him at the end of our development rather than have him try to find his way to our house in the dark. A little more than a half hour later, he called us and we jumped in the car and met him. And he had my bag!!!! :-) I could so have kissed this guy...guess that's what Jeffy got the bag from him directly.
So many terrific people we met and serviced us as we took this trip: we had great vacation and a wonderful experience from the beginning. We can't wait to do it again: soon!
Bec & Jeff
