⁷Austin-NewYork/ A New York State of Mind

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Update: "I want to go Home with the Armadillo"

We took off on time in a Full Plane, announced as a 3 Hr,40 Minute Non Stop Flight.( I lucked out and got an aisle Seat even though I boarded late in the B Group!😊)

Once we reached Cruising Altitude, and they started the " Drinks and Snack Service", the Ca ptain sent everyone to their Seats because of Turbulence due to bad Weather all the way from Tennessee to Texas.

The Flight attendants announced that there was only 1 of the 2 Bathrooms in Service ( Front of the Plane) and only 1 person could go, they set up a priority list.

After 30 minutes, I got to go, and honestly it was the Smallest Bathroom I've ever been in!( 737-700)

We stayed in our Seats the rest of the way with lots of Bouncing around, and close to Dallas the Captain announced Severe Turbulence and a Detour around Storms.

We finally got close to Austin, now 4 Hours into the Flight, it was very bumpy, one of the worst such flights in my 70+ Years of flying.

We finally landed in Light Rain and a Strong SW Breeze as the Captain basically Flew the Plane onto the runway.As we taxied in, he apologized for the rough flight, but I thought they did a good job under the circumstances.

We then stopped on the ramp, and he announced there would be a Delay due to all the Gates being full due to Late Arriving Flights.

Finally @ 10:40 PM we pulled into Gate 16 and the Slow unloading began( most people had Carryons in the Bins).

Got to Bag Claim downstairs, they announced there was a Back log due to Late Flights ,so we waited as 3 other Flights Passengers claimed their luggage, there was only 1 Bag Carousel open!

Finally got my bag about 11:20, took the Long Walk to the Blue Garage ( its about a 1/4 of a Mile thru the Valet and High Buck Red Garage.)

Loaded my Car, paid my $20 for the 2 Days( Economy Lots on the Airport are all Closed)and headed home in a Light Rain!

Today was a perfect example of why I ( and so many others) prefer Trains over Planes!

My 2 and 1/2 Hour ride in Acela FC NYP- BWI was Paradise compared to the 4+ Flight today!

".. I want to go home to the Armadillo,
Good Country Music from Amarillo and Abilene, theyve got the Friendliest People and the Prettiest Women you've ever seen.."
London Homesick Blues/ Gary P. Nunn

As our friend, the Late and Great Alan B. used to say, "Take Care and Take Trains!"

Good advice, next time I will!

Time to hit the Hay, To All a Goodnight! Jim
 
I confess to meeting up with Jim today in NYP. It was great to see you Jim even though it was only for a few minutes. Thanks for giving me a tour of the lounge. I was very impressed with the new Metropolitan Lounge. After lunch I had a piece of the homemade banana chocolate almond bread. It was delicious. I grabbed a bag of chips which I ate on the train.
I had some of that too, delicious!

As they said, by Summer they should have Hot Food, Adult Beverages and lots of businesses coming downstairs in the Train Hall!😍
 
In reference to shops and services at NYP, a very large number of them, located on the LIRR level were forced to close to accommodate the reconstruction of that area, when it is is done it will be a much better setting. Of course, in the old Amtrak area, many closed due to the diminished business due to covid, and some for the planned move to Moynihan. Some, like the Zaro's Bakery (usually pretty good stuff) had 2 locations, and closed one, but left one open.
 
Nice trip, Jim. Glad you got to enjoy some real train riding. And I'm glad I got to avoid your rough flight home!

On my Acela FC trip last month, there were only a couple other passengers, but, hey, the train left Washington at 5AM. There were a lot more on the trip home, which left New York at about 6PM, but it wasn't so full that I had any trouble using my upgrade coupon about 5 hours before departure.
 
Thanks so much for this first-person reporting, not only great fun to read, also very valuable, as we will be there next week.
BTW you got a fantastic deal on that Fairfield, I wasn't seeing anything below $180 or so. It's a lovely hotel and perfect location.
Sorry to hear this, did you find a good deal? New York is coming back strong!

Prices in Popular Cities go up @ Hotels on Weekends,they used to be lower when business travelers werent using the rooms.

I always used the various Travel Sites to find the Best Deals I can ( Booking .com is especially good about Pay @ the Hotel upon arrival/ Free Cancellation till the day before arrival)
 
Sorry to hear this, did you find a good deal? New York is coming back strong!

Prices in Popular Cities go up @ Hotels on Weekends,they used to be lower when business travelers werent using the rooms.

I always used the various Travel Sites to find the Best Deals I can ( Booking .com is especially good about Pay @ the Hotel upon arrival/ Free Cancellation till the day before arrival)

No worries really, just congratulating you on scoring an excellent deal.
We are still looking at options on various sites, with a couple of backups that can be cancelled as it gets closer. I'm also taking stock of the loyalty program requirements for keeping accounts active.. so far, it seems that programs have paused the normal procedures for the most part. Will I be able to take enough trips now to not lose my accumulated points? Not sure.... and the redemption thresholds prompt me to rethink things a little.
Booking.com is a good site, my longstanding favorites are Priceline and Hotwire.
 
Prices in Popular Cities go up @ Hotels on Weekends,they used to be lower when business travelers werent using the rooms.
In New York City, this is especially true about car rentals. In places like say, Columbus, car rentals on weekends are relatively cheap, as they are usually only booked on weekdays, for those attending conferences or having government business. In New York City, having a rental car for business traveler's is mostly a liability, but for many residents, who don't own cars, due to the congestion and exorbitant parking costs, there is competition to obtain a rental for weekend getaways...
 
Enjoyed your trip report and glad you were able to meet up with the two mystery AU members. 😁
Hope to make it over to NY over this summer. Connects from CLE are not conducive to turn around trips so need to find a place to stay. Your Fairfield Inn sounds good. Glad you survived the airline trips. Yes, a train is always better than THE PLANE. Best wishes
 
Part 3: Some Time in New,York and Homeward Bound



I had the Sslmon with Veggies and Rice( Heat and Eat) accompanied by a Blondie and a good cup of Dunkin Coffee spiced up with Baileys and some Irish Whiskey that someone brought aboard!(😁)

It was excellent, much better than the Flex stuff I had last month on my 2 LD Trips.

Why on earth can't they use the Acela FC meals on the long-distance trains ?
 
A very enjoyable read, Jim. Good on you for getting out and about, and keeping safe too.
I remember being amazed when visiting the "Post Office" in that location on my first visit to NYC, so I imagine the new Train Hall must be very impressive.

Here in the UK, our initial joy over the lockdown easing has been suddenly tempered by the emergence of a new covid variant, so goodness knows when I will next get stateside!
 
A very enjoyable read, Jim. Good on you for getting out and about, and keeping safe too.
I remember being amazed when visiting the "Post Office" in that location on my first visit to NYC, so I imagine the new Train Hall must be very impressive.

Here in the UK, our initial joy over the lockdown easing has been suddenly tempered by the emergence of a new covid variant, so goodness knows when I will next get stateside!
Thanks Eddie!

Was glad to see you getting out and about, as the saying goes, " ..the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.."😉

Hopefully by Fall you will be able to get off the island, it looks like tourism is coming back in Europe and here, the only place that's off limits to me where I'd like to visit is Canada.
 
Great trip report! Glad you had a good time and were safe. I have been hearing a lot about rising crime on various news sites and even the locals over on city-data forums are concerned about the rise in crime.

I hope to one day get back to New York and see Moynihan Train Hall. All these trip reports about it from other AUers are making me jealous, LOL! I’ll be fully vaccinated by the end of the month, but I will wait until the city reopens and Martz Trailways’ restores the runs I use for my NYC day trips.
 
Great trip report! Glad you had a good time and were safe. I have been hearing a lot about rising crime on various news sites and even the locals over on city-data forums are concerned about the rise in crime.

I hope to one day get back to New York and see Moynihan Train Hall. All these trip reports about it from other AUers are making me jealous, LOL! I’ll be fully vaccinated by the end of the month, but I will wait until the city reopens and Martz Trailways’ restores the runs I use for my NYC day trips.
I heard the media reports about Crime in the City also, but there were plenty of New York's finest on the streets,and Amtrak PD was all over Penn Ststion and the New Moynihan Trsin Hall.

Like all Cities,there are places Tourists shouldn't go to, but living in fear because of Media and Politicians isnt a good way to live!
 
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