On Wednesday, I flew to Ohio via Houston. I had a lot of frequent flyer miles, so I used them for business / first class tickets. Alejandro drove me to the airport two hours ahead of time, and I did not have to wait in line at all to check in. The whole airport experience would have been effortless, except for one problem going through security. I have a friend whose son loves "axolotls", the salamander-like creature which is native to Mexico. I bought him a night light, a glass globe with what I suppose you would call a holographic image of an "axolotl" within it. After my carry-on passed through the x-ray, the security person had me open my backpack for inspection. She said that the globe was not allowed. Alejandro was still waiting just outside of security, so I gave it to him, and then passed through again. Other than that disappointment, everything went smoothly.
As I was headed to my gate, I could see through the window the two volcanoes, "Popo" (to the right) and "Izta".
The flight to Houston boarded right on time and left the gate ahead of schedule.
By the time we took off, the volcanoes were shrouded in clouds and no longer visible.
The remnants of Lake Texcoco which once covered much of the valley.
In the left corner you can see part of the unfinished international airport which was abandoned at great cost so that former President López Obrador could build his vanity project airport at greater distance from the city.
We head out over the Gulf of Mexico.
Shortly after this we began our descent into the Houston area.
We arrived at our gate twenty minutes ahead of schedule.
Even though I had a two hour layover in Houston, when I made my flight reservations, I was a bit worried that I had not scheduled enough time to pass through immigration, recheck my luggage, pass through security again, and make it to the gate for the flight to Cleveland. There was one trip to Ohio some years ago in which I missed my connecting flight because the line at immigration was so long.
Perhaps I lucked out because of the time of day, but there was no line at all. Plus, the entire procedure has been changed since my last trip north of the border, at least for U.S. passport holders. I did not even have to show my passport; I simply had my photo taken. I went downstairs to the luggage carousels, and within a few minutes I had my suitcase. I checked the time, and it was 12:55, the time when my flight from Mexico was supposed to arrived in Houston. So, I was way ahead of the game timewise.
The line passing through security was not too bad. I did not have to take off my shoes or remove my laptop from my bag. The gate for my connecting flight was within easy walking distance from there, and one of the United Club lounges was nearby. Since I was flying internationally on business class I was entitled to use the United Club. I had not thought that I would have enough time to do so, but I still had an hour before my Cleveland flight was scheduled to board. So I was able to take advantage of the lounge, have a bite to eat, relax, and send a message to Alejandro that I was in Houston with time to spare.
As it turned out, boarding on my connecting flight was delayed by about a half hour. Nevertheless, we were able to make up the time, and I arrived in Cleveland on schedule.
Taking off from Houston
According to the flight map, we were somewhere over Arkansas here.
When we reached Cleveland, it was raining lightly and it was almost night. We circled to the east and flew over downtown Cleveland before landing at the airport.
You can see the baseball stadium where the Cleveland Guardians play.
The Cuyahoga River snaking its way past downtown
On previous trips, I have arrived in Cleveland airport much later at night. It was strange to see the airport busy with travelers and all the shops and restaurants open. I picked up my suitcase, took the shuttle bus to the car rental center, picked up my car, and drove to my hotel where I am staying for my first two nights. It was a long day, but there were no major problems.
