Off to Abu Dhabi

Pleasant First Class check in agent came out from the behind the counter to greet us and escort us back to her counter.

Aw shucks.

And the same old annoying TBIT security where despite TSA PRECHECK on our boarding passes, there is no dedicated PreCheck lane and we had to wait behind dozens of kettles.   I still think that the refundable AA ticket and T4 PreCheck is the best way to bypass this nonsense.

OK, not sure what this is all about unless these states are issuing IDs to illegals.  Then why isn't California on the list??

The Etihad Lounge is upstairs on Level 6, to the right of the Star Alliance Lounges.

The lounge has a few nice features, but overall was pretty disappointing.  Also considerably smaller than the gorgeous Dulles lounge.  

Although the lounge is advertised as a First and Business Class lounge, there is really nothing First Class about it.  And the serve yourself food is dreadful.

There is menu offering made to order dishes, but the old recyled and soiled menu is a major turn off.

Looks like this sucker had been crumpled up and then run over a few times.

The menu was still the original summer menu from last summer when it opened.  It's February and it features summer pea soup and summer greens. Come to think of it, both of our menus looked like they'd been in use since last summer as well.  LOL.

As bad as the food was, the bar was even sorrier.   They had no champagne and no white wine and according to the bartender, haven't had any for "a few days".  They also no longer served specialty cocktails that they offered after they first opened.   OMG, what have I done?  Is this an omen of our upcoming flight?

Then there was this room just behind the check in desk, apparently for VIPs and royalty.

Next up:  Nearly 16 hours of Etihad mostly First Class.