During training and after, our instructors and senior crew members would tell us that we’d figure out what kind of flying we like. It didn’t really make sense to me. A plane is a plane, and a trip is basically a trip, right? Well, when I worked my first transcon (transcontinental) on a wide body, I understood. All of a sudden, I realized what kind of flying I liked. Give me a coast-to-coast trip on a wide body aircraft any day. One boarding, one deplaning, plenty of time for service, and a good layover. They aren’t worth much in terms of credit hours, but I like them a lot anyway.
I picked up my first widebody transcon on my A days when I preferenced it, and it was awarded to me. A-days are six days a month when we are on call – either two sets of 3 days, or one set of 6 days. You can be sent anywhere at any time, but you can preference available trips. They are awarded by seniority, but I’ve found that if it’s a domestic trip, I tend to be successful. A TO? Forget it. I’m way too junior for that. But I like to preference a domestic so that I can have some control over my schedule on A days.
So when I looked at open time the night before my A days started, there was a nice looking trip to San Francisco that I preferenced and was awarded. I hadn’t been to San Francisco in over 35 years, and now I was going to get a 20 hour layover downtown. I was psyched!
On top of the destination, I liked this trip because it released at 10:35 p.m. on my second A-day. That meant I couldn’t get used before 10:35 a.m. on my third day. I had the choice of either trying to drop my third A-day without pay, or roll the dice and hope I didn’t get a call for my third day. If I didn’t get used, then I could get released at 5:00 p.m. and fly home to Baltimore while still getting paid for having been on reserve for the third day. These are things I hadn’t even thought about when I initially started six weeks prior, but I was slowly gaining more experience in how to make my schedule work for me whenever I could despite being so junior.
We flew from JFK to LAX and then had a deadhead to San Francisco. Deadheads are basically when we get paid to be a passenger. The airline needs crew at a given location, so they’ll fly us there as passengers. We didn’t get to the hotel until after 5:00 p.m., and that hotel is now hands-down my favorite so far. It was over 100 years old and had great architectural features in the lobby and in the room. I could have spent hours wandering around reading all about it. Instead, I hit the gym (also one of the best hotel gyms I’ve seen) and then hit the sack.
We weren’t getting picked up until 12:15 p.m., so I had plenty of time with an early start to do some sight seeing. I had forgotten how scenic San Francisco is. I took one of the cable cars down to the water and ended up at the wrong destination, so I had a lovely one mile walk along the waterfront taking in the view. It was cloudy and comfortably cool, and I was early enough that the wharves weren’t yet packed with people.
This cable car is well over 100 years old, and the Powell & Hyde route was very scenic. The views were amazing, and we went by Lombard Street, “The Crookedest Street in the World.” It was well worth the $9. I called Jeff and told him we need to come and spend a weekend here.
My first view of the Golden Gate Bridge. I would have missed it if I hadn’t hopped on the wrong cable car. And yes, those are people swimming. I spoke to someone who told me that it’s an open water swim club and they meet several times a week. Brrrr. That water is WAY too cold for me.
After wandering around, I hopped on the bus to head back to the hotel. But not before first stopping at Dandelion Chocolate to pick up some treats to bring back for Jeff and I to enjoy. Dandelion Chocolate is a bean to bar chocolate maker in the Mission District, and they only use two ingredients: cocoa beans and organic sugar. They make different flavors based on the distinct characteristics of the bean. It was NOT cheap, but it was incredible. Hmmm. I’m sensing a pattern here on these layovers!
It was an easy transcon back east from San Francisco to JFK, and I returned to my crash pad VERY pleased with how the trip had gone. I discovered the kind of flying I like and it was a wonderful layover, complete with a new favorite hotel. Another city has been added to list for a weekend getaway with Jeff!
P.S. As an added bonus, I decided to roll the dice for day three and I didn’t get used, so I made it back to Baltimore by the end of the evening. This is a rotation I’ll definitely try to get again in the future.
Nothing goes to windward . . . 