Tag: Travel and Transportation

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Walking Washignton, DC. Thanks Metro!

Last week I was in Washington, D.C., and ran into a conundrum. The Metro was closed for safety inspections and I had planned on using it to get back and forth between my hotel and office where I was working.

For those of you who don’t know, the Metro is the subway in the D.C area. Unfortunately it is aging and they haven’t done a good job of keeping up with all of the maintenance. 

i was able to get a ride to the office, but how to get home? 

it was a beautiful day so I decided to walk. It was only 4.5 miles and took me by the Washington Mounument, World War II Memorial, Tidal Basin, Martin Luther King Memorial, FDR Memorial and Jefferson Memorial.

Here are some photos of my adventure. 

World War II Memorial looking west towards Lincoln Memorial. 
World War II Memorial looking west towards Lincoln Memorial. 
Washington Memorial
Washington Memorial
Dedication spot looking through the cherry trees towards the Jefferson Memorial. 
Dedication spot looking through the cherry trees towards the Jefferson Memorial. 
Martin Luther King Memorial. 
Martin Luther King Memorial. 
FDR Memorial
FDR Memorial
My favorite photo, looking across the tidal basin towards the Jefferson Memorial. 
My favorite photo, looking across the tidal basin towards the Jefferson Memorial. 
Crossing the 14th Street bridge towards Virginia. You can see the Air Force Memorial in the background. 
Crossing the 14th Street bridge towards Virginia. You can see the Air Force Memorial in the background. 
Looking back at Washington, DC
Looking back at Washington, DC
Planes taking off at Ronald Reagan National Airport
Planes taking off at Ronald Reagan National Airport

All-in-all it was a good walk and a good way to spend an early evening in the Washington, D.C., area. 

Somif you are in Washington, D.C., to see the cherry blossoms this week or next, coming in to see other sites, or just there on business. It is a great walking city. Take some time to enjoy it. 

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Steak ‘n Shake is not that great

I’m headed back to Colorado and needed a quick break for lunch. I just needed a break from driving and get lunch for me and the kids.  

Well the Steak n Shake at 1134 W Pearce Blv in Wentzville, Missouri, has not been the place so far. 

I-70 and Wentzville Parkway
I-70 and Wentzville Parkway

Despite having many tables and booths available, it took ten minutes to get seated. Then another ten minutes until someone came and took our order. 

I guess the two star rating on Google should have been my clue.  

It took about 20-25 minutes to get out food once we ordered. That is a little long for three hamburgers, oh wait they are Steak burgers, and three milkshakes to be made and served. 

Oh, they even forgot to put bacon on double, bacon cheeseburger.  

In total, about 45 minutes from walking in to being served. Not good. 

In-n-Out and Five Guys are a lot better. Definitely they are both a lot faster. In total about an hour.  

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Just wow BART

I’m headed into San Francisco today to attend Macworld/iWorld and I decided to take BART. I just didn’t want to mess with parking and traffic in San Francisco plus have to pay bridge tolls. 

But who would have known that I would have had so many problems finding a spot to park at the Dublin/Pleasanton station. The fee parking was full as was most of the permit parking. I was lucky the permit parking opens to everyone at 10 a.m.  I think I got the last one.  

A reasonable entrepreneur may take more advantage of it and put another garage or lot in to satisfy the demand. I’m sure BART could make more money than $1 – $2 daily for the spot also. 

Just at a heads up if you want to use BART and park at the Dublin/Pleasanton station, it fills up early. 

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Not happy with Frontier Airlines Right Now because of Late flight

Well we finally got our crew member but have been sitting on the plane for an hour and will be taking off 2 hours late because Frontier Airlines can’t effectively manage crew schedules when they have the slightest bit of adversity.
I know there was a big snowstorm in Denver today, but you adjust crew schedules to get your customers to where they are supposed to on time or close to it.

We shouldn’t be forced to sit on a plane for 90 minutes waiting for a crew member to arrive.

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I don’t know what to think of TSA

I just don’t know what to think of the transportation security administration. I travel a fair bit and have run into some nice agents who’ve been helpful, but more than not I’ve run into those that aren’t nice at all. Today was one of those days.
As I mentioned I travel a fair bit and I never take off my belt to go through security. Today a TSA agent was yelling at me to take off my belt before going through the metal detector.

I’ve never taken it off before, it’s never set off the alarm. Why do I have to take it off?

The only thing I can think of it is the security theater of the TSA. While we haven’t had an attack since they were formed, the process we go through is nothing more than a show.

If we are going to have security, let’s get serious about it. Otherwise let’s stop the show.

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Don’t put two iPads in one bag …

Well don’t try to travel with two iPads and expect TSA not to freak out if you leave them in your bag. I did that tonight and they had to send my bag back through with those removed.
I usually just travel with one iPad for work but in this trip I have our family iPad also because the kids and I are heading out on a spring break trip. I need the one iPad for me and the other one to keep the kids entertained.

Well when I put my bag through they couldn’t see through it even though you don’t usually need to take it out.

The TSA agent was nice and got them through the scanner again and there were no problems.

I guess on our way back I need to pull them out so we don’t have any delays.

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Airplane fights wind and almost crashes..

All I have to say is wow.
This is one of the most amazing videos of a near plane crash that I have seen. Those pilots were amazing to keep it flying and get it up in the air to try and land again.

Check it out.

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DIA de-icers get faulty training : Airlines & Aerospace

DIA de-icers get faulty training : Airlines & Aerospace : The Rocky Mountain News
This is a report that aired this evening on CBS 4 News and was put together by Brian Maass.

This is appalling to me.  I fly a lot, including in the winter, and rely on de-icers to make sure that my flight is safe.  I also rely on the airlines and Federal Air Administration to ensure that my flight is safe.

Because they were not checking up on their contractor, Servisair, they passed everyone by giving them the answers.  That is not acceptable.  It shouldn’t take an investigative report from the CBS affiliate in Denver to uncover this.

The company should be checking up on their instructors, including planting people in the class, to make sure they are following the rules.  In addition, the FAA and the airlines (who hired Servisair to de-ice planes) should do independent checks to ensure that make sure Servisair is doing their job.

I must let you know Servisair was appalled by what they saw on the tape and suspended and eventually fired the person who administered the tests and called everyone back to take a refresher course and re-take the tests.  But to me, it is a little late.

Let’s just hope that there are no problems this year with de-icing planes.