For Labor Day Weekend, Steve (DOS) and I are flying back to Mendoza, Argentina for another weekend of visiting the wineries in the Mendoza area. We went to Mendoza over the July 4th holiday weekend, and had such a good time we decided to return again. DOS initially had wanted to go to Buenos Aries for this weekend, but as we’ve both been there before, and so enjoyed Mendoza, we decided to come back for a long weekend.
It’s 9:05pm, and we’re sitting in the American Airlines Premium Lounge, which is also shared with British Airways, Qantas, Qtar, and a couple others. We’ve been here several times, and we enjoy it more than the two Admiral’s Clubs in the Miami Airport. The Premium Lounge is for Business or First Class customers on international flights. Liquors, beer, wine, and plenty of food are complimentary, and the large lounge offers a quiet retreat from the busy Miami gate areas.
We flew out tonight at 5:45pm (Friday) on an American Airlines 767 wide body jet from Orlando to Miami. We were a bit concerned the typical afternoon Florida storms would delay us, but we got out before they hit,and had a good and quick 40 minute flight to Miami. We stopped by the Admiral’s Club in Orlando before boarding our flight, and then headed down to gate 39.
As we taxied out for takeoff, we passed the Orlando International concourse, and I took a couple photos of the jumbo jets heading off to Europe. Tonight we saw five Virgin Atlantic 747’s all parked at the gate! (There are usually three or four, but have never seen five at the same time.)
The quick 38 minute flight from Orlando to Miami was on a 767 wide body jet, with the angle-flat sleeper seats, although on this flight we just enjoyed the scenery looking out the window.
We flew right by Kennedy Space Center, and we could clearly make out the Vehicle Assembly Building, shown below in the lower center portion of the photo. It looks small but it’s actually the equivalent of a 50 story building in height!
Here is a photo as we are on final approach to Miami.
In Miami, we walked from our arriving gate D40 to the end of the E concourse to the Premium Lounge. In the lounge, I had a couple brewskis and some Cabernet, as well as some deli type meats and cheeses, although they had much to choose from, including salads, and other foods and snacks.
Now we have about 45 minutes before boarding our flight, so I called my parents and brother back in Virginia, again thanking them for such a wonderful last weekend when we were there visiting. We then made the fifteen minute walk down to our D12 gate for our 777 flight from Miami to Santiago.
We are both excited about returning to Mendoza. Now we just have an eight hour overnight flight to Santiago, Chile, and a connecting flight at noon tomorrow to Mendoza. It’s time to fly now! Buenas Noches!