Road Warrior Chronicles: All's Pleasant at the Hill

I'm a little miffed that I have to do this again, but here goes. Technology is not foolproof.

My second trip to California this year has so far gone very well. With the exception of a run-in - almost - with a TSA lackey who wanted to check my sandals. Since

I wouldn't take them off and walk barefoot so that they could be scanned/x-rayed or whatever. These are the sandals they wanted me to x-ray. When I was in California last time, I wore them home and the screeners told me it was fine. I guess the screener thought it was funny when he placed the wand in a few choice areas of my torso, and said that if I wasn't comfortable it could be done in private. How about you continue to violate me in public where everyone can see you buddy?

I have to give kudos to Southwest, and I don't care what anyone says about them. They left Baltimore on time, arrived early in San Diego, and left San Diego 10 minutes or so late because of passenger and luggage issues. Even then, we still arrived at Oakland early. Even when the passengers don't know how to hustle, the pilots do. And I have to give mad love to Krissy who got those damned Korean kids to stop screaming. She took charge, got them quiet and got us going.

The rental car experience was a snap since I signed up for their preferred rewards membership. I had a free upgrade coupon and a free day on a weekly rental coupon, which ordinarily I shouldn't have been able to use together, but I was able to. I was offered a Chevy Impala, which I politely declined, since I didn't feel like being one of the village people today. (One of them was a cop, right?) I was offered a Buick LeSabre, which I accepted, since it has the XM Satellite Radio. You may recall on my last trip how utterly lonely I was without it.

I got out of the Rental car lot, only to go right back in, because the Buick's Airbag light wouldn't go out, and it kept dinging at me. The exchange was rather quick and painless, and they gave me another free upgrade, to a Cadillac Deville,

also with XM, and, get this,

(free?) Onstar! I couldn't understand though, how this V8 vehicle, rides so smoothly, so much so, that I was doing 81 and didn't realize it! I slowed down, set the cruise control to 65 and continued on my way.

The Hotel:
As I mentioned before, I decided to stay at the Summerfield Suites instead of the Marriott. For one, the suites are $60.00 cheaper than the Marriott, and I got a 1 bedroom King bed (complimentary upgrade just for asking) for $139.00 per night. It's got a sofa and easy chair, desk with free high speed internet, TV and DVD in the living room and another TV in the bedroom. It also has a kitchen with refridgerator, dishwasher, hotplate, microwave and sink. There are utensils and pots and pans for you to use.
What I think is really cool also, is that if you sign up for their rewards program, they give you these goodies, like a goody bag with fresh fruit, water and cranberry juice waiting for you when you check in. Makes the life of a road warrior worth it!