Since I've begun exploring FT, the Trip Report section has been my favorite part. I've had great fun browsing through all the varied travels of my fellow online buddies. I decided to imput an ongoing trip report about my grueling week on the road.

It's been a long day, so please excuse any spelling mistakes.

A Quickie to the Citie
The trip began with a quick day in New York. I'd fly up on an early Continental flight to Newark and hop aboard an Amtrak train to Philadephia, my second destination.

My alarm sounded at the ungodly hour of half-past-four, causing my to roll out of my warm bed. I showered, grabbed my typical breakfast of a bagel with cream cheese, and through some things in a bag. I kissed my sleeping youngest child, who is enjoying the sleeping-in perk of summer, good-bye and hopped into my Grand Cherokee for the 15 minute drive to Tampa International Airport.

I rolled into the Short Term lot at 5:45 and found my favorite parking spot. The airport was a typical mob scene, not uncommon despite the early hour. I took the monorail to Airside A, home of Continental, Northwest, Southwest, and America West (all the wests). The airside was crowded, but I got in line for the Newark-bound Continental flight.

My upgrade cleared in advanced, so I simply presented my photo ID, as though I was renting a car, answered the questions, and took a seat.

Airside A was designed with airline clubs in mind. There are two spaces capable of housing an airline club. Southwest of couse doesn't have one, but I think CO or NW should open a club since the terminal houses a decent amount of CO/NW/HP flights. These spaces have been converted to office space, though.

I found a place by the window on the quiet Northwest side of the concourse, reading the WSJ, looking at a Northwest A320.

The Continental agent called for boarding and I boarded early so I'd have ample space to stow my rollaboard and briefcase. My favoite seat is a bulkhead, which of course lacks underseat storage.

I was among the first to board the MD-80, whose forward galley held the aroma of fresh coffee. I took my favorite seat 1A, threw my bags in the overheads, and settled in. The delightful flight attendant offered my coffee, which I gladly accepted.

I was a little worried about delays due to weather, as my schedule was tight and left little room for delays. Luckily, everything was ontime.

The Douglas "Super"-80 (oh, wait, not on AA, sorry!) quickly loaded to capacity and we pushed back ontime from our gate. We had no wait to take off. The flight attendants even had to rush through the safety briefing! Just another reason I love Tampa...

We took off to the south, which afforded us great views of Tampa Bay. These views remind not only why I love windows but also why I love Tampa...

Breakfast was offered on this morning departure, but I turned it down since I already had my bagel and had to prepare a little for my meeting. I was just happy that my coffee cup was kept filled.

We landed early into Newark, by about ten minutes. We parked at C105 and deplaned. Since we arrived in the heart of rushhour, I elected to use public transportation to get to Manhattan. It was a bit of an effort though: Wait at the terminal for the Airlink Bus, which takes you to the Newark train station. There catch an NJ Transit train into Penn Station. Entire journey took only an hour, but can be painful if you have lots of luggage.

The rest of the day was spent in my meetings, with a quick break for lunch at a nondescript New York deli.

I booked my Amtrak trip over the internet the day before. I planned to go a late-evening Acela Regional in case my meetings ran late. It turns out they didn't, so I showed up at Penn Station and switched my ticket to a 4:00pm Metroliner train. No problem; no $75 charge. All I had to pay was the difference in fare.

My brother-in-law is a high-ranking official with Amtrak, and he sent me a VIP card that gives me access to Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounges. Basically, these are simple lounges for Sleeper customers on overnight trains. I presented my ticket and card, and the friendly agent let me in.

The lounge was very basic, with some comfortable chairs and beverages. Nothing much, but then you don't pay $300 a year to get in.

An agent called us to board, since Metroliner First Class customers can also use the lounge. He took us through a "back-route" to get to the tracks. The train just began boarding when I arrived, so I got on.

One of the benefits of the Metroliner is a reserved seat, meaning there is always one seat for you. I got on early so I got my choice of seats, but we departed a near capacity with people scrambling to get a seat.

The train was a quick and easy to transport around the Northeast. It is probably too slow for DC-Boston, but for quick hops it'll probably beat the airlines. When the airports are suffering delays, it'll again probably beat the airlines.

We arrived right ontime into 30th Street Station. I hailed a cab to the Park Hyatt and checked-in and received my room.

It was an easy day, with both the train and the plane on time. I hope my success can continue.



[This message has been edited by mwilliams (edited 06-05-2000).]