Trip Report

Saturday Aug 5

CO 1020 FLL-EWR 757-200 0700-0946 (Scheduled) 4B

Construction progress on the new FLL Terminal 1 continues apace for the planned 1Q 2001 opening. CO's present terminal (renamed Terminal 3) is being remodeled concurrent with the new construction, but no work was going on during this Saturday morning.

Coach was heavily oversold and they asked for volunteers, but everyone including standbys got on. Boarding was orderly and drinks were offered. A last-minute upgrade of a family of 4 filled the remaining F seats. The door was closed at 6:58 and we pushed back almost immediately; we were airborne just after 7:00.

Breakfast was the usual (good) eggs or cereal; the fruit plate was especially good, as the different fruits were perfectly ripe. Service was attentive and beverages were continuously refilled. A direct from-the-south approach brought us to the runway at 9:21am, and we were at the gate 15 minutes early.

Before fetching the rental car, I took the opportunity to check out the new P Club in the C3 area, and it sure is a beauty. Others have described the large number of work cubicles; for me, the best part is that they are isolated from the general seating areas (couches, chairs and tables) so that interruptions from screaming kids and other distractions should be minimized.

The monorail is in its last month or so of operation before the planned shutdown, so I was able to avoid the bus madness and got to Avis very quickly. My midsize reservation netted a Grand Prix GT, with a responsive if gas-thirsty engine (but no CD player)

Made a detour to the Mall at Short Hills to pick up a couple of things I forgot to pick up (nice place - a Nordstrom and Needless Markup and a bunch of other high-falutin stores).

REGENT HOTEL WALL STREET

Acting on a FlyerTalk tip (thanks Doc), I snagged a $200 rate for a room that is posted at $575 to $750 for single occupancy on the rate card. The greeting and registration was extremely courteous without being obsequious. The desk clerk came around to show me the elevators, but before doing so he opened a door to show me a magnificent domed ballroom (a nice touch). The room was the smallest type the hotel offers, but still was about 500 square feet, with three windows opening to the central courtyard. No separate closet but instead two huge wood armoires, Fiji bottled water was provided. The minibar was empty, as they will stock it to your specific request. There is a DVD player (the hotel lends free movies, but I didn't have time to go down and see the selection), and the clock radio has an integrated CD player. Besides the very comfortable bed, the best part of the room was the outstanding bathroom. There was a separate huge shower, and a huge soaking tub with marble counter on which sat a nice orchid-type flower and a candle in a crystal holder. A Chinese-style vase was in a marble 'nook' where the humungous towels also were placed. Two more windows to the side of the bath, protected by opaque "shoji" type shades. Nice indeed.

After a nap I explored the lower tip of Manhattan. Lots of interesting stores, J&R Music and Computers and Century 21 among them. Then through the World Trade Center across the skybridge to the World Financial Center, took advantage of a sunny day and had an early dinner on the riverside promenade deck of a restaurant named SouthWest NY. Moderate prices, good if not completely authentic "elevated" Tex-Mex and killer margaritas. Good if a bit harried service, our waiter didn't write any orders down- the adjacent table had eight people and he seemed to get everything right!

Sunday August 6th
TRAIL MOTEL Boiceville NY

A drive through congested traffic led up to the beautiful Catskills, about 100 miles N of NYC led to an excellent wedding rehearsal dinner at a restaurant called the Catskill Rose in Mt. Tremper. The overnight was at a quaint, old-fashioned individually owned motel in Boiceville (both towns about 15 miles SW of Woodstock NY). $65 (cash only, no smoking or pets please) brought a comfortable air-conditioned unit with chintz bedspread and crocheted doilies on the tables. The phone was wired for local calls, there was a china dish next to the phone and a card instructing the caller to leave a quarter in the dish for each call (Boicevile has no cell phone reception, at least for AT&T PCS).

Monday August 7th

The wedding was held at the Onteora Mountain House, a B&B - Lodge that once was the mountain lodge of Mr. Hellmann of mayonnaise fame. A terrace overlooking the green Catskills terrain was the setting for the nuptials. A klezmer group played late into the night as many libations were consumed.

Tuesday August 8th

Everyone slept in, but a group of us got together for a lunch at the Little Bear, an adjunct of the Bear Restaurant on the outskirts of Woodstock proper. A nice selection of Schezwan and Hunan dishes and a creekside table on the terrace capped off a memorable time for all. After dropping off one of the wedding attendees on the Upper West Side at about 4:45 pm, I high-tailed it over the GW Bridge and headed for EWR. Going by the WCBS radio traffic reports, traffic on the bridge slowed to a crawl about 10 minutes after I crossed. Clear sailing on the NJ Turnpike, dropped off the car and got to Terminal C in time to spend an hour in the new P Club.

CO 1037 EWR-FLL 757-200 1955-2258 (Scheduled) 2E

This flight was not full - by the time I got to gate 92 from the C3 P Club, the all-rows announcement was being made; even so, I had plenty of room for my bags as F wasn't yet half-full. Closer to departure time a big family was upgraded but there were at least four or five empties, including 2F (note to non-Elites with Prestige Pack upgrade coupons - this is one case where you could have used them)

Excellent crew, especially a male F/A (curly hair, but didn't get his name) in first whose god mood was infectious and who seemed to take that little extra step to make you feel well cared for. The snack was the regular cold plate: breaded cold chicken, shrimp with cocktail sauce and a pasta salad on one plate. On my last few flights the chicken has shrunk a bit but this has allowed for more shrimp - there were eight or nine on my plate - I sure didn't mind

Coffee and other drink refills were offered throughout, but the best news was another early arrival - 15 minutes early! Thanks, CO!!!

I hope I did this right - here's the link to Doc's message about the Regent Wall Street Hotel
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum94/HTML/001810.html

Excellent trip report, N-NR.

Thanks for the great trip report. As a 'local' its always interesting to hear about places in my own backyard! Thanks also to you Doc for the added info on the Regent. Many of my out of town associats ask me for recomendations for downtown hotels. I only knew about the two Marriotts--I can now tell them about the Regent (although no points!)

That was probably the only sunny day we have seen in the area in the last two weeks. The weather here has been absolutely awful . I cannot decide which is worse- the drought and oppressive heat of last summer, or the deluge that has been the last month or so of 2000.

Nonetheless, I am glad to hear that you had a nice visit up north.

Thanks! And so glad it all worked out so well!

Ready to move to Manhattan?

Only if I'm adopted by someone very wealthy so that I can live in the manner that I WILL become accustomed to

Non-NonRev, what happens at EWR on getting to car-rental lots when monorail service ends?

And, is it actually shutting down forever or just ending service to car-rental lots?

Last time I went in & out of EWR, as I came back to the terminal from the Avis lot, the monorail got to the next station in toward the terminal and stopped just short of where it should, so the doors wouldn't open. After about 10 minutes of the doors trying to open, they finally got them open & told a monorail full of passengers (and many waiting to get on) to get off..this one was now out of service..

GerogeJ, when the monorail service is shut down completely in a few weeks (after the Labor Day holiday weekend), a fleet of 50 to 80 busses will be running multiple routes to move people between the terminals and parking/rental/shuttle stops. The Port Authority now seems to be openly acknowledging that, by having waited until the end of the summer travel season, they have pushed the re-opening back into January 2001 (at least).

The NY Times ran a big story on just this subject in last Sunday's Travel section - the article is still up on the NYT site at the link below (free registration required):
http://www.nytimes.com/library/trave.../pt000813.html


Another atricle by the Bregen NJ Record, from last month - and note the mention of the free soft drinks!
http://www.bergen.com//news/airportdm200007063.htm


Finally, a not-that-informative alert from the Port Authority itself:
http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/monorailframe1.htm

BTW, I had an experience similar to the one you reported with stuck doors and all - see my trip report below to read about our tax dollars at work:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/000976.html




[This message has been edited by Non-NonRev (edited 08-18-2000).]