Southeast States Trip Day 1

Southeast States Trip Day 1 Monday May 25, 2015

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This, the first day of the South East States trip is an airplane ride
from San Jose, CA to Raleigh, North Carolina

Places Visited Along The Way, Photos, and Notes
San Jose, California Mineta San José International Airport 1701 Airport Blvd My niece Diana was kind enough to give me a ride to the airport this morning. To put this into perspective, she has the day off and could have slept in. I got there very early not knowing what it would be like. American Airlines pre-screened me and I sailed through security in spite of the many electronics, lap tops, ipad, cameras, etc. First flight of the day is always nice, the plane was there waiting Chicago O'Hare was a little nerve racking the layover was only about 45 minutes. I was worried if my luggage would make it. Picked up a turkey-cheese sandwich at Starbuck's booth. $9.73 On the second flight, I sat next to a young fellow named Anthony. He's a fellow motorcyclist and we talked a lot. (well, l I talked his ear off) Turns out he is from around here and is very familiar with Ft. Bragg and Fayetteville. Brought back a lot of memories for me. Raleigh-Durham International Airport 1000 Airport Boulevard , Morrisville Arrived 10-15 minutes ahead of schedule. Not a real bonus, had to wait on the tarmac for a gate to clear. Miracle! my suitcase did appear on the carousel. I'm happy. Found an skylink shuttle just dropping of another customer at the curb How much for a ride to my hotel? $25. I was able to argue him down to $40. I may not be the best negotiator.
Red Roof PLUS+ Raleigh NCSU - Convention Center 1813 S Saunders St A good (not great) place, but nowhere to eat for quite a distance and me on foot. The clerk at the front desk said there was a seafood place 1/2 mile down the street just past the freeway. I walked to that, but they were dark. Along the way I discovered that North Carolina does not have crosswalks. A busy street crossing freeway on/off ramps with cars buzzing by and no walk/don't walk signs and no painted pedestrian lanes even though there is sidewalk up to and away from the crossings A place called Cinco de Mayo is open so I gave them a try. Not too bad, just not too good. But Monday night is $2.50 margarita night. Again, just okay, but perfect for what I wanted I'm ready to sleep now.