We parked at about 3:15. My dad and I curb checked our bowling balls, but upon further inspection, my dad was given my brother’s boarding pass. I understand. We all have the same last name, and two of us were on a reservation together, and there were two of us at the counter. Thankfully we were all going to the same place, and we got it all sorted out pretty quickly. So after we got all the equipment checked, I took one for the team and stayed with them through peasant security instead of my usual Precheck, and I think it reaffirmed for me how worth it that is to have. Admittedly, I also don’t know what the deal is there and what goes out of bags and off of you. What a pain. Anyway, we attempted to go to the club at concourse F, but there was a very long wait. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen that before. It didn’t seem too crowded inside, and the airport on the whole wasn’t super busy. Since that was the case we went back to concourse B and grabbed a quick bite there before our flight.
Down at gate B5 was our aircraft which had arrived here from Boston nearly at the same time as we did. Today was N311DN. We got there right before boarding because there’s no point in hanging around gate lice.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1039
ATL-LAS
Depart ATL - 6:06PM (was actually 6:13)
Arrive LAS - 7:21pm (was actually 7:12)
Airbus A321
N311DN
We boarded more or less as soon as we got to the gate, which is fine with me.
I had my personal favorite seat on Delta’s A321s, 23F. My brother was in 23D, and my dad in 22D, so we we close, not that it particularly matters. Side note: N926DZ next to us was going to BWI.
We pushed basically on time and pointed the nose toward runway 26L.
N7725A to Orlando.
A final look at Delta Land.
Hey, N3753. I’ve flown him before. Tonight he was going to Birmingham.
Looking inside Delta Tech Ops, I can’t figure out what this is. Best guess I can come up with is a grill.
https://youtu.be/g3Xr7T29vTI
Here’s a video of takeoff from runway 26L. The flex trust was very strong here.
Nice evening.
I mostly just stared out the window.
We only had 1 round of cabin service. I have to say, that was a little disappointing.
We ended up deviating very far south to avoid some weather in the middle of the country.
And eventually I caught sight of the Grand Canyon.
Landscape is beautiful coming in to Las Vegas.
Coming in to runway 26L on the RKSTR2 arrival.
https://youtu.be/52LCe5mUS6A
Video of landing. We kind of thumped it down on the runway.
No idea where this 737 MAX8 was going.
Record scraaaaaaaaaaatch. Finnair flies here? Didn’t realize there was this large contingent of Finns visiting Las Vegas.
We brought it in at gate D34, the same gate I arrived and departed from last year out here.
N311DN was sitting overnight before flying the first flight in the morning back to Atlanta.
Bowling was at the South Point, and we stayed there for the sake of convenience. We did a small amount of gambling, but not a ton.
All the bowling this year was in the Bowling Plaza as it is normally. Last year it was split between there and the casino’s bowling center.
We did a pretty good bit of scouting over the couple of days to have an idea on how to play the lanes. This was the first shift Saturday morning, and it was singles and doubles. They use two different oil patterns for the team event and the singles/doubles events.
My brother wasn’t there to go to the Pinball Hall of Fame with us last year, and he wanted to go, so we did. They’ve improved it since a year ago.
That big furnace ball in the sky was making its presence known.
Rows of machines, some very, very old.
I don’t know how on earth my dad managed to perfectly balance this ball, but he did. Impressive, really. We bowled at 2:00, and we wanted some lunch. My dad has never been to In-N-Out, so it was there we went.
Seems different without planes flying over at LAX.
Saturday afternoon was the team event. This was the view during team introductions.
I won’t dox anybody but myself. I had a good start, but pretty poor finish. This tournament is very difficult.
We finished bowling at about 5:30, which was close to dinner time. We went to a place called Slater’s 50/50 nearby. It was quite good.
For starters, fried mac and cheese balls
This picture does not do the burger justice. It was 50/50 beef and bacon, and topped with bacon and cheddar among other things.
Finished off with a s’mores milkshake, amazing just like everything else. We went back to the hotel and watched a bit more bowling before bagging it for the night.
PWBA pro Liz Johnson was bowling on this particular shift.
Sunday was singles and doubles and then we had an evening flight back to Atlanta, so a pretty full day.
Scene between intros and warmup.
Artsy look.
My pair of lanes for these 6 games.
I was in the ballpark of making consistently good shots all weekend, and could have bowled really well, but man I made some boneheaded mistakes and missed too many easy spares, and that really dragged me down.
We weren’t late, but we didn’t have a ton of time to screw around, so we said our goodbyes to our teammates and headed to the airport.
We breezed through everything. There was no line to speak of at TSA, and it was nice to be able to use my Precheck benefits even going through the regular line. That’s nice.
For those who just need to gamble a little more before they go home. At least the machines look nice.
What on earth are these? I kind of like them.
We weren’t expecting to have time at the airport, but we did, so my Priority Pass got us all in to the club near gate D33.
Racing on TV, good start.
And a little bit of delicious food.
Our aircraft arrived at 2:54 from Atlanta. Today was N583NW.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1061
LAS-ATL
Depart LAS - 4:45pm (was actually 10:19am +1)
Arrive ATL - 11:48pm (was actually 5:05pm +1)
Boeing 757-300
N583NW
You read those times right. Keep reading.
I was in seat 31A for this flight.
We pushed a fuzz late at 5:04. I think the 737-900 to our left was going to Salt Lake City.
N587NW had come in from Atlanta earlier and its return was canceled. Apparently most all of the later flights were able to absorb those extra passengers.
Then we sat on the ramp…and sat…and sat. Then engine 2 was shut down and restarted.
Then I heard this constant chugging noise down below my feet. I haven’t heard that on any 757 I’ve flown before. I have no clue what it was. Ultimately we pulled back in to a different gate and were given the option to get off or stay on. The whole plane was baking, but I opted to stay on and wait for a status update straight from the horse’s mouth. Soon after we were told it was a big issue and for everyone to get off.
So we chilled in the gate area some more watching a few delay times come and go. Our crew brought the aircraft in from Atlanta, and may have flown the Orlando-Atlanta segment to start the day. I don’t know, but I mentioned to my dad and brother that the crew timing out was a possibility as much as we were delayed. Not long after that, our departure time was pushed to 6:30 the next morning, and I knew what the issue was. We had the opportunity to wait on Delta to book hotels, or book ourselves. Ultimately we went the do it ourselves route. We split up here for a bit. My brother went to go collect our bowling balls from baggage claim. I went to the gate agent to get proof of delay for my credit card’s delay insurance, and my dad just chilled in between.
We each booked a room at the Homewood Suites near the airport. At this point we were basically going to grab dinner and sleep. We woke up very early assuming our 6:30 departure, but it was pushed to 10:00 overnight. I wish we had known that so we could have slept a little more. As it was, we were up, so we went to the airport.
Check in and such was a breeze again, and we went to the club again for food.
A321neo going to OGG.
Just like in Atlanta, we didn’t go to the gate until almost boarding time, but we did take a walk in between.
N587NW, the canceled aircraft from yesterday was operating today. Apparently we really broke N583NW, because it didn’t fly again until Tuesday.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1061 Attempt #2
LAS-ATL
Depart LAS - 4:45pm -1 (was actually 10:19am)
Arrive ATL - 11:48pm -1 (was actually 5:05pm)
Boeing 757-300
N587NW
Some seats shuffled over the evening between people moving flights and just general messiness. I kept 31A.
N583NW with the hood popped.
Our engine start took forever. I don’t know what the deal was, but I did note to my brother that it was taking a very long time, and I’m reasonably sure we only moved a little bit on the ramp to let that JetBlue A321 go.
https://youtu.be/2xOWyMpKXGk
Here’s a video of takeoff from runway 8L. How much does the 757-300 suffer in hot and high performance? My research has yielded me nothing. This takeoff was super weak. It was like a 737-900.
Nice views leaving.
Getting over the plains. Unfortunately, there was little to nothing to see most of the flight even with the clear sky.
Just like before there was only 1 round of cabin service.
Nashville as we got a little bit closer to Atlanta.
Bringing her down.
In to a blanket of clouds.
https://youtu.be/6_zCgT7Hr3s
Video of landing on runway 8L
We pulled in to gate A7. N587NW was sitting for a while before going to San Francisco much later that evening.
We all got our bowling balls and went our separate ways home. It was a good trip. I didn’t have to work Monday, so staying the extra night didn’t bother me in the slightest. This tournament is in Reno next year. I’m hoping we’ll find our way out there. I’m sure we will. This was my last trip of the summer before I go back to work in August. I don’t have anything else booked, but I’m sure I will soon. Thanks for reading
