Hello Community Southwest:
Here's the second of two Photo Trip Reports in July. Here's the link to the first one.
This time, it was SAN-SMF w/ a same day return flight. This was the first of three roundtrip flights that I booked during June's 40%-off sale. Here are some of the fruits from that promo:
SAN's Terminal 1 Artwork...Gone?
Once I got into SAN T1, I've immediately noticed that two T1 art pieces by artist Miki Iwasaki were gone: Signalsape which once hung on the wall next to the flight status monitors in the baggage claim area,
and Astralgraph that used to provide some nice decor to the Landside food court area.
All I know for sure is the "what". They're not in T1. I do not have any solid information on the "why" or where the artwork is now other than a separate artist had his recently approved artwork removed from T2 per a 7/25 story published by PBS. SAN's new T1 is still well more than a year from opening; thus likely too early to move the artwork. If I find out anything, I'll let you know...If anybody knows anything for sure on this (no speculation, please), let me know.
On the bright side, the 737-700 bird at Gate 11 bound to SMF gets serviced, viewable from the Landside Food Court...
When crossing the TSA Checkpoint into airside for this flight, I noticed something that rarely happens but sometimes does: The queue line for the TSA PreCheck lane appearing longer than the Standard Screening lane. In fact, the PreCheck line was backed up to the ticket counters:
I've opted to use the PreCheck lane anyway...and I was glad I did...TSA did a great job in keeping this line flowing because it took only 6 minutes to get from the end of this "long" line to the ID check booth. I did see some people in front of me make their way to the Standard Screening lane but that line's flow was much slower. In fact, I passed them up by the time I was cleared to go to the x-ray machine area. They were still getting their ID's checked and had to line up to go through the rest of Standard Screening with their shoes and belts off.
Quick Tip if you have Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Don't let a longer PreCheck line fool you. It almost always flows much better than General...Ride it out so you can enjoy PreCheck's benefits. As I said, getting past the ID check booth took 6 minutes with a total screening time of about 8 minutes.
SAN Airside:
On time and ready to roll...And yes, the weather was a cool 59 degrees at the state Capitol despite a heat dome over much of the southwest USA during this trip.
Catalina Island shortly after the 10k feet mark
A quiet remote "office space" at SMF to get some work done before I head into downtown for my appointment via public transit.
Return
Now, this is a genuine public transit limo tour!
Good to know! Arrivals passengers are allowed to be picked up at upstairs departures level at SMF!
What?...Another closure? SMF Terminal B's Landside Quiet Room closed due to...?
Good News--The next five flights at Gate B17 including my return trip are all on time! No delays whatsoever. Somebody tell the press.
Now this is the best in Free Flight Entertainment, straight from the window...and the waterfalls are still fully gushing!
