This week I broke my string of only going to locations that started with an A (and BTW, I would like to thank those of you that suggested lovely locations like Alabama and Alaska keeping me from booking at ticket to Antartica!) and headed off to Charlotte, North Carolina.
My day Wednesday started at 4:30 am with an early wake up call to hop on a 7 am flight. I was in pretty good mood even though I got up so early because I was going to lunch with someone I used to work with on a different account that I always liked because he is hilarious and is now my client again. (Hi Michael!) I had 1.5 hours between landing and getting to lunch and thought I pretty much had it made in the shade with this flight especially since I’d been upgraded to first class.
That was a stupid assumption on my part.
I’ve been through a lot of flight issues I’m not going to go into here but this week really took the cake. We backed off from the terminal (and I’d still like to know why on earth they call it a terminal…) and then sat there for a good five minutes. I knew we were pretty much screwed at that point because normally they have you scoot along pretty quickly to make room for all the incoming planes. What I didn’t expect was the announcement from the pilot.
“Uh folks? We’re gonna have to take her back up to the terminal for a few. We just got a call from maintenance that they’d like to look at our plane. Seems the GLUE they used last night to put the windshield on HAS NOT DRIED.”
There are so many things I don’t want to know in this life and that was way up there on the list. Glue. Holding the windshield on. That wasn’t dry. And we almost left with it like that.
Oh.
My.
God.
I will say this, better they catch it on the ground than have to go through an emergency situation up in the air but still. Ignorance is truly bliss in situations such as these.
The rest of the day was fine. I did get lost in a crack neighborhood in Charlotte while rocking out in my little red rented Hyundai but whatever. Nothing like a prissy girl in a pony tail bee bopping through your neighborhood to mix things up in the hood. I like to keep the day exciting, you know?
Eventually, I got to my hotel and I was exhausted, in need of wine, and definitely in need of some food. I wanted something simple, some sort of comfort type food. So I opted for Chicken Quesadillas. Fifteen Dollar Quesadillas. Of course, that seemed expensive to me but I figured they must be extra, super delicious.
Again with the stupid assumption. Meet the Fifteen Dollar Quesadilla. Fifteen Dollar Quesadilla? Meet my audience.
Stop rubbing your eyes. You aren’t seeing things. That is exactly what they served me. Three small triangles with cheese and gross chicken.
Three.
Not four.
Not six.
Three.
Three very small triangles with no garnish or lettuce underneath them to make them look festive. Just small and greasy. Also? I don’t think I want to know what that schmutz is up in the corner.
I finally gave up and just had one, two, okay three glasses of wine for dinner and called it a day.
What? It’s part of the fruit group right?
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
ah, nothing like the glamour of business travel. Come home this weekend and have a proper quesadilla in Frisco.
Holy s@#t. I need drugs to get on a plane without knowing about a windshield that may or may not fly of because THE GLUE HASN’T DRIED. I can’t believe you waited until the hotel to start the drinking.
Those quesadillas made me laugh.
I’m so glad you made it safely through the air and crack dens. Be careful out there on the road, woman.
That’s just pitiful. Stick to your fruit group (wine) when on business trips.
Look at the bright side – at least they had wine!
You got ripped off on the quesadillas.
But the wine?
Always the right choice.
I’ve been known to drink my dinner. Mostly, because there are no vegetarian choices. Okay, I lied, mostly because I needed too. I bet the wine was $8 a glass. That seems to be the going rate.
Business travel sucks except the next time you come to Houston. That’s going to rock.
Are you sure that wasn’t the starter? Maybe they brought the fourth one up after you passed out… No?
Then they just suck.
I hate it when pilots give TMI. And I hope that bite mark in the quesadilla was yours. That is why I used to always drive thru a Wendy’s before checking into my hotel. But did you miss your meeting with your friend??
I don’t miss traveling… I would rather not know that the airplane winshields are glued on. Even with cars it’s called sealant!!
And those quesadillas were ridiculous.
Why only 3 glasses?? I would’ve finished the bottle!!
I too have been lost in the crack neighborhoods… a speed bump every 200 feet.. in a Mitsubishi Endeavor… We should totally trade stories.
I hope you called down to the front desk and raised hell. Told them you were a big-time blogger and that you were going to NAME their hotel on your blog, after you called Triple A and made sure a diamond got knocked off their review. Aargh. Okay . . . so name the hotel and save the rest of us from such expensive misery.
I had a flight cancelled once because the plane came in with a busted windshield!!! They had to fly a new windshield in from Atlanta to Baltimore.
So when I get on the plane for Philly a week for today, I think I may just poke my head into the cockpit and inquire if the windshield is glued in properly.
Last time I ordered room service on a business trip I got tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, which both arrived cold. I called to complain and they sent me new food, which was cold too. I gave up, tossed the sandwich, and drank the soup cold. When I checked out, they’d charged me twice. Sheesh. So I complained to the desk manager, who wiped out the entire meal.
I only wish it was MY money I’d saved
.
I can’t figure out which is a bigger rip off, hotel room service food or theater popcorn.
So, I’m pretty sure you should send a link to this blog post to the hotel. Seriously, that’s ABSURD.
Man, those quesadillas were a friggin ripoff. I got a mini pizza and a Coke at the movies last night (don’t tell HASAY) and it was like $16. What the hell? And windshield glue is so not cool.
Okay, I’m going to pass over the glue thing because it scares me, and it’s more comfortable to be outraged, OUTRAGED about that sad quesadilla. That’s $5 per triangle, or like $1 a bite! That is so WRONG. I hope you wrote a snooty message on the comment card. Or stole all the towels.
I used to work for the American Association of Airport Executives and learned all kinds of scary air travel facts. Do you know that there is no (as of a few years ago at least) regulation for deicing planes. The pilot makes the call for whether it’s necessary. I personally think they should deicing EVERY time ice is a possibility. Even just snow. Or rain. Or ominous looking clouds. It can’t hurt right?
I’m so glad I didn’t read this post before flying home yesterday! I’m not really that into flying anymore – but I find it easier to fake when with the kids. Don’t want to let on that Mommy could really use a pre-flight cocktail to smooth the edges!
And I’m totally counting the wine I drink as a fruit credit from now on. Brilliant!
Did you pick up any crack though?
After thinking about this a while, I have to wonder, what does NC know about quesadillas, anyway? I learned to stay away from my favorie tex-mex dishes when away from Texas the hard way. In Colorado, I asked, “What could they possibly do to mess up flautas?” I found out. And my BF at the time almost missed his sister’s wedding from the food poisoning he got at that restaurant. Of course, when you have limited menu options, what can you do?
you are so patient. i would have sent them back with a reminder that i ordered the quesadilla meal – not the appetizer.
They totally microwaved some frozen quesadillas!
Well, at least it was the windshield glue and not the wing glue.
Actually, schmutz is technically a “flower”, but is often grouped in with fruits and vegetables since it is sometimes edible. Thank you 8th grade biology!
I think Jenny Jiggety is right on – they microwaved the quesadillas. The joys of traveling he he he
Is that why the flight attendants always go around making sure you take your iPod buds out of your ears? So you can hear announcements like THAT?
okay, great, now I’m never flying again. I agree, tmi, tmi
As far as the food goes, reminds me of the other day when I went to a gourmet grocery store around here and wanted one of those MINI cans of 7 up and I swear to you probably 30 jellybeans that weighed two OUNCES. Guy wanted close to five bucks.
WTF?
Hope all is well.