Travel day


I managed a small breakfast and then set off for the airport.  The metro tunnels in St Louis look old, and when the MetroLink system was built, Wikipedia says it was built on existing rail alignments, so they could be decades old - MetroLink itself has only been around about 25 years.

The first flight was to Washington, on one of the small ExpressJets.  I was worried I would have to gate-check my big bag, which wouldn't normally be a problem, but I have a very tight connection time in Washington (45 minutes technically, but 30 in reality giving that boarding finishes 15 minutes before the plane is due to depart) and that includes changing terminals from one side of the airport to the other.

However, the restriction on carry-on items (2 max) seem to apply only to Economy passengers, so I can take my large bag, laptop bag and backpack on with no problem.  In fact, the first class section was half empty anyway, so I was able to place all three in an overhead compartment.

Photo: Christopher Ziemnowicz (Wikimedia Commons)
Fortunately, the flight left St Louis early and arrived 10 minutes early, and the directions from the main terminal to the D concourse were easy.  The "buses" that are used here are quite odd - because they have to be able to raise and lower the passenger compartment in order to dock with the buildings, which are different heights in different terminals.  As usual, the gate for my onward flight was right at the far end of the concourse, but as I got there, they were just starting priority boarding, so there was "plenty of time".

This flight was only just over the hour long, but my ears are now completely clogged up and everything sounds muffled from a combination of the cold and the cabin.  I've bought some ibuprofen to try to help.

It took me 2 hours to get to the hotel from Boston airport - Silver Line (a bus, half an hour), Red Line and a Green Line train right to the end of the 'D' line that took an hour, and then a 10 minute walk up hill.  But it was free!  I had a dinner at the hotel, but couldn't really manage most of it, as the chips were quite salty and that made me cough a lot.
Location: Boston, MA, USA

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