Flight: United #5585 BOS-IAD

Departing From: Logan Airport, Boston (BOS)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 4:40 PM EST
ETA: 6:30 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: C15
Arrival Gate: G
Seat:1C
Equipment: CRJ65
Miles:
Other:

Tried to get on the 3:00 PM flight down - got to the airport at 2:15, so there was time to catch it. But, I was 6th on the list and the flight was oversold, so no luck there. Spent the time in the Palm Pilot store and the Red Carpet Club.

Airport was very crowded. Friday afternoon, plus some holiday travel starting up. First time in the Boston Red Carpet Club (might be more than one). Not a real big one, but wasn't real crowded so it was OK. Kind of has two sides to it, with the bar on one side and just chairs on the other side.

Flight was a few minutes late but arrived on time at the dreaded concourse G. In the first row, which is usually not good since there isn't space for luggage under the seat in front of you. Since it was a short flight and I was tired of carrying around that gigantic Dell laptop I checked it at the side of the plane and just caught up on some reading on the flight back.

My bag was not there when I got to baggage claim. Apparently, they had placed it on the earlier flight and the baggage claim areas were not near each other for me to figure that out. My bad made it on the earlier flight but I didn't!

Flight: United #980 IAD-BOS

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Logan Airport, Boston (BOS)
ETD: 4:30 PM EST
ETA: 6:15 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: D16
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 19F
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Airport: Portland Oregon (PDX)

Airport Name: Portland International Airport
FAA Sign: PDX
Location: Portland, Oregon USA
Airport Web Site: http://www.portlandairportpdx.com/

One of those "nice size" airports. United runs out of concourse E. There are 2 central security check points, with a food court between them and some stores.

Rental cars are very convenient, right across in the bottom of the parking garage. Nice aiport, easy to get in & out of, but with all the features.

Flight: United #1548 (Ted) Las Vegas-IAD

Departing From: Las Vegas, NV
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 8:43 AM MST
ETA: 3:59 PM EST
Est. Duration: 4 hr 25 min
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 11A
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles:
Other:

Changed Seats at check-in to window seat exit row 11A. This is a huge amount of leg room on a Airbus 320 - bonus for a long flight!

Flight: United #1567 (Ted) ORD-Las Vegas

Departing From: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
Traveling To: Las Vegas, NV
ETD: 8:15 PM CST
ETA: 10:18 PM MST
Est. Duration: 4 hr 3 min
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 4C
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles:
Other:

Still don't get the "Ted" concept. No first class, but everything else is the same. Frankly, it was a newer plane with a better flight crew than I'm used to with United flights.

Changed seats after take off to get some more elbow room. Prertty quiet flight. Everyone seems beat, I know that I am.

Little turbulence, less flight time than normal. Should get in a little early after leaving a little late.

Flight: United Express #5321 PWM-ORD

Departing From: Portland, Maine (PWM)
Traveling To: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
ETD: 5:08 PM EST
ETA: 7:02 PM CST
Est. Duration: 2 hr 54 min
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 3C
Equipment: CRJ 65
Miles:
Other:

Canadare Regional Jet, the CL-65 version. Plane was late taking off,about 30 minutes. I have more than an hour layover at Ohare, so I'm hoping that is enough of a buffer to catch the next flight. Seems like Ohare is busy today. It delayed this flight getting to Portland, and the pilot warned that there could be ATC delays getting into Ohare.

Pretty full flight,but not too bad.

Flight: United #7976 IAD-PWM

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Portland, Maine (PWM)
ETD: 4:45 PM EST
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: C20R
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Operated by Trans States Airlines

Flight: United Express #7162 MSP-IAD

Departing From: Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 5:05 PM CST
ETA: 8:34 PM EST
Est. Duration: 2 hr 54 min
Departure Gate: E10
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 6D
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Hotel: Holiday Inn Select MSP

City: Bloomington, Minnesota
Chain: Holiday Inn
Property: Holiday Inn Select - Minneapolis Int'l Airport/Mall of America
Address: Three Appletree Square, Bloomington, MN 55425
Phone Number: 952-854-9000

Check Out: November 10, 2004


I've stayed here many times. Super convenient to the airport (about a 10 minute drive - you can see it when you're landing), close to our clients, close to the highway, close to "Mall of America" which I've been to so many times I'm sick of it.

Sometimes its hard to get in here because Northwest crew seem to use it a bit and other airport related activity. But its an upgrade from a normal Holiday Inn (the "select" part, I guess), nice rooms, resturant and bar inside.


Rating:

• Safety: 1 - OK -- mostly a business area.
  
• Dining: 1 - OK, the breakfast buffet is the best deal. Half price coupon on check in.
  
• Bar: 1 - Happy hour pricing! Hangout for Business Travelers! 2 for 1 coupon on check in!
  
• Internet: 2 - Wired and wireless access, with bonus for free! Weak signal in my room, but I brought a cable. An improvement over previous stay!!!
  
• Wireless in Common Areas: 1 (another improvement)
  
• Work Space, Power: 1
• Shower: 1
• Air Conditioning, Bed: 1
• Common Areas: 1

Total: 10!

Restaurant: Twin Cities Grill, Bloomington MN

City: Bloomington, Minnesota
Location: Mall of America, 1st Floor North Side
Phone: 952-854-0200
Website:

There's nothing worse than being a regular (well, somewhat regular) to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and having to go to the Mall of America over and over. I'm frequently with a collegue that has never been there, and its an obvious thing to see if you're near the airport. However, when you get right down to it, the Mall of American is A SHOPPING MALL. Oh, its a big one, to be sure, but now that the rest of America has been well "malled" there's not a whole lot different other than the scale of the thing. Same Gap. Same "Bath & Body Works". Food court. Blah blah blah.

The amusement park in the middle is an interesting take, but business guys wandering around there don't exactly fit in.

So, the mall is endless levels of the same stores from your home town, with something occaisionally different. One visit is enough. Whenever someone suggests dinner there, my eyes instinctively roll back into my head.

The Twin Cities Grill however, is a plesant reason to have to go to the mall. It's real close to the door, provided you pick the right door, and its a place that's casual but nice. If you want casual, sit in a booth by the bar. If you want nice, sit at a table in the back. The place looks nice, with dark wood, a nice bar (for a mall), and is moderately crowded when I've been there (make a reservation if its for business).

The service was great -- not pushy, allowed us to talk -- drinks and wine were nice, and the menu is laced with some local things. I had the walleye, and there were a number of other fish choices. They have daily specials, and a good selection of different things, usually with a nice spin on them.

A good choice if you have to go to the mall.

(I couldn't find a home page for the Grill, but this link provides some information).

Flight: United #7162 IAD-MSP

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP)
ETD: 2:40 PM EST
ETA: 4:34 PM CST
Est. Duration: 2 hr 54 min
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 4A
Equipment:
Miles: 918
Other:

Flight: United #861 BOS-IAD

Departing From: Boston Logan (BOS)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 4:50 AM EST
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: 4
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Flight: United #860 IAD-BOS

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Boston Logan (BOS)
ETD: 8:50 AM EST
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: D-4
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 15D (Economy Plus, Exit)
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles:
Other:



Flight Number: 860
Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Boston Massachusetts (BOS)
Date: September 15
Gate: C4 (Gate is subject to change)
Estimated Departure Time: 8:50 a.m. on time

Drive: Home to Flemington, NJ

From: Home
To: Flemington, NJ
Miles: 388
Duration: 3.5 hours

Just a straight shot up I-96, NJ-Turnpike, I-295. Probably the only real interesting thing this trip was I used my "EZ-Pass" for the first time. I know it worked some of the times because you have to slow down to 5 MPH and a green light comes on. But the unit in the car provides no feedback to let you know its doing anything, and some of the toll booths have no indicator for you that they are doing anything. I guess it works, I'll know when I get the statement.

I was surprised how slow you have to get in Maryland to go through it, it's posted as 5 or 10 MPH. I know its not because of the technology, because the NJ-Turnpike booth at the end let's you go through at 55 MPH. Probably more related to going through the old toll booths which are narrow and have employees walking around them. But, slowing down to 5 or 10 doesn't necessarily give you a time improvement for some of the booths.

About This Site

I am not an expert on airplanes, the airplane business, or airport operations. I wouldn't even call myself an experienced traveler, as I only log around 50,000 miles a year which is nothing compared to half to full time travelers.

But, I am someone from an engineering background who has a higher than average interest in airplanes. I love the experience of flying, from the people watching in airports, the to watching the world go by below from the window. Over the years I have always paid attention to the equipment I'm on, getting around in airports, and I have my favorites and not-so-favorites in these categories. I've also taken pictures and recorded the things I've done along the way, and I've been wanting to get a lot of this information sorted and organized.

So, I've built this little site in a blog-style since it seems like a somewhat natural way to organize these things -- a log of travel events using blog software to publish logs. I'm keeping track of flights, equipment, and airports. I've also dumped info in here about restaurants and hotels to help me keep track of which ones are worth using in the future.

I'm doing this to keep records, allowing me to search through to the past and identify things in cities I might visit again in the future. If you find something useful in here also, then so much the better.

You can leave a comment if you have a Blogger account, or you can Email me.

Picture: 757 Engine

Engine intake on a Boeing 757, taken out the window while over Colorado on approach to Denver. That's one huge honkin' engine! And, there's 2 of them!

Flight: United #1140 DEN-BWI

Departing From: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
Traveling To: Baltimore, Maryland (BWI)
ETD: 10:50 AM MST
ETA:
Est. Duration: 3 h 33 m
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 16C (Economy Plus, Exit Row)
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles:
Other:

Same plane, different seat. I'm in the exit row for the window exits and not the door exit. Flight is the most empty flight I have been on in quite a while. I have the whole exit row to myself, so I can kick back and enjoy a nice flight on a sunny, beautiful day.

Got to spend the hour between flights in United's Red Carpet Club. I received two passes as a promotion, and I'm usually not sitting in an airport long enough to use them (or I'm in an airport where there isn't one). The club was right outside the gate I was using, and I had a little more than an hour to kill and batteries to recharge so it seemed like a good time to use one. The Red Carpet Club (and similar frequent flyer lounges with other airlines I assume) is in some ways not such a big deal. It's a large lounge with some snacks, TVs, places to work, and lots of phones. But, it's much quieter than the rest of the airport, and since the clientele is mostly frequent business travelers they tend to be all polite, well behaved people. So, it's not really a big deal except its a place where you can relax a little because its a lot more peaceful than the rest of the airport. I sat here for an hour and had a cup of coffee and got all my batteries recharged and made some phone calls. Denver's club (there are two of them I believe) is larger than most I think. Of course, without the passes I would never pay to join

The movie on the flight is "Raising Helen". I have no idea what the movie is about, but I couldn't pay attention past the credits. 757s have the weakest entertainment options out of all the United flights I've been on outside of the regional flights. The only audio channel I feel like listening to is the jazz channel they run on channel 9, which they take over for listening to the FAA chatter (I'm listening to that instead - the sign of a true travel nerd). We've got about 3 hours of flying to Baltimore, so I should be able to get a lot done.'

Flight: United #810 PDX-DEN

Departing From: Portland, Oregon (PDX)
Traveling To: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
ETD: 6:00 AM PST
ETA:
Est. Duration: 2 h 23 m
Departure Gate: E-1
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 9F (Economy Plus)
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles:
Other:

Sitting in an exit row window seat right behind the door. No seat in front of me. Geat leg room, but no storage in front of me and the stupid arm rest tray. No one in the middle seat it looks like.

When we left it was dark. During ascent we broke through the cloud cover, turned west, and now its daylight. An amazing transition in its speed. There are now floors of clouds, and a very thin layer overhead with a very clear full moon, with the clouds breaking apart ahead. Lots of red and yellow in the sky as we approach the daybreak.

As we head east from Portland we're passing over geat views of mountains and canyons, with occaisional sections of those patchwork squares of farmland with different crops planted on them. It always seems kind of funny being from the east coast to see all that orderly farmland. I guess its a salute to how logically the government passed out land in the west compared to the free-for-all of the east (or the King's lack of micro-managing the process).

We're cruising at 33,000, and the sun is now above the horizon and lighting up the clouds. You get a whole morning from dark to sun in about 15 minutes. The clouds are kind of thin, and you can see the ground through them in places creating great dimension and pesepctive. I usually skip the window seat for the convenience of the aisle, so this is a lucky treat.

We're expecting to get in 15 minutes early. They also announced that this plane goes on to Baltimore, so I guess I'm on the same plane on the second leg. I plan on getting off and hitting the Red Carpet Club with my free pass since there's a 1.5 hour layover here. A chance to power up some batteries and make some phone calls.

Hotel: Mill Creek Inn, Salem Oregon

See previous review here.

Flight: United #333 DEN-PDX

Departing From: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
Traveling To: Portland, Oregon (PDX)
ETD: 5:00 PM CST
ETA: 6:30 PM PST
Est. Duration: 2 h 30 m
Departure Gate: B-49
Arrival Gate: E-8
Seat: 14D (Economy Plus)
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles:
Other:

Another 757, economy plus again. A little bumpy from weather in the Denver area, but not too bad. Seems smooth to me as we get close to cruising altitude.

Have an aisle seat, empty next to me again, not noisy at all. Everyone seems to be tired.

Flight: United #779 BWI-DEN

Departing From: Baltimore, Maryland (BWI)
Traveling To: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
ETD: 2:40 PM EST
ETA: 8:30 PM EST (Few Minutes Early)
Est. Duration: 3 h 41 m (Act. Duration: 3 hr 35 min)
Departure Gate: D-11
Arrival Gate: B-44
Seat: 12D (Economy Plus)
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles: 1294
Other:

Equipment is Boeing 757. Pretty full flight, although the seat next to me is empty (low budget 1st class seat!). Should be a little quiet, although the kids behind be keep kicking the seat...

I'm in Economy Plus for this flight, and I'm thinking there is no reason to fly United unless you can get there. he legroom is respectable, although I'm hoping the person in front of me doesn't lean their seat back so I can type on my laptop computer. I can't believe airplane seats still lean back -- it sets up people to be rude to each other since there is so little room between seats.

Picture: This is Why You Request an Exit Row

This picture shows the legroom in an exit row seat on a Boeing 757 operated by United. Note that there is enough room to move past someone even when they are sitting down.

Potential negatives:

= Sometimes there is a bulkhead in front of you or equipment underneath the seat in front of you that prevents placing of carry-on baggage here.

= The food tray is not attached to the seat in front of you, but usually folds out of the arm rest. This generally removes an inch or so of seat space, and usually can't slide away from you far enough to comfortably use. It's kind of flimsy too.

= Usually no chance of the seat in the middle being unoccupied. When a plane is crowded, or when a person can't get the seat they want, the next tier down is to ask for the exit row. The theory is if I'm not going to get side space I'm at least going to have leg room.

= There is responsibility with the exit row. You have to work the exit door and follow directions. And don't be a wise guy when the flight attendants are going through this with you. They don't have senses of humor about safety related things.

Flight: United Express #7112 AUS to IAD

Departing From: Austin, Texas (AUS)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 4:10 PM CST (Actual 5:45 PM CST)
ETA: 8:30 PM EST (Actual 10:15 PM EST)
Est. Duration: 3 h 20 m (Act. Duration: 4 hr 10 min)
Departure Gate: 21 (actual 23)
Arrival Gate: Concourse "G"
Seat: 15D
Equipment: CRJ700
Miles: 1294
Other:


Actual time leaving around 5:45 pm CST. Extremely hot geetting onto the plane because it had been sitting in the Austin sun during the delay. Completely full, everyone coming back from the same trade show at the same time.

Other than the huge delay based on local weather at Dulles, the usual CRJ experience. Quite a bit turbulent this flight as we cross storm fronts all along the country. Summertime is a lousy time to fly because of storms. Wintertime is pretty bad too because of snow. I wonder what flying is like on other planets?

Well, let's discuss "Concourse G" for a little bit.

For those that use Dulles International Airport, you may have heard of the new airline Independence Air. This new airline was started earlier this year as fallout between the regional airline Atlantic Coast and United Airlines. Atlantic Coast served as the United Express regional carrier out of Dulles. The two of them had a contract dispute, and the fallout is that Atlantic Coast decided to start their own airline as a new entity Independence Air, and United decided to replace Atlantic Coast with their own flights. If you need more information on this dispute check elsewhere (Washington Post had a number of articles on this, but you'll have to pay for their content).

After all this, Dulles now has a bunch of new commuter flights as United tries to keep their schedule and Independence adds their service. Lots more CRJ's in and out of Dulles, more competition, all of which is good for travelers in the DC area.

The bad news is that all this happens in the midst of major construction at Dulles, which has rapidly moved from curious to inconvenient to annoying. Dulles is building a subway system to replace their "moon buses", they are dealing with the security related terminal changes that the original architect couldn't anticipate for life in 2004, and they have relocated commuter flights from close to the main terminal to out in the mid-field terminals. This flight introduced me to "Concourse G", which United Express is running.

Concourse G can best be described as a large rectangle out past the last concourse in an area so remote that it's past the construction equipment storage area. It's design seems to be a late-60's era storage depot. This hastily constructed building was obviously slapped together to deal with the sudden need for more gates for small planes, and feels just a little more permanent than a tool shed. Ground control mustn't be able to see out this far because our plane had to taxi back out to the runway after being directed head on to another plane in motion (planes can't go in reverse, and pilots seem to get annoyed when faced with this situation).

Once our plane stopped we had a long walk into the concourse which seemed to be designed to hold around 500 passengers and was currently occupied by about 800. Arriving passengers are diverted to the right, where we found out they weren't sending buses out to this concourse quickly enough to return passengers. After a crowded wait, a shuttle bus (a new kind - not a moon bus) pulled up to drive us to the main terminal.

Normally, the moon buses move between the main terminal and the midfield terminals passing under a bridge in the middle of the concourse A-B structure. This new bus must not be allowed to go through the middle path the larger moon buses run, so we had to drive around all the end concourses, stopping frequently at crossing paths. After this 15 minute drive we were dumped out at the main terminal at the bottom of what seemed to be fire exit stairs. We then had to climb two flights of stairs in to a new passenger receiving area, then down an escalator into a construction zone, then up an escalator to another hidden lounge, then down an escalator as we dealt with this temporary route to baggage claim caused by the subway construction.

One bright spot -- it took so long to get to baggage claim that all our luggage was there by the time we showed up.

This whole adventure wasn't so bad for me, since I was home. Others had missed connecting flights, so there was a lot of tension in the air while waiting for the shuttle bus to the main terminal.

Summary: the flight was about an hour and a half late leaving due to weather, then it took about an hour between landing and getting to baggage claim for all the other reasons.

It's possible that a lot of this was due to Concourse G being new, as I can't believe that shuttle bus was really supposed to drop us off at that bottom of all those stairs in the main terminal (seemed like a security risk too, since we could have bolted across the grounds instead of climbing the stairs). The walk to baggage claim is kind of amusing in its complexity, and lack of signs informing you if you are moving the right way makes this process silly (one little "pardon the inconvenience" sign as you exit to baggage claim made everyone laugh). My advice right now is that United Express at Dulles is probably best avoided for a while until operations gets used to the new building or the subway system becomes operational. How long is a "while" is the remaining question.

One last comment concerns the placement of "commuter flight" gates. One of the great things about Dulles used to be the "commuter" flights were located right next to the main terminal, removing the need to get on the big moon buses. This made it very quick to get in and out on those short flights. Placing commuter flights way out in the mid-field concourse kind of kills your ability to get in and out quickly -- the "express" in United Express is just a catchy slogan at this point. It's not a physically exhausting to get to them, like BWI where they make you walk to gate "D97" to catch a short flight to Norfolk, but it is as inconvenient.

Restaurant: Dan McKlusky's Restaurant

City: Austin, Texas
Location: 301 East 6th Street at San Jacinto
Phone: 512.473.8924
Website: www.danmckluskys.com

Had dinner here with some collegues, within an easy walking distance from the Austin Convention Center. 6th street is kind of a happenin' area in Austin, with lots of places to eat and drink, live music coming from a couple of different places, and only a few outposts of questionable taste (nothing too embarrassing).

Everyone else had steak, I had seafood to be different (a haddock special, I believe). Food was great, not too expensive, and it was a nice place to sit in. Dark wood, pretty big, and overlooked the street outside for a little people watching.

Restaurant: Chango's

(content moved here)

City: Austin, Texas
Location: 3023 Guadalupe, Austin, TX 78705
Phone: 512.480.TACO
Website:

Second time back to this place, which we found just by accident last year looking for something local (non-national chain) for lunch. We wondered if it was as good as we remembered it, and it more than exceeded expecations.

Chango's is a small casual place near the college section of Austin specializing in Tex-Mex food. The place is clean, fast, and makes great food. Lunch was probably 8 bucks or less for a large burrito and a taco (I wanted to try the Shrimp taco, which was new or a special I think). They give you a lot of food, it's prepared fresh, and it is really good. You tell them how spicy you want the food, and there are a selection of hot sauces to adjust as needed. One caution, what they consider "mild" is what I would consider "medium". This is an adjustment anyone from the east coast needs to make when visiting Texas and the southwest!

Chango's sits right on the road and parking is easy. They also have free wireless Internet access for someone that wants to sit there for a while. Gets crowded around lunch, but outside the lunch rush its usually easy to claim a table for a while.

Flight: United Express #7139 ORD to AUS

Departing From: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
Traveling To: Austin, Texas (AUS)
ETD: 5:30 PM CST
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: F12
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 7C
Equipment: CRJ700
Miles: 973
Other:

Actual carrier is Mesa Airlines for United Express.


This flight was on the longer version of the CRJ. The cabin was even configured for 1st class (and no one was sitting there).

If you've never been on a CRJ jet, it can be disorienting how quiet they are. This one rolled down the runway at Ohare with hardly any engine or mechanical noise. It seems like the only noise comes from the wind and rolling of the wheels.

While they are a little cramped when standing up, they have storage overhead and underneath the seat in front of you, and all the amenities you would expect on a larger plane except for the entertainment systems.

Flight: United #323 IAD to ORD

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
ETD: 2:50 PM EST
ETA:
Est. Duration: 2 hr 20 min
Departure Gate: D1
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 9D
Equipment: Airbus 319
Miles: 589
Other:

Restaurant: Perkins Family Resturant Flemington

City: Flemington, New Jersey
Location: Attached to Hampton Inn
Phone:
Website:

It's a Perkins. Breakfast 24 hours a day.

Hotel: Hampton Inn Flemington

City: Flemington, NJ
Chain: Hampton Inn
Property: Hampton Inn Flemington
Address: 14-B Royal Road, Flemington, NJ 08822
Phone Number: 908-284-9427
Rate: 119.00 USD Per Night
Check Out: Jul 27, 2004


Typical Hampton Inn experience. Very clean, spacious room, Internet, snacks and food in the lobby. Perkins resturant attached. Sits right off rt 202 in rural northwest NJ.

Just here long enough to grab dinner, sleep, and head out to a meeting the next morning.

Rating:

• Safety: 1 - If you don't feel safe here, you won't feel safe anywhere
• Dining: .5 - Attached, no room service.
• Bar: 0
• Internet: 2 - Free wireless with pretty good bandwidth, bring adapter
• Wireless in Common Areas: 1
• Work Space, Power: .5 - Small table
• Shower: .25 - Shower head low, but rest of bathroom nice
• Air Conditioning, Bed: 1
• Common Areas: 1

Total: 7.25

Restaurant: Chili's Flemington

City: Flemington, New Jersey
Location: 325 US Highway 202, Flemington, New Jersey 08822
Phone: 908.782.1517
Website:

It's a Chili's.

Photo: The View from 30,000 Feet

The view from 30,000 feet over western California. Window seat over the wing of a Boeing 767. Taken May 2004 heading east.

Hotel Rating System

To help with a more quantitative analysis of hotels, I have come up with a rating system to help compare hotels to each other.

• General feeling of safety, 1 star is awarded (not afraid to walk outside)
• Dining in the hotel, 1 star
• Bar in the hotel, 1 star
• Internet access in the hotel room, 1 star, 1 extra if free ("dial up" is not Internet access)
• Wireless internet for free in the common areas, 1 star
• Hotel room has a nice desk with easy access to power, 1 star
• Shower is tall enough I don't have to duck down, ventilation good, 1 star
• Air conditioning works well and isn't noisy, bed comfortable, 1 star
• Common areas are generally quiet and well behaved, 1 star.

You'll notice that this is my 10 point system for business travel. There are a lot of ammenities I don't care about. Generally a clean, nice place that is easy to work and sleep in. I might award bonus points for a great view and convenience to where I need to be, and there is a big penalty for not having Internet access.

Hotel: Hilton North Redington Beach

City: North Redington Beach, Florida
Chain: Hilton Hotels
Property: Tampa Bay/North Redington Beach Resort
Address: 17120 Gulf Boulevard, North Redington Beach, FL 33708-1443
Phone Number: 727-391-4000

Check Out: Jul 7, 2004


No real Internet is a bummer, and, at the rate we paid they gave us the rooms overlooking the parking lot. But, this is a hotel ON THE BEACH. No lie!

It's a weird sensation to check in as a business traveler and have everyone else in bathing suits and palm trees and the ocean. And, I could have killed someone for not telling me to bring shorts. You walk in to the check in counter and out the windows in the back is the beach. Really!

Like most beach areas, the place gets a little beat up. A little noisy with carrying on in the hallways. But, this was a nice facility, clean, convenient for a client, and there was a resturant and bar here. Didn't use the resturant, we went to another place recommended (and the recommendation was dead on), but the bar was nice overlooking the ocean and service was good. Strange that this was a Hilton, as it didn't really seem like most that I've stayed in. I think this facility is here just to provide a place for people to trade Hilton Honors points in for. The beach is flat with little waves (maybe typical for the Gulf I guess). There's jet ski rentals, volleyball going on outside, sailboat rentals, and other things. The sunset was fantastic, and the weather is HOT in July.

So, what do you do with no Internet and no shorts at the beach? You go out anyway.


Rating:

• Safety: 1 - Resort area, surrounding area high price
• Dining: 1 - Just snack food in the bar, but seemed OK
• Bar: 1 - Happy hour pricing! Overlooks the Gulf! (bonus)
• Internet: 0 - "Dial Up" is not "Internet"
• Wireless in Common Areas: 0
• Work Space, Power: 1
• Shower: 1
• Air Conditioning, Bed: 1
• Common Areas: 1

Total: 8

Flight: United #1578 TPA-IAD

Departing From: Tampa Florida (TPA)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 6:24 PM EST
ETA: 8:46 PM EST
Est. Duration: 2 h 9 m (Act. Duration: 4 hr 40 min)
Departure Gate: E75
Arrival Gate: C20
Seat: 9C
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles: 810
Other:

This might be the same plane we came down on. Might be a slight delay leaving because of weather @ Dulles, although it sounded like the rain was done up there. Gate agent thought 30 minutes at the most.

More thoughts on "TED":

Maybe the point is to be seen as having a sense of humor? The gate agent spent a lot of time trying to do stand up over the PA system. They must think that Southwest is successful because of the song paradies they usually sing on that airline. Maybe they don't realize this is one of the most annoying things about flying Southwest? Perhaps they could copy Southwest's stampede down the jetway, also?

In an interesting turn of events, while we waited in the taxiway the pilot's radio failed. We now pulled back to the gate so they could replace the radio. Delay so far: 45 minutes.

This didn't fix the problem, so now they had to turn everything off to "reboot" the airplane.

We're finally off the ground around 8:00. Some computer "in the belly of the plane" had to be rebooted. A lot of people on the plane are grumbling because they are worried about making connections. But, things are so backed up at Dulles that most of them will be OK (hopefully).

So, a new adventure in flying. I now know what happens then the pilot's radio fails before take-off!

Restaurant: Dragon Phoenix Chinese Cuisine

City: Bay Pines, Florida
Location: 9621 Bay Pines Blvd., Bay Pines, FL, 33708
Phone: 727.399.8646
Website:

Just a quick stop for lunch in the middle of a day of meetings. Chinese food ordered from a list of lunch specials in a little strip mall. Service and cooking were very fast, food was hot and OK. Had Chicken Chow Mein, since I didn't know the place and that's a quick way to get a guage on the cooking. Lunch special was only 4 bucks, with soup and egg roll. Can't beat that.

Restaurant: Salt Rock Grill

City: Indian Shores, Florida
Location: 19325 Gulf Blvd., Indian Shores, FL, 33785
Phone: 727.593.7625
Website: http://www.saltrockgrill.com

Had dinner with associates in the early evening. You probably should have reservations for this place. The wait for a table was 1.5 hours without a reservation or we could sit outside. So, we sat outside and enjoyed the weather. Ha Ha. In Florida in July you don't enjoy the weather, it enjoys you. They had some kind of outside air cooler, but all it seemed to do was blow swamp air across the table. If you go here in the summer, wait for the air conditioned table.

Fortunately, the meal could make you forget the weather. I had the "School of Fish", which was a sampler of scallops, tuna (rare), salmon, and a grouper cake. The ideal selection for someone who can't make up their mind. All were perfect. My companions had steak, and there was very little talking during the meal.

The place sits on a waterway with a dock out back, and you walk by the grill when you go to your table (big and hot!). You get a great view of the food as it is being prepared, and they have a lot of fish and beef on display including a fresh fish off the boat. There were lobster tails in there as big as my head!

Highly recommended by all the locals we talked to, and well deserving of the recommendation!

Flight: United #1573 IAD-TPA

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: Tampa Florida (TPA)
ETD: 12:22 PM EST
ETA: 2:29 PM EST
Est. Duration: 2 h 9 m (Act. Duration: 4 hr 40 min)
Departure Gate: C23
Arrival Gate: E74
Seat: 7D (Aisle, Economy Plus)
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles: 810
Other:

First flight ever into Tampa. Getting into Dulles was typical - easy drive, easy park, long walk underground, kiosk check in, got a great seat in "economy plus", walked right through security without much thought.

Airbus 320. Manufactured in 2001 according to the little label inside the cabin door. Changed seat to 8D. This is a "TED" flight and not really United. Seems that the main difference is that there is only one cabin. However, same "economy plus" seating, same general procedures and same basic plane. Lots more leisure travelers, however it is July 6, so maybe this is the reason for this.

An uneventful flight (which is the best kind of flight). Only light turbulence, couple next to me was friendly but didn't interrupt, and hardly anyone on the flight talked or made any noise. Not quite sure how big a difference the "Ted" flights are compared to the "United" flights. The cost wasn't really different, the plane wasn't really different, the services wasn't really difference outside the elimination of the business/first cabin (which I'm never in anyway). The whole cost of rebranding around "Ted" is lost on me so far. Maybe it will change in the future.

Hotel: Ritz Carlton Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA
RITZ CARLTON PHILADELPHIA

10 AVENUE OF THE ARTS
PHILADELPHIA PA

Phone Number:
Fax Number:

Number Of Rooms: 1

Check Out: Jun 15, 2004


------------------

No flight with this one. Drove up to Philadelphia, about 2 and half hours from DC. I-95, Patterson Street, up Broad. First time I've seen this area without Vetrans' Stadium. Very strange experience. The new baseball field looked great (there was a night game going on).

This hotel is right next to City Hall in the old Girard Bank building. The rotunda is a fantasic lobby area, and entire building is posh and tasteful, and about the nicest and most helpful hotel staff you can find anywhere. Of course, much nicer than I'm used to for business travel and not here enough to really enjoy it.

Flight: United #186 SFO-IAD

Departing From: San Francisco California (SFO)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD: 8:40 AM PST
ETA: 5:15 PM EST
Est. Duration: 5 h 29 m
Act. Duration:
Departure Gate: 70
Arrival Gate: C8
Seat: 9F (Economy Plus, Window)
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles: 2419
Other: Breakfast

Hotel: The Fairmont San Francisco

City: San Francisco, CA
Chain: FAIRMONT HOTELS
Property: THE FAIRMONT SAN FRANCISCO
Address: 950 MASON STREET, SAN FRANCISCO CA 94108
Phone Number: 415 772-5000
Fax Number: 415 391-4833
Rate: 215.00 USD Per Night
Check Out: Jun 09, 2004


The hotel sits at the top of "Nob Hill", pretty much at the very high point of San Francisco. While not necessarily the most interesting place in town (not much nightlife nearby, tall buildings blocking most of the views), it is quite a bit quieter here than down along Market Street and a very relaxing place to stay. The California Street cable car runs right by, which makes it easy to get to Market street or over to the Fisherman's Wharf area ($3 a ride, pay driver cash).

This is a very historic and posh hotel, well beyond what a business traveler normally expects (at least this business traveler). Extremely high service level from the minute you get out of the car. The lobby and lounge areas make you feel like you're well-to-do, and you get the enjoyment of feeling like you're not out of place for acting like a gentleman. Hotel's claim-to-fame: Tony Bennett supposedly sang "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" for the first time here, and the hotel was the model for the television drama "Hotel" from 20 years ago or so (don't remember it).

Room was relatively spacious, with a walk-in closet, and a large, nice bathroom. My room was facing the interior of the hotel, which overlooked equipment and a roof. Killed the experience.

Flight: United #201 IAD-SFO

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: San Francisco California (SFO)
ETD: 2:40 PM EST
ETA: 5:30 PM PST
Est. Duration: 5 h 50 m
Departure Gate: C4
Arrival Gate: Terminal 3
Seat: 21B (Economy Plus, Aisle)
Equipment: Boeing 767
Miles: 2419
Other:

Flight: US Air #3965 PIT-BWI

Also known as US AIRWAYS EXPRESS-ALLEGHENY AIRLINES -- US 3965
Booked as United #3399 PIT-BWI

Departing From: Pittsburgh Int'l Apt. (PIT)
Traveling To: Baltimore/Washington Balt/Wash Intl (BWI)
ETD: 8:35 PM EST
ETA: 9:45 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles: 500 (actual probably around 260)
Other:

Flight: US Air #801 EWR-PIT

Booked as United #2439 EWR-PIT

Departing From: Newark Liberty International (EWR)
Traveling To: Pittsburgh Int'l Apt. (PIT)
ETD: 6:00 PM EST
ETA: 7:34 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 19D
Equipment:
Miles: 500 (probably around 380)
Other:

Flight: United #664 ORD-EWR

Departing From: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
Traveling To: Newark Liberty International (EWR)
ETD: 9:00 PM CST
ETA: 11:58 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 8C
Equipment: Airbus 319
Miles: 719
Other:

Delayed - got in very late and tremendous delay in getting bag from airport handlers.

Flight: United #628 DFW-ORD

Departing From: Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
Traveling To: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
ETD: 5:26 PM CST
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 11B
Equipment: Airbus 319
Miles:
Other:

Flight: United #1203 ORD-DFW

Departing From: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
Traveling To: Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)
ETD: 6:30 AM CST
ETA: 8:53 AM CST
Est. Duration: 2 h 20 m (Act. Duration: 2 hr 20 min)
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 9C
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Was originally supposed to be United #1189 at 7:55 PM the night before.

Flight: United #473 BWI-ORD

Departing From: Baltimore Washington (BWI
Traveling To: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
ETD: 5:30 EST
ETA: 6:35 AM CST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 16A
Equipment:
Miles:
Other:

Flight was massively delayed, to the point where I missed all the connecting flights for the day. Had to find a hotel room for the night, which was a major hassle and United and Ohare are absolutely no help on this (Orbitz wasn't either -- dealing with cancelations was a disaster and you wait on hold longer than your battery can hold out).

Flight: US Air #6500 Denver-BWI

Actually a United Flight.

Departing From: Denver
Traveling To: Baltimore-Washington Intl (BWI)
ETD: 12:28 PM MST
ETA: 5:50 PM EST
Est. Duration: 3 hours 22 minutes
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 34F
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles: 1500
Other:

Flight: US Air #6218 PDX-Denver

Actually a United Flight.

Departing From: Portland, Oregon (PDX)
Traveling To: Denver
ETD: 8:35 AM PST
ETA: 11:28 AM MST
Est. Duration: 2 hours 23 minutes
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 10F
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles: 983
Other:

Hotel: Mill Creek Inn Salem OR

City: Salem, Oregon
Chain: Best Western
Property: Mill Creek Inn, Salem Oregon
Address: 3125 Ryan Drive, Salem Oregon 97301
Phone Number: 503-585-3332

Check Out: May 4, 2004


This hotel is part of the Best Western chain. There aren't a whole lot of hotels in Salem (it's not a real big town), and this one is real close to the interstate highway. Very affordable, clean, and the staff was friendly. It's not a fancy place -- the attached resturant is a Denny's, for example. Not a very interesting part of town, either. Next to the Costco and a car dealership.

Internet in the room, but it didn't work one night. Bathroom shower head was too low, and had a heck of a time figuring out how to turn the shower on (you had to push up underneath with no markings to indicate this).

Rating:

• Safety: - 1 (Salem is a nice, friendly town)
  
• Dining: - 1
  
• Bar: - 0
  
• Internet: - 1.5 (Was free, but was intermittant)
  
• Wireless in Common Areas: - 0
  
• Work Space, Power: - 1
  
• Shower: - 0 (shower head too low, and hard to work)
  
• Air Conditioning, Bed: - 1
  
• Common Areas: - 1
  

Total: - 6.5

Flight: US Air #6085 ORD-PDX

Actually a United Flight.

Departing From: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
Traveling To: Portland Oregon (PDX)
ETD: 11:55 AM CST
ETA: 2:20 PM PST
Est. Duration: 4 hours 25 minutes
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 24D
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles: 1745
Other:

Flight: US Air #6587 BWI-ORD

Actually a United Flight.

Departing From: Baltimore-Washington Intl (BWI)
Traveling To: Chicago Ohare (ORD)
ETD: 9:45 AM EST
ETA: 10:56 PM CST
Est. Duration: 2 hours 11 minutes
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 32C
Equipment: Boeing 757
Miles: 611
Other:

Resturant: Finn & Porter

City: Austin, TX
Location: In the Hilton Austin, 500 East 4th Street, Austin, TX 78701
Phone: 1-512-482-8000
Website: http://www.hilton.com/en/hi/hotels/dining.jhtml?ctyhocn=AUSCVHH

Great Sushi.

Flight: US Air #1290 Charlotte-DCA

Departing From: Charlotte North Carolina
Traveling To: Washington Reagan (DCA)
ETD: 10:10 PM EST
ETA: 11:24 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 13D
Equipment: Airbus 320
Miles: 327
Other:

Flight: US Air #768 Orlando-Charlotte

Departing From: Orlando Florida
Traveling To: Charlotte North Carolina
ETD: 7:30 PM EST
ETA: 9:03 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 30C
Equipment:
Miles: 462
Other:

Flight: US Air #567 DCA-Orlando

Departing From: Washington Reagan (DCA)
Traveling To: Orlando Florida
ETD: 1:25 PM EST
ETA: 3:43 PM EST
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate: 44
Arrival Gate:
Seat: 7D
Equipment: Airbus 319
Miles: 753
Other:

Flight: United #1270 DEN-IAD

Departing From: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
Traveling To: Washington Dulles (IAD)
ETD:
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles: 1452
Other:

Flight: United #210 Sacramento-DEN

Departing From: Sacramento, California
Traveling To: Denver, Colorado (DEN)
ETD:
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles: 910
Other:

Flight: United Express #6470 SFO-Sacramento

Departing From: San Francisco (SFO)
Traveling To: Boston Logan (BOS)
ETD:
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles: 500
Other:

Flight: United #502 IAD-SFO

Departing From: Washington Dulles (IAD)
Traveling To: San Francisco (SFO)
ETD:
ETA:
Est. Duration:
Departure Gate:
Arrival Gate:
Seat:
Equipment:
Miles: 2419
Other:

Hotel: Hampton Inn Milwaukee Airport

City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chain: Hampton Inn
Property: Hampton Inn - Milwaukee Airport
Address: 1200 West College Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53221
Phone Number: 414-762-4240

Check Out: Jan 14, 2004


Rating:

• Safety: -
  
• Dining: -
• Bar: -
• Internet: -
• Wireless in Common Areas: -
  
• Work Space, Power: -
  
• Shower: -
  
• Air Conditioning, Bed: -
  
• Common Areas: -
  

Total: Not Rated