Tuesday, September 7, 2010
all you can jet 2 -- day 1, san jose, CA
my accomplice decided to fly back from boston to join me in las vegas for the start of AYCJ. that's fine, i certainly enjoy the company, but it's meant pushing a lot of my normal trip preparations (i.e. laundry and other dumb stuff). we've also decided meet friends in two different spots in CA before our red-eye to BUF. those two things together mean i get almost exactly one hour of sleep before the first AYCJ flight.
even though we're starting on the tuesday following a three-day weekend, the LAS airport isn't very crowded and things move smoothly. the gate agent is clearly brand new so when i go effusive about this being the start of AYCJ his reaction is something along the lines of “oh, oh yeah, that's right” while he's clearly thinking something like “i wish i could remember how to fill out this screen.”
we had a reservation, but couldn't book seats without paying premium for more legroom. when we got to the gate my accomplice is given a free upgrade to extra legroom, i get an asile seat toward the back.
almost immediately i notice the first “mistake” of the trip. i pulled out my swanky headphones, only to leave them on my dresser. jetblue is an entertainment-intensive airline – direct TV and XM in all seats – so i'll need to pick up a set on the road.
the jump to LGB is quick and easy. the steel panther picks us up (her: “you know, i don't drive hardly at all any more, THAT is how special you guys are.” me: “shut up, we've got places to go.”) and in the briefest of times we've got the best possible seat (right across from the fireplace) at roscoe's house of chicken and waffles in long beach. chicken and waffles is a soul food combo from the carolinas, but the premier version on the west coast is here. i slightly prefer the one in manchester – especially if i'm trying to make a statement (AYCJ would count) – because i'm often the only white guy in there, but i'll settle for any of them in the name of a jet pass.
the chicken at roscoe's is good, but you can find better. the waffles are to die for.
i order the sausage special with a waffle. the panther gets a sausage special with grits (she doesn't like their waffles – i won't get into that here). my accomplice gets a thigh and a waffle (that might be a #18). we also order a side of mac and cheese – wildly variable at roscoe's, this is sometimes the best dish; but can be disappointing.
i explain to the hermaphroditic server, and for the 500th time explain AYCJ and say, “we flew here solely to have your waffles. we fly to SFO in four hours.” he/she/it is truly impressed – but it doesn't get us any extra food, nor a visit from the suspiciously don cornealius-like manager.
the food is exceptional, of course. the mac & cheese is on the mark – maybe the best i've ever had at a roscoe's. conversation ranges from the differences in black and white mac & cheese to iron man south africa to, of course, the band “white snake.”
we get done and have a little time to kill so we go back to the panther's lair. as we sit talking i'm flickering in and out of consciousness … the combination of one hour of sleep and having just eaten is taking its toll. even now i can't tell you what we talked about.
the panther drops us at LGB and a gate agent picks up on the fact that we're not only AYCJers, but also AYCJ alumni. we score a set of AYCJ luggage tags without asking. i'm ecstatic.
the jump to SFO is uneventful, but my phone dies as we get to SFO. this causes a bit of a burble in getting hold of bo3b (sic – the “3” is silent) – made worse by the fact that 14:30 is pretty early in the day for him and he's had to get up for this run – but we're picked up and go back to his overlook in san carlos. some conversation, a pepsi throw-back and a replacement battery for the hiptop gets us going. we're having dinner party with a collection of pals in the evening, but that's not bo3b's thing. he drops my accomplice and me at the mountain view caltrain, we take that to san jose and then light rail to campbell. it's here that my accomplice's parents pick us up and get whisked to los gatos.
everything is like precision swiss clock work.
the meal of the evening is “fast food potluck.” stop by any fast food place of your choosing and bring enough for yourself and something to share. i hit taqueria eduardo and get two carnitas tacos. i through in a piece of apple pie i bought specifically for this party at bake and broil in long beach. while we're setting up, my accomplice drops by a local thai place and gets pad thai and satay.
a dozen people eventually show up.
ms. animae brings chinese chicken salad. my accomplice's parents bring take out from whole foods, along with a mcdonald's shake. zz and his spinner girlfriend bring chinese chicken salad from another place. the continental dividian brings two pizzas from costco. special K has mini-corn dogs from weinerschintzel. solid goldstein wanders in with two lasagnas from pizza hut. ficus arrives late (as self-predicted) with mcdonald's. the instigator brought something in a bag i can't remember. (which is horrible since he's one of only half a dozen or so people that'll actually read this thing.)
the funniest thing about it was nearly everyone apologized for the food they'd brought before they sat it out. as if you have to actually apologize for fast food … aside from my carnitas tacos, i was surprised that my favorite thing was the pizza hut lasagna. i ate a lot of it and felt no remorse.
a weird assortment of people, i spent the majority of my time talking to solid G, the animae character and ficus. i would've talked more to both zz and special K; but i'm transversing the atlantic with Z in two months and special K and i have something very, very special going with him before the end of AYCJ.
it seemed like everyone had a good time.
people left, the table got swept, goodbyes were said, and solid goldstein graciously drove us to SJC. we set out of the new terminal on a full flight. you better believe i'm gonna sleep, but the flight's not that long.
(same view from the LAS parking gararge ... one with 15 seconds of exposure)
even though we're starting on the tuesday following a three-day weekend, the LAS airport isn't very crowded and things move smoothly. the gate agent is clearly brand new so when i go effusive about this being the start of AYCJ his reaction is something along the lines of “oh, oh yeah, that's right” while he's clearly thinking something like “i wish i could remember how to fill out this screen.”
we had a reservation, but couldn't book seats without paying premium for more legroom. when we got to the gate my accomplice is given a free upgrade to extra legroom, i get an asile seat toward the back.
almost immediately i notice the first “mistake” of the trip. i pulled out my swanky headphones, only to leave them on my dresser. jetblue is an entertainment-intensive airline – direct TV and XM in all seats – so i'll need to pick up a set on the road.
the jump to LGB is quick and easy. the steel panther picks us up (her: “you know, i don't drive hardly at all any more, THAT is how special you guys are.” me: “shut up, we've got places to go.”) and in the briefest of times we've got the best possible seat (right across from the fireplace) at roscoe's house of chicken and waffles in long beach. chicken and waffles is a soul food combo from the carolinas, but the premier version on the west coast is here. i slightly prefer the one in manchester – especially if i'm trying to make a statement (AYCJ would count) – because i'm often the only white guy in there, but i'll settle for any of them in the name of a jet pass.
the chicken at roscoe's is good, but you can find better. the waffles are to die for.
i order the sausage special with a waffle. the panther gets a sausage special with grits (she doesn't like their waffles – i won't get into that here). my accomplice gets a thigh and a waffle (that might be a #18). we also order a side of mac and cheese – wildly variable at roscoe's, this is sometimes the best dish; but can be disappointing.
i explain to the hermaphroditic server, and for the 500th time explain AYCJ and say, “we flew here solely to have your waffles. we fly to SFO in four hours.” he/she/it is truly impressed – but it doesn't get us any extra food, nor a visit from the suspiciously don cornealius-like manager.
the food is exceptional, of course. the mac & cheese is on the mark – maybe the best i've ever had at a roscoe's. conversation ranges from the differences in black and white mac & cheese to iron man south africa to, of course, the band “white snake.”
we get done and have a little time to kill so we go back to the panther's lair. as we sit talking i'm flickering in and out of consciousness … the combination of one hour of sleep and having just eaten is taking its toll. even now i can't tell you what we talked about.
the panther drops us at LGB and a gate agent picks up on the fact that we're not only AYCJers, but also AYCJ alumni. we score a set of AYCJ luggage tags without asking. i'm ecstatic.
the jump to SFO is uneventful, but my phone dies as we get to SFO. this causes a bit of a burble in getting hold of bo3b (sic – the “3” is silent) – made worse by the fact that 14:30 is pretty early in the day for him and he's had to get up for this run – but we're picked up and go back to his overlook in san carlos. some conversation, a pepsi throw-back and a replacement battery for the hiptop gets us going. we're having dinner party with a collection of pals in the evening, but that's not bo3b's thing. he drops my accomplice and me at the mountain view caltrain, we take that to san jose and then light rail to campbell. it's here that my accomplice's parents pick us up and get whisked to los gatos.
everything is like precision swiss clock work.
the meal of the evening is “fast food potluck.” stop by any fast food place of your choosing and bring enough for yourself and something to share. i hit taqueria eduardo and get two carnitas tacos. i through in a piece of apple pie i bought specifically for this party at bake and broil in long beach. while we're setting up, my accomplice drops by a local thai place and gets pad thai and satay.
a dozen people eventually show up.
ms. animae brings chinese chicken salad. my accomplice's parents bring take out from whole foods, along with a mcdonald's shake. zz and his spinner girlfriend bring chinese chicken salad from another place. the continental dividian brings two pizzas from costco. special K has mini-corn dogs from weinerschintzel. solid goldstein wanders in with two lasagnas from pizza hut. ficus arrives late (as self-predicted) with mcdonald's. the instigator brought something in a bag i can't remember. (which is horrible since he's one of only half a dozen or so people that'll actually read this thing.)
the funniest thing about it was nearly everyone apologized for the food they'd brought before they sat it out. as if you have to actually apologize for fast food … aside from my carnitas tacos, i was surprised that my favorite thing was the pizza hut lasagna. i ate a lot of it and felt no remorse.
a weird assortment of people, i spent the majority of my time talking to solid G, the animae character and ficus. i would've talked more to both zz and special K; but i'm transversing the atlantic with Z in two months and special K and i have something very, very special going with him before the end of AYCJ.
it seemed like everyone had a good time.
people left, the table got swept, goodbyes were said, and solid goldstein graciously drove us to SJC. we set out of the new terminal on a full flight. you better believe i'm gonna sleep, but the flight's not that long.
miscellaneous pix
Monday, September 6, 2010
all you can jet 2 - day 0 - las vegas, NV
it was just a couple sundays ago that i was talking to the robot about jetblue's "all you can jet."
"jetblue hasn't said that all you can jet is not going to happen and they've already given a couple of honorary passes away, so i'm expecting all you can jet. soon."
"how will you find out about it?"
"well, last year cap'n happy was the guy who told me about it in the first place and i had a bunch of friends following the trip along on my 'blog, so i'll bet you everything i own that when all you can jet starts, i won't find out about it by myself first ... i'll be told."
two days later, on august 17, whammo.
i wake up at 09:30 and my accomplice has already sent the big news to my cell phone three hours earlier ... AYCJ is back on. i get the newspaper, eat some cereal and my accomplice has sends me a second TXT message: "we need to talk about AYCJ."
okay, fine.
i review some of my finances, call a business partner of mine, mull a few ideas we've been talking about and as soon as i hang up, i have an incoming call. it's my accomplice. "ALL YOU CAN JET! ALL YOU CAN JET! ALL YOU CAN JET! WE NEED TO BUY IT NOW OR IT WILL SELL OUT,"
jesus. just settle down already. "the pass hasn't even been for sale half a day yet. it's not going to sell out in a day."
"but what if ..."
"but what if the vikings suddenly emerge from their graves and start killing everyone?"
i wasn't 100% sure i was going to go again, but even if nothing else makes sense, my accomplice is wound so tight there's no way i can say "no."
things are mildly different this year.
there are two flavors of passes; one for $700 that is all you can jet (the "working stiffs pass"), the other for $500 that is all you can jet WITHOUT flying on friday or sunday (the "cheapie pass"). it's an interesting play because at $700, the pass is actually $100 more expensive than last year, but at $500 it's $100 less.
the pass is also one day shorter, running from 9/7 to 10/6 this year when it was 9/8 to 10/8 last.
what's interesting is the mainstream press -- which is getting less informative almost by the day -- has failed to mention both these details. in fact the one article that i have seen mentioning the increase has said that at $100 more the pass is actually a better deal than last year because the price of travel has risen more than enough to offset it.
intentionally, or unintentionally, the pricing they're doing this year is a stroke of marketing genius.
working around fridays and sundays isn't that big of a deal -- in fact i like the idea of restriction having to work around -- it makes me feel "tricky." the side-effect, though, is it may well make travel on saturdays much weirder than usual ... saturday is traditionally the s-l-o-w airport day, but if you're bookended by not being able to fly on fridays and sundays -- along with the working stiffs who slack and fly on saturday -- the situation may be different.
14:00 rolls around and the instigator sends me an email ... he assumes that i already know, but wants to be sure i'm aware that the AYCJ pass is on sale.
14:30 i buy a pass for myself and my accomplice (the accomplice's credit card is at some kind of ceiling).
15:00 cap'n happy writes me to make sure i know the pass is on sale.
which means all my intelligent agents are all doing their job.
as expected, passes sell out a few days before end of sale. the slow, dim and uncertain all miss out and, as expected, whine. of course this year the naysayers and bad-newsers are disappointed because, in fact, AYCJ was a huge success last year.
even though we can start booking flights on 8/23, we wait for four days before we grind through it. the booking process is different -- all online versus the super-great agent that we used last year ... but that's not the delay ... the delay is due to having to be in the right state of mind ... you have to think "travel, serious and fun" all at the same time, and it takes mental stamina.
when we finally sit down it takes two and a half hours to figure out what we want.
we have a few pivotal spots. my brother and i are going to fly fish in WY over the weekend of 9/12. there's a film festival in austin from 9/21-28. we'll try to return to bogota, and see if my accomplice can actually manage to walk down the stairs without falling this time. and we want to end in new england for fall color -- something i've never done, and we skipped last year.
we churn and churn. there's some strangeness in travel because the long night hops can only be done from west to east. a resulting side-effect is that you can sometimes travel one-way (say LAS -> CUN) but not in reverse (CUN -> LAS). then too we have the self-imposed artificial restriction of the cheapie ticket in that we can't travel on fridays.
we come up with the list and it's good:
LAS -> BUF (drive around lake ontario)
BUF -> DEN (fly fish WY)
DEN -> IAD (pals -- layover for the CUN jump)
IAD -> BOG (bogota -- hopefully without the blood this time)
BOG -> MSY (i'm going to memphis, dammit. i don't care if JB doesn't fly there)
MSY -> JFK (special 24 hours enterprises event with special K)
JFK -> AUS (film festival [and bats!])
AUS -> PWM (fall color)
PWM -> CUN (mexican pyramids)
but wait ... we can't fly CUN -> LAS directly; so we tack on a final night in BOS specifically for steamed cheeseburgers and candle pin bowling ... and hey, since our first flight is a red-eye anyway, we can tack LGB (roscoe's chicken and waffles) and the bay area (our old pals) to the start with no disadvantage.
so add
LAS -> SFO; SJC -> BUF
CUN -> BOS
packing is easy. so easy, in fact, that i don't actually pack until 02:00 on the day we're leaving ... it takes 15 minutes.
my packing list is nearly identical to last year, which is to say nearly identical to any trip i have of five days or more: three long sleeve shirts, one sweatshirt, one (reversible) t-shirt, two pair of pants, five pair of underwear, five pair of socks, a track suit, wide-brimmed hat, pair of binoculars, whiplock, bandana. i'm also bringing the travel towel from the guy i met last year.
i have a small change in that i'm exercising more now, so i pack travel shorts that can also be used as a swimsuit. i'd like to take my running shoes, but they're a little too nice for day-to-day wear, so i'm taking my glow-in-the-darks from last year, along with my kangaroo leather hiking shoes.
my eagle creek travel bag had developed a tear along the outer seam (should've taken a picture of it, but didn't), so a fortnight before the start of AYCJ i sent it back to them with exacting details of what i needed and when. two business days before our departure it was returned, complete and correct -- a relief to see it on time and a bit of a surprise that they didn't replace it (i'm glad they didn't, i really like that bag).
one weirdness is having to leave a house for a month ... since moving, i'm now a home owner (which, by the way, is a complete crock ... americans [and me] have been duped into thinking this is important) ... and it's one thing to leave your world behind when an apartment full of people are (unintentionally) watching over it, it's quite another when you're leaving everything in an american city with the largest unemployment statistics.
morning calls soon. i'm ready, but my mood is a bit off ... and i'm not sure why.
"jetblue hasn't said that all you can jet is not going to happen and they've already given a couple of honorary passes away, so i'm expecting all you can jet. soon."
"how will you find out about it?"
"well, last year cap'n happy was the guy who told me about it in the first place and i had a bunch of friends following the trip along on my 'blog, so i'll bet you everything i own that when all you can jet starts, i won't find out about it by myself first ... i'll be told."
two days later, on august 17, whammo.
i wake up at 09:30 and my accomplice has already sent the big news to my cell phone three hours earlier ... AYCJ is back on. i get the newspaper, eat some cereal and my accomplice has sends me a second TXT message: "we need to talk about AYCJ."
okay, fine.
i review some of my finances, call a business partner of mine, mull a few ideas we've been talking about and as soon as i hang up, i have an incoming call. it's my accomplice. "ALL YOU CAN JET! ALL YOU CAN JET! ALL YOU CAN JET! WE NEED TO BUY IT NOW OR IT WILL SELL OUT,"
jesus. just settle down already. "the pass hasn't even been for sale half a day yet. it's not going to sell out in a day."
"but what if ..."
"but what if the vikings suddenly emerge from their graves and start killing everyone?"
i wasn't 100% sure i was going to go again, but even if nothing else makes sense, my accomplice is wound so tight there's no way i can say "no."
things are mildly different this year.
there are two flavors of passes; one for $700 that is all you can jet (the "working stiffs pass"), the other for $500 that is all you can jet WITHOUT flying on friday or sunday (the "cheapie pass"). it's an interesting play because at $700, the pass is actually $100 more expensive than last year, but at $500 it's $100 less.
the pass is also one day shorter, running from 9/7 to 10/6 this year when it was 9/8 to 10/8 last.
what's interesting is the mainstream press -- which is getting less informative almost by the day -- has failed to mention both these details. in fact the one article that i have seen mentioning the increase has said that at $100 more the pass is actually a better deal than last year because the price of travel has risen more than enough to offset it.
intentionally, or unintentionally, the pricing they're doing this year is a stroke of marketing genius.
working around fridays and sundays isn't that big of a deal -- in fact i like the idea of restriction having to work around -- it makes me feel "tricky." the side-effect, though, is it may well make travel on saturdays much weirder than usual ... saturday is traditionally the s-l-o-w airport day, but if you're bookended by not being able to fly on fridays and sundays -- along with the working stiffs who slack and fly on saturday -- the situation may be different.
14:00 rolls around and the instigator sends me an email ... he assumes that i already know, but wants to be sure i'm aware that the AYCJ pass is on sale.
14:30 i buy a pass for myself and my accomplice (the accomplice's credit card is at some kind of ceiling).
15:00 cap'n happy writes me to make sure i know the pass is on sale.
which means all my intelligent agents are all doing their job.
as expected, passes sell out a few days before end of sale. the slow, dim and uncertain all miss out and, as expected, whine. of course this year the naysayers and bad-newsers are disappointed because, in fact, AYCJ was a huge success last year.
even though we can start booking flights on 8/23, we wait for four days before we grind through it. the booking process is different -- all online versus the super-great agent that we used last year ... but that's not the delay ... the delay is due to having to be in the right state of mind ... you have to think "travel, serious and fun" all at the same time, and it takes mental stamina.
when we finally sit down it takes two and a half hours to figure out what we want.
we have a few pivotal spots. my brother and i are going to fly fish in WY over the weekend of 9/12. there's a film festival in austin from 9/21-28. we'll try to return to bogota, and see if my accomplice can actually manage to walk down the stairs without falling this time. and we want to end in new england for fall color -- something i've never done, and we skipped last year.
we churn and churn. there's some strangeness in travel because the long night hops can only be done from west to east. a resulting side-effect is that you can sometimes travel one-way (say LAS -> CUN) but not in reverse (CUN -> LAS). then too we have the self-imposed artificial restriction of the cheapie ticket in that we can't travel on fridays.
we come up with the list and it's good:
LAS -> BUF (drive around lake ontario)
BUF -> DEN (fly fish WY)
DEN -> IAD (pals -- layover for the CUN jump)
IAD -> BOG (bogota -- hopefully without the blood this time)
BOG -> MSY (i'm going to memphis, dammit. i don't care if JB doesn't fly there)
MSY -> JFK (special 24 hours enterprises event with special K)
JFK -> AUS (film festival [and bats!])
AUS -> PWM (fall color)
PWM -> CUN (mexican pyramids)
but wait ... we can't fly CUN -> LAS directly; so we tack on a final night in BOS specifically for steamed cheeseburgers and candle pin bowling ... and hey, since our first flight is a red-eye anyway, we can tack LGB (roscoe's chicken and waffles) and the bay area (our old pals) to the start with no disadvantage.
so add
LAS -> SFO; SJC -> BUF
CUN -> BOS
packing is easy. so easy, in fact, that i don't actually pack until 02:00 on the day we're leaving ... it takes 15 minutes.
my packing list is nearly identical to last year, which is to say nearly identical to any trip i have of five days or more: three long sleeve shirts, one sweatshirt, one (reversible) t-shirt, two pair of pants, five pair of underwear, five pair of socks, a track suit, wide-brimmed hat, pair of binoculars, whiplock, bandana. i'm also bringing the travel towel from the guy i met last year.
i also shaved off my beard
i have a small change in that i'm exercising more now, so i pack travel shorts that can also be used as a swimsuit. i'd like to take my running shoes, but they're a little too nice for day-to-day wear, so i'm taking my glow-in-the-darks from last year, along with my kangaroo leather hiking shoes.
my eagle creek travel bag had developed a tear along the outer seam (should've taken a picture of it, but didn't), so a fortnight before the start of AYCJ i sent it back to them with exacting details of what i needed and when. two business days before our departure it was returned, complete and correct -- a relief to see it on time and a bit of a surprise that they didn't replace it (i'm glad they didn't, i really like that bag).
one weirdness is having to leave a house for a month ... since moving, i'm now a home owner (which, by the way, is a complete crock ... americans [and me] have been duped into thinking this is important) ... and it's one thing to leave your world behind when an apartment full of people are (unintentionally) watching over it, it's quite another when you're leaving everything in an american city with the largest unemployment statistics.
morning calls soon. i'm ready, but my mood is a bit off ... and i'm not sure why.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
quote of the moment
"if road trip were a formula, it would be:
RT = (freedom + adventure) - (gas money) x (anticipation)"
-- eagle creek propaganda
Friday, November 27, 2009
from karpov
Subject: Double Downer
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:28:21 -0500
Date: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:28:21 -0500
Sad report…
Is it possible that that my sights were set too high, or worse that I am
just being contrary? I don't think so…I really wanted to like this
sandwich. Unfortunately though, my experience tonight was the
antithesis of yours during AYCJ.
I got a bit of a thrill when I saw the Double Down poster in the window
as I walked in. That turned out to be the apex of my meal.
Your counter girlie was 'super cute'. Mine…
Karpov: "Hi—I just drove all the way from New Hampshire to try out
the Double Down!"
Dour pudgy Hispanic counter female with all the charm of Bill Mertz:
"Do you want a meal, or just the sandwich?"
I get my sandwich, and snap a couple of pics. I can tell something is
wrong when I open it up. I think 'this does not look that great,
something is off.'
My sandwich had all the requisite Double Down ingredients, but it is
hard to imagine a worse assemblage of them:
Chicken (bun): Both pieces are room temp. I expected them to be
somewhat hot, or even lukewarm…hell, refrigerated would have been more
appetizing than room temp. It is like the chicken had been sitting on
a shelf (sans heat lamp) for 3 hours since it was fried. It has been a
while since I ate at KFC, but I used to like the spices/flavor of their
fried chicken. These pieces seemed pretty bland, with only a hint of
the KFC spice. The meat was a bit stringy.
Cheese: White American, completely unmelted. The cheese in your pic
looks mostly melted, (due to heat of chicken?) Mine is just slices of
unmelted processed American cheese.
Bacon: One small piece, seemed to have been cooked yesterday.
Crunchy, consistency of a giant bacon bit.
Sauce: No complaints.
I took a bite, and my first thought was 'no way am I going to eat all
of this.' I was right…I ate half, and threw the rest away.
Better than lobster? Uh, no. Not mine…in fact I think I would have
had a better meal at the Subway one mile from my house (and I hate
Subway.)
I can't imagine that you would have had the reaction you did if you
were served my sandwich. I can picture that with hot and better spiced
chicken, melted cheese, good bacon, this could be much better (not sure
I'd like it as much as you did, even with all that.) In retrospect,
I should have gone back to Ms Sunshine and asked her to try again,
harder this time.
I will say that one thing I liked was the mind trick—this contraption
has stuff in the middle of a top and bottom, and my mind thinks
'sandwich' despite the lack of bread.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
dinner
rincon, near san diego.
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