Travel Log, Camden SC: Day 4

I got a really good night's sleep last night. I owe it all to going to bed at a reasonable hour and sleeping in until 9:30AM. I took my time getting ready, checked out in time, and then hit up the Waffle House across the street for a real breakfast. By real, I mean eggs, sausage, toast, grits, and a glass of OJ. Now that's a power breakfast.

I still hadn't heard back from the client by this time, so I spent some time touring the Revolutionary War Park. They've recontructed and preserved many of the buildings and fortifications that existing during the Revolutionary War, including the house that General Cornwallis used to command British troops. I drove around the loop to look at the stuff in the park and stopped off near the main group of buildings. I hadn't been out of the car more than 5 minutes before they called to let me know the FedEx shipment had gotten there.

I met the maintenance guy down at the location with an issue. Oddly enough, the clock giving me trouble yesterday was now showing me the time, something I couldn't coax out of it yesterday. It still wouldn't communicate, so I swapped out the clocks, tried again… nothing. I hooked up my laptop. Nothing. We ended up having to call out the guy from Charter Cable to kick it around and see why it wasn't working, and he was pretty buffaloed too. (Yes, Shauna. That's a real word, not a "Southern made-up" one.) Unfortunantly, I had to leave for the airport before he figured it out. I later got a call that they had gotten it fixed (though about 2 hours after I left for the airport) and it was working okay now.

I don't know why I always get to airports so early. I have a hard time breaking out of the "give yourself three hours" mindset. I know that most flights are fine if you're only there an hour early, but I always wonder about the "what ifs". What if there's an accident on the freeway? What if the security line is long? What if there's a problem with my ticketing? I haven't really had any problems missing flights, but that just might be because I give myself so much time. Of course, today's flight from Columbia to Atlanta has been delayed. As of right now, it's about 20 minutes late and piling up. This won't make me late for my connection (I hope), but I was kind of looking forward to having some time to relax and stretch before being shoved into the sardine-like conditions of Delta's 757s.

On that note… what on earth is wrong with the air travel industry? It seems like every time I fly, the services are reduced, the leg space is reduced, even the space under the seats is reduced. I was shocked a few years ago to find that Southwest has more room under the seat and between seats than Delta. How has it happened that Delta is being whooped on basic things like that by Southwest? Delta also canned their meal service some time ago, paring down to a budget-style snack service. I don't need to have a steak dinner every time the flight is more than 2 hours, but some real food would be nice. I'd even pay just a bit more for it.

Unfortunantly, the airline industry seems to be more price-driven than service-driven. While I can afford better than coach, the price jump to first class (or even business class) seats is very hard to justify. I can understand the appeal of sitting in the aerial equivalent of a Laz-E-Boy while sipping fancy drinks while an attendent hovers over you like a fussy mother, but I don't know that it's worth a three-fold or greater increase in fare.

Maybe I can talk the company into paying for upgraded seats next time.