Dulles (IAD) AeroTrain Pics-Now Open!

I can't imagine anyone actually still reads my blog, due to all the SPAM. I can't tell you I have a good solution, other than daily e-mails to Google and changing my password to something the Pentagon can't break. And yet, more SPAM this morning.

I was supposed to travel last Monday, when the train opened up for the first time. Unfortunately, my daughter got sick, so I had to cancel my trip.

This morning, I cleared through security and headed down the escalator to give the AeroTrain a try. There are two separate trains at the main terminal. One heads to concourse B, the other to A and C. When I arrived, there was a train waiting to go to B, where I was heading. Officials weren't letting anyone board it, so after about 5 minutes, I just hopped on the train to A, figuring I would just walk the length of B.

The train was a quick 60 second ride to A. Upon departing, we were directed up an escalator. In front of me were two signs. One directed me to an elevator for concourse B, along with C, D etc. The other directed me to the left to concourse A.

Don't be overly confused. The elevator to B is actually an elevator right back downstairs to the platform to get back on the train.

Two escalators later I arrived in concourse A. Kind of. For those that know IAD well, I was standing at the end of the B concourse, by the escalators that head up to the walkway to A. There was another sign directing me to an escalator DOWN to go to the B concourse. All of the B gates in front of me had been changed to A gates, up to the point the underground walkway bisects what was the old B terminal.

There was someone there assisting people, and I obviously looked confused, since I knew I was in B, even though this portion wasn't B anymore.

This official assured me I could just get back on the escalator downstairs, and head to B. When I said, "Couldn't I just walk 300 feet that way?", pointing in the direction of the B concourse, he said, "I guess so."

Brilliance abounds. I'm not sure which genius decided me needed to rename half of the B concourse to the A concourse, but I'm sure there's historical significance.

Anyway, enjoy the pics.

DSC01101.JPG

DSC01100.JPG

DSC01103.JPG

Yet Another Reason to Never Fly United

I have a general rule that I avoid UAL unless they're less money or a significantly better itinerary. I've also flown a different airline for more money when traveling on business and reimbursed our company the difference. Why? Because they're absolutely horrible.

From my friend Gary Leff's blog, yet another illustration of how much they suck.

IAD: Washington Dulles Airport Updates (or, What a Mess at IAD)

Seems like every time IAD tries to make the airport better these days, something goes wrong.

First, it appears the new AeroTrain system is delayed again.

Second, they finally opened the new downstairs security screening area. I've been anticipating this for some time. They had years to plan the layout to make sure they got everything right.

They didn't.

For starters, if you walk into security from the downstairs level, you need to walk all the way to the other end of security to get to the first class/expert security line. Then, you have to walk 3/4 of the way back to where you started to get to a TSA agent to check your records.

There's only one TSA agent set up on the first class line, so both times I've gone through, it's been quicker to go through the regular line.

After getting through security, there are no designated lanes for expert vs. family travelers yet.

So, all in all, maybe a C- as a grade for the new security screening area? The only reason I'm not giving it an F is that I don't have to go upstairs.

Here's hoping they get this figured out at some point.

element pictures

element is a new brand from Starwood Hotels. I stay at Starwood properties almost exclusively when I travel. On a recent trip to Denver, I was able to stay at an element for the first time.

If you'd like to read my review, you can find it here on FlyerTalk.

Here are a bunch of pics from my stay.

St. Regis Washington DC

My wife and I enjoyed a night at The St. Regis in DC last night, thanks to the free weekends promotion Starwood ran this summer.

Due to the promo and a bunch of travel, I ended up using my free rooms at:

Sheraton Commander (Boston), 2 rooms
Sheraton Hershey, 3 rooms, 2 nights
St. Regis DC
Le Parker Meridien (New York), 2 rooms

We dropped Catherine off for a sleepover at her grandparents house, and headed downtown. Probably one of the only people to valet park a minivan at the St. Regis.

The front desk informed me they had upgraded us to a Grand Luxe room. The room was nicely appointed, with a separate seating area with a couch and coffee table, along with a king-sized bed, a sizable bathroom, and a view of an alley.

We dropped our stuff and headed to Fogo de Chao, one of our favorite restaurants. We had called and couldn't get a reservation, so we asked the concierge at the St. Regis. Surely, they could get us a table. Uh, no.

We had a backup choice, but I figured I would see if the $20 bill trick would work. So, we walked into Fogo, which was hopping busy. At least 15 or 20 people waiting for tables. My wife sat in the corner, as she said, "Embarrassed that we were trying to get in when it was obvious they were packed."

I said, "It looks like you're slammed, but I was hoping you could squeeze in 2 people." The hostess said, "Stand over there. We'll take care of you."

We were on our way back, my wife shaking her head. We enjoyed a half bottle of Taittinger champagne, and a bottle of Malbec (Luca). Satisfied, and a bit tipsy, we headed back to the hotel for a comfortable night's sleep.

We didn't get a chance to take pictures of the room before we went to bed, but we did snap some shots of the bathroom. Note the TV in the mirror. Nice feature!

Dulles Airport: AeroTrain Update

Steady followers of my blog will remember my post last year with previously unseen pictures of the train system at Dulles Airport.

Well, when I walked through Dulles Airport at 5am on Monday, I saw that the train was running at the main terminal. It's not open for passengers yet, just test running on the tracks. This is consistent with some FTers reports that it will need to run error free for 30 (or 60) days before they will open it to the general public. I grabbed some quick footage of a 3-car train leaving the station.


The trains seem to run on a 2 minute cycle during testing. While I've seen the terminal A and B stations, I haven't yet seen the proposed terminal C station. More info about the train system can be found here.

Long story short, I'll be plenty happy not to have to ride the damn buses anymore.

The Starwood 100

Starwood Hotels, IMO, is the best hotel loyalty program out there. It's my chain of choice whenever I travel. I'm sure there are quite a few people who won't find this interesting, but I set a goal to stay at 100 Starwood properties worldwide. This would, by no means, be a record, based on some of the other travelers I know. But, here's what I think is my complete list of 58 properties. Still a good ways to go, but there's some really great properties mixed in with some dogs.

Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta GA
Westin Boston Waterfront
Westin Seattle
Four Points Orlando Studio City
Sheraton Suites Orlando Airport
W New York-Tuscany
Four Points Williamsburg
Le Meridien Barcelona (one of our favorites)
Le Meridien Ra Beach (South of Barcelona, another favorite)
aloft Philadelphia
aloft Dulles North
Westin Grand, Washington, DC
Westin Mount Laurel, NJ
Four Points Tallahassee North
Sheraton Denver Tech Center
Planet Hollywood Casino, Las Vegas, NV
Westin Atlanta Airport
Sheraton Old San Juan, PR
Westin Reston Heights
Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers (consistently one of the best business hotels I stay at)
Sheraton Atlantic City, NJ
Sheraton Crescent Hotel, Phoenix, AZ
Wigwam Resort & Spa, Phoenix, AZ (very enjoyable property)
Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, VA
Westin Tysons Corner, VA
Four Points Norwalk, CT
Sheraton Danbury, CT
Sheraton Meadowlands, NJ
Four Points Manhattan Chelsea (good, affordable Manhattan property)
Sheraton Manhattan
Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers
W New York-The Court
Four Points BWI Airport, MD
Sheraton Columbia Town Center, Columbia, MD
Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL
Westin Excelsior, Florence, IT (another favorite)
Westin Excelsior, Rome, IT (another favorite)
Hotel Danieli, Venice, IT (#1 on our list, maybe 1A considering St. Regis Rome)
Sheraton National Airport, Arlington, VA
Westin Mission Hills, Rancho Mirage, CA (great property)
Westin Tabor Center, Denver, CO
Sheraton Denver West
Four Points Denver
aloft Denver Airport
St. Regis, Rome, IT (see above about Danieli, one of the top 2 hotels I've ever stayed in)
Sheraton Catania, IT (on the island of Sicily)
The Excelsior, Naples, IT (beautiful hotel, snobby staff)
W Chicago City Center
aloft Broomfield, CO
Westin Westminster, CO
Sheraton Nashville, TN
Westin New Orleans Canal Place, LA
Sheraton Denver, CO
Westin Providence, RI
Sheraton Copley Plaza, Boston, MA
Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey, PA

How I'm Earning Free Travel This Week

I'm going to start a new part of my blog. As most of my regular followers know (all 3 of you), I'm a bit obsessive about earning points in various loyalty programs.

American Airlines and Starwood are my two primary programs, with a ton of other programs I accumulate points in for other uses. So, starting this week, I'm going to try to post a tip a week on how I'm earning free travel and other stuff.

Starwood has a great fleet of hotels, and they run a quarterly promo that's usually pretty good. Well, they're recycling one from a year or two ago that was wildly popular.

For every two stays at a Starwood property until the end of July, you'll earn a free weekend night at pretty much every Starwood property in the world, with very few exceptions, and no blackout dates. I'm already up to 3 free nights. Make sure you sign up!

http://www.spgpromos.com/weekends/

Mile High Club

Found a story on this in one of the fora I moderate on FlyerTalk:

http://milehighatlanta.com/

I think it's truly special that they let you keep the sheet.

Italy-Leaving

While I've got plenty more pictures to post upon our return, we're headed to the airport shortly.

As we leave Rome for the second time, I wish we could stay longer.

Both times we've been to Rome, we've come away feeling like we were in a big, not-so-clean city, with old, interesting architecture in the oddest places.

Maybe the sadness of leaving is because we know that Rome is a gateway to so many places we treasure, even those we haven't seen yet.

But maybe, just maybe, Rome has grown on us. A city that was the capitol of the world for so long, and now just the capitol of Italy. And yet, in different corners of the city, it has a magnetic pull.

Whether it's Piazza Navona at night, or the sheer might of St. Peter's. Or Cul de Sac, our favorite restaurant here.

As is said in Rome, you throw a coin in the Trevi fountain with your loved one, in the hopes that you will both return. We threw coins four years ago, and have made our way back.

I leave Italy with a slightly clearer picture of our family, those that emigrated over 100 years ago to America in search of a better life. When we started this journey, I couldn't imagine them giving up the joys of this country for a new one. And yet, they found a better life, bringing with them a heritage they were initially ashamed to embrace, but came to be proud of. I sense their pride as I walk the streets here, and can't wait to return again.

Italy-Day 5 (Pompeii and Naples)

We drove late at night and ended up in the little town of Castrovilla, near the top of the Calabrian region. We woke up the next morning late, as Catherine stayed up partying until almost 5am.

We set off for Pompeii, arriving around 4:30. We spent about two hours inside exploring. As a general comment, it wasn't what I was expecting. There were no real descriptions inside of what we were looking at. The excavation is in various stages of completion everywhere, and the town is huge. While we did get audio guides, they were less than helpful, since a lot of the buildings the guides walked us through were closed off for whatever reason. As we were leaving, we did find a couple areas that were much more interesting.

First, we walked through a restored bath area. Interestingly, the skylight in the baths was in the perfect shape of a keyhole. Then, we walked past an area where there were recovered items from Pompeii being stored. Lots of sculpture, pots, and also a few plaster casts. According to the audio guide, the man in charge of the dig back in the mid-1800s was alerted by some of the workers that they had found bones at the bottom of a hole they uncovered. He stopped the work and mixed plaster of paris with water, filling the hole with the mixture. They carefully dug out the hardened plaster, and had unearthed the shapes of people who had died in the massive eruption. The plaster casts are eerily detailed, down to facial expressions.

Here's some pictures detailing Pompeii and Naples.

First, the cutest picture of my daughter:


The theater at Pompeii (royalty sat in the marble seats nearest the stage):


Plaster casts of people suffering through the eruption:



The view from our suite at The Excelsior Naples:

Italy-Day 6

I still owe everyone an update on Day 5, but we had a really weird occurrence today. Driving through the town of Amalfi, there was a religious celebration going on, assumedly for Good Friday.

About 100 small boys were proceeding from the church in an orderly fashion dressed in traditional white church robes. On the other side of the road were another 100 or so boys and men already in the procession. Only thing was, all the ones on the other side of the road were wearing white hoods with the eyes cut out, a la the Ku Klux Klan.

I'm fairly certain it doesn't mean the same thing here, but it was a pretty disturbing site.

Italy-Day 2

Day 2 saw us starting out at the Vatican and ending back up at the hotel. We spent most of the day wandering the Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. This is our second time at the Vatican, and while some things look the same, it was still a pretty awe-inspiring experience.

The earthquake was felt here in Rome, but there was no damage. Lots of destruction to the East of us thought.

Pictures from Day 2:

A sneak peek of the Sistine Chapel.

The ceiling in the gallery of maps.

The view from the top of St. Peter's Basilica.

A convenient ray of sun shining down on the altar at St. Peter's.

The foot of St. Peter's. It's significance is that this bronze statue's foot has been touched by so many people (thought to bring good will to those who prayed here), that the entire foot has been rubbed smooth with no detail left.

Italy-Day 1!

We arrived in Rome early Sunday for the start of a family trip. We're headed out to the Vatican now, but here's a couple of quick pics from our first day here. Click on the pictures to see bigger versions.

First, the Spanish Steps:

A gelato cone bigger than Catherine!
The Trevi Fountain (to me, one of the most beautiful things in Rome)
A truly elegant, old-fashioned elevator at the St. Regis
The service at the St. Regis is great. When they brought the rollaway bed for Catherine, they made sure to tuck her dolls in so they would be comfortable.

Virgin America Review

I had the opportunity to fly first class on Virgin America for the first time on Monday. I had to get SFO early in the day, so that was the best choice vs. United (who blow chunks). It cost a bit more to sit in First Class, but I wanted to catch some sleep, so.....

I was sitting in the second row of the first class cabin (only two rows), and I slid my bag underneath the seat in front of me. That's when the punk flight attendant in first class told me I couldn't store a bag under my seat (company policy). Stupid rule, but whatever.

The seat was better than a standard domestic business class seat, not as good as an international seat. Didn't lay flat, but went back quite a bit, with a foot rest as well.

I fell asleep pretty quickly, and woke up about halfway through the flight. I powered up my laptop to find.....the plane had wifi!!! This was my first time experiencing wifi on a plane. It's amazing how much more work I can get done on a plane with an internet connection.

They served me some horrific breakfast sandwich, which might have been horrific because it had been sitting around for a while. It was a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a croissant. The croissant was like rubber, the sandwich had spinach and some kind of tomato-based sauce on it. I'm all for fine dining, but do you really need to mess with the simple perfection of a breakfast sandwich?

All in all, not a bad experience. The mood lighting and music were horrible. The in-flight entertainment system was pretty good, although I didn't have time to watch a movie on it while working. I did find a few new songs from Fall Out Boy that I liked, which I downloaded on my laptop from iTunes.

Would I do it again? Sure. Would I pay more than $200 for the first class experience cross country? I don't think so. I guess if I desperately needed sleep, sure. But other than the seat, there appears to be no other difference between first and coach.

Other than the fact that I could actually store my bag under my seat in coach. ;)

Palm Springs-Day 3

Day 3 saw markedly better weather than the last two days. After a disjointed run at breakfast, we headed down to the pool. While it was a bit chilly, the kids had an awesome time. The only downside was that a couple of the kids were too small to go down the big slide. We've got our first couple of pictures off the digital camera.

First, we've got Catherine, sitting with two of her cousins, Kiley and Jagger:


Then, we've got a few pictures of the mountains from the golf course, along with a picture of me attempting to hit a golf ball. All pictures are courtesy of my cousin Ron. Ron's claim to fame on this trip is trying to hit a golf shot to his left, and having the ball go right. It then hit a palm tree, bounced off and hit another tree, followed by what sounded like a wall, and finally ending up in someone's pool. Congratulations, Ron.



When we left the pool to go play golf, Michelle wasn't feeling well. By the time golf was done, she was curled up in bed, sick as a dog. We went and picked up food for dinner to eat in with the cousins. An early night for all, and hopefully feeling better for Day 4.

Stay tuned for more pictures, including some of our suite, along with some more of the beautiful Palm Springs landscape.

Palm Springs

So, ten members of my family are gathered in Palm Springs this week for a mini family reunion. We're staying at the Westin Rancho Mirage, which is a really nice property. We were lucky enough to receive an upgrade to the Presidential Suite. The entire family of 10 is sitting around the large dinner table catching up right now. Brief recap of our time so far:

Day 1: Arrive at SNA airport and drive to hotel (with a brief stop for Mexican food that didn't agree with us). We got here on a relatively cold day, but the kids had to get in the pool. So, we swam until 6 or 7, then had a late dinner and everyone collapsed. Peak temperature was *maybe* 60 degrees.

Day 2: We're in a desert, and yet it's raining sideways. We head to outlet malls and shop all day. Peak temperature was 50 degrees. Drenched and tired, we head back to the hotel. After a 40-minute wait for take-out, we bring in PF Chang's for dinner.

We hear there's sun in the forecast tomorrow, so here's hoping there will be better updates and pictures soon.

The Latest Sign the Apocylpse is Upon Us

Here's a link to a blog suggesting that USAirways should be giving more to the passengers who survived the crash of flight 1549 into the Hudson.

I mean, really. Are these people high? Barring some remarkable change that finds USAirways was negligent in some way, they owe these passengers nothing extra.

Nothing.

They've given each passenger $5,000 (DOT only requires that they compensate up to $3,300). They've given all the passengers a year of their top-tier status, Chairman Preferred.

Oh, almost forgot. The accident wasn't their fault.

This may sound a bit harsh, but anybody who thinks they deserve more is either an idiot, or some sort of ambulance-chasing lawyer looking for an opportunity to sue someone.

That is all.

Vegas Traffic Tugging at Airlines' Pocket

Interesting article in Las Vegas Review Journal.

Basically, the airlines pay to operate McCarran if there are any shortfalls. To save money as traffic continues it's rapid decline, the airport is closing portions of the terminals during non-peak times, as well as consolidating airlines to allow for partial closures of certain terminals for extended periods of time.

Traffic was down almost 15% in November, and 7% overall in 2008.

Why does this matter to me?

"In July there are plans to close the southeast wing of the D concourse, which would prompt relocation of American."

I flew into and out of McCarran 25 times last year (thanks to Flight Memory for helping me with that number), all except one on American. So, I'm not too wild about getting uprooted, since they just cleared out all of the Southwest passengers from the security entrance I use, making it much easier to get through security.

What's still kind of incredible to me is that Vegas traffic is down 7%. It really seems like more when you walk around town.

Barcelona Revisited

Sorry for the delay in posting. Cutting our trip short, we were able to get back and see Michelle's grandmother. She's still hanging in there, good days and bad.

We stayed at two enjoyable hotels, Le Meridien Barcelona, and Le Meridien Ra Beach. First, a couple of quick pictures of our room at Le Meridien Barcelona:


While it was a bit damp, we did have an excellent private balcony, with a great view of the city:


Before we left for Ra Beach, a short drive down the coast, we had dinner at a local restaurant called Barceloneta. A lot of our top choices were closed because of the weekend (go figure), but Barceloneta still got good reviews, and we weren't disappointed. We had two fabulous appetizers. The first was a dish of sauteed shrimp and squid. We both love shrimp, but neither of us is a huge fan of squid. Well, this was the best squid I've ever had. So tender you could cut it with a fork, and great flavor. Our second appetizer didn't disappoint either, a carpaccio of two local fish. Excellent.

For entrees, I ordered the "large scallop", and Michelle ordered Paella. You cant come to Spain and not ordered Paella, and we weren't disappointed. It was prepared in it's own cast iron skillet, then plated tableside for Michelle:

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the large scallop. There were both large scallops and small scallops on the menu, and the captain spoke limited English. From my broken Spanish and his broken English, we were able to figure out that the large scallop was a feature dish. I ordered one scallop, not really knowing what to expect. Well, I had my first scallop ever cooked in the shell. This wasn't just served in a shell. The muscle was still attached, and it had been cooked in the shell.



Both entrees were excellent, and we finished off dinner with some fresh profiteroles with chocolate sauce:


An exceptional dinner. If you're ever in Barcelona, we would definitely recommend Restaurant Barceloneta. Our trip to Ra Beach in the next post. Stay tuned!