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CASABLANCA TO JFK
I was going to extend my trip and go down to the Sahara Desert for the weekend but the last-minute flights were expensive and my asthma was starting to act up – it was the first time I had to use my inhaler since my Chinese doctor in Malaysia cured me a few months ago. From downtown Casablanca the airport is just 30 minutes away. I needed to check some bags because I had bought so many souvenirs (though I didn’t check anything of real value, which you should never do). As an added security measure I paid 20 MAD ($2.36 USD) to have my bag wrapped in plastic by one of the machines you see in airports. It worked! My 8-hour, Royal Maroc flight was smooth and not crowded at all. In fact, I was able to get the exit row with an empty seat next to me. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any real change in the bad attitude of the flight attendants that I experienced on the way over. And this time the lunch (fish or beef) and snack (pizza and quiche) weren’t that good unlike on the outbound flight. They also showed the same movie.

JFK-LAX
I was supposed to spend the weekend in New York but it was freezing cold and because my asthma was not a hundred percent, I decided I better forget those plans. I called up Delta Airlines as soon as we touched down (from the runway). To my surprise, it was just a $50 change fee to catch the next (and last) flight home. After clearing customs I took the Air Train to the Delta terminal and ran to check-in. Then I waited in their long security line. Unlike the Delta terminal at LAX, JFK does not offer a separate check-in line for elite members, which was a real bummer because I was running late and the line was slow! I almost missed the flight as they were paging my name (and a few others) over the PA system. It was too late to get food to bring on-board, so when I handed my ticket to the gate agent I asked if they were selling food in coach. She said, "you don’t need to worry about it, Mr. DiScala", and handed me a first-class ticket with a smile. Was I delirious from jet lag? Nope! There was an empty seat in first and since I’m a lowly Gold member (just need to fly 25,000 actual miles on Delta a year) I got upgraded again without asking. Gosh, how I love Delta! Not only that: Delta uses the old Song planes for this route which meant I had live TV and an electrical outlet which made the flight -- fly by.

L.A. TIMES TRAVEL SHOW
I wasn’t in L.A. long and the highlight (besides having my dad come out to visit) was speaking at The Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show, which has become the largest travel exposition in the United States with almost 500 exhibitors and over 20,000 attendees. Before my panel, I was standing in the hallway speaking to my fellow panelist (James Gilden and Vani Rangachar, both of the L.A. Times) when an older man tapped me on the shoulder. I thought he was going to ask me for directions, but instead he asked, "Excuse me, are you Johnny Jet?" I said – I sure am! He said "Would you mind taking a picture with my wife? She has been reading your newsletter for 3 years including the days of Amber Airplane." Then they handed me a handy, mini flashlight and said, "We got this for your travels." How sweet was that? Of course, I said thanks for making my day and they said thanks for making theirs! Too cool! Another high point was having dinner with travel gurus Rick Steves, Pauline Frommer, Don George, Huell Howser and National Geographic’s Adventure Travelers of the year; Colin Angus and Julie Wafaei. Can you believe that this Canadian couple completed an extraordinary two-year, human-powered circumnavigation of the world? The pair undertook this adventure to encourage people to use no-emission forms of transportation, such as cycling and walking. They rowed (yes, rowed) across the Atlantic – during Hurricane season!

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