Hey, just so you know ... this post is now about 10 years and 1 month old. Please keep that in mind as it very well may contain broken links and/or outdated information.

Just like the first day, the last day of trip starts early.

My brother had a 6:30am flight so we got up at 4:45am. The early start was another reason we chose to stay in Tempe, closer to the airport, than further away like we had on previous visits as it gave us more time to “sleep in.” Within 20 minutes we had checked out of the  hotel, drove to the airport, and then parted ways at Terminal 4. I dropped my brother off so he could get through security and then I drove the car back to the rental car center and took the shuttle back to the terminal. By the time I had checked my bag at the US Airways counter (lots of people in the wrong long due to codeshare confusion!) and made my way through security, my brother had already boarded his plane. I still had three hours to kill …

… which is why I had purchased a day pass for the US Airways Club. 😀 For the next few hours I got to sit in a quiet lounge, with free breakfast and coffee, in a comfortable chair, working on my tablet, and watching the sun rise over the airport.

Definitely worth the $30 (and it reminded of my travelling consultant days when I used to “live” in the United Red Carpet Club at O’Hare). My only complaint is that the free airport Wi-Fi is terrible! In fact, the hotel Wi-Fi was extremely bad as well … way too slow. I predict a rise in “premium” pay internet services … I’m sure business travellers would pay for a reliable internet connection in these places.

A few hours later I boarded my flight back to Tampa and was back in Florida (and Eastern Daylight Time) by 4:00pm, just in time to beat the rush hour home. While I was in-flight, my Dayton Flyers lost 87-74 to St. Joe’s in the second round of the A10 tournament (but ended up being selected to go to the NCAA tournament anyway as a #11 seed!).

One more travel complaint: what’s with the zone boarding? What happened to boarding by row? On both of my flights I was in row 14 (behind the exit row) and was in Zone 5, the last zone to board. There were people in Zone 4 that had seats in front of me. I know I don’t have any frequent flyer status anymore, but what determines the zone? Ticket price? I can’t figure it out.

So another Spring Training vacation is history. My brother and I had a great time and are leaning towards making our next trip longer (an extra day or two?). I’ve already got my tickets for when the Indians come to St. Pete to play the Rays in May so I’m ready for baseball!