March 2, 2026 – Travel Day
We are finally
getting away from the cold in Chicago – today, the temps are still hanging
around the mid 20Fs. The temperature in
Tampa, our destination, is in the high 70s and low 80s, Our flight on United 1834 is at 10:50 AM and
boarding is scheduled to start at 10:00 AM (seems like a long time to board
this plane – an A321neo). The government
is still on shutdown and TSA agents are not being paid but TSA Pre-Check is
still operating (despite efforts to shut it down to put pressure on the
Congress to open the government) because that is a service flyers paid
for. I initially scheduled the cab for
8:00AM but that seemed a little too cautious so I modified the pickup for
8:30AM.
The American
Taxi was waiting for us at 8:30AM – the route to the airport was a bit
different but eventually got to Golf Rd and then to the I94 and to O’Hare. We had pre-checked our bags online and dropped them
at the newly (at least for us) curbside “Bag Drop Shortcut”. A quick check of documents and the bags were
on their way.
TSA Pre-Check went quickly and we passed under the tarmac to our gate C3, located at the far end of the C Concourse. Our A321neo was at the gate.
Boarding did start at
10:00AM – we were in Group 2 and got on the plane pretty quickly. Overhead compartments were available and
that’s where my backpack went (I can’t put in under the seat in front because
my feet go there. Our Economy Plus Seats
(cost more than my first semester at UCLA), 9A and 9B (one behind the bulkhead
so we had seatback monitors and chargers), were very comfortable. The plane itself looks pretty new and well
maintained on the inside.
The 10:00AM boarding just meant we had to sit an additional 30 minutes or so until we got the Push OK. I could see that the slats were extened to takeoff configuration so we are set to go.
Taxiing to the active runway didn’t take long and soon we were in the air. Smooth takeoff through a cloudless sky.
The flight took a straight south vector before turning to the East over the Gulf of Mexico and over Tampa Bay.
The flight time
was just a bit over two hours and, with the aid of a tailwind, arrived in TPA a
little early (about 2:20 PM). After a
brief wait for a gate, we pulled in.
Welcome news for me because I hadn’t gotten up the entire flight.
Our bags came
out quickly in the BLUE Baggage Claim area.
I called the hotel to summon the complementary shuttle. I told the hotel desk that we were at Blue
122 (United Airlines) and she told me the shuttle was on its way. As usual, the communication could have been
better. At TPA the hotel shuttles all stop at the designated spot at the end of the baggage area. We did find the shuttle and the ride to the
hotel was short. Noted for next time.
We are staying
at the Home2 Suites by Hilton Tampa Westshore Airport (Laurel
Street). It’s a Euro type hotel and we
are in Room 507 (away from elevators). The room is huge with a huge
bathroom. There is a sink and full size
fridge in the kitchen area (and cooktops are available).
The desk told us that the hotel shuttle could take us to anything within two miles of the hotel. The agent told us that the International Mall had lot of restaurants of all types and was an interesting place to go. We hopped on the shuttle around 5 PM and took the short ride to the Mall. The bus dropped us at the Cheesecake Factory (the pickup spot).
I had looked into the
Brioni Grill and we found it as we walked through a literal canyon on
restaurants. We checked out the prices
at Brioni Grill and they were sky high.
Across the way was the actual interior mall and they had a food
court. After checking out the options,
we decided on “Street Crust Pizza”.
We got their special – a 12 in pizza (mushrooms and onions on each
half), a large Cesar Salad, and two large Diet Cokes – total $25.88 – a
bargain. Not only that but the pizza was
the best we have had in quite a while – frozen, fresh, all kinds. We finished all but one slice which I ate
later.
We hung out for a while – we had a table outside and it was beautiful tonight.
I called the shuttle and he arrived in 10
minutes and we were back in our room in minutes.
The room is quiet – I don’t know if we have any neighbors.
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