Dubbo to Dresden.

[drron]

Thanks Serfty.I did notice the FT failure though if I click on the label of the no show photos in my FT album hey presto they appear and I copy them to the report.They are always there initially but when I return to post again some remain and others are gone regardles as to whether they appeared or not in my FT albums.But then again i am never surprised with what a computer does!
hopefully may start next segment tomorrow.

[drron]

Easter Sunday and our grandson's christening at the King's chapel.Predicted rain did not occur.a very good family day.Pulled over for RBT 3 times though.Fortunately before a drop of alcohol had passed my lips.That evening graze at the SOTP lounge.Good service,reasonable food.They have a no kids policy after 5.30pm but it is not enforced.
Easter Monday and off to the Show.The first time that I have been to the Homebush site.Very disappointing.Obviously now a totally commercial event.Even though I was a country show president back when it was very difficult for me to become a member of the RAS.Now you just stump up your money.Son is a member so lunch in the members stand.Looked forward to the ring events.But now hardly any judging done in the main ring and there can be an hour or more with absolutely nothing happening.So now you can become an RAS member by paying more but getting less.A positive-a really good cappucino in the members stand.
Our only dinner out this time was at Zagolinni's cafe in Queen st. Woolahra.Food was nice but service very slow.
So the next instalment will be at last the flying-back on topic.

[drron]

Well Tuesday arrives and our DONE4 is about to start.Wake up early and leave before the sheraton lounge opens.With mrsdrron around you will never be late for a plane.Reach the checkin right on the 3 hours before deparure of QF107.Because of the discussion you get on this board I will be crediting to Aadvantage and mrsdrron to QFF.As it is easier to get status on QF she will be at 1130 SCs by the time the DONE4 ends-at least that is what we think.This ticket was initially issued by QF but reissued by AA because we have upgraded to F on the DFW-FRA segment.Agent changes mrsdrron's Aadvantage number to her QFF number.
Straight through immigration but unfortunately at the top of the escalator we now have to turn left to the J lounge.Well at least some bircher muesli.A little work on the computer and soon we are headed for the gate.
14/4/09-QF107 SYD-LAX.
ETD-1015.
Pullback1020,takeoff 1027.Seats 24A,B.
Start off with the charles Heisdeck.No list of wines that are on this flight.The whites turn out to be a Margaret river chardy and a rose.Mrsdrron not impressed.Ah well,settle back and watch the movies.IFE working properly and when this happens QF is good.Start off with Australia,Last chance Harvey,Frost-Nixon and Slum Dog Millionaire.
Lunch is served reasonably soon after take off.Starter is Smoked Tarragon chicken.For mains I have the roast rack of lamb with aoili and rosemary veggies-not too bad.Mrsdrron has the Slow cooked pork with caramellised onions and spinach-doesnt feel it is slow cooked.
We finish with Vanilla and Quince icecream.My meal is accompanied by a 2001 Petaluma Coonawarra then the Bailey's Liqueur Muscat.
Maybe about an hours sleep before breakfast is served.I still dont think the QF breakfast offering is anything to write about so I wont.
Touch down at 0625-a little early and everything goes smoothly.Bags out quickly as Justice Kirby walks by.In the AC in Terminal 4 by 0710.
Next-off to Texas.

[drron]

Easily enough time to freshen up in the Lax AC.
AA2340 LAX-DFW.
ETD-0955
Gate 43,B757,Seats 2A,B.
We had been issuied BPs in SYD.At the gate they were rejected,computer says we owe more money-Oh no!A few punches of keys and through we go.End of problems or so we thought.More on that later.Doors close0950 but pushback 1005.Land at DFW 1240-10 minutes ahead of schedule.
FAs spend the whole flight in conversation with each other but do manage to serve breakfast-cheese omelettes for both of us.Not too bad.The other choice was pancakes.
BVags out soon after we reach the carousel and we phone for the Westin shuttle and go downstairs.Takes about 15 minutes for shuttle to come.Upgraded to a suite but basically go straight to bed.Review of DFW hotels here-
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/comm...dfw-17509.html (Starwood at DFW.)
Next morning pick up our car from Dollar.Upgraded to an SUV.Then down I35 to San Antonio.Naturally stop at the outlets at Red Rock and Hillsborough.Mrsdrron is quickly into the swing of things.An extra 40% off at Reebok and rockport for being an old fogey having AARP membership.It seems QF009 has observed mrsdrron a some stage-she argues that the only effective exercise is mall walking!
Arrive at the Westin Riverwalk~1930.Our problems and review here-
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/comm...-tx-17604.html (Westin Riverside,San Antonio,TX)
Next-Good Ole Texas.

[drron]

On the first night in San Antonio we walked a short distance down the riverwalk from the Westin to the Fig Tree restaurant-very pleasant setting.The food was excellent.For starters I had the crab cakes.Then mrsdrron had the quail stuffed with pate,truffles and mushrooms and i had the duck and seared tuna and we shared a side of wild mushrooms.With a bottle of Sav.blanc it cost $125.
Next morning after talking to the front desk of our problems we walked along the Riverwalk to the River Mall.Decided to do a cruise on the river.A great decision as soon after the showers began.it was a pleasant interlude-this turned out to be our boat-


I then left mrsdrron to her own devices at the mall and I went off to the Alamo.Seems as though Aussies have a lot in common with texans-talk about celebrating a military disaster.The old place was not recognisable from my John wayne days but an enjoyable interlude-






As I was taking this last picture the guy beside me shouts-"did you see who that was?"No."Billy Bob Thornton!"Well I missed it.
We then walked on to have lunch at The County Line BBQ.In all the books.Forget it-worst BBQ I have ever had in the states.Very dry wet style ribs-seemed to be yesterdays lot reheated in the microwave.Tony Romas would have been much better.
As the rain was now getting heavier we decided to go shopping.Obvious first place the outlets at San Marcos-45 minutes north of San Antonio on I35.This is a pretty good outlet with a Cavenders western Gear store if you want to get your Texas cowboy boots.Mrsdrron found herself a pair of cowgirl boots.
Next-more of Texas.

[drron]

For our second night in San antonio we fell back on one of our old favourites-Red Lobster.When in New England we will go to a lobster pound but elsewhere it is Red Lobster.We joined up their club and keep getting discount coupons-tonight it is $4 off for each of us.We both have the 1.25lb lobster.The good news is this has just 45 cals and 0.48 Gms fat.The bad news is the accompanying stuff has 920 cals and 49 Gms fat!
Awoke on friday to mist and rain.Thunderstorms to the west heading our way.2 feet of hail in places.Tornado warnings.Not a day to be outside so we hop in the trusty SUV and head for the Lucchese Boot company-supllier to LBJ and Ladybird.Now in a new shopping area-the Quarry Market.Boots are great but very expensive so we retire to Borders to while away some time.head off and get lost-hardly any visibility.So head north hoping to intersect the ring road but come out at the North star mall.They have a Dillards,our favourite department store.They usually have great sales but not this time.fortunately J C Penney have the shirts i am after and on sale too.Mrsdrron also indulges in some retail therapy.
Weather is getting worse so we head back to the Westin where the GM's message is waiting.The upshot is we eat gratis in their Restaurant Vocca.Very good Italian and we somehow get great service with the Maitre'd looking after us all night.We start of sharing a roasted mushroom pizza and tagliatelle with lump crab meat-both great.I then have the duck breast over farro with a peach and passion fruit sauce-a really plump but non fatty breast with great flavour.Mrsdrron has the veal scallopine over polenta and wilted greens-she finds it very good.We then share the tiramisu and a lemon ricoota cheese cake-both very good.All washed down with a Washington state sav.blanc.I would reccomend this place.Certainly salvaged our stay at the Westin.Just a note on internet charges-6.44 per hour or 12.93 per day.Worse was to come but when will hotels provide free internet.
Next-Back to DFW.

[drron]

Check out about 9am and already there is a crowd of people trying to check in.The San antonio festival is getting into full swing and Dallas is in town to play the Spurs in the NBA playoffs-Eva Longoria will be in town and dallas will be staying at the Westin.Drive north and stop off at the LBJ library-these Presidential libraries I feel are worth a visit and the best thing is that they are free.Spend a few hours there so a bit late to go off the Interstate to a BBQ restaurant reccomended to us.Instead we make the mistake of going to Bennigans and sample some of their "TEX-Mex" food.Easily described as a big heap of fat,salt and calories.
Stay the night at the Sheraton DFW-review here-
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/comm...dfw-17509.html (Starwood at DFW.)
As I said I actually preferred the sheraton to the Westin even though the Westin is a "nicer"hotel.
Saturday is an early breakfast in the lounge-quite reasonable with 5 hot choices.Then drop off our Dodge Journey and get the shuttle to terminal C.Then the ticketing problems come to the fore again.Told our tickets have been invalidated.About 10 minutes of pushing buttons and we have our boarding passes.Off to the AC in terminal C.Now last night with internet availability I noticed mrsdrron's flights had been credited to AA.We wanted her to get them to QFF and all her BPs have her QF number.This DONE4 will net her just short of 1200 SCs.The planning was done before we decided on the QFF strategy.
So when the Aangels are not busy i go to the desk and explain the problem.She puts me straight through to an Aadvantage customer service supervisor and within 10 minutes I am told the problem is fixed.Certainly about 5 hours later the flights no longer appear in her AA account and 24 hours later the appear in her QFF account.I am overjoyed that the problem is fixed-or so i thought-more on that later.
Next-off to TPA.

[drron]

19/4 AA1112 DFW-TPA MD80
ETD 1240 Pushback-1245.
ETA 1600 Actual-1545.
Seats 4A,B-second row of f on MD80.
Uneventful flight.Crew quite reasonable.For lunch mrsdrron had a salmon salad-nice piece of hot-smoked salmon.I had chicken Parmigiana and it was reasonable.
Although not a large airport we had a gate requiring a monorail transfer to baggage.On deplaning noted the pax in 4E being greeted by the AA gate agents like a long lost friend.his bags off first and i noted the FT tags-went to say hello but he was out of there fast.Our bags were nearly last.Just a short walk to the Dollar car rentals(have switched to Driveaway as Globalcars have totally revamped,not as cheap and no longer take DC).Pick up our dodge charger and off to Clearwater.An easy drive west on route 60 to the Sheraton sand Key-review here-
http://www.frequentflyer.com.au/comm...-fl-17620.html (Sheraton Sand Key,Clearwater,FL.)
A very nice 3 days here,most relaxing and surprisingly good food at the hotel at reasonable prices.Even if you dont have status with SPG you can access the internet free at Sheraton link next to the bar.If in the area will stay again.
Next-Orlando,but just for the shopping.

[drron]

Wednesday.Set off for Orlando via the Ellenton factory outlets-this one is good.Because I have membership of the hilton club NYC I had a few left over 2008 points which got me 3 nights in a studio unit at the HGVC on international drive.Now a studio unit in NYC is reasonably large so i was expecting to have a comfortable room.Well these rooms are smaller than HGI rooms so if you are staying here forget the studio units and instead book into a garden Inn-you get free internet and breakfast there if you have status with hhonors.The in room internet was free but wifi reception was pathetic.The wired internet outlet was on the other side of the room to the desk and powerpoints.Fortunately i always have a 3M cable with me.
The bedside light was non functioning-reported it but nothing happened over 3 days even when with the numerous calls to attend a presentation were answered with-we will only attend when bedside lamp is fixed.Hot water was a joke-lukewarm in morning and cold at night.As a vacation village there is not a daily service.Noise is a problem-you really do hear everything that happens in the next room.To top it off our only view was of the block next door.parking is also pot luck in the evenings.despite that we got 6 calls in the first 24 hours to attend a sales promotion-you could pick up 20000 HH points-not worth it.Again in the immortal words of Darryl Kerrigan-"Tell em theyre dreaming".
Mornings we went lazing by the pool and hit the shops in the afternoon.A large factory outlet is next to the HGVC.Food was at red lobster and tony romas.
I like the way you cant avoid the toll driving into MCO.Filled up just before the toll.2 police cars there.Got out and there were shell casings all over the ground-noice!To top it off no automatic stop on pumps so nice gas smelling shoes.
Next off to Germany.

[drron]

Checking our FF programs on line I once again find the DFW-TPA sector for mrsdrron has been credited to AA.So once again hand her QFF card to checkin agent who then calls the supervisor over after I recount our problems.Supervisor does some tapping away and says-well no wonder both her numbers are in so as a comes before Q it will default to AA.Has to remove both numbers and then re enter QFF.Then comes the extraordinary bit-can only put it in for the MCO-DFW-FRA sectors.Apparently when AA reissued tickets after we upgraded the DFW-FRA segment until we arrive in FRA is on the AA system and from there on is still under QF.Means we just have to keep getting her QF number added each time we check in but at least from here everything is posted to QF.
No queues at security-unusual for here.out to gate 16 with our Starbucks-no AC here at MCO.As usual we are early so see the previous flight for DFW boarding.After doors close a Spanish speaking couple and their daughter arrive demanding to be let on.Oh no you cant.And we are treated to one of those great american slanging matches-they are told to go back to checkin to be rebooked on a later flight-the plane has now pulled back but the fellow goes on for another 20 minutes.Nearly get a repeat with the flight to LGA when a British couple and their 3 kids arrive just as the gates are closing-they are allowed on.Why do people do this?
MCO-DFW AA1511 MD80
ETD 1025 Pull back 1026
ETA 1215 Actual 1205
Seats 5E,F
This time a really good crew.I do engage the FAs in conversation(though dont go out of my way to do so) and I find that on AA they usually respond pretty favourably as on this sector.Maybe a lot of the reports of bad service on AA are a case of "as you sew so shall you reap".We both pick the Philly cheesesteak Calzone with a little trepidation but it is not too bad.Washed down with a glass or 3 of wine(told you they were a good crew)-red for me,white for mrsdrron.
As this is our last domestic AA sector a little musing.Why the tirade often about AA domestic F.It is the domestic premium cabin.It is certainly better than domestic premium cabins intra-europe.So they call it F instead of J.No dearer than QF domestic J so you QFFers just get more SCs for your buck-so just sit back and enjoy!
Next-F to FRA.