Thoughts on my 2nd to Last Flight

It's 8 p.m. at 30,000 feet. I'm half way to Orlando. I must be the luckiest person in the world. Fanning through my memories of the past month's adventures, I'm starting to realize the full impact of this amazing travel oportunity. I've got some new friends, a little more confidence, and exciting new life plans. I'm a little sad it's coming to an end, but I'm emerging from the experience newly inspired and thrilled for the next big adventure.
Oh! Commercial's over. Gotta get back to "White Chicks" on FX!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]

From Chi-Town to the Golden Dome

Nothing makes me feel more nostalgic than the cadence of a marching band in the distance, dazzling foliage, and College Football Saturdays.  The one trip I had planned before the start of the All You Can Jet promotion was returning to my alma mater for the Notre Dame/Washington football game on October 2nd.  I'm not sure if I could have convinced myself to purchase the AYCJ pass if I didn't already have this flight in mind.  I'm so glad that I did!


My flight out of JFK happened to coincide with the first half hour of the Jetblue sponsored Happy Hour meet up in Terminal 5.  I got to meet some exciting individuals with a like-minded sense of adventure.  I'll share some more details of my new friends in a future post.  Mark joined me 5 minutes before we ran to our terminal to catch the flight to O'Hare.


After picking up the rental car and plugging in our GPS, we soon realized that the easiest way from Chicago to South Bend was certainly not the quickest during rush hour on a Friday evening.  I squirmed, watching the estimated destination time inch later and later, until it reached a full 1.5 hours past our initial quoted ETA.  I even tried playing navigator, using the map to pick side streets through Southside to avoid highway traffic.  Bad idea.  We got traffic AND traffic lights.


We stayed in the beautiful lake side community of St. Joseph at my cousin's lovely beach retreat.  My parents and cousins were already settled in when we arrived.  After some quick catching up, we headed to bed to rest up for the big game day.

The electricity of a Football Saturday at Notre Dame will make even the fiercest sports haters buzz with excitement.  The beautiful campus quads are packed with Frisbee throwers, happy families, and the smell of grilling bratwurst wafts over the grills in front of each dorm.  As a former band geek, I can't miss the concert on the steps of the architecture building.  If the football game only consisted of the band concert, and pre, halftime, and post shows, I would be a happy spectator.  Groan over that one if you want, but it's the truth.


We were rewarded by a nail-biting game full of excitement ending with a win in OT. (it should have been a win anyway, but dragging it out makes it all the more entertaining).  Also the halftime show was tons of fun, playing a not-so-serious rendition of Sean Kingston's "Fire Burning" (for reals). 

After dinner with my parents and friends at a local Italian restaurant, we retired in St. Joseph's for the night.  The next morning we relaxed and walked on the beach with the family before we realized that Mark's flight was actually at 4:15, while mine was at 6:50.  Back in the rental car for the drive to Chicago.

Sunday afternoon traffic was much more palatable. Jetblue was able to squeeze me in on his flight, and we were back in JFK in time to meet Clark from 12 Hours in a City and a fascinating duo of product promoters who were using the pass to meet with such retailers as Target and Walmart.  Now we have 2 nights to rest at home and feed the cats before our last AYCJ trip to Orlando!

Falls over Buffalo

I am not a morning person. When the 5:00 morning alarm went off, the trip to Buffalo didn't seem like such a great idea. I'm grateful Mark is a better morning person than I am (actually a better person all around). 5:30 a.m. might be the only time of day the Belt Parkway isn't backed up with traffic.

The flight lasted a short 50 minutes offering retina burning views of the sunrise over the clouds. We landed in Buffalo just in time to hit rush hour traffic on our way to Niagara Falls. We were able to find some great mid-week, off season deals packaging our hotel with Falls View and breakfast and $100 credit at A Cut Above steak restaurant. Yeah, it sounds like a barber in a strip mall, but it's actually really nice.

Our room at the Sheraton was our big splurge of the month. I needed do some work from the room, so we got a room overlooking the falls. During the first day I worked while Mark rested and explored. That night we had dinner at the falls view Pinnacle restaurant. I had seen it on the good network getting a chic New York style makeover.

After pasta and drinks we ran around downtown and enjoyed the many tourist traps ripe with Americana. (or Canada-cana) These activities included sweating it out in the wind whipped buckets hanging off the giant Ferris wheel, rocking out to glow in the dark indoor disco mini golf, and trying on all the Canadian-ware in the souvenir shops.

The second morning started with the free breakfast buffet, then a tour of the famous ice wineries of the Niagara Peninsula. After lunch we rode the Maid of the Mist with a giant tour group of senior citizens. We blew our whole $100 voucher at dinner and drinks at A Cut Above before hitting up Ripley's Believe it or Not and a was museum. We hit the hay early since we had a 3:30 wake-up call for a 5:20 flight. Out of all the trips so far, this was by far the most relaxing. Being goofy with no agenda can be the most fun.

At JFK I took the Air Train to the A train straight to my office before 8:30. Tomorrow after work, l leave for Chicago!

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPhone]