We had a early flight out of LA, took an early option because Jet Blue’s other flights had long layoffs with connecting flights on the later ones. The early flight was non-stop and got us to our home stop of JFK at around 7:20pm giving us a whole evening still available, a no brainer pick for a 5 hour cross country flight.
We would be remiss if we did not mention that we flew on September 11th, a sobering date for all Americans and a even more potentially effecting one if you were flying to NYC cross country that same day. We left for the 10 minute drive from the hotel to LAX (we now could switch from Long Beach but it cost an extra $20 bucks to drop off the rental at LAX) during our drive we discussed the emotional context of the flight as well as the political one, we were reverent of the lives that had been lost, but we also considered the Iraq War a misguided effort in response to the tragedy. We could only hope that moving forward we as Americans make wise choices on how we honor all those that died without being misled by those with agendas
We were not scared to fly, but the fact that we were not scared had more to do with the times that we Americans now live in and under than any courage on our part. After the events of September 11th, 2001 nothing seems to be off the table as a calamity and in knowing and feeling that.. we all seem to be collectively made of sterner stuff, we all seem to have adapted to this new normal and are prepared for anything, without much complaint, for better or worse.
The Flight
The flight again was smooth, actually it went over very well as it pertains to our safety and comfort. We have had no problem really with JetBlue so far, but one area that we found unusual was the smell in the plane. The smell from the bathrooms which are usually not an issue, well on this flight it was very prominent, and we mean very prominent, our noses had few breaks during the five hour trip, JetBlue don’t know if this was a aberration or common on flights of this length, but whew what a stinker that flight was. One good note though is we got in early to JFK and goodness were we especially thankful for thatJ
Meet Ups
When we hit JFK we were tired, spent but we had one more thing to do before we could rest, we heard of a meet up in NYC and we wanted to attend. What’s a meet up? A meet up is a loosely structured gathering of like minded people who meet to compare notes, organize and in certain circumstances have a drink or twoJ
AYCJ had many of these meet ups, some were even put together on meetup.com, the one we were going to was put together by the “Infamous AYCJer Sunny Memon”!
Meeting Sunny was a goal as he was a prolific poster on the AYCJ facebook page and he seemed like a really fun person to meet plus this was our first chance to join in on a meet up and given our hectic trip schedules might be our only chance. We had exchanged emails on Facebook with Sunny and had his cell phone number, the meet up was at Max Brenner in the Union Square area of NYC near 14th and Broadway. We got there about 10pm, yes just two hours from when we hit our homes from the cross country trip! Tired, but intrigued as to what kind of gathering this would be. We surprisingly we’re amongst the first to arrive, but soon about 7 others including Sunny showed up.
Meeting Sunny was a goal as he was a prolific poster on the AYCJ facebook page and he seemed like a really fun person to meet plus this was our first chance to join in on a meet up and given our hectic trip schedules might be our only chance. We had exchanged emails on Facebook with Sunny and had his cell phone number, the meet up was at Max Brenner in the Union Square area of NYC near 14th and Broadway. We got there about 10pm, yes just two hours from when we hit our homes from the cross country trip! Tired, but intrigued as to what kind of gathering this would be. We surprisingly we’re amongst the first to arrive, but soon about 7 others including Sunny showed up.
Sunny did not disappointJ …this guy is party central any place he goes. Sunny not only knows where the best places to dine are, he knows where the party, the after party and the after after party are!!!
Max Brenner was much fun with its eclectic chocolate based menu, we enjoyed pizza and delicious caramel/chocolate dishes as Sunny regaled us with stories of celebrity sightings and his non-stop trip schedule, including the one about his roommate in Costa Rica who only brought one pair of underwear for a entire week stay in 90 plus degree heat and humidity…eeewww!
Got to mention we shared a corner of a table with the irrepressible Lilly Nunez, a twenty something from Cali that was doing her entire 30 day pass solo and on the fly. Lilly was indicative of the majority of AYCJers... intrepid souls who braved the journey mostly alone, but with a willingness to make friends, try new things and see new places.
Pumpkin time…
The night was moving well, we mingled and talked with the other AYCJers, a great group of people, energetic, gregarious and did we say energeticJ it was approaching 12 midnight and we were in jeopardy of turning into pumpkins as we were having fun but dragging because of major jet lag. Sunny and the others were just getting started, they had plans to go clubbing and beyond into the wee hours in the city that never sleeps. Long story short we respectfully declined to join themJ
We left Brenners at about 11:55 or so just in the nick of time, drove Lilly back to her hotel so she could freshen up before she rejoined the party. We bid her a good night and then mercifully called it a night to rest our travel hammered bodies.
Two days to recoup, regroup and recharge our engines then next stops Jamaica and Cancun back to back!!!
Its really awesome try more ,
ReplyDeletex-rates