There's more to Maine then just Lobster-You too can play dodge the airborne canoe!
Jun 14, 2009, 3:30 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ICN / 평택
Programs: AA, DL Gold, UA Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 8,714
There's more to Maine then just Lobster-You too can play dodge the airborne canoe!
FAY-CLT-PHL-PWM (12 Jun 2009)
US Airways (CRJ700, A320, CR-65)
Oh how I wish I’d padded my itinerary with a little more time…So I get to my home airport (FAY) and get checked in and through security. As usual, TSA is a breeze, but since the biggest thing to depart FAY is a Canadair, at 6:00 AM there is not too much of a line, and it tends to move quickly. We all get settled in and depart about 15 minutes late for Charlotte. The flight which usually takes 25 minutes took us about 45 this time, putting us down in CLT and out at one of the most remote E-terminal gates while my PHL flight was boarding.
For those who have flown through CLT, you will know that it is not a small airport and the E gates which handle all of the US turboprops and Canadairs is a good walk from the rest of the terminals. I fought my way through light to medium crowds, speed walking to my gate in B-terminal. The flight was almost completely boarded by the time I arrived at the aircraft. I took my window seat and breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, the luck starts to go south. We push back, but are put on a 45 minute ground hold, since the weather in Philadelphia has caused arrivals to be slowed down. Mind you, I’ve only got about a 30 minute layover in Philly. But, the flight is only an hour, so we should make it up, right? So, we get off the ground and fly north and land in PHL at the time when my Portland flight is supposed to be boarding. We taxi past that gate (B-concourse) and I see the pretty little Embraer 170 sitting there at the gate (I love the E-170/190s) and continue on to our gate on the C-concourse. Murphy strikes again. The jetway will not move. We sit on the plane for about 15 minutes while the city of Philadelphia tries to figure out how to get their jetway working. By now I have missed any chance of catching my connecting flight. When we finally deplane, the gate agents have at least reprinted our new boarding passes and my new flight is scheduled to depart roughly four hours later. When I see it is departing from F-concourse, my heart sinks (for PHL, that is the commuter concourse). So much for my nice flight on the new Embraer.
So I’ve got some time to kill in PHL. Not wanting to re-deal with TSA, I decide to stay airside. It was too early in the morning for any of the int’l flights to be arriving, so I walked the terminal for a while, and finally settled down in A for a spot of lunch at Chickie and Pete’s and had a fairly good chicken parmesan sandwich and a Victory beer. This was a nice quiet lunch, as the A-terminal (serving mostly int’l flights) was not yet hopping. After lunch, I still had quite a bit of time, so after another stroll, I stopped at one of the Jet Rock bars and had another beer, this time a Bare Knuckle stout. Now, beers at PHL are quite expensive, so that was it for me. After killing a little more time, it was off to the shuttle bus that took me out to F-terminal. Waiting for me was one of my least favorite airplanes…you guess it…the Canadair CL-65. For the record, I can tolerate CRJ700s and actually don’t mind the CRJ900s, but this little plane was not designed with passenger comfort in mind. My seatmate was not happy to see me sit down (I think he wanted the row to himself), but he got over it (or, maybe he didn’t! I’ll never know, and frankly I don’t care).
The flight to PWM was fairly quick (thankfully), and we ended up coming in over the Casco Bay and landing to the east. After getting off and leaving the terminal, it was a little bit of a chore to find the rental car agencies, but I finally got there and picked up my car for the weekend: a newer Ford Focus. Then it was off to find the hotel. I am staying at the Embassy Suites on the airport grounds, and even though it is on the grounds, it was not easy to find. As I was somewhat tired after the day in transit, I decided to get dinner at the airport restaurant. Dinner was a spinach salad that was quite good.
Saturday I get up and go for a quick drive into Portland before breakfast. I found the ferry terminal and familiarized myself with the lay of the land for later. After breakfast, I drove down along US route 1 through Kennebunk and the Maine coastal towns south of Portland. After having a nice drive and reaching Portsmouth, NH (had to add another state to my travels), I turned around and headed back up north to Portland for my harbor cruise. After getting my ticket, I had some time to kill so I got some lunch at Gilbert’s Chowder House on the waterfront (Large Clam Chowder and a Shipyard Export). Next, I walked up to the Shipyard brewery and checked out their store, then headed over to the Sebago brew pub and had another beer (a Sebago Lake Trout Stout-very good!). The next item on the agenda was a Portland harbor lighthouse cruise, which was very nice and I would highly recommend to anyone ($18, 90 minutes). Back to the hotel for a shower and dinner, which was at the Sea Dog Brewing Company (I had the Atlantic salmon on a cedar plank and a fantastic hazelnut porter).
Sunday: I get up and it is raining. So, Sunday is going to be another drive day. I decide to drive out by Lake Sebago. While I’m past the lake, I am following a van that is hauling a trailer with about four canoes in a rack. Luckily, I am a good distance back, as one of the canoes comes flying off the rack and onto the road! If I had been tailgating, I would have been finding out if my credit card company really did honor the CDW that is supposed to be in place automatically whenever I use it to rent a car. After coming back to Portland and grabbing a quick lunch at Whole Foods, I head on up to Augusta and see the state capitol building. After a long day of driving, I head back to the hotel and am getting ready for my trip back tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow: US Airways PWM-DCA-CLT-FAY (ERJ170, 737, CRJ700). Wish me luck!
Next trip: Halifax, NS. I'd love some ideas and some restaurant / microbrew suggestions!
US Airways (CRJ700, A320, CR-65)
Oh how I wish I’d padded my itinerary with a little more time…So I get to my home airport (FAY) and get checked in and through security. As usual, TSA is a breeze, but since the biggest thing to depart FAY is a Canadair, at 6:00 AM there is not too much of a line, and it tends to move quickly. We all get settled in and depart about 15 minutes late for Charlotte. The flight which usually takes 25 minutes took us about 45 this time, putting us down in CLT and out at one of the most remote E-terminal gates while my PHL flight was boarding.
For those who have flown through CLT, you will know that it is not a small airport and the E gates which handle all of the US turboprops and Canadairs is a good walk from the rest of the terminals. I fought my way through light to medium crowds, speed walking to my gate in B-terminal. The flight was almost completely boarded by the time I arrived at the aircraft. I took my window seat and breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, the luck starts to go south. We push back, but are put on a 45 minute ground hold, since the weather in Philadelphia has caused arrivals to be slowed down. Mind you, I’ve only got about a 30 minute layover in Philly. But, the flight is only an hour, so we should make it up, right? So, we get off the ground and fly north and land in PHL at the time when my Portland flight is supposed to be boarding. We taxi past that gate (B-concourse) and I see the pretty little Embraer 170 sitting there at the gate (I love the E-170/190s) and continue on to our gate on the C-concourse. Murphy strikes again. The jetway will not move. We sit on the plane for about 15 minutes while the city of Philadelphia tries to figure out how to get their jetway working. By now I have missed any chance of catching my connecting flight. When we finally deplane, the gate agents have at least reprinted our new boarding passes and my new flight is scheduled to depart roughly four hours later. When I see it is departing from F-concourse, my heart sinks (for PHL, that is the commuter concourse). So much for my nice flight on the new Embraer.
So I’ve got some time to kill in PHL. Not wanting to re-deal with TSA, I decide to stay airside. It was too early in the morning for any of the int’l flights to be arriving, so I walked the terminal for a while, and finally settled down in A for a spot of lunch at Chickie and Pete’s and had a fairly good chicken parmesan sandwich and a Victory beer. This was a nice quiet lunch, as the A-terminal (serving mostly int’l flights) was not yet hopping. After lunch, I still had quite a bit of time, so after another stroll, I stopped at one of the Jet Rock bars and had another beer, this time a Bare Knuckle stout. Now, beers at PHL are quite expensive, so that was it for me. After killing a little more time, it was off to the shuttle bus that took me out to F-terminal. Waiting for me was one of my least favorite airplanes…you guess it…the Canadair CL-65. For the record, I can tolerate CRJ700s and actually don’t mind the CRJ900s, but this little plane was not designed with passenger comfort in mind. My seatmate was not happy to see me sit down (I think he wanted the row to himself), but he got over it (or, maybe he didn’t! I’ll never know, and frankly I don’t care).
The flight to PWM was fairly quick (thankfully), and we ended up coming in over the Casco Bay and landing to the east. After getting off and leaving the terminal, it was a little bit of a chore to find the rental car agencies, but I finally got there and picked up my car for the weekend: a newer Ford Focus. Then it was off to find the hotel. I am staying at the Embassy Suites on the airport grounds, and even though it is on the grounds, it was not easy to find. As I was somewhat tired after the day in transit, I decided to get dinner at the airport restaurant. Dinner was a spinach salad that was quite good.
Saturday I get up and go for a quick drive into Portland before breakfast. I found the ferry terminal and familiarized myself with the lay of the land for later. After breakfast, I drove down along US route 1 through Kennebunk and the Maine coastal towns south of Portland. After having a nice drive and reaching Portsmouth, NH (had to add another state to my travels), I turned around and headed back up north to Portland for my harbor cruise. After getting my ticket, I had some time to kill so I got some lunch at Gilbert’s Chowder House on the waterfront (Large Clam Chowder and a Shipyard Export). Next, I walked up to the Shipyard brewery and checked out their store, then headed over to the Sebago brew pub and had another beer (a Sebago Lake Trout Stout-very good!). The next item on the agenda was a Portland harbor lighthouse cruise, which was very nice and I would highly recommend to anyone ($18, 90 minutes). Back to the hotel for a shower and dinner, which was at the Sea Dog Brewing Company (I had the Atlantic salmon on a cedar plank and a fantastic hazelnut porter).
Sunday: I get up and it is raining. So, Sunday is going to be another drive day. I decide to drive out by Lake Sebago. While I’m past the lake, I am following a van that is hauling a trailer with about four canoes in a rack. Luckily, I am a good distance back, as one of the canoes comes flying off the rack and onto the road! If I had been tailgating, I would have been finding out if my credit card company really did honor the CDW that is supposed to be in place automatically whenever I use it to rent a car. After coming back to Portland and grabbing a quick lunch at Whole Foods, I head on up to Augusta and see the state capitol building. After a long day of driving, I head back to the hotel and am getting ready for my trip back tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow: US Airways PWM-DCA-CLT-FAY (ERJ170, 737, CRJ700). Wish me luck!
Next trip: Halifax, NS. I'd love some ideas and some restaurant / microbrew suggestions!
Last edited by etch5895; Jun 14, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Jun 15, 2009, 3:50 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: DC Metro Area
Posts: 407
Enjoying your report so far. We're up to Portland Airport in August (first time) and have a rental car booked with Alamo - can you elaborate on your "hard to find" experience with the car rental location so we can benefit from your hardship!?
Jun 15, 2009, 5:27 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: ICN / 평택
Programs: AA, DL Gold, UA Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 8,714
Today was a much better day for flying. The first flight of the day was the PWM-DCA segment on a US E170. I love these airplanes! I had a nice window seat and didn't have to strain my neck to look out of it. The climb out from Portland was smooth, and although there was quite a bit of cloud cover for the entire flight, the clouds broke as we were over the Atlantic off the NJ coast, and it was sunny and mostly clear from that point on. Due to winds, we landed on Runway 19 at DCA, which was a first for me. All other times, I have come in the opposite direction. As I was seated on the starboard side of the plane, I had a nice view of Arlington cemetery, Rosslyn and the Netherlands Carillon on the way in. This approach is full of banks and turns due to the no-fly areas of DC, and it was a nice ride.
DCA was crowded, but not too bad. They certainly need more bathrooms in this airport (or at least in the US Airways terminal). My flight to Charlotte (on an older US 737-400)departed on time and we had a smooth ride into central NC. I had an exit row seat, and for some reason, there were only four people in the 12 exit row seats. No complaints there from me! We got into Charlotte a little ahead of schedule, and I had about an hour to kill before my last leg into FAY.
The FAY flight was all of 30 minutes on one of the newer US Canadairs, so it wasn't too bad. As usual, the FAY flight was packed almost to capacity. The stress free day of on time flights was a nice ending to a good weekend. I hope the folks in Portland enjoyed my economic stimulus as much as I enjoyed seeing the region. Having grown up in New England (NJ), it is always nice to get back and get a little taste of home.
To answer the rental car question: When I turned the car in, it became much easier to see how to find the rental car counters. In a nutshell, the rental car counters are not in the terminal building, but are on the ground floor of the parking garage which is across the street. There is a ramp that leads to the rental car terminals on the side of the terminal nearest to the CO check in desks. If all else fails, just remember it is on the bottom floor of the garage. Enjoy Portland; it is a nice place to visit and it is much more enjoyable (in my opinion) than the big US cities. It is a beer lovers paradise.
DCA was crowded, but not too bad. They certainly need more bathrooms in this airport (or at least in the US Airways terminal). My flight to Charlotte (on an older US 737-400)departed on time and we had a smooth ride into central NC. I had an exit row seat, and for some reason, there were only four people in the 12 exit row seats. No complaints there from me! We got into Charlotte a little ahead of schedule, and I had about an hour to kill before my last leg into FAY.
The FAY flight was all of 30 minutes on one of the newer US Canadairs, so it wasn't too bad. As usual, the FAY flight was packed almost to capacity. The stress free day of on time flights was a nice ending to a good weekend. I hope the folks in Portland enjoyed my economic stimulus as much as I enjoyed seeing the region. Having grown up in New England (NJ), it is always nice to get back and get a little taste of home.
To answer the rental car question: When I turned the car in, it became much easier to see how to find the rental car counters. In a nutshell, the rental car counters are not in the terminal building, but are on the ground floor of the parking garage which is across the street. There is a ramp that leads to the rental car terminals on the side of the terminal nearest to the CO check in desks. If all else fails, just remember it is on the bottom floor of the garage. Enjoy Portland; it is a nice place to visit and it is much more enjoyable (in my opinion) than the big US cities. It is a beer lovers paradise.
Jun 17, 2009, 10:14 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: HEL (and regularly BOS & PWM)
Programs: BA Gold, AY
Posts: 247
Great report! ^ I've been to Portland ~20 times, so it was nice to read what someone else thinks of the city.
May I add that the ramp is on the right side of the garage when you exit the terminal building - and I agree, it's rather hidden, but easier to get to when you're returning the car thanks to better signs.
They say that Portland, ME is second only to San Francisco in restaurants per capita. The city feels especially alive on every first Friday of the month, when art galleries and museum are open for free. As for beer, Sam Adams is a popular choice over there but nothing beats Shipyard!!
They say that Portland, ME is second only to San Francisco in restaurants per capita. The city feels especially alive on every first Friday of the month, when art galleries and museum are open for free. As for beer, Sam Adams is a popular choice over there but nothing beats Shipyard!!