Priceless

We had a good weekend. Washington, DC was our first trip using my flight benefits. We were both able to snag first class seats on the trip there. I did some research and found Ronald Regan International airport is only 3 miles from the Smithsonian while Washington, Dulles is 25 miles away. There is a Metrolink train that goes directly from the airport to just across the street from the Smithsonian. The cost? $2.70 round trip each! The museum was very nice. We happened to come on the opening day of a new exhibit showing how air travel has progressed over the years. The exhibit was awesome. We then treked down to the American History Museum for a bit. Afterwards we went to the Whitehouse and then made our way back to the Metrolink.

The trip back wasn't as smooth. I tried to get us on a flight leaving an hour before ours...but it was full. The flight I listed us on was fairly full....but we were #2 and #3 on the standby list. I can see the exact loads on all flights as well as the standby list on my phone. Well my phone started dying. The standby on American Airlines flights goes paying customers, American standbys then American Eagle standbys. On American Eagle flights it's paying customers, American Eagle standbys then American standbys. Right before the flight it wasn't looking good. Thankfully there was a gentleman who was taking a cat onboard who did absolutely no research on what kind of pet carrier is needed. The one he brought was way too big to fit under the seat. That left one seat in the cabin and one in the cockpit. The gate agent brought Kelli and I down to the plane and told us to standby as they were going to let the cat guy see if the carrier would fit. It didn't. We were both rushed on board. I had never been in a cockpit jumpseat before. It's a free seat (I pay a nominal fee for Kelli and I if we sit in a real seat) but damn hard. The American airlines crew was very nice and friendly. We had a funny discussion the whole way back. Whenever Kelli and I travel together we only really need one seat as I can ride in the cockpit of almost any airline with the captains permission. Nice perk. Our day trip to the capital including air fare, parking, lunch and ground transportation??? $85. Giving your wife the ability to travel anywhere in the world? Priceless.

Now to training.