toadman
Dec 22, 05, 8:54 pm
We flew AS flt. 8 from SEA-EWR on Dec. 21. Check-in and boarding went smooth and the flight pulled away at 8:40 sharp. For in-flight meal we were offered either a ham and cheese omlette or a french toast sandwich with ham and cheese. I chose the omlette and my S/O chose the french toast sandwich. Both were good. The meal came with a fresh fruit plate and a scone, which was also quite good. We actually would have arrived about 20 minutes early except EWR ATC put us on hold due to congestion. In any event we arrived on time, deboarded and went directly to the Airrail link and arrived about 5 minutes before the 5:36PM into Penn Station. Upon arriving at Penn Station we saw first hand the throngs of humanity trying to get home due to the MTA strike that had shut down the buses and subways. We were staying at the East side Marriott on 48th and Lexington. So we had a nice little walk ahead of us. Right around Penn Station was an absolute zoo. I felt like we were walking against a human tidal wave as we were headed east on 34th street trying to get to Lexington and it seemed everyone else was trying to get to Penn Station. A cab would have been of no use even if we had been able to find one that wasn't already packed with passengers. As it were, we made good time despite getting separated multiple times (my S/O is a native New Yorker and seems to navigate masses of people like a slalom skiier :) ) and arrived at the Marriott at around 6:40 PM. We checked in, freshened up and headed to one of our favorite Korean restaurants, Woo Chon on 36th street. So it was back down through the thongs of both commutters and tourists along 5th avenue to occassionally stop and view the Holiday windows. Despite the inconvenience of not having the subways, we spent most of our time around mid/uptown and enjoyed the cold windy city adorned in it's festive holiday trim. I love NYC at Christmas time and the transit strike did not dampen our holiday spirits. It makes for a great travel adventure if you ask me, and isn't that what all of us FT'ers are? A bunch of hardy travelers looking for a little adventure. Happy holidays and safe travels, wherever they may lead you.