The Travel Gods Smiled on Me, Then Took a Lunch Break

My trip started off at 8:30-ish at Port Columbus. I was booked on United to go to San Francisco, routed through Houston. (My flight to NZ is on Air New Zealand, which has a direct flight from SF to Auckland). When I checked in, I learned that I had been rebooked, and would now be going through Chicago O'Hare, still arriving in plenty of time for my NZ flight. My first pleasant surprise - I was marked as a TSA Precheck. This means a much simpler security process. No taking off shoes, removing belts, emptying pockets, or taking out laptops. The only thing I had to do was put my phone in my bookbag. The same thing happened to me when we were returning from NZ in January. Bobby, Mike C, and Todd were in front of me in line, and then when it was my turn the guy took a look at my boarding pass and routed me directly to the pre-check line. I got through and waited 5-10 minutes on "the other side" for the other three to get through. I board my first flight, to Chicago. Middle seat - yecch. But when the doors were finally closed on the plane, I looked to my left, and there was nobody in the window seat. So I slid over. I got to Chicago, and after a bit of confusion (I had been told in Columbus that I wouldn't be changing planes, but I ended up having to), I got to my next flight. Again, middle seat - yecch. But then I noticed the little sign on the bottom of my fully-upright-and-locked-position tray table - "Reserved for Economy Plus." That was when I noticed I had a LOT more legroom, and that made up for being in the middle seat. And then I discovered the other little sign about our seats having electrical outlets available. Woohoo! Charging up the laptop! When I checked in in Columbus, the agent was not able to check my bag all the way to NZ. I had booked my NZ flight directly with Air New Zealand, but my flights to and from San Francisco on United. No biggie I thought. I'll just get my bag in SF, and go check in again. That was the point at which the Travel Gods went on break. I got my suitcase. I made it to the International Terminal. I found the aisle for Air New Zealand. And then I found the sign that said that their window didn't open until 6:00 pm. So, I've been sitting in the food court for a few hours with my book bag, my CPAP carrying case, and my suitcase. But as of this writing, I only have 30 more minutes to wait before I can check in. If having to have my suitcase with me in a food court with wi-fi access is the worst thing that happens on this trip, then it will be a pretty freakin good trip. And, oh yes, the wi-fi in the San Francisco airport is free! So, time to hit the "facilities" and head to check-in.