gaobest

full metal jacket. I recall the poster. The wind doesn’t blow. It sucks.

Great TR, photos, and return home. I love that you saw full metal jacket. I have a love story about it for you. In 1987 I attended a form of overnight camp for 4 weeks… in New York City. Two fellow campers (Denny and Alison) met and dated. At some point during this camp, I had learned that Denny and Alison went to cinema and I asked what they saw and he told me Full Metal Jacket! I myself had already read the haunting fields of Fire and I overall can’t watch Vietnam war movies. Anyway since this is a thread where you searched for love, I saw too many cute connections. I am sorry that the women missed out on seeing you when you were in nyc. I’m glad that you made a new friend and I hope that you two are still socially connected. I hope that you will continue that search for love - each experience is unique and is zero guaranteed prediction of a future experience. Keep going for it. Put yourself out there. Look for love. There’s always time to enjoy stuff alone or with other friends even when one is married with children. I look forward to your future trip reports, with or without love.

please post photos of “your” dogs - I know it’s your mom’s dogs and I hope you’ll post photos in the pets thread if you use Omni

WolfieG

Gaobest! While the poster came out well before my time since "Full Metal Jacket" was released in the late 80s and I was born a little bit after that, I do know of the ad and line "The wind doesn't blow. It sucks."

Thank you thank you it is my pleasure writing this TR and I am glad you loved it! Thank you for complimenting the photos I took them all on an iPhone 11 Pro Max and it takes incredible photos indeed! While I sometimes also use a Canon point and shoot in addition to my phone as I can be old school, I did not take it on this short trip since my iPhone takes amazing photos. Indeed the return home was fantastic as it was one of the best flights I have taken in a while and made for a good end to a trip that did not go as well as planned . Thank you I am glad I decided on "Full Metal Jacket" as I figured seeing Sgt. Gunny would lift my spirits after being heartbroken part of this trip and boy, was I right! Awww that is too cute that you had a love story of two of your fellow campers, Denny and Allison meeting and dating over watching "Full Metal Jacket." I have not read "The Haunting Fields of Fire" myself, but I could definitely understand about being haunted by that book, making you not want to watch anymore movies revolving around Vietnam, which was an absolutely awful war to say the least. Awww thank you I am glad I was able to help you make connections in your life to my TR. What can I say about my former flame and her older sister missing out on seeing me while I was in NY it was their loss. While me and my friend had been talking before this trip, I am glad we finally got to meet in person after so many years and if anything, it was worth going to NY to meet him finally! : D Me and my friend still talk often and whenever I do go back to visit New York, I will definitely make sure to see him for sure and if he ever comes to FL, he knows he is always welcome! I hate to admit this but I have not really searched for love as much as I should have, as I want to work on myself and focus on my job, as I want to make sure I am at my best so I can give even more of my all to a new love in the future! It is so true each experience of love is unique and never the same, but that is definitely the exciting part of love for sure. You are absolutely right there is always time to enjoy life, be it alone or with friends, even if they are married and have children. Thank you Gaobest don't worry I am pleased to tell you that G-d willing, a future TR will be on the horizon covering a trip I will be taking in late August G-d willing. To be honest I don't know much about Omni but I will find another way to message you pics of our dogs. Thank you so much for being a part of my TR Gaobest!

WolfieG

*Flight Information:

Airline and flight number: Delta Air Lines (DL) 1517

Departure Airport: New York-John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), New York, NY

Arrival Airport: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL), Fort Lauderdale, FL

Departure Airport Terminal, Gate: Terminal 4, Gate B46

Arrival Airport Terminal, Gate: Terminal 2, Gate D4

Aircraft type, registration: Airbus A320-200, N334NW

Class of Service, Seat: Economy, 16F

Scheduled Departure Time/Actual Departure Time: 5:29PM/5:49PM

Scheduled Arrival Time/Actual Arrival Time: 8:48PM/7:56PM

d) Arrival:
​​​​​​After an excellent flight from New York's JFK Airport from a trip that did not go as planned, I exited N334NW, the Airbus A320 that operated our flight via Doorway 1L. I passed through the jetway into Terminal 2, which was busy with arriving and departing passengers. On my way to the Arrivals level, I spotted N282NV, an Allegiant Airbus A320 that was departing from Terminal 1, Gate C6 as Allegiant 1704 to Concord, NC in the foreground with N220NV, another Allegiant Airbus A320 in the background at Terminal 1, Gate C9 that had arrived from Asheville, NC as Allegiant 1229 and would be heading back there as Allegiant 1216.
Once out of the secure gate area, I did not have to go to the Baggage Claim since I did not have a checked bag, however, before I exited, I stopped at the Men's Room on my way to the escalator leading to the Arrivals level. While this restroom was perfectly serviceable, I am sad to say that compared to the restroom in the post-security portion of Terminal 2, these restrooms were not as clean or modern, which is a shame as the other restrooms in Terminal 2 as well as other areas of FLL are much better. Once I used the restroom, I headed downstairs and found myself at the Baggage Claim, which appeared less busy than by the gates.
Before I headed outside I opened my rideshare apps to see how much a ride back to Delray Beach would be. Uber wanted $100, which was very high even with surge pricing. Luckily, Lyft was far less at $69.99, so I requested a Lyft. I then headed outside, turning left from Terminal 2 to walk to the Rideshare Pickup Area located between Terminals 1 and 2.

​​​​​​By the time I arrived at the Rideshare Pickup Area,it was 8:25PM, fifteen minutes after I had disembarked from my flight. At that time, I found out my Lyft driver would be Amber, who would be coming to get me in a Kia Sedona minivan. According to my Lyft app, it said she was 6-minutes away from FLL and getting on to I-595 eastbound from I-95. From what I could see looking back towards Terminal 2, it was a busy night for arriving passengers, with many taxis, passenger cars, and rideshares along the airport roadways!

I do not know if it was the fact I arrived on a Friday evening, which tends to be busy most of the time or the way FLL is configured, but it took a very long time for my Lyft to arrive. The reason I am pondering this is because due to FLL's popularity, as it is a lower fare alternative to MIA down south and has had more international growth pre-COVID, it is probably having trouble dealing with all of the new growth. If I remember correctly, when I had to get a rideshare at JFK, an even larger airport one time, it did not take this long. The only airport I could think of where getting a rideshare would be harder, at least according to my Mom, would be LAX, where you have to take a shuttle to a central location away from the terminals to get a rideshare to leave the airport. While I was waiting, I spotted the tail of N37474, a United Boeing 737-900 at Terminal 1, Gate C2 that had arrived from Denver as United 241 and would be departing for Newark the next morning as United 1076.

About thirty minutes after I arrived at the Rideshare Pickup Area, Amber finally arrived in her Kia Sedona minivan at a little before 9:00PM. She opened the passenger rear door of her van and assisted me in loading my suitcase into the trunk. With my suitcase loaded and settled in the comfortable captains chair of the second row of the Sedona, Amber had us underway, exiting FLL via the terminal roadways, which were still congested, but not as badly as before I left. Amber had a warm and engaging personality, making me feel welcome in her Lyft right away. Amber asked me if I wanted the radio on and I obliged, with her turning on a station playing Alternative Rock, which was nice! We followed the terminal roadways out of FLL and in no time, we were following I-595 westbound towards I-95, the Florida's Turnpike, and I-75. Amber inquired if there was a particular route I wanted to take to Delray and I told her to take the best route based on traffic conditions, with that option being going to Delray via the Turnpike, as it would take 5-10 minutes less than going via I-95 at that time according to her GPS. Normally, I-95 and the Turnpike take about the same amount of time to/from FLL from where I live, but I usually opt for I-95 since it is a hair easier for getting to FLL from my residence most of the time. As we were cruising down I-595 and passing through the western suburbs of Fort Lauderdale, Amber told me that she normally works as a Court Reporter, but due to COVID-19, was furloughed. I felt bad because I understood what it was like being out of work for some time, but she told me not to worry, as she would be called back to work and was keeping busy by doing Lyft and Uber in the meantime. The ride was going smoothly and quickly and about ten minutes after we left the airport, we were approaching Exit 8A: Florida's Turnpike (FL-91)-Orlando, Miami. From there, we took the northbound ramp towards Orlando, then merging onto the Turnpike. Amber then asked me about my trip and felt awful, as she felt that put my heart into the trip and had it broken. I told her that thankfully, this trip set me back very little money (she was amazed by how little my flight cost!) and I got to see an amazing friend in the end! She was very pleased by this and at this time, we were already more north in Fort Lauderdale, as according to my iPhone's geotag, we were in Lauderhill, a north and western suburb of Fort Lauderdale.

Time continued to fly and a few minutes later, we were approaching Exit 62: Commercial Blvd (FL-870) and were in the northern edge of Fort Lauderdale.

Traffic continued to be light and we were able to make good time driving on the Turnpike through Pompano Beach in Northern Broward County until we crossed into Palm Beach County, then passing through the western portions of Boca Raton and Delray Beach until we reached Exit 81: FL-806 (Atlantic Avenue)-Delray Beach. We then left the Turnpike, turning left on Atlantic Avenue eastbound towards Delray Beach. From there, we drove about three miles east down Atlantic Avenue, passing the various shopping centers and gated communities lining this stretch of Atlantic Avenue until we reached El Clair Ranch Rd., turning left and then turning into my development. By the time we pulled into my driveway, the time was about 9:30PM. I got out of Amber's Kia Sedona, we got my bag, and I thanked Amber for an excellent ride! In addition, my Mom opened the garage, since she saw me arrive. We were glad to see each other, as we lovingly embraced each other and I entered the house, happy to see my Mom and then excitedly greeting my dogs. Since I still had to wind down that night as I wanted to be at work to start my normal 7-3 shift at the hotel the next day right at 7:00AM, I aimed to make it early night. My Manager offered to start the first two hours of my shift so I could come in at 9:00AM, resulting in a little extra sleep, I wanted to surprise and impress him, since work is one of the things that makes me very happy! Before going to sleep, I first ate a little bit more of my leftovers from Colbeh, the Kosher Persian restaurant I visited in Roslyn earlier that day. After eating a little bit, I set aside the remainder of my leftovers for my lunch at work the next day . After that, I then brushed my teeth and went to sleep at about 10:45PM, managing to wake up the next morning, Saturday, May 22nd, 2021 at 4:45AM with the help of the alarm clock on my phone. I got ready in the usual way and excited, I drove to Northern Palm Beach County, indeed surprising and impressing my Manager, as he was not expecting me to show up at 7:00AM that day due to my trip. He felt bad that my trip did not go as planned for me as he understood how much my old flame had meant to me, but nevertheless, he and the rest of the team were glad that I was safe and back at work. To this day, I am still proudly at my job with the hotel and I am continuing to do well! While I have not found love yet, I do appreciate many aspects of my life and hope to continue to better myself. Thank you to all my fellow FTers for participating in my TR and I cannot wait to write about future adventures!

​​​​​​e) DL1517 Impressions/Ratings:
Once again Delta did an excellent job on my second journey to the skies in a COVID-19 world, building upon the excellent aspects of DL2416, my flight from FLL to JFK! First and foremost, despite the fact that Delta was the last holdout in making their flights full capacity, not doing so until early Spring 2021, I still felt very safe even though my flight was packed! This was evident on N334NW, the Airbus A320 that operated our flight, as the plane was close to, if not perfectly clean and it is clear that Delta's extra cleaning efforts, like using electrostatic spraying and doing extra cleaning for the touch points are paying off. I even hope this extra cleaning continues even post-pandemic, as it pays off so the planes are even cleaner. Also, this plane looked to be in perfect, if not like new condition. Besides that fact, the flight attendants, including Lead Flight Attendant Moe along with Ling and Jefferson provided fantastic service, as they were warm, professional, and engaging with passengers when they were not performing their regular duties and did their best to go the extra mile where they were able to. I also appreciated that Delta brought back regular snack service, which added to the flight. As always, Delta's IFE continues to impress, thanks to its sheer amount of content in the form of movies, TV shows, music, games, and more as well as how intuitive it is to use. Another bonus of the flight was 16F, my exit row seat by the window, which had legroom on par if not better than some Comfort+ seats. Once again, Delta did not disappoint once again and I am always happy to use them whenever they are available for my travel needs.

Service: 20/20 (Flight attendants were warm, professional, and engaging)

Plane Cleanliness/Condition: 20/20 (N334NW, the Airbus A320 that operated our flight, was very clean and in near perfect condition with little to no wear and tear.)

Snacks: 20/20 (Glad to have regular snack service back!)

Seat Comfort: 20/20 (Seat 16F, my assigned seat, was an Economy seat in the exit row that may have shamed some Comfort+ seats, with ample legroom and width.)

IFE: 20/20 (One of the best among U.S. carriers, with ample content and intuitive user interface.)

**Overall Grade: 100/100 (A)