A Wedding in Brooklyn
Jun 30, 2001 | 9:49 am
#1
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
A Wedding in Brooklyn
What was United thinking?
I walked up to the American Airlines counter at McCarran where they had four agents working a nonexistent First Class line. United usually had one agent and half a dozen of their best customers waiting while half a dozen agents manned the economy line. I walked up to the counter and asked the professional agent if I could check in for both my flights, the paid one to LAX and the award ticket on to JFK. He resisted the temptation to say, You check in both your flights!? and instead went right to work pressing many keys. He asked if I had a ticket associated with the LAX-JFK reservation and I told him it was an award and should already be ticketed. He found it and I was all set.
Americans web site, which crashed half a dozen times on me last night as I tried to purchase and upgrade the first leg of this trip, automatically assigned me a seat in the last row of First Class and provided no way to change it, although come to think of it neither does Uniteds site. So I asked for a seat closer to the front and got the bulkhead aisle, 3E. This Super 80 had 20 leather First Class seats, friendly flight attendants, and preflight drink service. United had eight cramped seats on this route and you were lucky to get service at all. What was United thinking?
We were in the air a scant five minutes after scheduled pushback and the captain predicted a record-setting 36-minute flight. He was on drugs though and we landed a good 45 minutes after takeoff with a long taxi to the gate at LAX. In flight I had coffee in a Styrofoam cup and water in a real glass. It was not quite up to Nationals level of service but still very pleasant. I had one of the only empty seats in the cabin next to me.
I needed to walk from Terminal 3 across the airport to Terminal 4 so I wormed my way through the Kasbah-like scene in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and into the front door of Terminal 4. There I saw a line like kids waiting to see Santa Claus at Macys on Christmas Eve. Apparently all the escalators but one were out of service and they were feeding everyone onto the one remaining. I asked a redcoat if there was any other way up and she said no. A gentleman at the foot of the escalator was checking everyones tickets, not really causing a delay so much as relocating it from the x-ray machine to where he was standing. When I got to the escalator 15 minutes later I realized that I could have just walked right onto the empty elevators and got off at the second floor instead of standing in that line.
Security was taking extreme precautions so I got a rare hand-scan, revealing everything down to the metal corners on my pocket organizer. I passed though and headed for the Admirals club, where I expected a fight over being allowed to enter on my Premium Class transcon ticket. On the contrary, though, the smiling agent let me right in and even handed me two drink tickets. Since it was only 8:30 a.m. she whispered conspiratorially, You can use these to get a couple bottles of water. We charge for them!
I asked if I could get on the nine oclock flight instead of the 10 and she said, Oh, you dont want that: its been downgraded to a 757! I agreed I didnt want it and went in the lounge, taking a seat by the window and getting Monkeyboy on line easily with my first guess at the local dial-up number. I tried a mini-muffin but it tasted like it was made with shortening. Then I strode up to the bar, presented my stamped drink ticket, and said, I understand this entitles me to a free bottle of water! Indeed it did, and I got a nice cold one from the barkeep, who took a break from watching Kermit the Frog as a panelist on To Tell the Truth to hand it to me.
Around 9:30 I headed to the gate and moments later they began boarding with the helpless followed by First and Business Class. I settled into seat 3B, the second row port aisle, and looked around to see if I could identify any celebrities. There were some unusual-looking characters but no one I recognized. Augie, the purser, asked if I wanted anything to drink and I asked for a black coffee so he put on a pot for me. I had the only empty seat in the cabin next to me. We pushed back just a few minutes late and I perused the menu while we ascended.
Augie, who said he was the most junior purser on this route with only 27 years of service, said the beef was coming out well done these days so I took his recommendation and ordered Cioppino, which was excellent. Before that I had a salad sampler from the cart with Thai chicken and smoked salmon. He couldnt make a Manhattan but he did have Makers Mark bourbon so I had some on the rocks. The wine list seemed slightly improved, with a Wente Bros. Cabernet and the Villa Mt. Eden Zinfandel, but still not up to a Premium Class service.
I had been wanting to see the main movie selection, Anti-Trust, because it was a thinly veiled story about Microsoft, cleverly set in Portland instead of Seattle so no one would suspect. It was laughably bad. I turned it off at the point where they implied Bill Gates was stealing code from an open-source guy and had him killed to cover it up. He showed the stolen code to his new hotshot programmer who took one glance at some variable declarations and said, Ooh! This is great! Bill could never even get us to share code with each other within the company, let alone use something that was Not Invented Here. So instead I whipped out the complimentary portable DVD player and Bose noise-canceling headsets and watched Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock, geek princess. It was an enjoyable yarn that passed the time well.
We landed on time in New York. It was a warm hazy day. I followed the signs down a crazy path to the taxi stand and didnt have to wait at all even though it was Friday night. For the $30 flat fare plus $3.50 for the Midtown Tunnel the driver took me to the W New York in record time. I gave him a generous tip, checked in, got upgraded to a tiny corner suite on a high floor, and sat down in the lounge for a proper Manhattan while I waited for Hunnybear. She arrived on time at LaGuardia and took a cab to meet me. We relaxed in the room a bit and I hooked up the high-speed Internet access for $9.95/day. Since the room was a phenomenal $139 it was a good deal.
Dinner was at Balthazar, a French steakhouse in SoHo. As usual we had to wait a half-hour to get seated even with reservations but it was worth it. We split a duck-confit salad and steak tartare for appetizer and then Hunnybear had the special bouillabaisse and I had the yummy steak frites. As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had profiteroles with homemade ice cream so we shared just one order. The check came to $122. I tried to sign it to my comp account but it was not possible so we charged it instead, leaving a generous tip. We walked home, arriving with a nice patina of sweat in the humid New York summer night.
[stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
I walked up to the American Airlines counter at McCarran where they had four agents working a nonexistent First Class line. United usually had one agent and half a dozen of their best customers waiting while half a dozen agents manned the economy line. I walked up to the counter and asked the professional agent if I could check in for both my flights, the paid one to LAX and the award ticket on to JFK. He resisted the temptation to say, You check in both your flights!? and instead went right to work pressing many keys. He asked if I had a ticket associated with the LAX-JFK reservation and I told him it was an award and should already be ticketed. He found it and I was all set.
Americans web site, which crashed half a dozen times on me last night as I tried to purchase and upgrade the first leg of this trip, automatically assigned me a seat in the last row of First Class and provided no way to change it, although come to think of it neither does Uniteds site. So I asked for a seat closer to the front and got the bulkhead aisle, 3E. This Super 80 had 20 leather First Class seats, friendly flight attendants, and preflight drink service. United had eight cramped seats on this route and you were lucky to get service at all. What was United thinking?
We were in the air a scant five minutes after scheduled pushback and the captain predicted a record-setting 36-minute flight. He was on drugs though and we landed a good 45 minutes after takeoff with a long taxi to the gate at LAX. In flight I had coffee in a Styrofoam cup and water in a real glass. It was not quite up to Nationals level of service but still very pleasant. I had one of the only empty seats in the cabin next to me.
I needed to walk from Terminal 3 across the airport to Terminal 4 so I wormed my way through the Kasbah-like scene in front of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and into the front door of Terminal 4. There I saw a line like kids waiting to see Santa Claus at Macys on Christmas Eve. Apparently all the escalators but one were out of service and they were feeding everyone onto the one remaining. I asked a redcoat if there was any other way up and she said no. A gentleman at the foot of the escalator was checking everyones tickets, not really causing a delay so much as relocating it from the x-ray machine to where he was standing. When I got to the escalator 15 minutes later I realized that I could have just walked right onto the empty elevators and got off at the second floor instead of standing in that line.
Security was taking extreme precautions so I got a rare hand-scan, revealing everything down to the metal corners on my pocket organizer. I passed though and headed for the Admirals club, where I expected a fight over being allowed to enter on my Premium Class transcon ticket. On the contrary, though, the smiling agent let me right in and even handed me two drink tickets. Since it was only 8:30 a.m. she whispered conspiratorially, You can use these to get a couple bottles of water. We charge for them!
I asked if I could get on the nine oclock flight instead of the 10 and she said, Oh, you dont want that: its been downgraded to a 757! I agreed I didnt want it and went in the lounge, taking a seat by the window and getting Monkeyboy on line easily with my first guess at the local dial-up number. I tried a mini-muffin but it tasted like it was made with shortening. Then I strode up to the bar, presented my stamped drink ticket, and said, I understand this entitles me to a free bottle of water! Indeed it did, and I got a nice cold one from the barkeep, who took a break from watching Kermit the Frog as a panelist on To Tell the Truth to hand it to me.
Around 9:30 I headed to the gate and moments later they began boarding with the helpless followed by First and Business Class. I settled into seat 3B, the second row port aisle, and looked around to see if I could identify any celebrities. There were some unusual-looking characters but no one I recognized. Augie, the purser, asked if I wanted anything to drink and I asked for a black coffee so he put on a pot for me. I had the only empty seat in the cabin next to me. We pushed back just a few minutes late and I perused the menu while we ascended.
Augie, who said he was the most junior purser on this route with only 27 years of service, said the beef was coming out well done these days so I took his recommendation and ordered Cioppino, which was excellent. Before that I had a salad sampler from the cart with Thai chicken and smoked salmon. He couldnt make a Manhattan but he did have Makers Mark bourbon so I had some on the rocks. The wine list seemed slightly improved, with a Wente Bros. Cabernet and the Villa Mt. Eden Zinfandel, but still not up to a Premium Class service.
I had been wanting to see the main movie selection, Anti-Trust, because it was a thinly veiled story about Microsoft, cleverly set in Portland instead of Seattle so no one would suspect. It was laughably bad. I turned it off at the point where they implied Bill Gates was stealing code from an open-source guy and had him killed to cover it up. He showed the stolen code to his new hotshot programmer who took one glance at some variable declarations and said, Ooh! This is great! Bill could never even get us to share code with each other within the company, let alone use something that was Not Invented Here. So instead I whipped out the complimentary portable DVD player and Bose noise-canceling headsets and watched Miss Congeniality with Sandra Bullock, geek princess. It was an enjoyable yarn that passed the time well.
We landed on time in New York. It was a warm hazy day. I followed the signs down a crazy path to the taxi stand and didnt have to wait at all even though it was Friday night. For the $30 flat fare plus $3.50 for the Midtown Tunnel the driver took me to the W New York in record time. I gave him a generous tip, checked in, got upgraded to a tiny corner suite on a high floor, and sat down in the lounge for a proper Manhattan while I waited for Hunnybear. She arrived on time at LaGuardia and took a cab to meet me. We relaxed in the room a bit and I hooked up the high-speed Internet access for $9.95/day. Since the room was a phenomenal $139 it was a good deal.
Dinner was at Balthazar, a French steakhouse in SoHo. As usual we had to wait a half-hour to get seated even with reservations but it was worth it. We split a duck-confit salad and steak tartare for appetizer and then Hunnybear had the special bouillabaisse and I had the yummy steak frites. As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had profiteroles with homemade ice cream so we shared just one order. The check came to $122. I tried to sign it to my comp account but it was not possible so we charged it instead, leaving a generous tip. We walked home, arriving with a nice patina of sweat in the humid New York summer night.
[stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jun 30, 2001 | 10:04 am
#2
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 321
"moments later they began boarding with the helpless followed by First and Business Class"
Lol! Excellent report! I would like to stress that I actually arrived ON TIME! That is quite a feat these days when flying UAL...
Lol! Excellent report! I would like to stress that I actually arrived ON TIME! That is quite a feat these days when flying UAL...
Jul 1, 2001 | 8:19 am
#5
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
A little moist
I had a bit of the lag so Hunnybear jumped up and down on my head until I woke up. We took a walk to Stage Deli, where we had some brunch. Hunnybear had a tuna melt and I had my usual Wilt Chamberlain open-faced Reuben sandwich with pastrami. The air conditioning wasnt working too well inside Stage Deli so we were a little moist as we ate. We had the good waitress, who called us my darlings repeatedly even though she forgot to bring the pickles until we asked if we deserved them. By the time we paid the cashier it was time to go shopping so we went to Saks Fifth Avenue and looked around. I bought some shoes and socks. That was exhausting so I went back to relax in the suite while Hunnybear walked around some more.
We had plans to meet Michael for dinner so we went down to the lobby at 7:30 and found him waiting. We got a cab to SoHo where we had reservations at Savoy but their electricity wasnt working and they had to close down. They offered to call another restaurant to accommodate us and Michael suggested the French Vietnamese place Indo-Chine. They had room so we walked uptown, crossing Houston St. into NoHo. We got a nice booth and had a very enjoyable meal, sitting in First Class next to a cramped table of 20 in economy. We ate family style, starting with steamed raviolis, baby squid salad, and summer rolls (not fried) of king crab and vegetables. All were outstanding. For the entrees we had yummy whole snapper, steamed sea bass, and seared beef filet. A small bowl of sticky rice was enough to go around. We had a very good bottle of 1999 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel. As a rule I dont eat dessert but they had a trio of sorbets, including Hunnybears favorite coconut, so we shared just one order while Michael had a light hazelnut mousse cake. The bill came to just under $140 before a generous tip.
After dinner Michael suggested we try Pravda, a local vodka bar, so we walked down some steel steps and into a converted basement with Cyrillic street signs saying truth, people, and boiled water in Russian. The waitress explained the words had been chosen for their looks, not their meaning. Although the bar was not uncrowded, we were escorted to the only three empty seats in the place, luscious overstuffed leather armchairs. I looked up and saw the word problemiy (problems) written above. The only problem I could detect was with their air conditioning, which wasnt working too well and hence we got a little moist as we enjoyed our martinis, Hunnybears a coconut one with pineapple juice and mine a red one with cranberry infusion. Michaels was red too but it was too loud to talk to him so I didnt find out what was in it exactly. The place filled up with people smoking cigarettes and cigars.
We started to walk uptown in the heat but it looked like rain so we ducked into the subway, where it was even hotter. We waited 10 minutes for an uptown train and found one with an air-conditioned car, although it wasnt working too well and we got moister and moister. We gave Michael a passionate belly hug goodbye at his station and then we got off at 51st St., steps from the W.
I felt like watching The Out-of-Towners so I inquired at the front desk about their complimentary video-rental library. The clerk paged Whatever Whenever and had them bring a menu. Sure enough, the 1970 Jack Lemmon classic was on it. I verified there was no charge and ordered the movie. She said it would be brought to the room right away so we went up. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. An ununiformed kid handed me the tape and a form to sign saying I owed $10 a day for the movie. I handed it back saying I was told it was free so forget it. He handed it back and said he wouldnt charge me so I signed it and gave him a couple bucks.
We got through about 20 minutes of the movie before we fell asleep.
[stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
I had a bit of the lag so Hunnybear jumped up and down on my head until I woke up. We took a walk to Stage Deli, where we had some brunch. Hunnybear had a tuna melt and I had my usual Wilt Chamberlain open-faced Reuben sandwich with pastrami. The air conditioning wasnt working too well inside Stage Deli so we were a little moist as we ate. We had the good waitress, who called us my darlings repeatedly even though she forgot to bring the pickles until we asked if we deserved them. By the time we paid the cashier it was time to go shopping so we went to Saks Fifth Avenue and looked around. I bought some shoes and socks. That was exhausting so I went back to relax in the suite while Hunnybear walked around some more.
We had plans to meet Michael for dinner so we went down to the lobby at 7:30 and found him waiting. We got a cab to SoHo where we had reservations at Savoy but their electricity wasnt working and they had to close down. They offered to call another restaurant to accommodate us and Michael suggested the French Vietnamese place Indo-Chine. They had room so we walked uptown, crossing Houston St. into NoHo. We got a nice booth and had a very enjoyable meal, sitting in First Class next to a cramped table of 20 in economy. We ate family style, starting with steamed raviolis, baby squid salad, and summer rolls (not fried) of king crab and vegetables. All were outstanding. For the entrees we had yummy whole snapper, steamed sea bass, and seared beef filet. A small bowl of sticky rice was enough to go around. We had a very good bottle of 1999 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel. As a rule I dont eat dessert but they had a trio of sorbets, including Hunnybears favorite coconut, so we shared just one order while Michael had a light hazelnut mousse cake. The bill came to just under $140 before a generous tip.
After dinner Michael suggested we try Pravda, a local vodka bar, so we walked down some steel steps and into a converted basement with Cyrillic street signs saying truth, people, and boiled water in Russian. The waitress explained the words had been chosen for their looks, not their meaning. Although the bar was not uncrowded, we were escorted to the only three empty seats in the place, luscious overstuffed leather armchairs. I looked up and saw the word problemiy (problems) written above. The only problem I could detect was with their air conditioning, which wasnt working too well and hence we got a little moist as we enjoyed our martinis, Hunnybears a coconut one with pineapple juice and mine a red one with cranberry infusion. Michaels was red too but it was too loud to talk to him so I didnt find out what was in it exactly. The place filled up with people smoking cigarettes and cigars.
We started to walk uptown in the heat but it looked like rain so we ducked into the subway, where it was even hotter. We waited 10 minutes for an uptown train and found one with an air-conditioned car, although it wasnt working too well and we got moister and moister. We gave Michael a passionate belly hug goodbye at his station and then we got off at 51st St., steps from the W.
I felt like watching The Out-of-Towners so I inquired at the front desk about their complimentary video-rental library. The clerk paged Whatever Whenever and had them bring a menu. Sure enough, the 1970 Jack Lemmon classic was on it. I verified there was no charge and ordered the movie. She said it would be brought to the room right away so we went up. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. An ununiformed kid handed me the tape and a form to sign saying I owed $10 a day for the movie. I handed it back saying I was told it was free so forget it. He handed it back and said he wouldnt charge me so I signed it and gave him a couple bucks.
We got through about 20 minutes of the movie before we fell asleep.
[stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jul 2, 2001 | 5:30 am
#6
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Weather delay
We walked downtown again for the exercise and ended up at Zo, a well-known SoHo restaurant, for brunch. Neither of us cared for the food, Hunnybear ordering an oversalted Thai chicken salad and I a greasy filet of trout in a thin pastry crust. The breads tasted stale and the $2.50 iced tea didnt come with free refills. This was more evidence that in New York, its nearly impossible to get a bad meal unless you go someplace well known.
We did a little shopping and then walked back to the W, about a six-mile round trip. Hunnybear had a 6 p.m. flight so we couldnt take in a matinee but we watched the rest of The Out-of Towners. It was time for Hunnybear to pack up and leave but when we checked on the weather it looked like there were bad delays in both New York and Chicago. She called the United Premier Executive hotline and got her flight changed to tomorrow morning so I got another night with my Hunnybear. We decided to walk over to Times Square and see if we could get into the 7 p.m. performance of The Rocky Horror Show but there was no performance tonight because of the holiday week. We walked over to the Loews Movie Theater but couldnt figure out how to get in so we went for a traditional drink at the Marriott Marquis rotating bar overlooking Broadway. After a couple rounds (in both senses of the word) we didnt feel like much more exertion so we had dinner at the JW Steakhouse, where I had had a decent meal with Pluto a couple years ago.
We got a VIP table for two by a window and ordered a yummy roast duck sampler for appetizer, followed by a couple filet mignons for the main course, Hunnybears with five-peppercorn sauce and mine plain. They came out done to perfection and huge. Neither of us finished but we came pretty close. As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had a chocolate pyramid so we shared just one piece. It turned out to be more of a vertical wedge than a pyramid so we got everybodys name to turn into the Attorney General, paid the bill, and walked back to the W. It was early but we were both exhausted so we watched a little TV, got a wake-up call for the ungodly hour of 4:30, and crashed.
[next installment tomorrow]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
We walked downtown again for the exercise and ended up at Zo, a well-known SoHo restaurant, for brunch. Neither of us cared for the food, Hunnybear ordering an oversalted Thai chicken salad and I a greasy filet of trout in a thin pastry crust. The breads tasted stale and the $2.50 iced tea didnt come with free refills. This was more evidence that in New York, its nearly impossible to get a bad meal unless you go someplace well known.
We did a little shopping and then walked back to the W, about a six-mile round trip. Hunnybear had a 6 p.m. flight so we couldnt take in a matinee but we watched the rest of The Out-of Towners. It was time for Hunnybear to pack up and leave but when we checked on the weather it looked like there were bad delays in both New York and Chicago. She called the United Premier Executive hotline and got her flight changed to tomorrow morning so I got another night with my Hunnybear. We decided to walk over to Times Square and see if we could get into the 7 p.m. performance of The Rocky Horror Show but there was no performance tonight because of the holiday week. We walked over to the Loews Movie Theater but couldnt figure out how to get in so we went for a traditional drink at the Marriott Marquis rotating bar overlooking Broadway. After a couple rounds (in both senses of the word) we didnt feel like much more exertion so we had dinner at the JW Steakhouse, where I had had a decent meal with Pluto a couple years ago.
We got a VIP table for two by a window and ordered a yummy roast duck sampler for appetizer, followed by a couple filet mignons for the main course, Hunnybears with five-peppercorn sauce and mine plain. They came out done to perfection and huge. Neither of us finished but we came pretty close. As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had a chocolate pyramid so we shared just one piece. It turned out to be more of a vertical wedge than a pyramid so we got everybodys name to turn into the Attorney General, paid the bill, and walked back to the W. It was early but we were both exhausted so we watched a little TV, got a wake-up call for the ungodly hour of 4:30, and crashed.
[next installment tomorrow]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jul 3, 2001 | 9:55 am
#8
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Ay, AI, Aida
Hunnybears wakeup call came on schedule at 4:30 a.m.1:30 West Coast timeand before I knew it she was out the door on her way to tell the cabbie, LaGuardia Airport, driver, and step on it! I slept another few millennia and finally roused myself for a walk over to Times Square. It was cooler todaysunny and in the low 70s. It was a great day to see a movie. I selected AI: Artificial Intelligence, the project dumped in Steven Spielbergs lap by Stanley Kubrick, who struggled with it for 10 years before he died. It was playing at Loews in Times Square, but silly me, I thought there would be only one Loews in Times Square and there were two. By the time I got to the right theater it was just a couple minutes to showtime so I bought my ticket from the robot for a shocking $10, almost the price of a martini, and raced upstairs. I was hungry so I tried to buy some overpriced junk food but the service was so slow I gave up and went into the mostly empty theater, settling into an excellent seat.
The meandering AI failed to break new ground not only in the science-fiction genre, but even in the robot-with-feelings story line, saying very little we didnt already get from Bicentennial Man. Its best shot was an examination of the human dependence on the myth, but the murky treatment of that theme degenerated into cute allusions to Peter Pan and E.T. William Hurt was wasted on a cardboard character and the usual compelling performance from Haley Joel Osment wasnt enough to stretch this Brian Aldiss short story into a serious feature film.
The weather was even better when I emerged onto 42nd St. so I thought Id check out The Producers to see if I might score a ticket for tomorrows show. I talked to one of the theater workers, who said Nathan Lane was out tonight and they didnt know if hed be back tomorrow. If he wasnt there could be more than the usual number of cancellations, so I decided to come back late tomorrow afternoon and see if I could land a single. I wasnt about to wait in line all day like the two dozen people I saw there, Tonys or no Tonys.
I was really hungry by this time so I picked up a meatball hero from Little Italy and brought it back to the suite at the W New York. I made plans to meet Michael at the rotating bar on the eighth floor of the Marriott Marquis and changed into some nicer clothes for tonights theater. New York is such an easy place to get exercise, especially if youre cheap and dont want to take a taxi. I walked back to Times Square and toward the Marriott, where they were having a convention of wheelchair-bound veterans. Hundreds of them were lined up to get their chairs in and out of those tiny aggressive elevators. I squeezed in between three wheelchairs and got to the eighth floor, where I discovered my bar was closed because the work so I went to the nearby atrium bar instead and ordered a Makers Mark Manhattan, up, shaken very cold. Michael arrived in short order and after only one round we headed down to the show.
Its the rare opera I appreciate, classic or modern, but I had hoped the critically acclaimed Aida would be an exception. Composer Elton John had created so many wonderful songs and lyricist Tim Rice had penned such an array of clever verses that I had high hopes for their collaboration. But I didnt like it. Aidas clichd tale of star-crossed lovers didnt provide enough drama to hold my interest. No performances were outstanding, no songs terribly memorable, and only the superb lighting design rose above a thoroughly mediocre production. Attempts to be clever with anachronism and fourth-wall violation failed as they almost always do, especially the portrayal of Pharaohs daughter as a Jewish American Princess. The funniest line in the show was a thoroughly out-of-character quip by the serious princess Aida posing as a handmaiden: You Egyptians sure have great thread counts. We left before we had to endure the obligatory Broadway standing ovation.
After the show we decided on a late supper at my favorite Churrascaria Plataforma, the all-you-can-eat Brazilian meat-lovers palace. Tonight the highlights were lamb, top sirloin, and garlic steak carved at the table from huge skewers. The manager recommended a nice Argentinean red and we got away for only $140 including a generous tip. Michael walked me back to the W and then headed a few more blocks home to his apartment.
[next installment tomorrow]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Hunnybears wakeup call came on schedule at 4:30 a.m.1:30 West Coast timeand before I knew it she was out the door on her way to tell the cabbie, LaGuardia Airport, driver, and step on it! I slept another few millennia and finally roused myself for a walk over to Times Square. It was cooler todaysunny and in the low 70s. It was a great day to see a movie. I selected AI: Artificial Intelligence, the project dumped in Steven Spielbergs lap by Stanley Kubrick, who struggled with it for 10 years before he died. It was playing at Loews in Times Square, but silly me, I thought there would be only one Loews in Times Square and there were two. By the time I got to the right theater it was just a couple minutes to showtime so I bought my ticket from the robot for a shocking $10, almost the price of a martini, and raced upstairs. I was hungry so I tried to buy some overpriced junk food but the service was so slow I gave up and went into the mostly empty theater, settling into an excellent seat.
The meandering AI failed to break new ground not only in the science-fiction genre, but even in the robot-with-feelings story line, saying very little we didnt already get from Bicentennial Man. Its best shot was an examination of the human dependence on the myth, but the murky treatment of that theme degenerated into cute allusions to Peter Pan and E.T. William Hurt was wasted on a cardboard character and the usual compelling performance from Haley Joel Osment wasnt enough to stretch this Brian Aldiss short story into a serious feature film.
The weather was even better when I emerged onto 42nd St. so I thought Id check out The Producers to see if I might score a ticket for tomorrows show. I talked to one of the theater workers, who said Nathan Lane was out tonight and they didnt know if hed be back tomorrow. If he wasnt there could be more than the usual number of cancellations, so I decided to come back late tomorrow afternoon and see if I could land a single. I wasnt about to wait in line all day like the two dozen people I saw there, Tonys or no Tonys.
I was really hungry by this time so I picked up a meatball hero from Little Italy and brought it back to the suite at the W New York. I made plans to meet Michael at the rotating bar on the eighth floor of the Marriott Marquis and changed into some nicer clothes for tonights theater. New York is such an easy place to get exercise, especially if youre cheap and dont want to take a taxi. I walked back to Times Square and toward the Marriott, where they were having a convention of wheelchair-bound veterans. Hundreds of them were lined up to get their chairs in and out of those tiny aggressive elevators. I squeezed in between three wheelchairs and got to the eighth floor, where I discovered my bar was closed because the work so I went to the nearby atrium bar instead and ordered a Makers Mark Manhattan, up, shaken very cold. Michael arrived in short order and after only one round we headed down to the show.
Its the rare opera I appreciate, classic or modern, but I had hoped the critically acclaimed Aida would be an exception. Composer Elton John had created so many wonderful songs and lyricist Tim Rice had penned such an array of clever verses that I had high hopes for their collaboration. But I didnt like it. Aidas clichd tale of star-crossed lovers didnt provide enough drama to hold my interest. No performances were outstanding, no songs terribly memorable, and only the superb lighting design rose above a thoroughly mediocre production. Attempts to be clever with anachronism and fourth-wall violation failed as they almost always do, especially the portrayal of Pharaohs daughter as a Jewish American Princess. The funniest line in the show was a thoroughly out-of-character quip by the serious princess Aida posing as a handmaiden: You Egyptians sure have great thread counts. We left before we had to endure the obligatory Broadway standing ovation.
After the show we decided on a late supper at my favorite Churrascaria Plataforma, the all-you-can-eat Brazilian meat-lovers palace. Tonight the highlights were lamb, top sirloin, and garlic steak carved at the table from huge skewers. The manager recommended a nice Argentinean red and we got away for only $140 including a generous tip. Michael walked me back to the W and then headed a few more blocks home to his apartment.
[next installment tomorrow]
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jul 3, 2001 | 8:14 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: New York, NY, AA 4MM PLT, BA Gold, VS Gold, Hilton Gold, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Platinum, IHG Platinum, CC Gold
Posts: 1,099
Nice report as always, QuietLion. I hope that you've booked your return flight to LAX on a 767-300 rather than a 767-200 (which is what I assume you flew to JFK). You'll really notice the difference the fully flat beds make, i.e. much more spacious feel to the cabin, better service from the flight crew (they seem to take pride in the updated configuration and it shows).
Jul 4, 2001 | 7:54 am
#10
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Producer quest
Michael and I met KMO, Lara, and baby Logan in the 21st-floor lobby of the Hilton Times Square, where they had wisely procured a room for $80/night through Priceline. Some deal! Lara craved deli so we walked up to Stage Deli and had a satisfying lunch. I tried the Joe DiMaggio this time, an obscene triple-decker of corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver on rye that I ended up eating with a knife and fork after dumping a load of mustard on the insides. KMO actually finished his tuna melt. Seven-month-old Logan had the waitresses wrapped around his little finger and gummed a couple pickles to death.
After lunch KMO strapped Logan into his daddy hammock and we walked around in Central Park for a couple minutes before deciding it was time for a drink at the Oak Bar at the Plaza. Logans shrieks echoed mightily in the dark, overpriced room, but no one seemed to mind. Lara took a picture of the picture of Eloise ( http://www.gti.net/iksrog/eloise/elo..._the_plaza.htm ) and we walked back down Fifth Avenue trying to get a cab but ended up all the way back in Times Square before we could find one. It was nearing five oclock, which is apparently a shift change for cabbies, so many of them had their off-duty signs illuminated.
Since we were in Times Square, we decided to go for a drink at the Marriott Marquis. The rotating bar was still closed as expected but we got a table in the atrium and got our drinks after a mix-up where the manager took our order and got everything wrong. KMO had ordered a blended margarita with salt and it arrived with the salt blended in. Yuck. While we were there RichG called and I told him to come on down so he did. We relaxed till about six, but then I broke up the party to begin my quest for Producers tickets.
I walked over to 44th St. and went right to the back of the cancellation line. It was 6:20, an hour and 40 minutes before curtain. As usual, several people who had been standing in line for longer than me gave up after they didnt get tickets in the first dribble of cancellations. I saw quite a few people standing in line to get refunds because Nathan Lane wasnt performing so I felt comfortable. A lady came by trying to get $150 for a single mezzanine seat but there were no takers. There were about a dozen people ahead of me when a man in an expensive shirt and blazer offered to sell a single, sixth row center, for $150. I decided a $50 premium over face value was a decent price to pay for certainty so I took him up on it. I went right in and ended up sitting next to the stunning 18-year-old brunette sister of his Spanish wife, who was back at the hotel with their new baby. I called Hunnybear to let her know the good news and she said shed better keep her hands to herself when it got dark.
Superb ensemble acting and wonderful choreography brought this all-Mel Brooks creation to life, adding his surprising songwriting talents to the comedic brilliance of his classic 1968 movie. With neither singing nor subtlety required of either of the two leads in this farce, the audience hardly missed Nathan Lane and in fact gave a rousing ovation to understudy Brad Oscar, who normally played Franz, the Nazi. The new Franz was great too and I doubted even the people who paid $600 for scalped seats left too disappointed. I like comedy in my musical comedy and would see a show like this, even if it didnt reach the heights of classics such as Kiss Me Kate and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, any old time.
I was still stuffed from lunch so I walked back the W, checked the on-screen bill, found the usual overcharge for the minibar along with a courtesy $2 tip that had apparently been written in by the lounge waitress although I had left cash, and noticed the creeping occupancy tax was now up to $3 a night over and above the outrageous state and city sales taxes. I resolved to resolve these issues and more tomorrowIndependence Day!
[next installment tomorrow]
Michael and I met KMO, Lara, and baby Logan in the 21st-floor lobby of the Hilton Times Square, where they had wisely procured a room for $80/night through Priceline. Some deal! Lara craved deli so we walked up to Stage Deli and had a satisfying lunch. I tried the Joe DiMaggio this time, an obscene triple-decker of corned beef, pastrami, and chopped liver on rye that I ended up eating with a knife and fork after dumping a load of mustard on the insides. KMO actually finished his tuna melt. Seven-month-old Logan had the waitresses wrapped around his little finger and gummed a couple pickles to death.
After lunch KMO strapped Logan into his daddy hammock and we walked around in Central Park for a couple minutes before deciding it was time for a drink at the Oak Bar at the Plaza. Logans shrieks echoed mightily in the dark, overpriced room, but no one seemed to mind. Lara took a picture of the picture of Eloise ( http://www.gti.net/iksrog/eloise/elo..._the_plaza.htm ) and we walked back down Fifth Avenue trying to get a cab but ended up all the way back in Times Square before we could find one. It was nearing five oclock, which is apparently a shift change for cabbies, so many of them had their off-duty signs illuminated.
Since we were in Times Square, we decided to go for a drink at the Marriott Marquis. The rotating bar was still closed as expected but we got a table in the atrium and got our drinks after a mix-up where the manager took our order and got everything wrong. KMO had ordered a blended margarita with salt and it arrived with the salt blended in. Yuck. While we were there RichG called and I told him to come on down so he did. We relaxed till about six, but then I broke up the party to begin my quest for Producers tickets.
I walked over to 44th St. and went right to the back of the cancellation line. It was 6:20, an hour and 40 minutes before curtain. As usual, several people who had been standing in line for longer than me gave up after they didnt get tickets in the first dribble of cancellations. I saw quite a few people standing in line to get refunds because Nathan Lane wasnt performing so I felt comfortable. A lady came by trying to get $150 for a single mezzanine seat but there were no takers. There were about a dozen people ahead of me when a man in an expensive shirt and blazer offered to sell a single, sixth row center, for $150. I decided a $50 premium over face value was a decent price to pay for certainty so I took him up on it. I went right in and ended up sitting next to the stunning 18-year-old brunette sister of his Spanish wife, who was back at the hotel with their new baby. I called Hunnybear to let her know the good news and she said shed better keep her hands to herself when it got dark.
Superb ensemble acting and wonderful choreography brought this all-Mel Brooks creation to life, adding his surprising songwriting talents to the comedic brilliance of his classic 1968 movie. With neither singing nor subtlety required of either of the two leads in this farce, the audience hardly missed Nathan Lane and in fact gave a rousing ovation to understudy Brad Oscar, who normally played Franz, the Nazi. The new Franz was great too and I doubted even the people who paid $600 for scalped seats left too disappointed. I like comedy in my musical comedy and would see a show like this, even if it didnt reach the heights of classics such as Kiss Me Kate and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, any old time.
I was still stuffed from lunch so I walked back the W, checked the on-screen bill, found the usual overcharge for the minibar along with a courtesy $2 tip that had apparently been written in by the lounge waitress although I had left cash, and noticed the creeping occupancy tax was now up to $3 a night over and above the outrageous state and city sales taxes. I resolved to resolve these issues and more tomorrowIndependence Day!
[next installment tomorrow]
Jul 5, 2001 | 7:33 am
#11
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CH-3823 Wengen Switzerland
Programs: miles&more, MileagePlus
Posts: 27,043
thank you - great reading 'stuff' and experience.
(As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had a chocolate pyramid so we shared just one piece) ... I am keen to make you forget all about your rules, somewhen in a/your Zurich future at the Kronenhalle - I am pretty sure that the chocolate mousse there will do it ...
(As a rule we dont eat dessert but they had a chocolate pyramid so we shared just one piece) ... I am keen to make you forget all about your rules, somewhen in a/your Zurich future at the Kronenhalle - I am pretty sure that the chocolate mousse there will do it ...
Jul 8, 2001 | 12:41 am
#13
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
Wow... I've been hoping for years for an invitation from Rudi... now I know I've made it!
Thank you. I hope to get to your part of the world sometime soon.
Cat food
I flipped on CNN but there was no news because all the reporters had the day off so I watched live coverage of the world championship hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island, home of the Blue Fairy. I arranged to meet Catman for lunch so I walked across town to the West Bank Caf and ordered an iced tea after verifying that refills were free. Catman recommended this place, a gleaming gold filling at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel. It was so relaxing, with great food and service, youd never know it was so close to New Jersey. I tried a black-seared tuna sashimi appetizer while I waited for Catman and then took his recommendation and ordered Black Angus steak, although I took my own recommendation and ordered it rare. It was all yummy. We caught up on old times and then we both had to run so we gave each other passionate belly hugs goodbye and ran off after paying the bill and leaving a generous tip.
I wanted to catch one more show before I left town so I hustled over to The Dinner Party, a Neil Simon ensemble piece featuring John Lovitz. I got a single in the sixth row mezzanine, which the clerk assured me was a good seat since it was a small theater. I could see very well and thought the play was first rate, a thought-provoking drama wrapped in comedic foil. It lasted just under two hours with no intermission.
It was four oclock so I walked back to the W and confronted the clerk about the mysterious charges on my bill, which she erased with no argument. I changed for dinner and had time for a Manhattan at the bar before walking down to Union Square for dinner with Michael and KMO.
Michael had selected Sushi Samba, a Brazilian Japanese restaurant with great music. He ordered splendidly for the three of us, I insisting only on a couple pieces of uni. The El Samba roll was best, a concoction of eel, avocado, and a few other fishes with yummy radish sprouts growing out of the end pieces, which I confiscated.
We walked over to the lobby bar at the new W Union Square after a brief visit to another place that wouldnt give us a table just to have highly profitable drinks; they wanted us to order less-profitable food. We plopped down in comfy chairs at the W, this one similar to the well-loved Seattle one although we didnt test it out by trying to order an Emerald Drop. Instead we had Sauza Tres Generaciones margaritas and talked about sports and cars until close to midnight. We got a taxi for KMO after trying quite a long time, then Michael and I walked home.
I set the alarm, a wake-up call, and Monkeyboy all to wake me up at 6:15 in preparation for my flight tomorrow morning.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Thank you. I hope to get to your part of the world sometime soon.
Cat food
I flipped on CNN but there was no news because all the reporters had the day off so I watched live coverage of the world championship hot-dog-eating contest at Coney Island, home of the Blue Fairy. I arranged to meet Catman for lunch so I walked across town to the West Bank Caf and ordered an iced tea after verifying that refills were free. Catman recommended this place, a gleaming gold filling at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel. It was so relaxing, with great food and service, youd never know it was so close to New Jersey. I tried a black-seared tuna sashimi appetizer while I waited for Catman and then took his recommendation and ordered Black Angus steak, although I took my own recommendation and ordered it rare. It was all yummy. We caught up on old times and then we both had to run so we gave each other passionate belly hugs goodbye and ran off after paying the bill and leaving a generous tip.
I wanted to catch one more show before I left town so I hustled over to The Dinner Party, a Neil Simon ensemble piece featuring John Lovitz. I got a single in the sixth row mezzanine, which the clerk assured me was a good seat since it was a small theater. I could see very well and thought the play was first rate, a thought-provoking drama wrapped in comedic foil. It lasted just under two hours with no intermission.
It was four oclock so I walked back to the W and confronted the clerk about the mysterious charges on my bill, which she erased with no argument. I changed for dinner and had time for a Manhattan at the bar before walking down to Union Square for dinner with Michael and KMO.
Michael had selected Sushi Samba, a Brazilian Japanese restaurant with great music. He ordered splendidly for the three of us, I insisting only on a couple pieces of uni. The El Samba roll was best, a concoction of eel, avocado, and a few other fishes with yummy radish sprouts growing out of the end pieces, which I confiscated.
We walked over to the lobby bar at the new W Union Square after a brief visit to another place that wouldnt give us a table just to have highly profitable drinks; they wanted us to order less-profitable food. We plopped down in comfy chairs at the W, this one similar to the well-loved Seattle one although we didnt test it out by trying to order an Emerald Drop. Instead we had Sauza Tres Generaciones margaritas and talked about sports and cars until close to midnight. We got a taxi for KMO after trying quite a long time, then Michael and I walked home.
I set the alarm, a wake-up call, and Monkeyboy all to wake me up at 6:15 in preparation for my flight tomorrow morning.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jul 8, 2001 | 12:42 am
#14
Original Poster
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Kirkland, WA
Posts: 6,932
BizElite
I awoke moments before the wake-up call came, followed shortly thereafter by Monkeyboy blaring out John Philip Sousas Semper Fidelis march and then the hotels clock CD/radio starting up with Sweetest Taboo in French. As I wedged myself into the tiny bathroom to take a rainshower I thought how nice that I dont have to face the sweetest taboo todaytrying for a double-upgrade on Unitedbecause I was flying Delta.
The crufty Windows-based guest-services system W had on their TVs was working today but showed no entries in my folio. However, there were four pages shoved under my door: two for me and then the same two duplicated for Hunnybear but with added entries at the end crediting the whole thing off. The occupancy tax had now crept up to $4 a night but I wasnt in the mood to question it: who knew how high it might get? I packed up and verified my bill with the night clerk downstairs. A male model with long blond hair wheeled my luggage out to a cab as I checked out. We were underway at 6:47.
Since it wasnt a flat rate the driver took me via the more expensive Triboro bridge instead of the more direct Midtown Tunnel or more groovy Queensboro Bridge. There was no traffic though and we arrived at Kennedy airport at about 7:20, giving me an hour before flight time. I gave the driver a generous tip and found myself at a Third-World airport entrance. I looked around. The only things I could see were a long line to check baggage with Skycaps and a long line to go through some sort of security checkpoint. There were no signs. I could see inside the terminal and saw Delta checkin so I stood in the long security line and got through. Once inside it was like a normal airport so I went to the BizElite checkin and got my boarding passes. I asked the agent if I deserved to enter the Crown Room on this ticket. He said yes and apologized for not mentioning it, then gave me directions. Cool.
I was comped to Gold Medallion on Delta with my Centurion Card membership. This was only the third flight Id had on Delta, though, because they didnt allow upgrades on most cheap fares. I used up four of my eight upgrades on this one leg so between their no-upgrade policy and their stingy-upgrade policy I doubted Id fly them again in the near future, although who knew? The handcuffs of United were unlocked and my policy was now to fly whatever airline I wanted.
I headed for the Crown Room but found a room called BizElite Lounge first and went in there. They were just opening up but I found a slow Internet terminal and read FlyerTalk while I waited for them to put the coffee on. There were free drinks but at 7:30 a.m. I wasnt in the mood. I tried a stale egg-salad sandwich triangle but couldnt stomach more than a corner of it. At 7:50 I asked one of the agents if it was time to go to my flight and she said yes, they were now boarding.
I wheeled over to gate 9 and walked on to the 767-300. At shadows advice I had booked seat 1C, although there was so much room between seats I think it was tough to go wrong. As advertised, 1D remained empty although the cabin was pretty full. The seats were leather and reclined almost flat, similar to Uniteds new cloth Business Class seats but with no back massage. The personal video system was great, offering a variety of well-done games in addition to two cycles of eight video channels. I enjoyed some weak coffee and read USA Today while waiting for the doors to close.
We pushed back but then returned immediately to the gate because the valve. It was an hour before maintenance had the problem fixed and then we repeated the process, pushing back once more and waiting in a long line to take off. We had lost an hour but the winds aloft were negligible so we stood to gain 40 minutes of it back en route.
The Delta flight attendants once again were uniformly friendly and helpful. They werent any better than good United flight attendants but on United I only got the good ones maybe a third of the time at best. They worked throughout the flight, constantly bringing me fresh bottles of water without being asked. They didnt appear to run out of any of the breakfast entrees, which was good because it was eggs and two carbo bombs. The eggs arrived as a scrambled eggs Benedict, served with a skimpy fruit plate and briny potato slices. The highlight of the meal was the bread assortment. I had two delicious hot croissants.
As my first movie selection I watched The Dish, the true story of a small Australian towns involvement in bringing back the TV pictures of the first Apollo moonwalk. It was well done and a boy science geek like me ate it up. I flipped over to watch the end of The Partners TV show then watched the airshow until they started Cycle B. I wasnt interested in any of the movie selections but they had the wonderful Ken Burns documentary Baseball so I watched that. We were over Las Vegas already so I watched the airshow for the rest of the flight. There was weather east of LA so we got vectored up to the northwest, adding a half-hour to our flight time. We finally got in at 12:15, 50 minutes late.
I was at LAX. I was home.
The end.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
I awoke moments before the wake-up call came, followed shortly thereafter by Monkeyboy blaring out John Philip Sousas Semper Fidelis march and then the hotels clock CD/radio starting up with Sweetest Taboo in French. As I wedged myself into the tiny bathroom to take a rainshower I thought how nice that I dont have to face the sweetest taboo todaytrying for a double-upgrade on Unitedbecause I was flying Delta.
The crufty Windows-based guest-services system W had on their TVs was working today but showed no entries in my folio. However, there were four pages shoved under my door: two for me and then the same two duplicated for Hunnybear but with added entries at the end crediting the whole thing off. The occupancy tax had now crept up to $4 a night but I wasnt in the mood to question it: who knew how high it might get? I packed up and verified my bill with the night clerk downstairs. A male model with long blond hair wheeled my luggage out to a cab as I checked out. We were underway at 6:47.
Since it wasnt a flat rate the driver took me via the more expensive Triboro bridge instead of the more direct Midtown Tunnel or more groovy Queensboro Bridge. There was no traffic though and we arrived at Kennedy airport at about 7:20, giving me an hour before flight time. I gave the driver a generous tip and found myself at a Third-World airport entrance. I looked around. The only things I could see were a long line to check baggage with Skycaps and a long line to go through some sort of security checkpoint. There were no signs. I could see inside the terminal and saw Delta checkin so I stood in the long security line and got through. Once inside it was like a normal airport so I went to the BizElite checkin and got my boarding passes. I asked the agent if I deserved to enter the Crown Room on this ticket. He said yes and apologized for not mentioning it, then gave me directions. Cool.
I was comped to Gold Medallion on Delta with my Centurion Card membership. This was only the third flight Id had on Delta, though, because they didnt allow upgrades on most cheap fares. I used up four of my eight upgrades on this one leg so between their no-upgrade policy and their stingy-upgrade policy I doubted Id fly them again in the near future, although who knew? The handcuffs of United were unlocked and my policy was now to fly whatever airline I wanted.
I headed for the Crown Room but found a room called BizElite Lounge first and went in there. They were just opening up but I found a slow Internet terminal and read FlyerTalk while I waited for them to put the coffee on. There were free drinks but at 7:30 a.m. I wasnt in the mood. I tried a stale egg-salad sandwich triangle but couldnt stomach more than a corner of it. At 7:50 I asked one of the agents if it was time to go to my flight and she said yes, they were now boarding.
I wheeled over to gate 9 and walked on to the 767-300. At shadows advice I had booked seat 1C, although there was so much room between seats I think it was tough to go wrong. As advertised, 1D remained empty although the cabin was pretty full. The seats were leather and reclined almost flat, similar to Uniteds new cloth Business Class seats but with no back massage. The personal video system was great, offering a variety of well-done games in addition to two cycles of eight video channels. I enjoyed some weak coffee and read USA Today while waiting for the doors to close.
We pushed back but then returned immediately to the gate because the valve. It was an hour before maintenance had the problem fixed and then we repeated the process, pushing back once more and waiting in a long line to take off. We had lost an hour but the winds aloft were negligible so we stood to gain 40 minutes of it back en route.
The Delta flight attendants once again were uniformly friendly and helpful. They werent any better than good United flight attendants but on United I only got the good ones maybe a third of the time at best. They worked throughout the flight, constantly bringing me fresh bottles of water without being asked. They didnt appear to run out of any of the breakfast entrees, which was good because it was eggs and two carbo bombs. The eggs arrived as a scrambled eggs Benedict, served with a skimpy fruit plate and briny potato slices. The highlight of the meal was the bread assortment. I had two delicious hot croissants.
As my first movie selection I watched The Dish, the true story of a small Australian towns involvement in bringing back the TV pictures of the first Apollo moonwalk. It was well done and a boy science geek like me ate it up. I flipped over to watch the end of The Partners TV show then watched the airshow until they started Cycle B. I wasnt interested in any of the movie selections but they had the wonderful Ken Burns documentary Baseball so I watched that. We were over Las Vegas already so I watched the airshow for the rest of the flight. There was weather east of LA so we got vectored up to the northwest, adding a half-hour to our flight time. We finally got in at 12:15, 50 minutes late.
I was at LAX. I was home.
The end.
------------------
I hope you enjoy my Lion Tales. For photos, past travelogues, subscriptions, and more, see www.liontales.com
Jul 8, 2001 | 1:49 pm
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: PDX
Programs: On a collision course with Kettledom
Posts: 25,550
On the Triboro, you can go fast. On the Queensboro, you need to slow down if you go too fast.
Great report, as always. I saw "The Dish" on BE to Stockholm -- terrific little film.
Great report, as always. I saw "The Dish" on BE to Stockholm -- terrific little film.