dat4life

Wednesday February 12, 2020. Feels like several lifetimes ago already. I was waiting at the Eagle Nest in LAX for my flight home to Texas. That morning, I interviewed in San Francisco for what I hoped to be a pretty big promotion. Naturally, I was replaying the morning in my head trying to reassure myself I did well enough. My mind eventually drifted off to more trivial matters, like my favorite airline Cathay Pacific ending their fifth freedom service between New York and Vancouver at the end of February. I had only been fortunate enough to fly it once way back in 2015, but that was more than enough to convince me that it was finest way to crisscross North America.

It had been a little over a year since I’ve flown Cathay and more than five years since I’ve been fortunate enough to fly Cathay in First Class. I did have a First Class ticket back to Hong Kong in May, but the proverbial itch was getting strong and May was a ways off then. On a whim, I transferred 40,000 Amex points over to Asia Miles confident that Cathay would come through and release award space for me at the last minute for one of those final flights.

A week later I woke up to an appropriately drizzly and dreary day. On the Cathay front, crickets. Cathay just wasn’t releasing award space despite the empty flights, which to be perfectly honest I really didn’t blame them. But life still had to go on, and at least I had something to look forward to that day. All I had on the docket was repping my company at a career event at an university a few hours away, which meant a pleasant drive through piney woods of East Texas and a couple hours of yakking with college kids about my job. Not a bad way to get paid, for sure.

I stopped to get gas a little ways outside of town. On a whim, I decided to hop on Asia Miles again to see if any seats were released. Holy moly, there it was. Exactly one First Class seat was available on the departure from New York the next evening. Everything else be damned, I booked it. The rest I could figure out on the drive. I had a ton of Southwest travel funds sitting around, so getting to New York was no problem. But then it hit me: Can I fly to New York tonight and burn a soon to expire Hyatt free night certificate? A quick call to Globalist line confirmed there was plenty of rooms available at the Park Hyatt that evening, and I was able to switch to the very last flight of that night on the Southwest app. I love it when a plan comes together!

Previous Trip Reports
2019: An Unexpected Jaunt Around The World (UA/CX/TG/BR/OS J; AK Y)
2018: Pilgrimage to the Fatherland (CX/MU J; CX W; WN/MU Y)
2017: The Ultimate Flake (AA F; SQ F and Suites; CX/MS/CA/MH/KL/JL J; TK Y)
2017: The Earth IS Round (UA/LH/HU/CZ/TR Y; CX/BR J)
2017: Something Old and Something New (SQ A350 J / AA J)
2015: Christmas in Asia (AA/CX/UA J; BA/AA/CX Y)
2015: A Manic Fall(AA/WN/UA/CX/FD Y; CX F; AA F)
2015: An Apartment in the Sky (Etihad Apartment First Class, AA Y, BA J/Y, QR Y)
2014: The End of An Era (JL/CX/TG/QF A380 F, OZ J, KA Y, and a Chinese Bullet Train!)
2014: A Tale of Two Cities (AA 77W J BA Y IB Y AF J)
2013: It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year (AA/MQ F AS Y)
2013: Geeking Out Across America (AA F)
2012: Around The World and From Sea to Shining Sea (AA F/Y, CX F, SQ F, UA F, DL F, WN Y)
2011: Everybody look at me because I'm sailing on a boat (KL J and DL Y)

dat4life

Reality soon hit. In the fog of my FT’er euphoria, there were some minor details that slipped my mind.

Other than what I had on at the moment, I had nary a stitch of additional clothing and I wasn’t wearing anything suited for much chillier New York and Vancouver. That was (very) small potatoes and easily solvable compared to my next realization, which was actually kind of a big deal. My passport was still sitting at home, and without it I was going nowhere fast. Even without stopping at home, I barely had enough time to make it down to Hobby Airport before my flight. A few miles clicked by as I stewed, and eventually I decided to call in a massive favor from a friend was willing to grab my things and meet me later in the day.

The rest of the day was a blur of handshakes (remember those?) and hobnobbing. Career fairs are fun way to break up the monotony of the daily grind, and I really enjoy working them. Though, I must admit my mind was elsewhere that day trying to figure out my game plan for later that day. My flight that evening was at 7:30 out of Hobby Airport. The fair ended at 4, and it was a three-ish hour drive down to Hobby in rush hour traffic even without stopping to meet my friend. Not great odds and pretty much every had to go perfectly for me to actually make it, but I’m always up for a good challenge! Fortunately, my co-worker that day was someone I go way back with, and he was happy to stay behind to take care of stragglers and breakdown our setup so I could get out of there

Get out of there I did like a bat out of hell. I practically sprinted back to my car and tore down US 59 heading south. Unfortunately, the drizzle morphed into a steady wind driven rain. Even in perfect conditions I barely had enough time make it down to Hobby let in this crap. Call it stupidity, adrenaline, or more accurately a combination thereof, my right foot was firmly planted on the gas keeping the speedometer needle as high as I dared. My pulse spiked a time or twenty as I felt the telltale jerk of the wheels hydroplaning, and every curve and turn was an adventure. But somehow I kept my car on the road and made phenomenal time.

Just before 6pm, I pulled over at a shopping center at the northern fringes of Houston where my friend waiting for me with my passport and things in hand. I owed her at least very nice dinner when I got back in town, but in the meantime she settled for a hug and my undying gratitude. I still had about 40 miles to go to Hobby, and it was arguably the toughest stretch as I would be heading right into the thick of rush hour. But at least the rain tapered off. Traffic was heavy as expected, but it flowed smoothly and I was surprisingly able weave all the way across Houston in relatively short order. Even though I hit a snag a few miles away from the airport, I pulled into the remote garage with a few minutes to spare.

I gave those spare minutes right back when I raced down to the shuttle stop only to find it pulling away. The shuttle was advertised to run every five minutes. It felt more like five hours but another one eventually materialized. As the doors thumped open, I leapt out of the bus and sprinted into the terminal and through security. CLEAR once again proved invaluable, I was free to run through the concourse in nothing flat. Huffing and puffing, I rolled up to the gate in the nick of time.

Southwest Airlines 1671
Houston (HOU) – New York (LGA)
Depart: 7:30PM
Arrive: 11:45PM
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 28F (Economy Class)



Flight was completely uneventful, and blissfully around half full. We pushed on time, and arrived a few minutes early via the Expressway Visual.

LaGuardia was almost eerily empty when I stepped out of the jetbridge, but it made for an easy exit to the rideshare stand in an adjacent parking garage where I hopped a Lyft for a quick ride over to the Park Hyatt.

Oh and fortunately, I was able to burn that aforementioned certificate this very evening which was exactly one day before it expired. Score! It was fare more palatable than the $750 revenue rate for the evening.

A doorman checked my name off a list and walked me over to the lobby elevators. The front desk was already alerted to my presence, and I was on my way to my room after a quick exchange of pleasantries and a swipe of my credit card. I was apparently upgraded to a “deluxe” room; though, I’m not sure exactly made it deluxe. Nevertheless, it was a very nice room as expected from Hyatt’s flagship brand and spacious for a New York City hotel room.





The bed was super comfortable.



The heated floors in the bathroom were much appreciated and frankly quite dope! I contemplated for moment maybe taking some of the bathroom fixtures with me as I was then considering renovating my own bathroom at home. No one would notice, right? Then I remembered my Globalist status was pretty dope as well, and I thought better of it.





After a fantastic night of sleep, I woke up in eager anticipation of my favorite World of Hyatt benefit: breakfast. Most Hyatt properties offer this benefit through the restaurant, though some like the Park Hyatt New York also allows Globalist to order breakfast via room service. That was perfect as it allowed me to put in an honest hour of work via conference call while breakfast was cooking.

I ended up deciding on the steak and eggs with all the fixings along with a side order of smoked salmon and a pot of coffee. It was a breakfast fit for a king, let along a freeloading frequent traveller. The steak was a filet cooked to a perfect medium, as were the eggs. The potatoes and mushrooms were a tasty compliment. I savored every decadent bite.



Since I really had nothing better to do after breakfast, I decided to make the long walk over to Macy’s to pick up a few things I forgot to ask my friend to pack for me. It was a pleasant late winter day. There was enough of a chill in the air to let you know old man winter is still hanging around, but not unbearably cold. The sun was just peaking out behind the clouds. It was just perfect for a leisurely stroll down to Herald Square.

Here are some shamelessly recycled pictures from another visit to New York a month earlier to enjoy while I shop.







I contemplated just hopping the subway back to the hotel. But with what was on the docket later that day and plenty of time to burn, my legs were the far more responsible form of transportation. So I headed back up 6th on the oldest form of transportation known to man, once again enjoying the weather and watching the hustle and bustle of New York go on around me. Delivery folks were dashing in and out of street with loaded handtrucks and dollies. Suits were powerwalking with smartphones attached to their hands and AirPods clamped in their ears. Tourists stopped in the middle of the busy sidewalk to snap pictures. In short, it was the New York City ballet and it ran pretty much flawlessly.

dat4life

After catching up on some email, I checked out and hustled to the 57th Street station to catch the E train over to Jamaica Station. The train pulled up fairly full and was packed to the gills after a couple of stops. I didn’t give being shoulder to shoulder with folks a second thought. JFK was at the end of the line, so it was a pretty long ride. Entertainment was provided by two panhandlers getting into a shouting match over who had the right to work this car.

I transferred to the AirTrain at Jamaica Station. Much like the night before at LaGuardia, the loop around JFK was almost eerily quiet. The tarmac, usually abuzz with activity, looked to be practically at a standstill. Same with Terminal 8, which was equally as dead. I flew out of here fairly regularly during the height of my American Airlines flying days, and there was a crowd no matter the time of day. Today, the rows and rows of check in counters were completely deserted nary a few lonely check in agents.

Cathay’s check-in counters were tucked away in the far corner of the terminal. I was greeted by a bored looking agent and a COVID-19 advisory front and center on the counter.



The agent sent me on my way after relieving me of my bag and handing over my boarding pass and an invitation to the Flapship Lounge. Security theatre was still in full swing, and it still took close an hour to clear despite very light traffic thanks to the ID checker who insisted on playing twenty questions with everyone. Eventually, I was through and standing in front of the Flagship Lounge elevator.



It’s been years since I had the opportunity to visit American’s Flagship Lounge at JFK. Much has changed as the lounge underwent a top to bottom renovation since my last visit back in 2015, and I was looking forward to seeing it firsthand. The elevator doors opened to reveal a far sleeker and modern reception area. A friendly agent admitted me after a quick scan of my boarding pass and apologized for having to handwrite an invitation to Flagship Dining on a wifi card because they were out of printed ones.

I’ve always liked American’s lounges. They might have outdated and fugly, but they were always comfortable. The recent round of renovations and refurbishments have definitely spruced up the lounges quite a bit.



The JFK Flagship Lounge has grown considerably since my last visit, taking over the space that used house an Admirals Club. Seating was plentiful, and I really liked the abundance of natural light.



The food and booze spread was substantial, with a decent selection of hot and cold items as well as alcoholic and soft drinks. Though quality of the food looked to be a few notches below what I found at the Flagship Lounge in Miami a couple of years ago.



Fortunately, I had other plans that evening in the form of American’s Flagship Dining. Flagship Dining is basically a restaurant within the lounge reserved for American’s transcon and longhaul First Class passengers. Partner First Class passengers don’t have access, with the exception of Cathay Pacific who saw it fit to pay for access for their First Class passengers.

I approached the frosted glass door just off to the side of the buffet with a charming handwritten invite as apparently the lounge had run out of the proper printed invites. The host guarding the room took a moment to briefly inspect the invite and then led me into the dining room without question. With just a couple of other folks in the Flagship Dining, she invited me to sit wherever I like. Naturally I chose spot overlooking a Qantas 787-9 preparing to go to Los Angeles and then back home to Sydney.





The menu and wine list were presented as soon as I sat down.





Truth be told, I really didn’t need to look at either because both the menu and the wine list were familiar sights thanks to numerous trip reports. Though I still did a bit of a double take, as it was hard to imagine American Airlines to offer anything of this caliber. Both the menu and wine list really wouldn’t look out of place at any restaurant, let alone an American Airlines lounge. If there’s one thing I learned from flying American over the years is that things usually sound better than they actually are. So would it live up to the hype?

I kicked off my Krug consumption earlier than expected.



I ordered the grilled artichokes with black truffles as my appetizer. It was excellent.



The sea bass main course was the highlight of the meal. It was a treat for the eyes with perfect presentation as well as for the taste buds. The sea bass was soft, flaky, and perfectly crisp skin. It was an excellent light little meal, and went down perfectly another couple glasses of Krug.



For dessert, I went with the chocolate mousse which was delicious and light. A very nice way to cap off the meal.



Color me very impressed. All in all, it was a very pleasant and delicious visit. AA really upped the ante with their new lounges, though hopefully all of these improvements survive the COVID era.

I got a kick out of this ad on my way to the gate.

dat4life

Cathay Pacific Airways 865
New York (JFK) – Vancouver (YVR)
Depart: 8:30PM
Arrive: 11:45PM
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300ER
Seat: 1A (First Class)

Cathay’s Boeing 777-300ERs seats 275 passengers, but there were just a small handful of people waiting in the gate area. Certainly, I saw a few news articles discussing Cathay’s low load factors leading up to this flight. But it was still jarring to see it firsthand.

Boarding began punctually, and I was soon met by a full compliment of flight attendants at the cabin door. After a quick glance at my boarding pass and introducing herself, FA Catherine led the way to the familiar sanctum that is Cathay Pacific’s First Class cabin. On the way, she explained that I would be the only passenger upfront so this was all MINE.



Catherine left me to get settled into my seat, 1A.





It’s been five long years since I was last fortunate enough to set foot in Cathay’s pentumate cabin. And fortunately, the important things haven’t changed from the super comfortable seat and fantastic flight attendants. Speak of devil, Catherine reappeared with a champagne flute, a bottle of Krug, a ramekin of smoked almonds, and an antiseptic wipe. She apologized for the lack of a hot towel and orchids, both of which were casualties of that thing that shall not be named. FA Teresa dropped by shortly afterward to introduce herself and present the tonight’s menu. She explained she and Katherine would be taking care of me, adding not to hesitate to let them know if I needed anything.

One thing that did change (and for the better) was the IFE screen, which was upgraded to a larger and much higher resolution screen. The use interface was also upgraded to the same fantastically intuitive and responsive interface as on Cathay’s A350. I ended up starting with The Joker, which was really good and actually lived up to the hype.



As expected, everything was buttoned up quickly and the massive GE-110B engines were fired up ahead of schedule. The steady hum of GE-110Bs crescendoed to a thundering roar as the pilots set take off thrust sending the plane racing down the runway. I couldn’t help but smile as the G forces pushed me back into the cushy seat as the plane practically lept off the runway and climbed into night like a homesick angel. It was definitely one of the most powerful takeoffs I’ve experienced in a long, though unfortunately it came courtesy of extremely light load.



Since I ate at the lounge just a couple of hours ago, I opted eat later in the flight. In the meantime, I had a great movie as well as a practically bottomless supply of smoked almonds and Krug to keep me occupied. Katherine and Theresa were both far to eager to oblige.

The Joker finished and one bottle of Krug later, it was time eat. Again.













Katherine setup my table a couple of minutes later, and she was followed by Teresa who had my salmon capriccio. It was fresh and delicious. Of course, I accompanied it with Krug. I made short work of the bottle opened on the ground, so a fresh bottle was popped and poured. “You have a lot of work ahead of you,” Teresa said with wink as she walked away. Challenge accepted!





One of my favorite touches of Cathay Pacific First Class is the handwritten “Bon Appetite” card.



Cauliflower and almond soup sounded more interesting than what it actually was: a non-descript cream based soup. It was tasty, though a bit on the salty side.



For my main course, I went with the wok fried scallops on the Chinese Favorites menu. It was delicious, and the steamed rice complimented it perfectly.



The cheese course was creamy and delicious.



Thoroughly stuffed, I begged off on dessert for now opting for what’s left of the bottle of Krug which served with a box of pralines and packaged wet wipe.



As a big history buff, Midway caught my eye on the entertainment system and started watching it during dinner. Midway is based on events leading up to the Battle of Midway in World War II and many of the characters are based on pilots who fought in the battle. Having read extensively about said pilots, I was disappointed on how they were portrayed. Obviously, creative liberties are taken in any Hollywood flick. But I was still hoping more respect would shown for the real heroes of the battle historians widely consider to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre.

Midway through the movie (see what I did there ), dessert was served. The cheesecake was decadently rich, and I only managed a few bite. But I savored every sip of my favorite Cathay Delight, which Teresa and Catherine had to hunt down the very last one in Business Class.





I struck up a conversation with Catherine when she came to clear the dessert plate and talked about anything and everything. She’s flown for Cathay for over 20 years and commutes two hours to Vancouver for the privilege. While she wore a pleasant smile, she was clearly worried about the future especially when she mentioned there were only 40 butts in the 275 available seats that evening. Though interestly, she mentioned that most of the flight from Hong Kong were generally filled to the brim. The conversation naturally shifted to the elephant in the room, COVID-19. Information on the virus was all over the map at that point, but we both were optimistic that Canada and the US might be spared worse of it.

Catherine excused herself to pack up the galley after the 20 minutes to landing announcement. And pretty much 20 minutes later, the graceful beast touched down gently in Vancouver.



I made sure to thank both Catherine and Theresa for the wonderful flight, before making the trek over to immigration where I had to answer five different questions attesting I have not been to China in the last 30 days. And then it was off to find the pick up area to catch the shuttle over to the Hampton Inn Vancouver Airport. Not much to talk about there, except that it was a typical comfortable and clean Hampton.

dat4life

The next morning, I hopped on a bus back to the airport to pick a rental car to go exploring. This was my first visit of Vancouver in nearly 20 years so I was keen on retracing my steps. One of my fondest memories from visiting Vancouver as a kid was Stanley Park. So naturally, that was my first stop.

























After a few laps around the park, which was just as beautiful as I remembered, I headed north toward Whistler. Not five minutes away from Stanley Park did I encounter the heart stopping sight of blue and red lights ablaze in my rearview mirror. I wasn’t speeding (that badly), but somehow Canada’s finest caught sight of my iPhone in hand and was on me like white on rice. In fairness, I was only using it for directions as Carplay wouldn’t work in my rental car for some reason. The Mountie took pity on the foreigner from south of the border and let me off with a very friendly warning.

I spent the rest of the enjoyable day carving up the scenic roads around Whistler before returning to the hotel just after the sun had set.

In hopes of scoring a walk in interview to renew Global Entry, I bounced out of bed early and headed to the airport right away. My experience with U.S. Customs and Immigration in these here parts have been awful at best, though the immigration officer I had that day couldn’t have been friendlier and walked me over to the storage area that doubled as the waiting room for Global Entry interviews. I was a little nervous as the couple in front of me was getting grilled about a trip to China, something I’ve done numerous times over the years. But the only question I got asked was why I wanted Global Entry, and the rest of interview the officer was telling me stories of the celebrities passing through Vancouver as there was a certain model whose name escapes me going through immigration during my interview.

Air Canada Jazz 8121
Vancouver (YVR) – Portland (PDX)
Depart: 8:40AM
Arrive: 9:54AM
Aircraft: De Havilland Dash 8
Seat: 14F(Economy Class)

Also contributing to my excitement for the day was a rare turboprop flight. This would be just my fourth turboprop flight in 1.4 million miles flown. It was also my first Air Canada flight, albeit Air Canada Jazz but still.

Boarding using stairs was kinda fun. I could do without the rain, though it was more or less expected in the Pacific Northwest.



I picked a seat right behind the wings which allowed for pretty nifty views of the main gear retracting/extending. Not much to talk about inflight. Departure was ontime. Service consisted of the safety demo. Not surprisingly, the flight was a bit noisy but nothing my Bose headset couldn’t make more bearable. And the engines were shutdown in Portland a minute or two ahead of schedule.



I made a beeline for Capers Café one terminal over for a delicious breakfast sandwich, courtesy of Priority Pass, before doubling back for my United flight back to Houston.

United Airlines 1888
Portland (PDX) – Houston (IAH)
Depart: 11:55AM
Arrive: 5:20PM
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Seat: 10F(Economy Plus)

After enjoying a couple of years as a Premier Gold, I was relegated to Premier Silver with a slow down in travel. Truth be told, it really wasn’t much different. Upgrades were still few and far between. The mileage bonus differential wasn’t that a huge difference. The only real difference was being able select Economy Plus seats at booking, though I’ve always been able find a decent Economy Plus seat at check in as a Premier Silver. Today, I lucked out with the entire row to myself thanks to light load in Economy Plus.

The real highlight of the flight came during climbout when the Captain announced there were amazing views of Mount Rainier on the left side of the aircraft. I was sitting on the right side, but fortunately the row across from me was unoccupied. I couldn’t resist and snuck across the aisle for a look, and it was totally worth it.



The views the rest of the flight were great too.







Otherwise, the flight was uneventful. The flight attendants were very friendly and did multiple full beverage and water runs. And we pulled into the gate on time in at IAH.
My car was parked 30 miles across town at Hobby Airport, so I grabbed a rental car and headed home. Originally, I wanted to spend the day in Vancouver and then take the redeye back to Houston when I would directly connect onto my American flight early the next morning. That sounded solid in theory, but the more I thought about it the less appealing spending the night cramped in an United 737 sounded especially in comparison to my comfy bed at home. Eventually, my inner Roger Murtaugh emerged and said,”I’m too old for this [stuff]” and moved up my flight for an extra night at home

dat4life

I walked back into Terminal A of George Bush Intercontinental Airport the next morning thoroughly rested after an excellent night of sleep and ready tackle a pair of run of the mill American Airlines flights that would bring me to Sin City. Believe it or not I was actually looking forward to these flights as this was my first opportunity test out my newly re-minted Executive Platinum status courtesy of Hyatt. For years, I fluctuated between Executive Platinum and Platinum, but I grew tired of paying and having to connect for the privilege of poor service after several years of the “New American”. It would be interesting to see if things got better.

I already flexed my newly re-found EXP muscles by Same Day Confirming from the ungodly 5:30am flight to Phoenix to a far more palatable 8am flight. I was also pleasantly surprised to see my upgrade cleared again as soon as my ticket was re-issued. So far so good.

American Airlines 5744
Houston (IAH) – Phoenix (PHX)
Depart: 8:15AM
Arrive: 9:20AM
Aircraft: Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR
Seat: 1A (First Class)

Domestic first class hasn’t been much to write home about in decades, and there’s even less to write home about on a regional jet. But it’s still far more comfortable than economy and at least I was able to snag a seat on the single side! Breakfast was a choice of yoghurt and granola or meat and cheese plate. Against my better judgment, I went with the latter. It was too terrible, though I could do with less of that uber processed turkey. The veggies and fruit were fresh and tasty though. Little did I know this would be my last meal aloft for a good long time, and I really didn’t want to go out this way.



I passed flight enjoying views of the desolate expanse of west Texas and New Mexico. Things got a little more interesting as we neared Phoenix.



After a couple of drinks at the brand spanking new Centurion Lounge in Phoenix, it was time to hop on my flight to Las Vegas. I could tell you how that legacy US Airways A321 was packed to the fills, how worn out the seats were, and how the flight attendants couldn’t have been less happy to be there. But I won’t bore ya’ll with the gory details. So let’s pick it up in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas. Vegas. Viva Las Vegas. Sin City. The 702. Whatever you call it, Vegas is not among my favorite places in the world. It’s just too tacky and gaudy for my tastes. .And I’m certainly in no hurry to go back. But when someone (i.e. work) is willing to pick up the tab for a conference, Vegas here come! Fortunately, Vegas does have one heck of a redeeming quality: there are plenty of great restaurants.

One of my favorite spots in Vegas is the Lotus of Siam, which is a surprisingly good Thai restaurant located a little ways off the Strip nestled between an empty storefront and a sketchy looking massage parlor. I always get the Khao Soi, which is crispy duck served over egg noodles with a curry broth. It’s absolutely delightfully delicious.



I’ve been a fan of Roy Choi since I saw him on Parts Unknown with the late Anthony Bourdain. Some years ago, I got try out his food for the first time at a LAX pop up of all places. And I was hooked. I was thrilled to see he opened up a restaurant in Vegas, Good Friend, that just happened to be in my hotel, the Park MGM. I was slightly annoyed with the hour wait to be seated despite a reservation, but the food was worth the wait. I went with the all can eat option, and I enjoyed just about everything. Though my favorites were the Korean wings and incredible uni fried rice.



My final night in Vegas, I met up with a work friend and his wife at Jose Andres’ Jaleo to celebrate his big promotion to the East Coast. We are big fans of Jose Andres, because of his food as well as his humanitarian work.

I started off with Jose’s Taco, which was good. Not sure what flavor the gold added, but it was sort of cool nevertheless.



After that, I went with the Jose’s Way tasting menu.





The tomato cheese bread starter was tasty but nothing special.





The white asparagus was delicious.



The ensalada rusa was interesting and tasty.



The Spanish white beans with baby squid was my favorite dish of the evening. It was fantastic.



The steak was perfectly cooked.





My friend added a lamb chop dish that was simply perfect.



Despite all that food, we still saved room for dessert. The arez con leche was good, though nothing terribly special.



On the other hand, the flan was absolutely divine.



It was a wonderful meal, and a wonderful way to cap off a fun few days.

dat4life

With just a half day of meetings the last day of the conference, I woke up at the crack of dawn to pick up my rental car from the airport to hit the road a little quicker at quitting time. Plus, I figured National would have a better selection on the aisle with the late night and early morning returns. I happily snagged a brand new BMW 330i from the aisle and loaded up my bags as soon as I got back to the hotel.



At noon sharp, I was wheeling out of the garage at the Park MGM and heading into the beautiful late winter day. The sky was crystal clear, and the temperature delightfully crisp. It was an absolutely perfect day for a drive. Besides, in my hands was a near perfect partner to tackle the beautiful winding roads that would eventually take me to Springdale, Utah.









A little over three hours after leaving Vegas, I was pulling into my home for the next couple of nights, the Cliffrose Springdale. The chance to stay the Cliffrose swayed my decision to stay in Springdale. It’s set right along the banks of the Virgin River with the cliffs of Zion National Park providing a dramatic backdrop. Best of all, the hotel is just a couple of minutes away from the south entrance to Zion National Park. And it was all mine for incredibly palatable rate of $87.





The Cliffrose is part of Hilton’s Curio Collection. My Hilton Honors Gold status got me an upgrade to a Riverside room and breakfast in the morning, the pleasant front desk agent explained.

I was assigned room 127. It was very nicely appointed, and a welcome departure from the typical Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton etc.





The bed was super comfortable.











Since I was upgraded to a Riverside room, I had a patio with one heck of a view.





I got so excited when I stepped out onto the patio that I locked myself out. Welp, I might as well take the scenic route back to the front desk.





There was a herd (?) of deer grazing right by the pool area.



With my friend running late, I decided to head into Zion while I waited. It was simply stunning.





I eventually pulled off into a parking lot to take some pictures, when I noticed a trailhead. Just 1 mile and only 163 feet in elevation change… Seems like a nice quick hike to kill some time. Let’s go!



All I had on were a pullover, jeans, and running shoes. I was a few minutes in when the trail went from a relatively moderate climb to a narrow ledge. There were some second thoughts, but the views kept drawing me in.





The final climb was a bit steep, but I managed.



The view from the top was phenomenal and well worth the climb.







Funny enough, going down was more difficult than climbing up. I made it in one piece eventually and headed back to the hotel to meet my friend. Eating options are slim pickings in Springdale especially during the offseason. But we found a pizza joint that was actually open and enjoyed a well-earned pizza with a pitcher of beer.

dat4life

I enjoyed a lazy morning after a restful night of sleep. I don’t usually take advantage of in room coffee, but the coffee the Cliffrose stocks rooms with is solid and the morning views were irresistible.







Breakfast was served at the Anthera. The elite breakfast benefit covered an entrée, side, and a drink.





I’ve been to France a few times, but I’ve never seen a French whipped omelet there. Maybe it’s an Utah thing? Anyways, the Cliffrose French whipped omelet just tasted just like a regular omelet.



Fueled up, we headed into Zion.









And decided to do the Riverside hike.































After getting finishing the trail, we spent the rest of the delightful day driving around enjoying the twisting mountain roads and views.











After puttering around a bit the next morning, I made the trek back to Vegas for my flight home. I was sure to leave plenty of time for lunch at the Lotus of Siam and the National Atomic Testing Museum. I’ve passed by it many times, but I never stopped until now. It was a good way to kill a couple of hours.









After that, it was back to McCarran for another non-descript Southwest flight to Houston. Unlike my flight to LaGuardia, this was packed to the gills. But it didn’t bother me one bit. As I sat crammed in the last row of the Boeing 737-700, I reflected on the euphoria of a near perfect week and what a great year 2020 was turning out to be thus far. My mind wandered off to my upcoming jaunt in May to Hong Kong, South Africa, Kenya, and Normandy. It was truly one of the most perfect trips I’ve planned. I made a mental note to look for a hotel for my time in Cape Town, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Yep, 2020 was going to be epic.

Then the world went mad a short time later. Looking back on it, it was pretty crazy to have been able to go on a whim like that. But I wouldn’t change it for anything.

krazykanuck

Fantastic report and writing, as always! Have to say this TR didn't go quite the way I expected from seeing CX F in the title. Makes one wonder when or if I'll get a chance to get back in that cabin.

zip10001

Great write-up!
It makes me sad that us FT’ers will not be able to fly to HK on CX for a while

CosmosHuman

Beautiful photos. Thank you.

SFO777

What a wonderful report, with great pics and superb narrative. Kudos for dropping heaven and earth to experience the best transcon flight before it disappeared forever.

BRITINJAPAN4

Yes, SQ, Emirates, Cathay etc etc etc etc cant match AA HA !

dat4life

Thanks! Haha fair point. Though, I would have definitely flown to HKG if I could! And looking back on it, I probably should have.

Yep, it's been killing me as well!

Thanks, CosmosHuman!

Thanks, SFO777. It was certainly on whim!

Nope. Not even a little bit haha.

MarkCron

loved the Zion pictures ... we did the same hike along the river a couple years ago, and also did Angel's Landing - not for the faint of heart