So my friend Bill and I have made the first leg of the journey to New York City for Long Island Who and I realized it’s been ages since I’ve had to take a flight that involved a layover. To be honest, I don’t really mind them that much, as long as I know I’m going to get where I’m going. This layover is in Detroit, which I’ve never been to before, but at least they have a nice airport. And I’m only slightly annoyed that the bag I had planned to carry on with me (which I never do, but was excited to finally do on this trip) had to get checked before we left Minneapolis, but hey, that’s the way travel goes, right? As long as I get the bag when I get to NYC, I’ll be happy. Have any of you had particularly good (or bad) luck with your luggage? Are you the one whose bag always come out on the carousel first? Or the one whose carry-on bag is just a little too big for the overhead bin, so you have to gate-check it?
One of the things that can be a bit of a hassle when traveling is getting to and from the airport. Since I was leaving fairly early this morning, I decided to try Lyft as a passenger. Some of you who know me outside the blog world know that I recently became a driver for Lyft, but I hadn’t tried it as a passenger before today. A friend of mine had been doing it for a couple of months and he told me about it when we were out one night when we were out together and it sounded like a fun side gig and a cool way to make some fun money, so I decided to give it a go and have been doing it for about a month now. Today, however, was my first time using it as a passenger (my friend gave me a lyft to the airport this morning) and it worked out really well. If you’re in any of the cities that have Lyft (San Francisco, Denver, Boston, Seattle, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Chicago, and a handful of others), you should check it out sometime! Cheaper than a cab, more comfortable, and generally more enjoyable. Plus, you’ll get to ride around in a car with a big pink mustache on the front of it:
If you decide to use it, put in code CNGVD7 before your first lyft to get a $10 credit. 🙂
Sounds like they’re starting to board our flight, so it’s onward and upward now. See you in NYC!
That One Guy Who Travels 
I had never heard of Lyft before, and didn’t know that you were driving for them – wild! I bet you’ll get some good stories from the experience. While I really enjoy driving, I think I would be too uncomfortable chauffeuring strangers in that way (safety concerns, mostly). But I’m glad to hear it’s working out for you! How often do you drive for them?
It’s surprisingly safe! All drivers go through background and DMV checks, so it’s all on the up-and-up. I’ve been doing it for a month or so and I’m on at least a few times a week. It’s been fun!
I bet the drivers are all safe – I was thinking more of myself being a driver, and having concerns over passengers I might pick up (as I can’t imagine all passengers are vetted in the same way – right?).
They aren’t vetted with background checks, but everyone is verified through Facebook, which helps. Also, both passengers and drivers rate each other after each lyft, so if you’re a driver and you didn’t feel comfortable with someone you picked up, you rate them with three stars or less and you will never be paired up with them again. Or if you just don’t feel comfortable with someone when you get their request, you just cancel the request. Safety is really important!
All of that definitely helps. I’m sure 99.5% of the time everything is perfect; it’s just that .05% that gives me pause. But nothing in life is 100% (of anything!), and it sounds like the Lyft folks really do their best to ensure a positive experience for all involved. Cool that you are doing it! What’s the first thing you will buy with your “fun money”? 🙂
Nothing fun, unfortunately. Paying for the new windows I had installed at my house!