well...you could get a lot of 747's and work on hitting every airport with 10m+ from DFW or FRA? I was thinking about going that route from philly, but I want to hit africa with all the dirt strips in a 767 or 340 :D

We are indeed at Grande Ocean. I lived here years ago (back when Belynych was a babe ;) ) and have been coming here for about 25 years so have seen some changes. It works well because Plus1 can golf and BL JR and I can enjoy the beach. Since Grande Ocean renovated, I've been really happy there. The water was really warm and felt great today. The evening have been cool. So refreshing after the festering pit.

:rolleyes:

A HUGE Plus1!

EWWW!!!!!:eek:

Good night box!

Last summer our Kroger couldn't manage to get fresh blueberries or strawberries, but they had an aisle full of really awful looking leather recliners they were selling for $99. It's crap like that that makes me want to drive four or five times as far to the grocery store to shop in a nice store that's well stocked with quality food merchandise. I was in our Kroger yesterday only out of convenience, and with their renovations things seem somewhat improved, but we'll see what happens. I'm still skeptical. And one thing that certainly hasn't changed is the lack of friendliness and efficiency of their employees — they're slow and grumpy. But I think that's just an Atlanta thing; you see that everywhere here, especially at the airport.

For fresh produce, I can get it, but I'd LOVE to have a Tom Leonards or Stew Leonards around, we have a small farmers market but they mostly carry local pecans, oranges, and really locally grown items, and the sweet fruit varieties(blueberry, blackberry, strawberries grow some, but expensive) don't grow too great in this region :(

It doesn't matter where they build a Wal-Mart — that demographic will find it.

And seriously, if you have any sort of conscience at all, or really care about smaller, locally owned businesses, you should never set foot in a Wal-Mart. That company has done more than any other to destroy the economic independence of smaller communities in this country. I'm all for the free market, but there are times when one company's greed outweighs the greater good and what's best overall for the community, and Wal-Mart is a prime example of that. They are absolutely the worst.

I've seen this come full circle now, I saw it destroy some people, and then I have seen those people come back after 5-6 years bigger and better than ever before due to so many people disliking walmart....
I shop at my local grocer for most everyday items, I pay more for it, but I am supporting local high school students, local managers, local workers. They are an 'affiliated' brand of independent grocer, that and IGA if you have nearby can help the grocery market, as they are typically 'mom and pop' and normally have friendly staff too. (downside is they can be a hellhole too)
Walmart also cut out their meat market and sells the junkiest meats ever for years now, and that pushed a lot of people back to the local guys I've been using all along.

night box, phone service is up and going ^

Sometimes that happens, but often it doesn't. More often than not you'll see a community with a central business district full of shuttered buildings, and a Wal-Mart a few miles away on the edge of town that has sucked up all the business. And inside the Wal-Mart you'll often find the people who used to work in those shuttered businesses, working for less money than before. The stronger local places will often take a beating and hold on and make it, but the net result is still a negative. You also start to see more of a brain drain, as fewer degreed younger adults move back to start a new business, or take over an existing one, and instead end up going elsewhere. I grew up in one of those communities, and saw it happening all around in other towns as well. It's often not the only factor, but it's still a large contributor. In the end you're left with a community that is shrinking, lower overall wages, a smaller number of successful business owners, and often a decline in the overall education level of the adult population.

I would guess the one in Edison is frequented by people from Staten Island and Perth Amboy.

As for the one in West Windsor, Trenton isn't that far away.

NJ has some really seedy parts, so those people have to come out at some point.

true for most I am sure, but this area is one that is quite.....cliquish
If walmart angers one person wrong in town it means the end of shopping there for 100's of people.
That has good and bad factors of course, but I live a bit on the outside of that and tend to ignore them, and we all get along fine ;)

Many areas are not like this, especially the metro areas, but the cities of 10-40k where walmart tries to do this can have that impact over time. It all depends on people and markets, and how they react to costs; both short and long term.

Good night Box.

It isn't Trenton People. They know not to shop there. Hamilton has their own so it's not from their either.

Night box.

My chances for a bump on Friday morning are looking pretty good - the flight is zeroed out! ^

1554 to PBI on 7/3 - How's the crystal ball looking, sfogate? :D

Currently at the KE Prestige Lounge at ICN. The DL flight arrived 45 minutes early. I actually feel cheated out of some additional sleep time in the lie-flat suite and even missed the pre-arrival meal because I was sound asleep. I think I managed about six hours of sleep; I could have had more, but I wanted to stay up and watch movies.

The DL seat definitely is better than the VS seat because it can be adjusted into an infinite number of positions between slightly reclined and full lie-flat. You can also adjust the angle of the headrest. In addition, the seat includes a massage feature. I found the seat to be very well padded, and the duvet they provide is a bit heavy, but is very high quality and comfortable. The only issues are lack of large storage space for reading material and the like and the fact that the AVOD screen cannot be moved toward you (it stays in a fixed position after you take it out of the side wall). It can be tilted up or down, however, do ensure that you have a proper view no matter your position in the seat.

Service was efficient and polite - definitely very good, but not outstanding. No problems with AVOD. Decent red wine and ok port. They offered pre-plated cheese, crackers, grapes and strawberries for dessert, with sundaes, as well. I skipped the sundae, but it looked good.

All things considered, I would say that DL lie-flat J is the best way to go US-Asia on Skyteam in J, followed by KE C. I am even considering staying an extra day on this trip to try to get the DL lie-flat flight on the return.

ICN is an outstanding airport, with well-lit, airy concourses and floor to ceiling windows. While I have issues with the KE Prestige Lounge (always hot and humid; shower rooms too small; can get very crowded during peak times), it has one of the best views of any lounge I have ever experienced. As I type, I am watching 744's, 777's, 330's, and obscure Russian aircraft arrive and depart one after the next.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Good morning from Roskilde, Denmark. Beyond the viking ship museum this town seems to be built very much as a tourist trap. :td: the viking ships are quite awesome, at least from afar. Time to go get close-up.