Rio - Expectations and Realities

I made it to Rio, despite United Airlines doing their best to screw me over yet again.

When I got notified of the flight delay I got on the horn and got rerouted, on an American 2-hop because that was the only way to get to Houston in time to make the Rio flight.
And of course my PreCheck didn't carry over so I got to join the hoi-polloi in the take-your-left-shoe-off, take-your-right-shoe-off, stick-em-in-box Hokey Pokey - at least we didn't do quite as much "guess whats in TBG's backpack" going through the x-ray. Zero status with AA, so I had the Shittiest Seat On The Plane on the way to Charlotte, and Charlotte to Houston wasn't much better. I won't be switching to American any time soon. FTMF

Charlotte Airport sucks, as does American Airlines in general.
Just sayin'.
Spent 90 minutes in Houston swilling three gin & tonics up in the United Lounge, getting my courage up to board the Rio flight...
Bulkhead seat on the aisle- Yay.
In the other two seats were two middle-aged Brazilian women who talked non-stop for 4 hours...
Neither spoke a word of English, which was just peachy for me.
What was really good was the one sitting next to me was about 5'2", so there was no crowding or fighting for the armrest.

I did sleep about 4 of the 10 flight hours, thanks to the generous pour of Hendricks Gin back in Houston.
Made Rio a few minuted ahead of schedule, skated through C&I with no problems, though I did have a bit of a scare with my baggage.
Because I was on American (spit) through Charlotte to Houston, then back on United to Rio there was some discussion whether I would have to claim my bags in Houston, then recheck them on United to get them to Rio safely.
At check-in in JAX the ticket agent said checking them all the way through would be no problem.
He printed the tags, I verified the flight numbers and carriers, (AA- JAX-CLT-IAH UA- IAH-GIG)
and they were off...
Because they started on American, they didn't get United 'Priority' tags, so my duffle bag (clothes) showed up on the 4th or 5th cart, but my equipment case never showed up on the carousel.
Oh shit.
I hate that- the feeling you get when your bag is late, and all the mental gymnastics you go through... Did it miss the flight? Did it get stolen? What will I do if it's stolen? I'll bet the baggage handlers just the other side of the wall have opened it and are divvying up my laptops right now?

Bags stop coming out, carousel quits moving.
Shit.
I head to the baggage service desk with about 20 other people. Looks like I'm not alone in my dilemma... Then I notice the oversize/weird baggage area- all the baby seats, surfboards, etc... Along with a familiar black Pelican case.
Woo hoo!
Okay- I'll take back some of the horrible shit I was thinking about the Rio baggage crew...

I headed out of Baggage Claim, found the guy with my name on his cardboard sign and we headed to his car.

I expected to be besieged by A. Aegypti as soon as I walked out of the airport.

(What I was expecting)
But oddly enough, I made it to the hotel relatively unscathed.

Rio traffic, on a scale of 1 to China rates about a 6- at least on the main roads from the Airport to the Barra area. Surprisingly sedate. Maybe because it was Sunday?

I got to the Hilton, then to my room, took a good nap to make up for the hours I missed on the plane, then went up for a nice libation at the poolside bar on the roof of the Hilton.


Oh, I love me a good caipirinha... This trip might be fun after all...

The rooftop pool...

More of a lap pool, but still might be a nice spot for a dip.

Nice view

(Click to see large view)
The Olympic site off on the Barra peninsula.


I'll leave you with a Sign of the Apocalypse - Rio Edition #1 -



From the Hilton- "Watch your step, Gringo."


TBG - [Exit- Pursued by Anopheles Darlingi]

Boozing Pro-Tips

TBG - - ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

New Orleans - Part the First

As noted last week, the Woman Who Knows Most Things and the Perfect Child and Yours Truly made a little sojourn to New Orleans for some celebratory activities...
Figured I'd share a few more pics with y'all...


Good eats and drinks started early-
We hit the Original Oyster House on Mobile Bay for lunch...
My favorite- the fried crab claws!

About 3 hours later we were in The Big Easy...
We decided on a quick libation before checking into the hotel.

First stop- Pierre Maspero's on Chartres and St. Louis.
The girls had a Canebrake wheat ale by Parrish Beers- YT enjoyed a Hendricks Gin & Tonic... Ambrosia. (They enjoyed the Canebrake so much we had to stop and find a couple sixes to bring home with us.)

We checked into the hotel (using Hotel Tonight app - I talked about it before.. Did you get it yet? You should...) and then headed out for food and an evening of touristy fun on Rue de Bourbon.

We enjoyed a tasty repast at one of my favorites, Napoleon House. (H/t to Pete, who introduced me to this joint back in '94 or '95)
A plate of jambalaya and a muffuletta later we were on to Bourbon St. and the skies opened up... The rain was coming down in sheets which kept the crowds at a minimum.
First stop - Huge Ass Beer.

Several huge ass beers for the girls- and a half-assed cider or two for me, and we were feeling good... The place had a couple guitar players playing some nice bluesy music-
My man Rooster (above) had a good time with the very small crowd in the bar.

But- as much fun Huge Ass Beer was, we had to move on- Rooster was flirting a little too much with the PC. We hauled anchor and headed up the sidewalk to Maison Bourbon.

Good music was pouring out of the place- the girls gave a thumbs up.

I was intrigued by the sign on the wall... (I love hot buttered rum!)

Sadly, I was lured in by a canard... They were out of HBR mix.
Damn.
I had to make due with my current favored drink- Apple Cider and Fireball.
(And this is where the wheels began to fall off)
The girls, feeling bad that there was no Buttered Rum, hot or otherwise, decided we needed shots.
So...
Tequila? No.
Jägermeister? No.
Something different... Something...evil.
Pickleback Shots.
Jameson & a pickle brine chaser.
So apparently this is a thing now...

A couple shots and beers later and we were feeling fine...


The jazz quintet played 4 or 5 songs then took a break,so we moved on from there...

We had passed Saints & Sinners on the way to Maison Bourbon, and
they were cooking crawfish on the front porch- I was a bit peckish, and
know I needed more fuel to burn the alcohol- so on the way back we stopped in
and I had a pound of mudbugs. More beer for the girls- And another round of pickleback shots for everyone.
The PC had a few of the crawfish but I had the lions share...

The rain was still coming down, so we stopped to take shelter in a daiquiri & pizza joint-
The ladies tried to tamp down the beer & shots with a couple slices...

The rain slacked off so we headed back for the hotel, stopping only
to mug for the camera as I was trying to get a shot of a architecturally
pleasing building...



Due to an iron constitution and a body mass index pushing maximum density,
my blood-alcohol ratio was just perfect for inducing sleep without having to
keep one foot on the floor to keep the bed from spinning.
The girls- not so much.

I will spare you the details of later that night- Suffice to say that
the pizza and a good bit of the beer made a reappearance in a
very messy manner...
Stay Tuned - Part 2 is on the way.

TBG

Back!

Finally back...
Even made it through Chicago without a delay.
After the 15 hour SYD-SFO, then a 4 hour flight to O'Hare I was certain I was going to be delayed, but I dodged that bullet...
Had a lovely dinner in the United Club in the airport...