Sacramento

A friend once asked me what are my favorite airports. I promptly replied Changi Airport in Singapore. The question was revised to domestic airports and I struggled with that answer. Sad state of affairs that I can name international airports easily yet travel so much domestically. I finally said SFO because of the revamped United terminal. With that being said, I realized as I stepped into the Sacramento airport that I actually liked this airport. Free internet access is always a plus with me and the terminal seems fairly new. (Free internet is also available at Phoenix Airport, Syracuse Airport, and some more that I've forgotten.) Maybe it is because of Southwest. I've noticed that the Oakland airport Southwest terminal also went under a heavy revamp and is eons ahead of the other terminal in terms of aesthetics. Hmmmmm, there has been a heavy push to penetrate the California market as Southwest is also servicing SFO these days. Wonder if the strategy will work. They've also implemented a new boarding process to deal with the complaints of long lines in the "letter" lines. Seems to work and it gives them a go-around to actually assigning seats in airplanes.



Got to the car rental agency and found a pleasant surprise. Found a good deal over the internet to rent a prius at a price cheaper than a subcompact. I was looking forward to driving the prius again but found a shiny new red Pontiac Solstice with 9 miles on the car. I'm driving JAZZ!!! (For the non-comic sci-fi fans, Transformers movie came out this past summer.) My personal car is somewhat similar to the Solstice but I have to say I like my car better. Pros - handles corners well, nice solid feel, looks way cool, XM radio very nice, bonus on the auxiliary jack for my IPOD, good power, easy to park in small spaces. Cons - ABSOLUTELY no storage space, odd seat adjustment levers, lots of blind spots (even with the top down), bad idling (opinion may improve if drove the manual version).

Am staying at a Hampton Inn in the northeastern area of Sacramento. Seems very industrial around here, works for the night I'm here. Small Hampton as it only has two floors and odd off-freeway location. After coming the second time to the hotel, figured the best exit was the Howe exit (only because at night I can see the hotel sign better) off the 80 east.

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