SMD2 (no pix)
Nov 8, 2010, 3:43 pm
#1
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
SMD2 (no pix)
Prelude: resting up in Rhode Island
US3062 DCA PVD 1259 1420 ERJ 12A
My buddy R's stepson Michael fetched me in his pickup truck,
and I felt right at home in its tobacco-reeking cab. On the
way home we stopped by for some Brooklyn Lager and Mystic
Bridge IPA (the former good for when you're in a wimpy mood,
the latter good for when you want to put hair on your chest,
and a mix of the two a nice compromise). After we shared a
beer or three, I decided it was time to walk the six blocks
or so to the grocery to get stuff for dinner. Just as I was
heading out of the house, R's co-author Sue, whose annual
Thanksgiving party has become the in thing since the paper
did a feature on it last year, tootled by and offered me a
ride (six blocks or so), so naturally I had to invite her
to dinner, the major catch being that she eats only white
food. So our menu was baked haddock with crumbs on top with
mashed potatoes. I made an eggplant parmesan for R and me.
Oyster Bay Pinot Noir, a wimpy but not unpleasant wine,
was a decent accompaniment.
Next day: friends for dinner - John and Connie, Michael (as
above) and his wife Debbie.
R found some pate in the freezer left over from one of my
previous visits, so that and some cheese and crackers
served as starter. The pate was still quite good, though
it had gone a bit watery (I'm not sure how many weeks or
months had passed since its freezing).
The rest of the menu:
Cucumber salad, Asian style;
Greatest chicken recipe, see below;
Leftover eggplant parm, better the next day;
Risotto, which would have been fine except that people had
been invited for 7, but we didn't eat until 8, so the rice
had gone from creamy to gummy, which nobody but me minded.
More of that Oyster Bay Pinot and then a magnum of Rene
Junot something or another, about which I forget everything
except that it was somewhat corked, as was the Sandeman's
Ruby that came afterward.
Debbie brought apple pie, and someone provided a carton of
Edy's Grand rich and creamy vanilla bean ice cream - this
is fine just so it stays at least partially frozen. When
thawed and liquid, it shows itself to be far less than rich
and creamy. But it's okay with apple pie.
Next day was a lazy day of planning future trips, followed
by a dinner invitation from Harry and Josy - absolutely the
most vigorous 80-year-old couple I know. Harry is rare among
nonroyalty and nondefectives in that his parents were first
cousins, and his paternal grandparents were also first
cousins. So what did he do but go off and married his first
cousin, and they have had perfectly normal-looking offspring
and grand-offspring and an enviably stable 55-year marriage.
Josy is no dummy and got a rotisserie chicken from the
store, which with cheese and crackers and a pack of Trader
Joe's nuts made a fine meal. R and I had concocted an apple
upside-down cake using found ingredients and tiny tins that
fit in a toaster oven, as her regular oven isn't working.
Greatest chicken recipe
cat: mine, low-carb
servings: 8
32 fl chicken stock
3 lb chicken thighs (about 8)
2 lb chicken breasts
3 lb onions, sliced thin
16 fl heavy cream
6 fl dry white wine
1/2 lb cream cheese
thyme
lots of pepper
salt to correct
Bone the breasts and boil the bones in the stock
for a while. Reduce stock to 1 1/2 c.
Remove skin from all chicken. Render out the fat. Eat
the cracklings.
Brown the chicken pieces in the rendered fat, cooking
the breasts the least, the thighs somewhat more. Remove
to a warm place. Dump the onions in the same fat and cook
over low heat, salting ad lib, until onions are
essentially a uniform mush. Add the stock, heavy cream,
and wine. Season. Bring to the boil; then lower heat to
a simmer and let cook until thickish. Add chicken, cover,
and cook 15 min or to taste. Thicken with cream cheese.
Serve over the starch of your choice, if you're into starch.
vaguely after Julia Child: or at least made to taste
like something out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
US3062 DCA PVD 1259 1420 ERJ 12A
My buddy R's stepson Michael fetched me in his pickup truck,
and I felt right at home in its tobacco-reeking cab. On the
way home we stopped by for some Brooklyn Lager and Mystic
Bridge IPA (the former good for when you're in a wimpy mood,
the latter good for when you want to put hair on your chest,
and a mix of the two a nice compromise). After we shared a
beer or three, I decided it was time to walk the six blocks
or so to the grocery to get stuff for dinner. Just as I was
heading out of the house, R's co-author Sue, whose annual
Thanksgiving party has become the in thing since the paper
did a feature on it last year, tootled by and offered me a
ride (six blocks or so), so naturally I had to invite her
to dinner, the major catch being that she eats only white
food. So our menu was baked haddock with crumbs on top with
mashed potatoes. I made an eggplant parmesan for R and me.
Oyster Bay Pinot Noir, a wimpy but not unpleasant wine,
was a decent accompaniment.
Next day: friends for dinner - John and Connie, Michael (as
above) and his wife Debbie.
R found some pate in the freezer left over from one of my
previous visits, so that and some cheese and crackers
served as starter. The pate was still quite good, though
it had gone a bit watery (I'm not sure how many weeks or
months had passed since its freezing).
The rest of the menu:
Cucumber salad, Asian style;
Greatest chicken recipe, see below;
Leftover eggplant parm, better the next day;
Risotto, which would have been fine except that people had
been invited for 7, but we didn't eat until 8, so the rice
had gone from creamy to gummy, which nobody but me minded.
More of that Oyster Bay Pinot and then a magnum of Rene
Junot something or another, about which I forget everything
except that it was somewhat corked, as was the Sandeman's
Ruby that came afterward.
Debbie brought apple pie, and someone provided a carton of
Edy's Grand rich and creamy vanilla bean ice cream - this
is fine just so it stays at least partially frozen. When
thawed and liquid, it shows itself to be far less than rich
and creamy. But it's okay with apple pie.
Next day was a lazy day of planning future trips, followed
by a dinner invitation from Harry and Josy - absolutely the
most vigorous 80-year-old couple I know. Harry is rare among
nonroyalty and nondefectives in that his parents were first
cousins, and his paternal grandparents were also first
cousins. So what did he do but go off and married his first
cousin, and they have had perfectly normal-looking offspring
and grand-offspring and an enviably stable 55-year marriage.
Josy is no dummy and got a rotisserie chicken from the
store, which with cheese and crackers and a pack of Trader
Joe's nuts made a fine meal. R and I had concocted an apple
upside-down cake using found ingredients and tiny tins that
fit in a toaster oven, as her regular oven isn't working.
Greatest chicken recipe
cat: mine, low-carb
servings: 8
32 fl chicken stock
3 lb chicken thighs (about 8)
2 lb chicken breasts
3 lb onions, sliced thin
16 fl heavy cream
6 fl dry white wine
1/2 lb cream cheese
thyme
lots of pepper
salt to correct
Bone the breasts and boil the bones in the stock
for a while. Reduce stock to 1 1/2 c.
Remove skin from all chicken. Render out the fat. Eat
the cracklings.
Brown the chicken pieces in the rendered fat, cooking
the breasts the least, the thighs somewhat more. Remove
to a warm place. Dump the onions in the same fat and cook
over low heat, salting ad lib, until onions are
essentially a uniform mush. Add the stock, heavy cream,
and wine. Season. Bring to the boil; then lower heat to
a simmer and let cook until thickish. Add chicken, cover,
and cook 15 min or to taste. Thicken with cream cheese.
Serve over the starch of your choice, if you're into starch.
vaguely after Julia Child: or at least made to taste
like something out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Nov 8, 2010, 3:44 pm
#2
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
US4092 PVD PHL 0920 1034 CRJ 8C
I'd planned to get a later flight, but circumstances
conspired to make it make sense for me to take this one.
There was no line at security. The Rapescan took its 7
seconds (hah - at least a minute, counting the TSA people
trying to figure out what the results mean) and this time
found nothing strange at my waistline or left lower leg.
This aircraft had foam rubber and crap spilling out of the
exit window, not exactly confidence-instilling; nor was
the fact that the other exit seat was occupied by a person
of more than size and probably less than ability to fit
through the exit should that have become necessary.
We pulled out quite early and were taking off at departure
time, a true rarity. A nothing flight.
Bumpy noisy landing. I hate CRJs.
US3648 PHL LGA 1132 1226 CRJ 8D
I had almost an hour to use the small but nice F club and
its free wi-fi for all; then off to gate 1 or 3, where our
flight was just a wee tad delayed, but owing to the miracle
of schedule padding, we landed a few minutes early.
A full drink service on what turned out to be a 25-minute
flight, approximately. Bumpy noisy landing. I hate CRJs.
I spent a profitable hour at the US Airways Club with my
friend Bud Light, who appears to be the new official bar
tender at Star Alliance, and then went to wait at the
security exit for SkiAdcock and Spaceman, who were coming
in around 2. They didn't show up at the appropriate time,
so I gave a call, and lo and behold, they had sneaked
around me and were already at the club with drinks in
front of them.
Among us we had plenty of coupons.
After an hour's visit they went to get their car service,
and I stayed behind to await lili's 4:00 flight. She showed
up lovely and perky and sober, so we went upstairs to
change one of those. At some point we discovered that the
house red, Sterling Vintner's Reserve Merlot, was better
than the Malbec we had been using up 2 coupons a shot for,
so we ended up with a few souvenirs at the end of the day.
lili's car service was prompt, fast, friendly, and not too
expensive.
Westin New York at Times Square
Thanks to the tommy-clout, we all got Atrium Club rooms for
the price we would have paid for normal rooms (or less). I
was given a perfectly fine room on 16, with which I was
reasonably well pleased. lili got a corner junior suite,
I guess it was, on 11. The welcome amenity was a tray of
cheeses (garnished with fruit, nuts, honey, and preserved
fruit), which I didn't notice, and a bottle of Wolffer
Estate Cab Franc 07 (Hamptons, LI). Now I am all for a hotel
showcasing local products, but this wine was sour, unfruity,
and altogether uninteresting. We donated our wine to the
common weal, as the meet and greet in the lounge featured a
cash bar, to our surprise.
There was a dinner in the works, but lili and I had saved
this time for a tete a tete to plan our future travels - I
really enjoy going places with her, as she is a crackerjack
flyer and being retired has more time to spend places than
most of our mileage-running brethren. So while the rest of
the group were enjoying SBM12's favorite cuisine, we were
gorging on the Dallas BBQ's pulled pork and signature 2-lb
barbecued short rib (both quite good) and with visions of
SinDO and Africa and God-knows-where dancing in our heads.
I'd planned to get a later flight, but circumstances
conspired to make it make sense for me to take this one.
There was no line at security. The Rapescan took its 7
seconds (hah - at least a minute, counting the TSA people
trying to figure out what the results mean) and this time
found nothing strange at my waistline or left lower leg.
This aircraft had foam rubber and crap spilling out of the
exit window, not exactly confidence-instilling; nor was
the fact that the other exit seat was occupied by a person
of more than size and probably less than ability to fit
through the exit should that have become necessary.
We pulled out quite early and were taking off at departure
time, a true rarity. A nothing flight.
Bumpy noisy landing. I hate CRJs.
US3648 PHL LGA 1132 1226 CRJ 8D
I had almost an hour to use the small but nice F club and
its free wi-fi for all; then off to gate 1 or 3, where our
flight was just a wee tad delayed, but owing to the miracle
of schedule padding, we landed a few minutes early.
A full drink service on what turned out to be a 25-minute
flight, approximately. Bumpy noisy landing. I hate CRJs.
I spent a profitable hour at the US Airways Club with my
friend Bud Light, who appears to be the new official bar
tender at Star Alliance, and then went to wait at the
security exit for SkiAdcock and Spaceman, who were coming
in around 2. They didn't show up at the appropriate time,
so I gave a call, and lo and behold, they had sneaked
around me and were already at the club with drinks in
front of them.
Among us we had plenty of coupons.
After an hour's visit they went to get their car service,
and I stayed behind to await lili's 4:00 flight. She showed
up lovely and perky and sober, so we went upstairs to
change one of those. At some point we discovered that the
house red, Sterling Vintner's Reserve Merlot, was better
than the Malbec we had been using up 2 coupons a shot for,
so we ended up with a few souvenirs at the end of the day.
lili's car service was prompt, fast, friendly, and not too
expensive.
Westin New York at Times Square
Thanks to the tommy-clout, we all got Atrium Club rooms for
the price we would have paid for normal rooms (or less). I
was given a perfectly fine room on 16, with which I was
reasonably well pleased. lili got a corner junior suite,
I guess it was, on 11. The welcome amenity was a tray of
cheeses (garnished with fruit, nuts, honey, and preserved
fruit), which I didn't notice, and a bottle of Wolffer
Estate Cab Franc 07 (Hamptons, LI). Now I am all for a hotel
showcasing local products, but this wine was sour, unfruity,
and altogether uninteresting. We donated our wine to the
common weal, as the meet and greet in the lounge featured a
cash bar, to our surprise.
There was a dinner in the works, but lili and I had saved
this time for a tete a tete to plan our future travels - I
really enjoy going places with her, as she is a crackerjack
flyer and being retired has more time to spend places than
most of our mileage-running brethren. So while the rest of
the group were enjoying SBM12's favorite cuisine, we were
gorging on the Dallas BBQ's pulled pork and signature 2-lb
barbecued short rib (both quite good) and with visions of
SinDO and Africa and God-knows-where dancing in our heads.
Nov 10, 2010, 11:41 am
#3
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
beginning of DO proper
Next morning, a pretty nice breakfast buffet, which I
managed to get only to the very tail end of. Good thing I
didn't eat much - they cleared the buffet away and
immediately started setting up brunch, which was lavish and
varied - I tried the turkey-jalapeno sausage, which
fortunately tasted like jalapeno and unfortunately tasted
like turkey; smoked salmon (served on bagel chips with
cream cheese); and osetra caviar (served on mini cheese
quiches). Interestingly, these sophisticated FTers didn't
go for the caviar very much: at the end of the meal there
remained three servings, of which GreenFireFlyer and I got
two. I might attribute this reticence on the absence of an
appropriate Champagne.
A free couple hours, which we spent dithering and looking at
such romantic spots as Duane Reade, after which we joined
Spaceman and George (this year's trip winner) for a ride to
the airport - this took an agonizing hour and half through
the wilds of Queens. I wonder how much worse it would have
been had we waited until rush hour to make our exit.
Check-in was quick, especially as all of us were *G except
George, and we dragged him along with us.
Security, even the priority lane, on the other hand, was
horrid. I think LH did a good thing by relocating the lounge
inside the secure area.
There were quite a number of other FTers here early for
the bubbly (I'm not sure what it was, Drappier?), or in my
case, the Martell Cordon Bleu.
Shortly before the scheduled opening time of our reception
we were (gently) kicked out of the Senator lounge and sent
downstairs, whereupon the gracious bk3day guested me into
the F lounge upstairs for dinner. The elevator was out,
so we had to be admitted through the back stairs, which
involved finding a manager to swipe us in with his card
and lots of apologies.
managed to get only to the very tail end of. Good thing I
didn't eat much - they cleared the buffet away and
immediately started setting up brunch, which was lavish and
varied - I tried the turkey-jalapeno sausage, which
fortunately tasted like jalapeno and unfortunately tasted
like turkey; smoked salmon (served on bagel chips with
cream cheese); and osetra caviar (served on mini cheese
quiches). Interestingly, these sophisticated FTers didn't
go for the caviar very much: at the end of the meal there
remained three servings, of which GreenFireFlyer and I got
two. I might attribute this reticence on the absence of an
appropriate Champagne.
A free couple hours, which we spent dithering and looking at
such romantic spots as Duane Reade, after which we joined
Spaceman and George (this year's trip winner) for a ride to
the airport - this took an agonizing hour and half through
the wilds of Queens. I wonder how much worse it would have
been had we waited until rush hour to make our exit.
Check-in was quick, especially as all of us were *G except
George, and we dragged him along with us.
Security, even the priority lane, on the other hand, was
horrid. I think LH did a good thing by relocating the lounge
inside the secure area.
There were quite a number of other FTers here early for
the bubbly (I'm not sure what it was, Drappier?), or in my
case, the Martell Cordon Bleu.
Shortly before the scheduled opening time of our reception
we were (gently) kicked out of the Senator lounge and sent
downstairs, whereupon the gracious bk3day guested me into
the F lounge upstairs for dinner. The elevator was out,
so we had to be admitted through the back stairs, which
involved finding a manager to swipe us in with his card
and lots of apologies.
Nov 10, 2010, 12:08 pm
#4
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
LH JFK FCL dinner menu
[most of the misprints theirs]
ANTIPASTI (cold)
Prosciutto di Parma
excellent, thin sliced to order
Parmigiano reggiano
medium age, just beginning to go grainy, fairly sharp
in flavor
Manchego
Selection of black and green olives
very nice selection, including a truffled green olive
that knocked my socks off
Grilled vegetables
Hummus
Buffalo mozzarella/basil pesto
Watermelon-Feta stick/mint pesto
bk3day liked these and highly recommended that I try
one - I respectfully declined
Mediterranean prawn salad
Pickled pumpkin
Crudites/blue cheese dip
Salami "Cacciatore"
FINGER SANDWICHES
Smoked trout/cucumber/dill
Gruyere cheese/braised leek
WRAPS
Chicken ceasar wrap
fresh iceberg salad/homemade croutons
SALADS
Panzanella tomato/cucumber/red onion/basil
French bread
Green beans marinated in arugula-pesto
roastbeef/topped with crunchy daikon radish
Arugula/frisee with cherry tomatoes
Dressings
Ranch/selection of premium olive oils & vinegars
SOUPS
Tom Ka Gai
Thai chicken soup/coconut milk
fresh cilantro & ginger
Creamy potato-leek soup
homemade herbed croutons
Clear beef soup
herbed pancake stripes
Selection of ovenfresh bread
STEAK & SALAD
Seared fillet of beef
tomato carpaccio/truffled arugula salad
rosemary chips
PASTA & ASIA
Rigatoni
creamy pumkin-ricotta sauce
leek & onion
Chicken "Jalfrezi"
Madini rice
TRADITIONAL DISH
Beef Stroganoff
Spaetzle
I tried this - not too creamy, which was good; made with
filet trimmings, which was good; not too salty, which was
good; had cucumber slices in it, which was just plain weird
SPECIALS
Smoked salmon/cream cheese/capers
Steamed "goyza"
soy sauce/light dijon mustard dip
nicely done, but the "goyza" filling was an unidentifiable
mush
Vegetarian spring rolls
sweet chili sauce/soy sauce
Maryland crab cakes
ponzu and ginger dressing/lettuce
pretty tasty, but how Maryland they were I don't know;
also an overplus of filler
Bavarian "Leberkaese"
brezel/Dijon mustard/fresh horseradish
DESSERTS
DO & CO's Mousse au Chocolat
light in texture, color, and taste; very sweet
Homemade walnut-blueberry cake
Italian style espresso flan
Fresh fruit salad
DEMEL's apple strudel/vanilla sauce
Cream chocolate-banana mousse
there was also peanut butter in this, which our server
warned us about; she said it was very nice; I wasn't
overwhelmed - too many things going on in an unconvincing
way
Traditional "Kaiserschmarrn"/plum chutney
nice version of an intrinsically you-had-to-be-there dish
Selection of sorbets
Austrian style chocolate soufflee/vanilla ice cream
ANTIPASTI (cold)
Prosciutto di Parma
excellent, thin sliced to order
Parmigiano reggiano
medium age, just beginning to go grainy, fairly sharp
in flavor
Manchego
Selection of black and green olives
very nice selection, including a truffled green olive
that knocked my socks off
Grilled vegetables
Hummus
Buffalo mozzarella/basil pesto
Watermelon-Feta stick/mint pesto
bk3day liked these and highly recommended that I try
one - I respectfully declined
Mediterranean prawn salad
Pickled pumpkin
Crudites/blue cheese dip
Salami "Cacciatore"
FINGER SANDWICHES
Smoked trout/cucumber/dill
Gruyere cheese/braised leek
WRAPS
Chicken ceasar wrap
fresh iceberg salad/homemade croutons
SALADS
Panzanella tomato/cucumber/red onion/basil
French bread
Green beans marinated in arugula-pesto
roastbeef/topped with crunchy daikon radish
Arugula/frisee with cherry tomatoes
Dressings
Ranch/selection of premium olive oils & vinegars
SOUPS
Tom Ka Gai
Thai chicken soup/coconut milk
fresh cilantro & ginger
Creamy potato-leek soup
homemade herbed croutons
Clear beef soup
herbed pancake stripes
Selection of ovenfresh bread
STEAK & SALAD
Seared fillet of beef
tomato carpaccio/truffled arugula salad
rosemary chips
PASTA & ASIA
Rigatoni
creamy pumkin-ricotta sauce
leek & onion
Chicken "Jalfrezi"
Madini rice
TRADITIONAL DISH
Beef Stroganoff
Spaetzle
I tried this - not too creamy, which was good; made with
filet trimmings, which was good; not too salty, which was
good; had cucumber slices in it, which was just plain weird
SPECIALS
Smoked salmon/cream cheese/capers
Steamed "goyza"
soy sauce/light dijon mustard dip
nicely done, but the "goyza" filling was an unidentifiable
mush
Vegetarian spring rolls
sweet chili sauce/soy sauce
Maryland crab cakes
ponzu and ginger dressing/lettuce
pretty tasty, but how Maryland they were I don't know;
also an overplus of filler
Bavarian "Leberkaese"
brezel/Dijon mustard/fresh horseradish
DESSERTS
DO & CO's Mousse au Chocolat
light in texture, color, and taste; very sweet
Homemade walnut-blueberry cake
Italian style espresso flan
Fresh fruit salad
DEMEL's apple strudel/vanilla sauce
Cream chocolate-banana mousse
there was also peanut butter in this, which our server
warned us about; she said it was very nice; I wasn't
overwhelmed - too many things going on in an unconvincing
way
Traditional "Kaiserschmarrn"/plum chutney
nice version of an intrinsically you-had-to-be-there dish
Selection of sorbets
Austrian style chocolate soufflee/vanilla ice cream
Nov 20, 2010, 9:18 pm
#5
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
off to see Europe
At some point USirritated and a guest came up and dined
at a nearby table.
A super pleasant visit with bk3day, punctuated by the leggiest
of the LH concierges coming by periodically as our waitress,
bringing little treats for us, meticulously plated gems.
The only thing missing was music, sweet music, preferably
performed on a violin (or viola).
We eventually came downstairs to the festivities and enjoyed
them a lot - still nicer than real life, but not the same
thing. Boarding was a bit of a scrum (but a polite one), as
it might be with a hundred more Star Golds than usual on a
flight. Alas, for us it was back to the mundane world, and
the reality of LH coach - neither of us had thought the
added expense justified for C, and the tickets for our group
were booked into a nonupgradeable class (otherwise imagine
the chaos). Perhaps our choice was mistaken, I don't know.
As we were booked, in an abundance of optimism, into two
aisles, anticipating at least some of the middles being left
empty, I pulled a multi-switch, moving George up a row and
the middle people in 45 over one spot, paving the way for
us to sit together at 44DE.
LH 405 JFK FRA 2245 1120 744 45DE
This was an expectedly somewhat uncomfortable flight, but I
managed to snooze through most of it. I didn't pay any
attention to whether there was any food but had a glass or
three of cheap red wine.
We staggered out into the Frankfurt semisunshine around
noon, which gave us not very much time to freshen up before
our scheduled activities.
Checkin at the Sheraton Frankfurt Towers was singularly
inefficient, as before. Last time the computer system had
been down; this time it was just being intractable. I
scored a club room on the 8th floor; lili did not, and so
I had the unaccustomed honor of guesting her into the
lounge, which was pleasant in an IKEA sort of way and
strangely devoid of FTers on both our visits. Decent wine
selection, including the Allendorf Geisenheimer Monchspfad
sparkling Riesling.
Soon it was time to board the buses for the secure area,
where we had the pleasure of crawling all around, under,
and inside the A380 "Muenchen," bound for Tokyo next day,
but LH very kindly made it available for our perusal before
preparing it for the flight. (This of course was one of the
numerous aircraft grounded a couple days later.)
Our first seminar, led by the tag team of Urs and Ulli,
dealt with the airport experience, from ticketing to lounges
to innovations in self-checkin. As I was particularly
interested in lounges, the emphasis was on checkin. We went
downstairs for a hands-on demo, with me as the guinea pig.
Of course I broke the kiosk. So I kept trying, with Ulli
on the horn to his programmer, who kept patching on the fly.
Gradually the FTers wandered off to their new assignments,
leaving just lili, Ulli, and myself; after about 10 minutes
I had my passport information squared away, chosen my new
seat, and a boarding pass for Houston, and we went on to the
Special Moments workshop, where we were supposed to suggest
what we might enjoy for a special treat as LH premium pax.
I found myself assigned to a team led by Mrp Alert, who
waxed extremely enthusiastic about bath stuff. As I know
nowt about bath stuff (I use what's cheap and available),
I faded into the background; admittedly Mrp Alert's
enthusiasm is remarkable and almost contagious. I think we
ended up making a fairly reasonable case for a takeaway of
bath stuff packaged in a floating airplane-shaped reusable
tub suitable for children and other swag-minded people.
The reward for our labors: a special cocktail of Sekt,
bitters, perhaps amaretto, and a Maraschino cherry. I didn't
care for it but had two anyway. Oh, we also got a model of a
Constellation to take home.
at a nearby table.
A super pleasant visit with bk3day, punctuated by the leggiest
of the LH concierges coming by periodically as our waitress,
bringing little treats for us, meticulously plated gems.
The only thing missing was music, sweet music, preferably
performed on a violin (or viola).
We eventually came downstairs to the festivities and enjoyed
them a lot - still nicer than real life, but not the same
thing. Boarding was a bit of a scrum (but a polite one), as
it might be with a hundred more Star Golds than usual on a
flight. Alas, for us it was back to the mundane world, and
the reality of LH coach - neither of us had thought the
added expense justified for C, and the tickets for our group
were booked into a nonupgradeable class (otherwise imagine
the chaos). Perhaps our choice was mistaken, I don't know.
As we were booked, in an abundance of optimism, into two
aisles, anticipating at least some of the middles being left
empty, I pulled a multi-switch, moving George up a row and
the middle people in 45 over one spot, paving the way for
us to sit together at 44DE.
LH 405 JFK FRA 2245 1120 744 45DE
This was an expectedly somewhat uncomfortable flight, but I
managed to snooze through most of it. I didn't pay any
attention to whether there was any food but had a glass or
three of cheap red wine.
We staggered out into the Frankfurt semisunshine around
noon, which gave us not very much time to freshen up before
our scheduled activities.
Checkin at the Sheraton Frankfurt Towers was singularly
inefficient, as before. Last time the computer system had
been down; this time it was just being intractable. I
scored a club room on the 8th floor; lili did not, and so
I had the unaccustomed honor of guesting her into the
lounge, which was pleasant in an IKEA sort of way and
strangely devoid of FTers on both our visits. Decent wine
selection, including the Allendorf Geisenheimer Monchspfad
sparkling Riesling.
Soon it was time to board the buses for the secure area,
where we had the pleasure of crawling all around, under,
and inside the A380 "Muenchen," bound for Tokyo next day,
but LH very kindly made it available for our perusal before
preparing it for the flight. (This of course was one of the
numerous aircraft grounded a couple days later.)
Our first seminar, led by the tag team of Urs and Ulli,
dealt with the airport experience, from ticketing to lounges
to innovations in self-checkin. As I was particularly
interested in lounges, the emphasis was on checkin. We went
downstairs for a hands-on demo, with me as the guinea pig.
Of course I broke the kiosk. So I kept trying, with Ulli
on the horn to his programmer, who kept patching on the fly.
Gradually the FTers wandered off to their new assignments,
leaving just lili, Ulli, and myself; after about 10 minutes
I had my passport information squared away, chosen my new
seat, and a boarding pass for Houston, and we went on to the
Special Moments workshop, where we were supposed to suggest
what we might enjoy for a special treat as LH premium pax.
I found myself assigned to a team led by Mrp Alert, who
waxed extremely enthusiastic about bath stuff. As I know
nowt about bath stuff (I use what's cheap and available),
I faded into the background; admittedly Mrp Alert's
enthusiasm is remarkable and almost contagious. I think we
ended up making a fairly reasonable case for a takeaway of
bath stuff packaged in a floating airplane-shaped reusable
tub suitable for children and other swag-minded people.
The reward for our labors: a special cocktail of Sekt,
bitters, perhaps amaretto, and a Maraschino cherry. I didn't
care for it but had two anyway. Oh, we also got a model of a
Constellation to take home.
Nov 30, 2010, 6:38 am
#6
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
Dinnertime at the same venue as last year; this time LH was
joined by the other members of its group, Brussels, Swiss,
bmi, and Austrian, each of which had booths with giveaways
of collectibles (I didn't notice these, as I am not into
that kind of thing anymore, having been cured of the habit)
and/or consumables: Austrian - wine and pastries; bmi -
Fuller's London Pride (warm); Brussels - Neuhaus truffles;
Swiss - wine and cheese.
It was a nice touch having the Niehaus executive chef
dipping candies while we watched. He seemed pleased to be
a sudden celebrity.
There was interesting A380 swag and other stuff available;
an interesting "touch" was a bank of LH masseuses off by
the entrance. They seemed happy to be there, and from the
looks of the FTer patrons, there was more happiness going
on. Lufthansa cocktails made with Champers: I preferred it
to the Special Moments stuff - I think it was the vanilla.
Quite a spread.
Abundant antipasti to suit every palate, from smoked salmon
and sausages to grilled vegetables and salads. Enough for a
full meal, truth be told.
Quite good roast beef; I passed on the English egg sauce,
which seemed a bit dubious. Sides were asparagus and
potatoes, both nicely done.
There were a red and white poured, but I stuck with a nice
Swiss Bordeaux-style blend that I got from that display.
I also passed on the endive in cheese sauce, though I would
perhaps have liked to try one - but I had used all my
lactase pills for the truffles.
And mostly (not completely though!) ignored the delicious-
looking sweets offered afterward.
As last year, I headed back to the Sheraton on an early bus,
this time not facing imminent heart failure.
joined by the other members of its group, Brussels, Swiss,
bmi, and Austrian, each of which had booths with giveaways
of collectibles (I didn't notice these, as I am not into
that kind of thing anymore, having been cured of the habit)
and/or consumables: Austrian - wine and pastries; bmi -
Fuller's London Pride (warm); Brussels - Neuhaus truffles;
Swiss - wine and cheese.
It was a nice touch having the Niehaus executive chef
dipping candies while we watched. He seemed pleased to be
a sudden celebrity.
There was interesting A380 swag and other stuff available;
an interesting "touch" was a bank of LH masseuses off by
the entrance. They seemed happy to be there, and from the
looks of the FTer patrons, there was more happiness going
on. Lufthansa cocktails made with Champers: I preferred it
to the Special Moments stuff - I think it was the vanilla.
Quite a spread.
Abundant antipasti to suit every palate, from smoked salmon
and sausages to grilled vegetables and salads. Enough for a
full meal, truth be told.
Quite good roast beef; I passed on the English egg sauce,
which seemed a bit dubious. Sides were asparagus and
potatoes, both nicely done.
There were a red and white poured, but I stuck with a nice
Swiss Bordeaux-style blend that I got from that display.
I also passed on the endive in cheese sauce, though I would
perhaps have liked to try one - but I had used all my
lactase pills for the truffles.
And mostly (not completely though!) ignored the delicious-
looking sweets offered afterward.
As last year, I headed back to the Sheraton on an early bus,
this time not facing imminent heart failure.
Dec 1, 2010, 4:58 pm
#7
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
It's not certain whose call woke up whom, but lili and I
groggily decided that we should each get thy butt out of
thy bed and prepare for thy doom with protein and alcohol.
We were greeted like long-lost children at the lounge, where
breakfast was quiet, exclusive feeling, and tasty - there
were an egg station, copious pastries and fresh fruits,
decent sparkling Riesling to make mimosas with, excellent
solicitous waitstaff. I believe anat0l was the only FTer we
saw, which sort of surprised me (the dearth of FTers, that
is - usually we're all over free booze and food like gate
lice or something). Too bad we had to hurry to the airport.
LH 440 FRA IAH 1040 1530 744 35G/35E, 35D
And again, back to reality.
I'd been preassigned the middle section aisle seat opposite
lili's, and one of the things we did during our lengthy
session with the checkin kiosk was adjust seats. It took a
long time, but it worked.
Two meal services on this flight: a fairly tasty goulasch,
followed by I believe a sandwich, to which I paid scant
if any attention, red wine and my seatmate taking up most
of my attention. Oh, yes, also snoozing.
Passing immigration and customs in Houston was pretty easy.
This time lili beat me handily to the bag claim, but as we
both had bags, her advantage evaporated.
We took the regular shuttle bus to the Sheraton North
Houston at George Bush Intercontinental (what a mouthful),
where the scene in the lobby was festive and how shall I
put it, controlled chaotic. Perhaps it was the champagne
punch being served (3 kinds: musty and flat from a fountain,
or fresh from a dispenser, or fresh and nonalcoholic from a
dispenser); perhaps it was being in the company of a couple
hundred of our nearest and dearest; or who knows, but a
good time was being had by all.
My room was peculiar-shaped, with extra space but owing to
the odd shape no way of enjoying it. I think this was a room
upgrade but have no way of being sure. I had a manager and
banquet staff to talk to, so not much spare time, and I
didn't get to see lili's. Nor to fuss about my room, which
was outdated, slightly dingy, and with plumbing from the
1980s - it clanked percussionally and hooted and buzzed
woodwindly and in essence kept me up half the night.
Hernan the banquet guy promised to make sure the piano
would be tuned and that I would have a music stand for my
little recital next day.
Afterward, I went off socializing for a while and then
rendezvoused with lili for supper. The onsite restaurant
wasn't bad ... not great, but what do you do in the middle
of nowhere, Texas. We didn't feel up for the bbq expedition
that a lot of folks went on but just looked to eat at the
bar; we discovered that ExpressJet was having a function
there, so if we weren't going to crash it (we considered
this) we had to go a notch upscale.
Here it means Basil's Kitchen as opposed to Basil's Tavern.
This is a not unpleasant but very dated space with a kind
of lonely feel to it, the kind of place where I'd start
thinking about not having a proper job and not having a
proper home and not having a proper girlfriend, only with
lili with me I didn't think of these things but rather
what exciting place we were going to visit next together.
Despite the unlikelihood of finding her burger grail here,
she ordered one anyway. You'd think that even a hotel
cook would be able to make a burger in Texas. Not really;
I reckon management and more specifically accounting have
had a say in the recipe, and what she got had too much
filler and (by way of camouflage) too much seasoning,
making something more akin to a meatloaf. It wasn't bad,
just not a proper burger.
My steak, however, ordered blue rare, was quite good.
We had a coupon for free wine with our meal. It was bad.
Food: respectable
Service: okay but a little slow; too many managers hanging
around not doing much
Atmosphere: you're on the road, what do you expect
We made an early evening of it and toddled off sleepily
just as the bbq explorers started to trickle back and the
rains came in that impressive Texan way.
groggily decided that we should each get thy butt out of
thy bed and prepare for thy doom with protein and alcohol.
We were greeted like long-lost children at the lounge, where
breakfast was quiet, exclusive feeling, and tasty - there
were an egg station, copious pastries and fresh fruits,
decent sparkling Riesling to make mimosas with, excellent
solicitous waitstaff. I believe anat0l was the only FTer we
saw, which sort of surprised me (the dearth of FTers, that
is - usually we're all over free booze and food like gate
lice or something). Too bad we had to hurry to the airport.
LH 440 FRA IAH 1040 1530 744 35G/35E, 35D
And again, back to reality.
I'd been preassigned the middle section aisle seat opposite
lili's, and one of the things we did during our lengthy
session with the checkin kiosk was adjust seats. It took a
long time, but it worked.
Two meal services on this flight: a fairly tasty goulasch,
followed by I believe a sandwich, to which I paid scant
if any attention, red wine and my seatmate taking up most
of my attention. Oh, yes, also snoozing.
Passing immigration and customs in Houston was pretty easy.
This time lili beat me handily to the bag claim, but as we
both had bags, her advantage evaporated.
We took the regular shuttle bus to the Sheraton North
Houston at George Bush Intercontinental (what a mouthful),
where the scene in the lobby was festive and how shall I
put it, controlled chaotic. Perhaps it was the champagne
punch being served (3 kinds: musty and flat from a fountain,
or fresh from a dispenser, or fresh and nonalcoholic from a
dispenser); perhaps it was being in the company of a couple
hundred of our nearest and dearest; or who knows, but a
good time was being had by all.
My room was peculiar-shaped, with extra space but owing to
the odd shape no way of enjoying it. I think this was a room
upgrade but have no way of being sure. I had a manager and
banquet staff to talk to, so not much spare time, and I
didn't get to see lili's. Nor to fuss about my room, which
was outdated, slightly dingy, and with plumbing from the
1980s - it clanked percussionally and hooted and buzzed
woodwindly and in essence kept me up half the night.
Hernan the banquet guy promised to make sure the piano
would be tuned and that I would have a music stand for my
little recital next day.
Afterward, I went off socializing for a while and then
rendezvoused with lili for supper. The onsite restaurant
wasn't bad ... not great, but what do you do in the middle
of nowhere, Texas. We didn't feel up for the bbq expedition
that a lot of folks went on but just looked to eat at the
bar; we discovered that ExpressJet was having a function
there, so if we weren't going to crash it (we considered
this) we had to go a notch upscale.
Here it means Basil's Kitchen as opposed to Basil's Tavern.
This is a not unpleasant but very dated space with a kind
of lonely feel to it, the kind of place where I'd start
thinking about not having a proper job and not having a
proper home and not having a proper girlfriend, only with
lili with me I didn't think of these things but rather
what exciting place we were going to visit next together.
Despite the unlikelihood of finding her burger grail here,
she ordered one anyway. You'd think that even a hotel
cook would be able to make a burger in Texas. Not really;
I reckon management and more specifically accounting have
had a say in the recipe, and what she got had too much
filler and (by way of camouflage) too much seasoning,
making something more akin to a meatloaf. It wasn't bad,
just not a proper burger.
My steak, however, ordered blue rare, was quite good.
We had a coupon for free wine with our meal. It was bad.
Food: respectable
Service: okay but a little slow; too many managers hanging
around not doing much
Atmosphere: you're on the road, what do you expect
We made an early evening of it and toddled off sleepily
just as the bbq explorers started to trickle back and the
rains came in that impressive Texan way.
Dec 14, 2010, 5:47 pm
#8
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
Next day dawned bright and, more relevantly, windy. It was
time for Continental to show its stuff, and we were bused
to a hangar something rather like the Oslo hangar (i.e.,
like any hangar, except populated with an array of bright-
faced enthusiastic airline employees), where we were treated
to a number of momentous nonannouncements about the future
of CO aka UA and Mileage Plus and a quite festive and tasty
if unpretentious lunch of sliders (regular, buffalo chicken,
and/or vegetarian) and ice cream sundaes.
I've always been generally pleased if unexcited by CO's
offerings, and this was typical. The neatest things were the
port-a-potties that had been brought in for our benefit;
these were extremely luxurious, for port-a-potties.
Our special guest for this event was a 737-800 (or -900, I
can't tell the difference), rumored to be our charter plane
for the next day, but that was false, as we had a 757-300.
Back to the hotel, where I got to bustle around self-
importantly; the piano had been ineptly tuned, and the
proposed site for the industry cocktail reception was
extraordinarily windy. A cadre of hotel staff was charged
to move that millstone about repeatedly until it was
finally decided that even though poolside was a great idea
for the party, the winds off the prairies forbade that.
My accompanist Paul Madore arrived from Boston, and we had
a hurried nonrehearsal before the reception, which by all
reports went swimmingly (better than swimmingly in the pool,
which might well have happened if plan A had been adhered
to). The only evidence I have was a YouTube video taken at
the end of 2 hours of playing - we'd been asked for a 1-hr
recital, but you know time slides when you're having fun.
We played, from what I recall, a Mozart sonata, a Schubert
sonata, two mazurkas by Wieniawski, the Svendsen Romance
(in honor of the Swedishness of tommy777), slow movements
from the Tschaikovsky and Wieniawksi violin concertos (I am
not in shape to play the fast movements), and assorted salon
pieces, ending with either the Hubay or Monti Csardas, I
forget which (we played both during the course of the day).
I think the industry people liked their party; anyhow, most
of them stayed through, thanks to either the music or the
magic of free alcohol (your guess is better than mine).
I attended the Frequent Traveler Awards banquet mostly for
the booze. I already know which airline and hotel programs
suit me best, thank you much, and hotel food is hotel food.
This precis is gleaned from perceptions colored by a half
dozen or more beers:
The tenderloin was tasty if rather well done; the wine was
okay, but they didn't pour often enough. Eventually I got
bored and wandered off. Maybe I am not quite the enthusiast
I should be, but when I checked back in half an hour later,
it seemed the same hotels were getting all the awards ...
Marriott must have done the best job getting the vote out,
as it went home with the lion's share of the trophies,
despite by all reports being just another program.
I turned in early with an eye to tomorrow.
time for Continental to show its stuff, and we were bused
to a hangar something rather like the Oslo hangar (i.e.,
like any hangar, except populated with an array of bright-
faced enthusiastic airline employees), where we were treated
to a number of momentous nonannouncements about the future
of CO aka UA and Mileage Plus and a quite festive and tasty
if unpretentious lunch of sliders (regular, buffalo chicken,
and/or vegetarian) and ice cream sundaes.
I've always been generally pleased if unexcited by CO's
offerings, and this was typical. The neatest things were the
port-a-potties that had been brought in for our benefit;
these were extremely luxurious, for port-a-potties.
Our special guest for this event was a 737-800 (or -900, I
can't tell the difference), rumored to be our charter plane
for the next day, but that was false, as we had a 757-300.
Back to the hotel, where I got to bustle around self-
importantly; the piano had been ineptly tuned, and the
proposed site for the industry cocktail reception was
extraordinarily windy. A cadre of hotel staff was charged
to move that millstone about repeatedly until it was
finally decided that even though poolside was a great idea
for the party, the winds off the prairies forbade that.
My accompanist Paul Madore arrived from Boston, and we had
a hurried nonrehearsal before the reception, which by all
reports went swimmingly (better than swimmingly in the pool,
which might well have happened if plan A had been adhered
to). The only evidence I have was a YouTube video taken at
the end of 2 hours of playing - we'd been asked for a 1-hr
recital, but you know time slides when you're having fun.
We played, from what I recall, a Mozart sonata, a Schubert
sonata, two mazurkas by Wieniawski, the Svendsen Romance
(in honor of the Swedishness of tommy777), slow movements
from the Tschaikovsky and Wieniawksi violin concertos (I am
not in shape to play the fast movements), and assorted salon
pieces, ending with either the Hubay or Monti Csardas, I
forget which (we played both during the course of the day).
I think the industry people liked their party; anyhow, most
of them stayed through, thanks to either the music or the
magic of free alcohol (your guess is better than mine).
I attended the Frequent Traveler Awards banquet mostly for
the booze. I already know which airline and hotel programs
suit me best, thank you much, and hotel food is hotel food.
This precis is gleaned from perceptions colored by a half
dozen or more beers:
The tenderloin was tasty if rather well done; the wine was
okay, but they didn't pour often enough. Eventually I got
bored and wandered off. Maybe I am not quite the enthusiast
I should be, but when I checked back in half an hour later,
it seemed the same hotels were getting all the awards ...
Marriott must have done the best job getting the vote out,
as it went home with the lion's share of the trophies,
despite by all reports being just another program.
I turned in early with an eye to tomorrow.
Dec 14, 2010, 5:49 pm
#9
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
CO1907 IAH PHX 0725 0741 753 39AB
It was brutally early to get up. Not much to say; everyone
knows about that. I was on the first bus, which meant in the
first load to check in and the first to be turned away by
the elite line gatekeeper. So I returned to the desk and got
a CO staffer to go over to educate the person, a substantial
annoyance, especially as this person immediately became your
proverbial immovable object, and I would have been through
much quicker had I just gone to the regular line in the
first place. Still got to the PC before opening. There was
a sizable crowd of us waiting there, and when the agents
saw the avalanche they were a bit taken aback. We had maybe
a half hour here before it was time to go to our gate.
Crisis: the orange juice dispenser wasn't working.
A festive atmosphere at boarding.
lili and I got the second to last row of the aircraft. Fine
with us, as though we are relatively long-legged for our
height, neither of us is particularly tall.
Brekkers was uninteresting, but probably better than what
you'd get in coach on most US carriers. And it was, truth
be told, too early for booze. I spent most of this 2-hr
flight snoozing anyway.
At the airport, we got buses to our unknown destination,
which turned out to be - good choice! - the Desert Botanical
Garden, where US Air put on a nice breakfast spread, and we
were treated to a presentations on the whys and wherefores
of our host airline. I missed most of this, preferring to
stroll through the cactuses before it got too hot. The
Monarch tent was nice.
We were a little tardy, getting on the last bus back to PHX.
A cohort of enthusiastic US retirees bade us goodbye, giving
us swag bags full of local merchandise. In case anyone was
wondering, the Arizona Snack Company caramel corn nuggets
that you all pawned off on me were nice tasting and very
moreish.
CO1907 PHX PAE 1230 1456 753 39AB
Another shortish flight further palatabilized by a decent
bubbly and much Courvoisier. We were issued a cheeseburger
lunch - apparently a standard CO offering. Not bad. Good
service - how could it not be - by the CO FAs who had
represented the airline at the luncheon the previous day,
augmented by FTer scott6067, himself an aspiring FA.
Extras: a couple nice truffles from Varda Chocolatier and
a nifty coupon for Nita Lake Lodge, which, alas, I shall
not have the opportunity of using.
It isn't every day that you get to land at Paine: in fact,
I'd bet most of us had never landed at PAE or BFI before. I
certainly hadn't.
Boeing put on a good show for us; first the obligatory video
presentation and welcome from the brass; then there was the
good part, where the company, definitely proud of itself,
showed off its new products and its gigantic manufacturing
facility - said to be the largest building by volume in the
world by a factor of 2.4 over #2, which is the Airbus plant
in Toulouse where we had been guests last year. We got to
see the 747-8 and 787 assembly lines and to actually tour
the Dreamlifter (747 LCF) and the 787. It wouldn't be too
much of an exaggeration to say that this was the plane geek
opportunity of a lifetime: it certainly would be difficult
to top this day, at least until the 797 comes around, which
I likely won't be alive to see.
Our buses took us a wet and dark hour-long ride to our
final official activity, a banquet at the Sheraton Seattle,
where we heard exciting news about what was going on in the
Starwood world and were served a buffet of healthy stuff -
salmon and chicken, broccolini, and for dessert, yogurt and
granola and berries made into a kind of parfait. Other than
causing a perception that we were ingesting as close to
negative calories as possible, the food was fine. Open bar
was good; toward the end of the evening they ran out of red
wine and had to find more, which turned out to be slightly
better than the original.
Owing to there being a medical convention, we couldn't get
a block of rooms here and had to relocate to the Westin, to
which some of us wanted to take taxicabs - the whole third
of a mile. Okay, it was raining, and in the mist it was hard
to see the towers, but, hey, why didn't people take my word
for it? Lots of FTers checking in at the SPG desk, so I went
to the ordinary people desk and was served promptly.
lili reports that her room on 31 came with a fairly lavish
welcome amenity of fruit, chocolate, and Courvoisier, which
last she very kindly ceded to me. I am crushed to report
that my rather pretty room on 35 in the other tower did not
come with any amenity. (It turns out that sometime during
this week she had become, by hook or crook, Platinum,
whereas I remain lowly Gold to this day.)
It was brutally early to get up. Not much to say; everyone
knows about that. I was on the first bus, which meant in the
first load to check in and the first to be turned away by
the elite line gatekeeper. So I returned to the desk and got
a CO staffer to go over to educate the person, a substantial
annoyance, especially as this person immediately became your
proverbial immovable object, and I would have been through
much quicker had I just gone to the regular line in the
first place. Still got to the PC before opening. There was
a sizable crowd of us waiting there, and when the agents
saw the avalanche they were a bit taken aback. We had maybe
a half hour here before it was time to go to our gate.
Crisis: the orange juice dispenser wasn't working.
A festive atmosphere at boarding.
lili and I got the second to last row of the aircraft. Fine
with us, as though we are relatively long-legged for our
height, neither of us is particularly tall.
Brekkers was uninteresting, but probably better than what
you'd get in coach on most US carriers. And it was, truth
be told, too early for booze. I spent most of this 2-hr
flight snoozing anyway.
At the airport, we got buses to our unknown destination,
which turned out to be - good choice! - the Desert Botanical
Garden, where US Air put on a nice breakfast spread, and we
were treated to a presentations on the whys and wherefores
of our host airline. I missed most of this, preferring to
stroll through the cactuses before it got too hot. The
Monarch tent was nice.
We were a little tardy, getting on the last bus back to PHX.
A cohort of enthusiastic US retirees bade us goodbye, giving
us swag bags full of local merchandise. In case anyone was
wondering, the Arizona Snack Company caramel corn nuggets
that you all pawned off on me were nice tasting and very
moreish.
CO1907 PHX PAE 1230 1456 753 39AB
Another shortish flight further palatabilized by a decent
bubbly and much Courvoisier. We were issued a cheeseburger
lunch - apparently a standard CO offering. Not bad. Good
service - how could it not be - by the CO FAs who had
represented the airline at the luncheon the previous day,
augmented by FTer scott6067, himself an aspiring FA.
Extras: a couple nice truffles from Varda Chocolatier and
a nifty coupon for Nita Lake Lodge, which, alas, I shall
not have the opportunity of using.
It isn't every day that you get to land at Paine: in fact,
I'd bet most of us had never landed at PAE or BFI before. I
certainly hadn't.
Boeing put on a good show for us; first the obligatory video
presentation and welcome from the brass; then there was the
good part, where the company, definitely proud of itself,
showed off its new products and its gigantic manufacturing
facility - said to be the largest building by volume in the
world by a factor of 2.4 over #2, which is the Airbus plant
in Toulouse where we had been guests last year. We got to
see the 747-8 and 787 assembly lines and to actually tour
the Dreamlifter (747 LCF) and the 787. It wouldn't be too
much of an exaggeration to say that this was the plane geek
opportunity of a lifetime: it certainly would be difficult
to top this day, at least until the 797 comes around, which
I likely won't be alive to see.
Our buses took us a wet and dark hour-long ride to our
final official activity, a banquet at the Sheraton Seattle,
where we heard exciting news about what was going on in the
Starwood world and were served a buffet of healthy stuff -
salmon and chicken, broccolini, and for dessert, yogurt and
granola and berries made into a kind of parfait. Other than
causing a perception that we were ingesting as close to
negative calories as possible, the food was fine. Open bar
was good; toward the end of the evening they ran out of red
wine and had to find more, which turned out to be slightly
better than the original.
Owing to there being a medical convention, we couldn't get
a block of rooms here and had to relocate to the Westin, to
which some of us wanted to take taxicabs - the whole third
of a mile. Okay, it was raining, and in the mist it was hard
to see the towers, but, hey, why didn't people take my word
for it? Lots of FTers checking in at the SPG desk, so I went
to the ordinary people desk and was served promptly.
lili reports that her room on 31 came with a fairly lavish
welcome amenity of fruit, chocolate, and Courvoisier, which
last she very kindly ceded to me. I am crushed to report
that my rather pretty room on 35 in the other tower did not
come with any amenity. (It turns out that sometime during
this week she had become, by hook or crook, Platinum,
whereas I remain lowly Gold to this day.)
Dec 15, 2010, 6:29 pm
#10
In memoriam
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: IAD, BOS, PVD
Programs: UA, US, AS, Marriott, Radisson, Hilton
Posts: 7,203
end
A dark gloomy start to the day.
When it started to dry out, we took a stroll into the
chillyish morning. Pike Place Market is of course the
obligatory sightsee, so we did that; I followed my Seattle
ritual and got half a pound of gizzards at Chicken Valley;
offered lili some, which she refused, saying that she
doesn't eat offal. We ran into NewbieRunner, to whom I
offered some, which she refused, saying that she doesn't
eat chicken. Ran into scott6067 as well, who was in the
neighborhood with a friend.
So. We were supposed to get in touch with my friends Harry
and Anne, but lili's phone was nonfunctioning and mine was
missing altogether.
We repaired to Bayou on 1st, where this Algerian guy Hadj,
the co-proprietor, greeted us. We inquired about using his
phone, but he said he hadn't activated it (show and tell:
pulled it out of the box - it was still wrapped), so he
asked his partner, who angrily denied the request, whereupon
they got into a bit of a fight, and he told me that the only
thing to do was use the pay phone down in the mall, which I
tried, only it ate all my change, whereupon Hadj's friend
Bo, who runs a massage place down there, let me use hers.
We lunched at Bayou. My fried oyster plate was decent,
nothing special, with a way too thick breading quite unlike
the panko promised on the menu. lili's brisket po'boy was
quite nice, and she was kind to cede me the fatty outside
bits, which I enjoyed. The food didn't come out for a huge
time, near an hour, attributed by Hadj to his partner's
being in a snit about being asked for the use of her phone.
I ordered a root beer, and in honor of our meal coming
out very late or perhaps just because, I got a full glass
of the stuff and a spare full can.
By the time we had eaten, it was fairly late - there was
just time for a quick wander downtown, and then we had to
take the light rail (a hybrid peculiarity, operating part
of the time on the street and part on its own track) to
the airport. Luckily it leaves from the station just a block
from the Westin. It was nowhere near so nasty as we had been
warned and got us there in good time. The station is at the
other end of the parking lot from the terminal, a good walk.
I'd arranged with my buddy Harry to meet for a bite before the
flights: I chose Sharps Roasters, which offers the best of
all possible worlds - lots of protein, most of which is
respectable, and lots of beer, some of which is respectable.
Harry and his wife Anne met us at the airport, and we rode in
comfort the half mile to the restaurant (it was raining
again, so a walk would have been no fun).
The deal is you can get small plates or big plates of
food; small, medium, large, or "personal pitcher" beers.
Everyone but me went for small things. Let's see: the three
of them had various kinds of sliders including one of BBQ
pulled meat (no ID on the meat, but on inquiry it was found
to be a mixture of pork, beef, and turkey, aka leftovers);
ceviche; what was characterized as BBQ poutine - fries
topped with pulled meat, cheese, and drowned in (shudder)
BBQ sauce; a petite sirloin open face sandwich that turned
out to be a nice little FDA-serving-size steak with a blob
of mash, bread nowhere in sight; and Mini Thanksgiving,
doll-size servings of turkey, mash, and gravy on a plate
with a blob of cranberry stuff. As it turns out, I could
have spent a lot less and been satisfied with three or
four of these, but I went whole hog, er, steer and had
the pound prime rib no bone, which came as a pound plus,
slightly more medium than I'd like, but tender and good.
I thought of getting a personal pitcher of Mac and Jack
but settled for a large that and a medium Moose Drool for
contrast. The staff were pleasant, the service reasonably
prompt, so we got back to the airport in plenty of time to
get lili a glass of rough red at the PC, where a FTer
(I forget his handle, sorry) overheard us talking about
MegaDo and introduced himself.
I walked lili to her gate and returned to the club to find
HPN-HRL, whom I'd sort of expected, and JT_BOS, whom I
hadn't. Another glass of red, and it was time to go back to
the gate, where we arrived handily to find someone who
looked suspiciously like SanDiego1K lousing it up on the red
carpet. So I went round to look, and well I be. We were all
in F, so FT had 50% of the cabin.
UA 262 SEA IAD 2312 0603 319 1B Ch9 empty air
This had originally been a 320 but had been downgauged, so
3A became 1B, not so awful. I slept well after the first
Courvoisier; don't recall if I had another.
We said auf wiedersehen to SD1K and had an hour at the
RCC, which the other two used profitably to talk about
miles and points, while I zoned in and out of consciousness.
UA7484 IAD PVD 0810 0929 CR7 2A
A pleasant, short, inconsequential flight, during much of
which I looked out at the peculiar-shaped islands that
dot the Delaware past Philadelphia.
(not the same day)
MBTA 814 PVD BOS 0943 1055
Owing to the Acela being half an hour late, they held our
pokey commuter train, and we left about 10 late. It had been
this choice: the Acela, $30 or so, wi-fi and AC outlets; the
regional, $14, wait for another hour, AC outlets only; or
the commuter, $7.75, wi-fi but no AC. The wi-fi was fine;
the fact that this battery is good only for half an hour,
not fine.
We came in a bit late, and after running some errands, I
went straight to The Good Life (iDine place) for opening
time and a Guinness to celebrate my return.
The rather pretty bartender poured my glass slowly and
lovingly.
I ordered steak tips "as rare as you can cook them"; they
came out medium, a disappointment. They'd been marinated in
some liquid that included A-1 as a major component, so
maybe they wouldn't have tasted all that great rare; but
the meat as it was was just on the borderline of inedible
for me. But the bartender had been so nice. And there was
this incredible huge pile of salad, which looked great; not
until I got halfway through did I discover that the place
practices the heinous custom of mixing today's salad with
the not-so-bad-looking bits of yesterday's. House fries
were crispy outside, creamy inside, just about perfect.
The second Guinness, when there were plenty of customers,
was not so carefully poured as the first had been, so I
decided to head out to work (I'm retired, right?) rather
than staying for a third.
When it started to dry out, we took a stroll into the
chillyish morning. Pike Place Market is of course the
obligatory sightsee, so we did that; I followed my Seattle
ritual and got half a pound of gizzards at Chicken Valley;
offered lili some, which she refused, saying that she
doesn't eat offal. We ran into NewbieRunner, to whom I
offered some, which she refused, saying that she doesn't
eat chicken. Ran into scott6067 as well, who was in the
neighborhood with a friend.
So. We were supposed to get in touch with my friends Harry
and Anne, but lili's phone was nonfunctioning and mine was
missing altogether.
We repaired to Bayou on 1st, where this Algerian guy Hadj,
the co-proprietor, greeted us. We inquired about using his
phone, but he said he hadn't activated it (show and tell:
pulled it out of the box - it was still wrapped), so he
asked his partner, who angrily denied the request, whereupon
they got into a bit of a fight, and he told me that the only
thing to do was use the pay phone down in the mall, which I
tried, only it ate all my change, whereupon Hadj's friend
Bo, who runs a massage place down there, let me use hers.
We lunched at Bayou. My fried oyster plate was decent,
nothing special, with a way too thick breading quite unlike
the panko promised on the menu. lili's brisket po'boy was
quite nice, and she was kind to cede me the fatty outside
bits, which I enjoyed. The food didn't come out for a huge
time, near an hour, attributed by Hadj to his partner's
being in a snit about being asked for the use of her phone.
I ordered a root beer, and in honor of our meal coming
out very late or perhaps just because, I got a full glass
of the stuff and a spare full can.
By the time we had eaten, it was fairly late - there was
just time for a quick wander downtown, and then we had to
take the light rail (a hybrid peculiarity, operating part
of the time on the street and part on its own track) to
the airport. Luckily it leaves from the station just a block
from the Westin. It was nowhere near so nasty as we had been
warned and got us there in good time. The station is at the
other end of the parking lot from the terminal, a good walk.
I'd arranged with my buddy Harry to meet for a bite before the
flights: I chose Sharps Roasters, which offers the best of
all possible worlds - lots of protein, most of which is
respectable, and lots of beer, some of which is respectable.
Harry and his wife Anne met us at the airport, and we rode in
comfort the half mile to the restaurant (it was raining
again, so a walk would have been no fun).
The deal is you can get small plates or big plates of
food; small, medium, large, or "personal pitcher" beers.
Everyone but me went for small things. Let's see: the three
of them had various kinds of sliders including one of BBQ
pulled meat (no ID on the meat, but on inquiry it was found
to be a mixture of pork, beef, and turkey, aka leftovers);
ceviche; what was characterized as BBQ poutine - fries
topped with pulled meat, cheese, and drowned in (shudder)
BBQ sauce; a petite sirloin open face sandwich that turned
out to be a nice little FDA-serving-size steak with a blob
of mash, bread nowhere in sight; and Mini Thanksgiving,
doll-size servings of turkey, mash, and gravy on a plate
with a blob of cranberry stuff. As it turns out, I could
have spent a lot less and been satisfied with three or
four of these, but I went whole hog, er, steer and had
the pound prime rib no bone, which came as a pound plus,
slightly more medium than I'd like, but tender and good.
I thought of getting a personal pitcher of Mac and Jack
but settled for a large that and a medium Moose Drool for
contrast. The staff were pleasant, the service reasonably
prompt, so we got back to the airport in plenty of time to
get lili a glass of rough red at the PC, where a FTer
(I forget his handle, sorry) overheard us talking about
MegaDo and introduced himself.
I walked lili to her gate and returned to the club to find
HPN-HRL, whom I'd sort of expected, and JT_BOS, whom I
hadn't. Another glass of red, and it was time to go back to
the gate, where we arrived handily to find someone who
looked suspiciously like SanDiego1K lousing it up on the red
carpet. So I went round to look, and well I be. We were all
in F, so FT had 50% of the cabin.
UA 262 SEA IAD 2312 0603 319 1B Ch9 empty air
This had originally been a 320 but had been downgauged, so
3A became 1B, not so awful. I slept well after the first
Courvoisier; don't recall if I had another.
We said auf wiedersehen to SD1K and had an hour at the
RCC, which the other two used profitably to talk about
miles and points, while I zoned in and out of consciousness.
UA7484 IAD PVD 0810 0929 CR7 2A
A pleasant, short, inconsequential flight, during much of
which I looked out at the peculiar-shaped islands that
dot the Delaware past Philadelphia.
(not the same day)
MBTA 814 PVD BOS 0943 1055
Owing to the Acela being half an hour late, they held our
pokey commuter train, and we left about 10 late. It had been
this choice: the Acela, $30 or so, wi-fi and AC outlets; the
regional, $14, wait for another hour, AC outlets only; or
the commuter, $7.75, wi-fi but no AC. The wi-fi was fine;
the fact that this battery is good only for half an hour,
not fine.
We came in a bit late, and after running some errands, I
went straight to The Good Life (iDine place) for opening
time and a Guinness to celebrate my return.
The rather pretty bartender poured my glass slowly and
lovingly.
I ordered steak tips "as rare as you can cook them"; they
came out medium, a disappointment. They'd been marinated in
some liquid that included A-1 as a major component, so
maybe they wouldn't have tasted all that great rare; but
the meat as it was was just on the borderline of inedible
for me. But the bartender had been so nice. And there was
this incredible huge pile of salad, which looked great; not
until I got halfway through did I discover that the place
practices the heinous custom of mixing today's salad with
the not-so-bad-looking bits of yesterday's. House fries
were crispy outside, creamy inside, just about perfect.
The second Guinness, when there were plenty of customers,
was not so carefully poured as the first had been, so I
decided to head out to work (I'm retired, right?) rather
than staying for a third.
Jan 15, 2011, 4:01 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: YYJ
Posts: 4,137
Great report - missed it when you posted.
BFI has commercial service on Kenmore Air Express. And you can earn miles on those flights (on Alaska)! I flew into BFI a few years ago on Kenmore's short-lived scheduled service to YAZ. Tiny, efficient terminal. BFI even has customs facilities, although I don't think Kenmore currently makes use of them.
PAE does not, so that was certainly unique.
I wonder what the intersection of the population that has landed on a commercial aircraft at BFI and PAE is. Maybe a half dozen?
PAE does not, so that was certainly unique.
I wonder what the intersection of the population that has landed on a commercial aircraft at BFI and PAE is. Maybe a half dozen?