12 hours in Minneapolis - John Koen

rehearsal

John Koen — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Only 45 minutes late for rehearsal. Penderecki Sextet for Clarinet, Horn, Violin, Viola, Cello & Piano. Difficult.

waiting in the plane

John Koen — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This was the worst (the only bad, really) part of the trip. On the plane; boarding was a little late (scheduled departure around 5:20 a.m. Sat on the plane until about 6, then the pilot said that they were waiting for some paperwork. We waited another 45 minutes or so. Turns out the computer was on the fritz and the paperwork had to be faxed to Minneapolis airport, but we weren't at a regular US Airways gate and the faxes had to be hand-carried from a different part of the airport to our gate (!). It became obvious I would almost certainly miss my connection in Philadelphia. Also, this one was a regional jet; no first class. I just wanted to sleep anyway.

We also waited a little on the ground in Philadelphia and they kept changing our gate, finally got out somewhere in Terminal B and power-walked to the bus connection to the crappy terminal F (US Air regional-type flights). Caught the bus (barely) so didn't have to wait, and of course the gate was closed already for my flight to Albany. Missed by about 2 minutes.

Sat around in the terminal, had a really bad cappuccino and some kind of food (not as bad as the coffee).

arrival

John Koen — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

got in around 4 p.m. Took the train (like subway, but above ground and slow) to downtown. Walked about 7 blocks to the hotel. Pleasant downtown with lots of restaurants, none of which I had time to enter. Ate in the hotel; very pretentious waiter (probably the hotels fault). Fake accent and all.

Meeting at 7 p.m. was mostly interesting (some people need to stop talking so much...) Hung out a little afterwards (around 10:30). Went to bed around 11:30 (Central Time, so feels 1 hr. later than the clock shows).

Next morning up at 3:45 to get in the taxi at 4.

1st flight

John Koen — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

US Air wanted to put me on a non-stop to Charlotte, but then I wouldn't be upgraded to first class. I stayed with my original itinerary. By the way, I still don't have the miles credited for the first leg.

Starting

John Koen — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Drove from Saratoga to Albany airport. traffic not too bad, about 30 minutes. Easy to find.