The basic Idea of this day is to fly out of Jacksonville, Florida and somehow survive the transition at Atlanta (ATL - the scourge of the South) to an aircraft headed to San Francisco.
One might think this should be no problem, but they are people who have not changed planes at ATL. They are probably people who, now and then, wander casually through Chicago’s O’Hare or New York’s JFK without problem.
Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson (sometimes called Heartless) airport has been entertaining travelers for decades. I first encountered it in the early 1960’s, when the terminal was shaped in a semi-circle with five out-flung straight concourses, ultimately providing some 70 gates. Now it has five parallel mid-field concourses of 40 or 50 gates each, linked by underground railroad, plus the main terminal. Each of these concourses could be an international terminal of its own, but ATL has a separate international terminal off to one side. I believe it’s easier to fly overseas from ATL than in-country.
In transferring from one flight to another at ATL, it is common to look at the departures board and go to the gate from which it states your on-going flight will depart. ATL lulls you into a sense of sanity and ease; then changes the gate assignment, commonly from a “D” concourse gate to a “B” concourse gate, thirty minutes before departure. Off you race to the railroad, travel two concourses away, and to the new gate. With luck your travel will be slow so that, when the gate assignment is restored to the original gate, you’ll not be far from it and can easily reverse.
After arriving at SF, we'll rent the Hertz car and find our way to Seal Rock Inn, on the Pacific ocean near Golden Gate park. This will be our base for several days.
http://www.sealrockinn.com/
We've been told this is a neat funky retro 50's place with views of the beach and ocean, and convenient to Susan & Bryant's place. Good for walks. Also has parking, which is critical in SF.
Below is what actually happened in our travels this Tuesday.
20151006:
Scheduled: JAX 0730 - ATL 0848 on DL732, then ATL 0950 - SFO 1213 on DL2265
Actual: JAX 0730 - ATL 0850, ATL 0955 - SFO 1203 not bad at all but this 767 is an antique
We then got a small rental car (Toyota Yaris) and drove to Susan's house to chat for a while. Then we checked in at the hotel another mile away and went out to lunch (very good) on Judah St, a few blocks from their house. Bryant is flying to Seattle tonight and returning late tomorrow so we won't see him till Thursday evening.
After lunch, we returned to the house and talked and played with cats. Finally we were fading from the travel and Susan excused us to go rest. Dolores zonked in 10 minutes. I'm doing these chores.
The ocean is beautiful and we're really close to Susan/Bryant's via the Great Highway along the Pacific Shore. More tomorrow when we're rested.
View from our room to the Pacific.
