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Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37038599)
Shame we missed each other. I was totally convinced you were flying out before we arrived. Hope you enjoy the rest of your time in Dublin and that you find a pleasant spot for dinner tonight.
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Into the Aer Lingus lounge and, no offence, not worth taking any photos. Cold croissants, various yoghurts and cereal.
At least it's peaceful and not too full. We're on BA827 departing in about 80 minutes time. |
Originally Posted by WiSK
(Post 37038729)
Into the Aer Lingus lounge and, no offence, not worth taking any photos. Cold croissants, various yoghurts and cereal.
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Why would you fly BA via LHR rather than the direct DUB-JFK service? Pre-clearance at DUB is great for US flights. :)
We did the PCH a few years back. It's great of you're a passenger... not so good if you're the driver! It's very winding, so you need to keep concentrating so you don't end up in the Pacific. I was shattered after doing a few hours - and realised I'd not really seen very much :D |
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
(Post 37038894)
Why would you fly BA via LHR rather than the direct DUB-JFK service? Pre-clearance at DUB is great for US flights. :)
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Originally Posted by DYKWIA
(Post 37038894)
Why would you fly BA via LHR rather than the direct DUB-JFK service? Pre-clearance at DUB is great for US flights. :)
We did the PCH a few years back. It's great of you're a passenger... not so good if you're the driver! It's very winding, so you need to keep concentrating so you don't end up in the Pacific. I was shattered after doing a few hours - and realised I'd not really seen very much :D Thank you for the warning about driving - I will try to keep my eyes on the road and download from the dashcam to watch the views later! |
We arrived at gate 306 in plenty of time. Two families with infants prebording and didn't seem to be any group 0 called. Plane was completely packed and the crew did very well to fit all the rollaboards into the overheads.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5a2eecd92e.jpg Chicken salad. Wolfed it down as I had barely eaten anything in the Aer Lingus lounge. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7f2ca7a113.jpg GFML, young lady doesn't like prawns so I nicked them from her plate. Excellent service with two unprompted champagne top ups. CC lead also provided us both with bottled water from Y after I explained my unreasonable worry that my daughter will get dehydrated again. Otherwise it was a fairly uneventful flight to LHR, 5-10 minutes holding meant we were a little late. We went landside which should have been faster. But we muddled it all up by going north for toilets, then south for security, then got secondary check because the tablet needed swabbing. Then we met JapesUK and went north again to GF. My daughter got a selfie with the horse and there was an Easter make your own egg thing going on. She did that while JapesUK and I made a beeline to the champagne. Despite the north south north wandering delay, we still had plenty of time to have a natter about the state of BA(E)C, the necessity of delegation, and techniques for engaging with cabin crew. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...14dadccaea.jpg Build your own chocolate. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b66bcb5dc4.jpg Champagne and chocolate egg. Soon enough, our onward flights beckoned, with JapesUK off to A3 and ourselves down the tunnel to B33. |
Boarding was very slow. Half the plane in group 1 had been scanned already when we got there. But they were forced to wait in the preboard area while the crew worked on the finishing touches. After nearly 30 minutes someone in an orange jacket gave the nod, and boarding commenced. Us lowly group 2s were invited next.
Another useful tip from JapesUK: to ask the CC to put young lady's chocolate egg in one of the chillers, which was met with some amusement. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1cc6b37e27.jpg 77W. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...230ab68c1a.jpg In the mini cabin. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2ce50d2ab9.jpg This afternoon's options. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8476c54e74.jpg This Blush is not quite as tasty as the Finnair version. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...0420ea2fce.jpg My daughter's GFML had prawns again, so we swapped. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1b0bdc0b4a.jpg This was very delicious after 6 champagnes and a Blush. Bombay potatoes and cod in coconut sauce. Service was great and again, after a polite request to keep my daughter hydrated, plenty of bottles of water were brought to us during the flight. However, WiFi was broken. Many many grumbles. So we had to amuse ourselves with the IFE. I picked Nosferatu which was a bit of a weird film. Tried to have a bit of a nap but don't believe I properly slept. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...df8b3de118.jpg Mushroom Swiss on sourdough for tea/supper. My daughter's GFML was a chicken wrap which she was very happy with. And then it was time for seat backs upright and opening of the hatches as we made our descent into JFK. All green lights from there : quick MPC photos, second in line, nice chat with lady who asked why on earth we'd fly half way around the world just to drive California highway 1. Luggage was like 15th off the belt. Customs weren't interested in opening our bags. Straight through in under 20 minutes. Amazing. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e3a69b4737.jpg Airtrain to Federal Circle. Hotel shuttles hidden cleverly away to the side of the Avis. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13c6f396e8.jpg Marriott standard room. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...116901ae53.jpg With a chaise longue. Alarm set for 4am. Good night folks! |
We had some sleep at least, but young lady probably needs several hours more. Perhaps she can grab forty winks on the plane. Not sure how much to leave for housekeeping I settled on six bucks and some change.
Check out was great, handed in the room card and the shuttle was ready to go for T8. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8af18bbd20.jpg Ready for the next flight. We already had boarding cards printed in Dublin so we headed to security. It wasn't clear where AA business line was, so we joined the regular. Monitors and announcements told us to remove liquids and electronics, while the lady handing out the trays was shouting to leave everything in bags. Line was slow but once through we didn't get pulled for secondary. My bag had a pretty complex selection of stuff, so either they have much better machines than LHR and AMS or they are just having a quick glance and saying meh. At the lounge the gentleman printed me a new boarding card. For unclear reason he said my daughter could use her BA printed one. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9737f1121d.jpg We're only sapphire, so this is the only choice I think? https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6149b468c2.jpg Pretty empty. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ccb45c6744.jpg Coffee and syrups. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6b83b24dd4.jpg Standard selection of cold cheese and meats. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2e12a6f7b4.jpg Fruits. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...537241adbc.jpg And hot breakfast items. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...03f76ebe99.jpg Tasty bacon and freedom toast. Egg might have been tastier with more tobasco. I'm not even looking at the alcohol :p Boarding in like an hour, AA179 to SFO. |
I can recommend Global Entry. Then you have TSA Precheck included. You don't want to go back anymore. You don't have to take out anything.
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Great report thus far. :tu:
If you have the time, 17 mile drive is a nice detour off of Hwy 1. It's in the Monterey/Carmel area and gives you easy access to some of the most beautiful coastline in the area. Also not a bad place to pick up a souvenir if you or someone back home loves golf. |
What a lovely boarding experience at gate 47. Everyone remained seated until boarding was called exactly on time. Plenty of seats around the gate. Those needing assistance and Concierge customers allowed first. Then a sizable group 1 and soon we were invited as group 2. The transcon is a very roomy plane, and stress-free to board.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...850dfb5225.jpg Here we are in 7A and 7C. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...d0714a4303.jpg Today's menu. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...57e5253338.jpg I shouldn't really, but just one with second breakfast can't do any harm. |
Breakfast was served, and it felt more impersonal compared to BA. No banter and hard to engage. Nevertheless, professional and friendly by AA.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...13ce34e340.jpg Fruit starter. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...58e25e6e2a.jpg GFML starter. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...dc166b0034.jpg White cheese omelette. There is a little sausage hidden there. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...1bab13a7b6.jpg GFML potatoes, egg and vegetables. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...e2389fd561.jpg Cheeseboard and crackers. Could have done with a tiny bit more chutney. I think it's actually quite a heavy meal for breakfast. Didn't stop me finishing each plate. Young lady was more restrained. Cabin lights have been dimmed, so I might have a brief nap. |
I managed about an hour sleep and woke up above Denver.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...408204e965.jpg Looking south, I guess these are the Rockies. With still a few hours to go, I watched Conclave finally. Quite enjoyed it mostly because of the quality of the actors. Not convinced about the twist, if it's realistic, we'll see in a few weeks I suppose. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c6f8fdc46b.jpg Here's a place for JapesUK to put on his list, it's airside so can be visited as part of a B2B. Our bags didn't take long to appear. We tried to phone 'Mum' while we were waiting, but she had no service wherever she was walking in Cornwall. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...770185e5f0.jpg Landside at SFO. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...3e1363ef53.jpg Off to the rental car place. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8856d89bff.jpg View from the airtrain. The Avis preferred line was short. I asked the lady to print out the payment details. It's part of BA holiday so should have been paid by them. Thankfully everything seemed to be in order with only a $250 hold on my own card. What I don't quite understand - if you get stopped by law enforcement in the US - is it enough to show the Avis printout in terms of registration / insurance? I should have asked at the desk but I was anxious to get on the road. Once in the car, my wife phoned back. She said she had maybe bitten off more than she could chew with the intensity of the walking holiday. Luckily there was another group she can join for tomorrow who are doing an easier route. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...2b4bd79a8e.jpg My wife's coastal wanderings. |
This was my daughter's first driving-in-an-American-city experience. So I wanted to make it memorable.
I had chosen the Mustang convertible. I had created a Spotify playlist with some California classics and some tracks from my musical generation. California dreaming, flowers in your hair, dock of the bay, go west, under the bridge, and faith no more's epic. We put the top down and the volume up and drove north up highway 101 to Fisherman's Wharf. I drove carefully but with an open top everything feels faster. That car is loud but what the heck, we're in the US of A. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5cfcb816c6.jpg Traffic was not bad, only 35 minutes to the hotel. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ce6f5f1bf7.jpg The room at the Marriott was kind of disappointing. With taxes and fees, this is more expensive than our room at the Island Shangri-La two months ago. But if I'm honest I was hoping for a little more. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...8a6537a2a5.jpg For early check-in they only had a double, and right in the far corner of the triangular hotel. Third floor, so a view of a tree. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...644dc26383.jpg Compact to say the least. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9e8bb528a1.jpg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...22a3bce062.jpg |
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