Found a couple of economy (Q) tickets to JFK for Valentines day at $158 each so Mrs Rebob and I decided to take in a show and do some dining out in NYC. Used all four SWUs which had been extended from 2019 through July of 2022. I typically end up giving these away to friends, family and clients or here on FT so it was nice to get a chance to use them (though I had been trying to use them to go to London this summer to no avail).

In any event, got to SFO Saturday, about 2.5 hrs early, after a leisurely meal at Che Maman in Potrero Hill (love those mussels). SFO was empty at 7:30 PM, no lines anywhere to be seen. AC was the same way, I think there were 3 other people besides us. The redeye Saturday night, in 7D & 7F, was about half full w/ 6 empty seats in first and 7 in business. Dinner was served around 11:00 PM and both of us had pre-ordered the short ribs. Food was good, and the NYC based crew went out of their way to make sure we had everything we wanted. Captain left us alone to sleep almost the whole trip. Great crew all around. A small glitch with the VOD was the only problem I experienced.

Upon arrival at gate 8, went up the the Flagship lounge to grab a meal and catch a few more zzzz. Lounge was uncrowded and the food spread was good with passable eggs, frittata's, sausage and canadian bacon among the offerings. We were able to go into the quite room for an hour or two before another couple arrived and caused the lights to come back on. Took a cab down to our hotel in Hell's Kitchen around 11:30 so we could grab lunch (@ Digs on 8th) and be freshened up for our 2:00 matinee (Chicago at the Ambassador). Enjoyed an early dinner at Aria (Tuna tartar and guac was delicious) and then a nightcap at Dolly Varden before heading the hotel to watch the game and then to bed.

Monday morning walked through the park to the Met and enjoyed the european paintings section. Walked down to Rong Chen House for Szechuan which was passable but not very exciting (and they don't serve alcohol) before arriving at the Stephen Colbert Show. SC was fine, though we probably don't need to experience it again. Standing in line for a hour or so in 28 degree WX was not fun. Dinner afterwards at Mughlai Indian which was probably the best meal we had. We shared chicken vindaloo and baigan bartha, good and spicy.

Early Tuesday morning (5:45 AM) Lyft to JFK ended up being about $12 more than the taxi fare to the hotel but the car was much nicer. At JFK, the Flagship lounge was again sparsely populated so we took a couple of seats looking back into the city to have some coffee and snacks before boarding the 9:00 AM back to SFO. Food was the same except for thick cut bacon instead of the chicken and apple sausage. Lounge never got more than 20 or so people before we headed over to gate 33 for the flight back.

Arrived at the gate < 5 min before boarding (7D & 7F again) and as we scanned our passed we were pulled aside and given an op up to first (4A & 4F). They did rolling upgrades and filled our seats in business. Food was passable, I had the all american and the mrs the egg white omelet. Crew on this leg was not that great, spending a lot of time in their seats and not overly friendly. This was my first trip in C on the 321T and I think the J seats are more comfortable. It was difficult to get the seat adjusted to any degree of comfort and I had a hard time getting my feet in and out of the aisle. I'm pretty sure I would not pay for the hard product and definitely prefer the 787 over the 321T.

All told, we spent under $1,500 for a nice Valentines day.