Hut

Part 1: Planning

This is a trip report that is running a little late, you see it is about a holiday that took place around that time of year where we mark up another lap completed on our monotonous journey around the sun. The fact that we are now closer to the end of that new lap than the start means life got in the way. Sorry about that. So, here we find ourselves with a Christmas holiday trip report in August – hope you enjoy it.

This one started out as a family ski trip to Colorado for Christmas, the general plan is we would all arrive in Denver on or around the 24th of December do the snow thing and then head for Boston in the New Year for a couple of days and then go our separate ways again.

I’d booked my flights there and back with Lifemiles pretty much as soon as the schedules were loaded but as the year developed the future Mrs Hut appeared on the scene and it became apparent this was turning into a trip for two.

Which was a bit of a challenge as award space wasn’t quite as easy as when the schedules are first loaded, especially not for two! For the outbound trip there were two seats departing Perth for Seattle via Singapore and Taipei. The trip home would be a little less easy, with no award space crossing the Pacific it would have to be Toronto to Perth via Vienna, Hong Kong and Singapore. Less than ideal and some long connections but one must make sacrifices for award space… Or at least that’s what I’d always thought, turns out when two are making sacrifices there is a strong preference for direct routings!

With our longer legs sorted, we figured we would spend a couple of days in Seattle prior to meeting up with the family in Denver. Departing from Toronto we thought maybe a trip to see the Niagara Falls might be a good idea. So, with a few domestic flights added in it turned into another RTW trip, which is a common theme when you live in the middle of nowhere.


Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper - copyright © Karl L. Swartz

Hut

Our trip started late in the evening as we set off for Seattle via Singapore and Taipei. The 7am SQ flight would have been perfect, alas there wasn’t any award space, so we are on the redeye instead. It would however give us 10 hours between planes in Singapore allowing for a city expedition.



We arrived at the airport to find the trees and art work all lit up.



My favourite was the kangaroo.



Check in was quick, as was security and we were soon heading for the lounge.

SilverKris Lounge



The Singapore lounge at Perth airport is a small claustrophobic room, it elicits memories of a crowded doctors’ surgery, there are a few rows of seats and towards the end of the year a tree in the corner for some added cheer.



The food selection is much better than you would get in a medical setting, and as good as what’s on offer in the terminal – so it wasn’t that bad.



But the redeeming feature is a surprisingly good selection of beer, Singapore seems to be teaming up with craft breweries out of several of their Australasian ports, in WA it’s with Cheeky Monkey.



Given we were supporting local enterprise, I might have had two.

Overall the lounge is an okay place to wait, but its so small that it easily feels crowded and is well past its prime. I was sort of expecting them to move over to the new Air NZ lounge when it opened, but I guess with 4 flights a day it makes sense to keep their own one.

Singapore Airlines SQ216
Airbus A330-300 (9V-SSH)
Perth (PER) -> Singapore (SIN)
Depart 01:09, Arrive 06:15, Flight Time: 5:06



Singapore uses its regional product for flights to Perth which makes sense for a 5-hour flight, but for the overnight redeye having a fully flat seat would be nice…



Each seat has a good amount of space and are pretty comfy.



Drinks were offered on the ground and the friendly crew took a moment to explain to everyone how the service would be run tonight and the options for sleeping. We both went with the no dinner, no breakfast and wake as late as possible options.



I wouldn’t be eating, but the menu looked nice.



Little else to report, we took off, I put the seat back and woke about 30 mins before landing… about as good as it gets on a redeye!

SilverKris Lounge



After landing we proceeded straight to the lounge for the essentials…



There was a comprehensive buffet, but most importantly a machine that facilitated the consumption of caffeine.



Over coffee and breakfast, we planned our day in Singapore…



We started on our journey to the city on the train, but after a few stops it became apparent it would be a long journey… with little time – we bailed and took a taxi instead.



First up was the Gardens by the Bay – which are awesome!



It’s a fantastic place to spend time and looks every part the billion dollar public space it is. I love the way that it blends in with the city.



But you can turn a corner and forget you are even in a city.



My favourite had to be the 8 animal figures.



Closely followed by these two…



After spending a couple of hours exploring the gardens, we headed for Chinatown where we had a bit of a look around.



Followed by a trip to the botanical gardens, which were a bit more formal than the Gardens by the Bay…



This is also the location of the National Orchard Garden, which apparently is the place where the finest examples of their orchard programme are displayed.



I’m not up with the latest in orchard breeding, but there were a lot of lovely looking orchards.



And there was a huge variety of different colours.



And shapes.



Like the Gardens by the Bay, you could easily forget you are in the middle of the city…



After a few hours at the botanic garden, it was time to head back to the airport which is one of the more impressive ones out there.



On the way to the lounge we stopped by the butterfly garden…



Which is a surprisingly relaxing experience, with an odd mix of nature and aviation.

SilverKris Lounge



After out expedition out in the city, we returned to the lounge for a well earned rest and a shower. The lounge is as you would expect for large carrier’s main hub was enormous! Lots of seats…



Good selection of food…



And they even let you pour your own beer!

somemale

Looking great so far! Can't wait to read the rest.

Hut

We left the lounge a bit before boarding time as Singapore does security at the gate, but as it turned out we ended up with lots of time as boarding was running a little late. This would be our first long haul flight with Eva Air which seems to get pretty good reviews, so I was looking forward to the next two flights.

Eva Air BR216
Boeing 777-300ER (B-16729)
Singapore (SIN) -> Taipei (TPE)
Depart 16:28, Arrive 21:08, Flight Time: 4:40



Eva Air has the reverse herringbone seats on their 777’s and these are among my favourite business seats.



On the ground the crew offered some drinks and we took a look at the lovely menus.



There was a good selection of wines…



And an appetising selection for dinner. The crew stopped by to take orders and I found the conversation a little difficult, especially confirming the pre-ordered meals as we couldn’t fall back to pointing at the menu.



Once we were in the air, things started with Champagne and snacks. After a brief scroll through the entertainment system I concluded the selection was okay – not bad, but a couple of long haul flights and you’d have watched it all.



The first plate that arrived was described as Prawn Tartar with Apple Salad and was fantastic.



Next up was the main that I’d pre-ordered, some Grilled Beef Tenderloin with Creamy Mushroom Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Potatoes with Beluga Lentil… Which was a bit of a let-down as the beef was overcooked.



Mrs Hut went with the Pan Roasted Salmon with Tomato Yusu Butter Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes. Which after tasting a little bit was a much better option!



Last was desert, the Passion Fruit and Lemon Mascarpone Cake could just be the best desert I’ve had on a plane. It was delicious.



Apparently, the passengers managed to consume all of the available Champagne just after the meal service which I found a bit surprising, but otherwise the rest of the flight was uneventful, which is very much how I prefer it.



Soon enough we were descending into Taipei and making our way to the lounge.

Eva Air Lounge



Eva Air seem to have a few different lounges and we were a bit confused about which one was the right one, but we ended up here… and it was super crowded, but also so dark in the seating areas I couldn’t really get any photos.



But in the marginally brighter food area there was a good selection.



They also had all you can eat ice cream, which helped pass the couple of hours we spent in the lounge.

Eva Air BR26
Boeing 777-300ER (B-16737)
Taipei (TPE) -> Seattle (SEA)
Depart 23:56, Arrive 18:06, Flight Time: 10:10

We had selected a couple of seats in the mini cabin behind the second set of doors which was quite busy during boarding. It also came with a couple of knocks from passengers’ bags as they made their way past.



But, there was Champagne and lots of other goodies…



Including a great set of pyjamas that are super comfy and been well used since.



And a case that I might have been wanting for a while…



I was surprised to find only two options on the menu for a long haul flight, as the crew came around they confirmed our pre-order options and it seemed like most of the people around us had also pre-ordered.

As we were getting ready to go the crew was super strict about not using any of the numerous storage areas of the seat, which is a little hard when they hand out all this stuff and you don’t have anywhere to put it… so, a lot it ended up in the overhead bins.



Once we were in the air people retrieved their items from the overhead bins and the crew distributed more Champagne and a little something to wet the appetite.



That was followed by a starter consisting of Goose Liver Mousse, Smoked Salmon and Champagne Jelly which was a bit different but I enjoyed it.



For the main plate I’d ordered the Sauteed Seafood with Cardinal Sauce Served with Mixed Vegetables and Creamy Linguine Noodles, which was good.



Mrs Hut chose the Roasted Pork Spareribs with Honey Pommery Mustard Sauce, Served with Mixed Vegetables and Mashed Potatos which was excellent.



Finally, there was desert which was lovely, but nothing on the one the previous flight. All in all, a great dinner and after finishing off the movie I was watching it was time for sleeping.



Woke up with a couple of hours to go and the crew kindly delivered coffee a few minutes later.



Soon after the next meal was served, I’m not sure if it was breakfast or dinner but it tasted good.



Which was followed by a nice fruit plate.

Soon enough we were descending into Seattle, finishing our first long haul trip on Eva Air – I’d rate them excellent, and would happily fly with them again.

Hut

I generally have low expectations of the arrival process at US airports on account of prior experiences involving long periods of waiting punctuated by hostile interactions with officials, be them government, airline or airport. Our trip through Seattle Airport was much more pleasant, a nice agent at the border, a reasonable wait for the baggage and by a quick trip through customs.

The Westin Seattle
Seattle has more than a few hotel options and we ended up picking the Westin. Turns out the lobby was under renovation, so we checked in at the makeshift reception in one of the conference rooms and headed for our room.



Which was a nice enough place to stay for the next few nights.



Had a bit of space and a view of the city.

Day 1



After our redeye to Singapore, a day exploring the garden city and then another overnight flight to Seattle we managed to sleep through until just before sunrise, hopefully this would mean a seamless transition to the new time zone.



First priority of the morning was breakfast and coffee, which was found near the hotel, with the essentials sorted we headed over to explore the Pike Place Market, where apparently the first ever Starbucks opened. Down our end of the world we love the big American fast food franchises, however for some reason Starbucks is shunned – the papers say we don’t like large corporates who are out to steal customers from small business owners. I think it’s more simple, we have different tastes… and Starbucks never came up with a product that works in our neck of the woods.



After exploring the market and avoiding the Starbucks, we took a trip on the monorail to see the Chihuly gallery, which has to be one of the better galleries that I have seen.



There was a very impressive indoor section with multiple different installations.



Along with an equally impressive outdoor one, which is set just under the space needle for extra tourist photo bonus points.



There was glass blowing demonstration, where a couple of people who knew what they were doing made it look easy and December weather in Seattle look warm!



After a trip through the gallery we headed up the Space Needle for a look around.



Where we stayed for an hour or so to watch the sunset and then went in search of dinner.

Day 2



For our second day, we started at the Museum of Pop Culture, which we didn’t have time to visit the day before.



There were a range of interesting exhibits that kept us entertained for a few hours, I think my favourite was the star trek one.



We then quickly stopped by the Pacific Science Center and really should have read the guide as this was targeted at kids rather than adults.



Went for a walk up to Kerry Park, which is a bit of a hike up the hill but gives a great view over the city.



We had an earlyish dinner and then headed over to the Alaska Airlines Arena to watch the Washington Huskies men's basketball team play Montana, which for a couple of people who didn’t really have clue about what was actually happening, was a great game to watch. It was close with Montana leading most of the game, but the Huskies were ahead when it mattered. With it being so close to Christmas there weren’t many people, so we got seats a couple of rows back and had a great time.

Day 3

On our last day we picked up a hire car and headed for one of my favourite things in Seattle, the Boeing Factory tour, I’ve been before – but this would be the first time for Mrs Hut. I also warned her it is unlikely to be the last!



Alas, photography is strictly prohibited – apparently due to the risk of dropped objects from the observation decks, which I can understand. More concerningly, the guide had to remined people not to drop their kids as apparently there had been a close call…



After an awesome trip through the factory where we saw 787’s, 777’s and some 747 pieces under construction, we took a look around the exhibits at the tour building.



My favourite had to be these suckers…



We went up on the observation deck too, but there wasn’t a lot happening and it was very cold!



Up next was a visit to the Historic Flight Foundation where they have a range of airworthy vintage aircraft.



We were lucky enough to have a look through their B-25 Mitchell, which if you are a member you can get a ride! I was seriously interested, but there isn’t a lot of notice of when the flights are and a return Perth to Seattle trip at short notice for a couple of hour flight… maybe not that practical.



We also got a look at their nice DC3 which is fitted out for corporate transport.



The final stop of the day was a trip to the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum where there were even more airworthy vintage aircraft and also some other interesting things to see, like rockets and tanks and even some spacecraft.



The plan was to also to try to see the Museum of Flight however it was a little late, so we stopped by the Washington Park Arboretum on the way back to the city instead, which was a lovely way to end the day.



The final event of our stay in Seattle was a trip to the 5th Avenue Theatre to see a play.



The theatre is in a lovely old building with ornate Chinese features.



We saw the Holiday Inn, and I might have checked the weather conditions in Colorado, our next stop… Not a great move as the I70 was closed due to a combination of snow and bad drivers. So, after a great show we headed back to the hotel hoping for better weather the next day.

All in all, an awesome, if very cold few days in Seattle.

offerendum

Indeed a nice theatre, also interesting museum building - but nothing beats the kangaroo

roadwarrier

Enjoying this so far, thank you. Also a bit of respite from the warm Southern Hemisphere December.

bitterproffit

I have a bunch of Starbucks gift cards which I like to give to staff that go out of the way for you. They are nice, especially in places where tipping isn't common. So, I was in Perth and wanted to give one to a nice man at the hotel who would help me map out my trips every day. But, I had to search to where the closest Starbucks was before I gave it to him.
I had to laugh at the search result that showed the nearest Starbucks being 2700 kms away in Adelaide!

I didn't miss Starbucks though, and quickly got addicted to flat whites. And the 24 pho shop in Northbridge.

Enjoying the trip report, thanks.

Hut

With an early flight, the morning started well before one would like. We retrieved the hire car from across the street and were soon on our way out to the airport. I was expecting it to be busy just prior to Christmas and it was. There were people and queues everywhere! Luckily, we were able to get our bags checked reasonably quickly and somehow ended up going through the pre-check security. After a lap of the terminal in search of a coffee establishment that didn’t have a 30+ person queue we gave up and made for the gate, good thing we did as boarding was well underway despite it being still 10 minutes until the paperwork indicated it would start.

Alaska Air AS674
Boeing 737-900 (N323AS)
Seattle (SEA) -> Denver (DEN)
Depart 06:01, Arrive 09:28, Flight Time: 2:27



The plane looked like it was going to be very full and fortunately there was still space for our bags in the bin above our seat. I’m still not sure if I like Alaska’s carpet on the front wall approach to aircraft beautification, but it’s different…



Mini water bottles were distributed on the ground and we took to the air to find a glorious sunrise in progress and a lovely mountain range below. The weather was looking much better in Colorado with the I-70 open and conditions looking fine – if a little cold!



As were heading towards thinner air the crew distributed the life sustaining caffeine, this nudged Mrs Hut more towards a state that one could describe as alive. I have learnt that early morning starts combined with a low level of caffeination can result in zombie like states that are best avoided…



Once we had levelled off there was food on offer, I went with the Muesli which was unremarkable, which is to say very good in comparison to my experiences of American air travel.



Mrs Hut went with the Quiche which was more in line with those expectations…



Soon enough we were approaching Denver and landed with quite the jolt.



We took the bus over to the Avis lot and picked up our beast… I generally regard vehicles this size as somewhat unnecessary, however with 5 adults and all their luggage its just right! We stopped by the Airport Fairfield Inn to pick up my brother who had flown in the night before and then went back to the airport to pick up the parentals who arrived an hour after us.

Breckenridge

After stopping by a local supermarket, we were on the ice and traffic free I-70 and made great time to our first stop, Breckenridge where we would be spending the next 7 nights.



We’d booked nice apartment online from the same outfit we used last time and it was in a pretty good location, maybe 100m from the lift. It also had a great table where many hours spent talking and playing card games.



There was also a large living area…



And not a bad view.



On our first day there was a lot of snow falling, which was good as the base was a little lower than ideal with only around half the runs and lifts open.



We spend the rest of the week exploring the town in the evenings…



And spending the day on the mountain, Mrs Hut spent the first 4 days in lessons as it was her first time on the snow.



And then the next 3 days I played ski instructor on the lower slopes which was great to see Mrs Hut improving.



We also explored the area and enjoyed the scenery, if not the temperature.

Avon / Beaver Creek



We had another 4 nights in Avon, where we got another apartment online, however the ski field up the hill didn’t really have much snow.



It did however have fireworks for New Years!



And a range of kids events in the main resort area.

We spent one day up at Beaver Creek where a lot of the mountain wasn’t open yet due to a lack of snow and the steeper runs pushed Mrs Hut well outside her comfort zone, but this was the day she really learnt to ski… we then spent the next couple of days driving back to Breckenridge as the whole mountain was open and the snow was far better.

Hut

Haha, yeah we have a culture that places a great deal of importance on coffee, so shouting someone one is a really nice thankyou! We also have more descriptive names for what goes in the cup, I get very strange looks if I ask for a long black in most countries...

Hut

We were all off to Boston for few days, mainly because Cathay had award space for the parentals to head back to NZ and we’d never been. With a morning flight, we were on the road just before sunrise and made good time through to the Airport, where I dropped the family who got checked in while I dumped the car before we met up and headed through security.

With half an hour or so to kill we had breakfast and noticed all the tv stations seems to be talking about an impending apocalypse on the east coast, after paying a little more attention it looked like bad weather – luckily our flight was showing on time, but later flights into Boston were cancelled.

United UA789
Boeing 737-900
Denver (DEN) -> Boston (BOS)
Depart 10:09, Arrive 15:53

We headed for the gate where boarding got underway pretty much right on time, but after we pushed back we went, well nowhere. After 15 mins sitting maybe 100m from the gate the captain let us know we were having an issue with the computers… As it seems with all IT related issues, we tried tuning them on and off a few times which didn’t work, so Plan B was to undo that 100m of progress towards our destination and try turning them off for 10 mins without the engines running…



In the interim we experienced was I understand is a rare occurrence anywhere really, a pre take-off drink in economy…

After maybe 45 mins of trying various things the crew allowed us to deplane if we wanted and most of the people chose to do so. After another 30 mins or so the Captain let us know the engineers had made the call, the plane wouldn’t be going anywhere!

Now, normally I wouldn’t be too fussed – we had a couple of days before our flights out of Boston would be impacted and America seems to have millions of ways to connect between two large cities. But, with the impending snow storm on the east coast, a quick look online indicated there were precisely no options to get in before the storm. Luckily with United having many planes in Denver they found another one to take us to Boston and it appeared in short order.



Apparently, this new plane also came with a new flight number which resulted in an hour long boarding process as everyone needed to have their old boarding pass checked at one computer and visit an agent at the next one…

United UA2761
Boeing 737-900 (N68807)
Denver (DEN) -> Boston (BOS)
Depart 14:22, Arrive 19:47, Flight Time: 3:25

There were a few grumbles on the ground about the delay, but I think most of us were just happy to be on another plane bound for Boston!



Once we were in the air, drinks were distributed and not a lot happened – I read a book and watched a movie and we landed in a cold and surprisingly clear Boston 4 hours late but grateful to be there.



The screen at the baggage claim reinforced how lucky we were to get in tonight.

We’d booked an apartment rental in the middle of town, and with the impending storm weren’t planning to do much of anything for the next day or two so we headed out for dinner and stopped by the local grocery store which looked a bit like something from a movie with a lot of the shelves picked over.



We woke up the next morning to the promised storm and made the easy decision to have a lazy day with many games of cards and we went for a walk in the afternoon.



Most places were closed and while the streets were getting cleared they quickly filled up with snow again.



Despite spending the whole day in the apartment, I realised I didn’t actually take any photos of it! So here is one out the back window looking at the snow building up!



For our second day we woke up to find clear blue skies, so we went out to explore.



There was snow everywhere as you might expect…



And the clean up was well underway.

wtcmor

Really enjoying this TR thanks for the effort

Hut

It was an early start for our trip up to Toronto and then onward to the Niagara Falls, we left extra time for dealing with check in and security, however it turns we didn’t need to as Air Canada seem to use their own little corner of the terminal with a dedicated security line which was pretty quick to get though.



There was a token shop that sold coffee and it was absurdly cold outside, so when the flight before us boarded the terminal temperature dropped rapidly and people started putting their coats on!

Air Canada AC7621
Embraer ERJ-175 (C-FEKD)
Boston (BOS) -> Toronto (YYZ)
Depart 07:25, Arrive 09:28, Flight Time: 2:03



Our flight was running a little late but once we got going we got a great view over the city as we left.



Coffee and a snack were served in the air by the friendly cabin crew.



While it was a pretty quick trip up to Toronto it was also very bumpy in parts and when we arrived and it was even colder than in Boston. Now you wouldn’t think that a few extra degrees would make that much of a difference, but it turns out that Mrs Hut doesn’t operate below -20…



After a very brisk walk through the carpark we arrived at Avis where we were given an ice wrapped jeep. After throwing the bags in we headed into town to drop off the brother and then turned south in search of the Niagara Falls.

Marriott on the Falls



Down near the falls there are two hotels next door to each other that both wear the Marriott badge, fortunately google got us to the correct one, however when we arrived our room wasn’t ready – so we went for a drive to see the falls. Along with it seemed everyone else… I would complain but with the benefits of warm air circulating the cabin and heated seats it was much preferable to braving the elements!



After an hour-long trip around the block, we were back and our room was ready…



It came with an enormous bathtub and a great view.



We selected our warm clothes and walked down to the falls, it was bitterly cold and even the locals were complaining.



But, the view was worth it! It was crazy how much ice there was, crazier still that water was flowing…



After 20 mins or so we headed inside to warm up and watch the slowly moving carpark that reminded us of what it felt like to be warm…



After warming up we took a few more photos and headed back to the Marriott as fast as we could!



We arrived back in the room just as the sunlight was disappearing and spent a few minutes warming up and looking out the window.



Given the temperature we chose to have dinner in hotel restaurant and then returned to find the falls lit up – Amazing!

offerendum

lb8001