Rockport. Train.

San Diego

When did the flight to San Diego get so long? I love to travel and accept flying as a part of that, but sitting, confined for hours on end is mind numbing. Even on Jet Blue - I gave up cable so JB is the only chance I get to watch TBS and HGTV. But it gets old, fast.

Once on the ground, all is forgotten. San Diego is really a lovely city. My visit has me mainly in the Del Mar area, but I prefer to stay in La Jolla at the Hyatt Regency. It is a comfortable hotel with a Starbucks that opens at 5:30 am! Perfect for me as I don't adjust well when I fly west. There's lots to do in the area, including the Westfield Mall at UTC, plenty of restaurants, and it's close to La Jolla cove which is gorgeous.

Dinner this trip was at Flemings steakhouse. I always enjoy it there. They have a nice selection of steaks, even some smaller cuts for light eaters like me. We had a family style side of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes. For dessert, creme brûlée. As always, enjoyable.

Now I'm sitting on a packed Southwest flight to Las Vegas. This is an easy, short flight. Two days vacation with family await!

Happy Father's Day

Celebrate with ice cream! Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream shop on High St. in Dedham has amazing homemade ice cream and makes the best and thickest frappes. They were always my dad's favorite. He used to bring me to the bowling alley in Hyde Park where they served there until the shop in Dedham opened.

What a treat! An incredibly thick and chocolatey frappe. In Massachusetts, a frappe is ice cream, milk and flavoring (such as Hershey's chocolate syrup). 

Night Train

Waiting for the Metro at Silver Spring. I love freight trains.

How do you get to the airport?

Travel can be stressful and sometimes a big part of that stress is just getting to the airport. My preference is to drive my own car and park at the airport. The flexibility and control it gives me is worth the cost - usually. At $27 per day, the main parking garages are only comparable to a cab if I'm traveling for less than 3 days. Longer than that and I have to start considering other factors.

Public transportation is usually ruled out as there is no convenient way to do it with luggage. If I have to drive to a T station anyway, I may as well just go all the way to the airport.

Enter the economy parking lot. I've always seen the signs for economy parking - I mean, I've been going to the airport regularly since high school, my dad paving the way for my "on the road" lifestyle - but those signs evoked images of unpaved lots, disinterested parking attendants, and a long haul back to the airport in some kind of barely legal shuttle bus. But not anymore. 

Some time in the last couple of years the airport facilities (buses, rental cars, and economy parking) underwent a makeover. I've never taken advantage of any of these so this transformation went largely unnoticed until recently when I read that they were moving wait/pick up spots around in the terminals and touting new, electronic signage. 

On my last short haul trip in March I decided to try out the economy lot. At $18 per day, it was certainly an attractive option. When I arrived at the airport, the signs were pretty clear. You drive towards arrivals and then turn off after Terminal E. It is a straight shot from there to a big, clean, and clearly marked parking garage. You leave your car and head towards to shuttle buses that bring you back to the terminals. The buses are big and seem new, with ample stowage for luggage, and they seem to run fairly frequently.  This bus serves all terminals and then the economy lot, no other stops, making it a pretty quick trip. I would estimate about 10 minutes (maybe longer during peak airport traffic hours) to Terminal E, the last terminal.

On the bus. 

Getting back to your car is quite easy, just reverse the trip. There are plenty of signs directing you to the correct stop and one at the stop informing when the next bus should arrive. I'm heading to DC this time and decided to park here again. I would recommend it over the off airport lots. Those are decent and you can get good online weekly rates, but my experiences with them are similar to those unpaved lots, disinterested parking attendants, and long hauls back to the airport in some kind of barely legal shuttle bus. 

Eagle Creek Specter Compression Cube Set

I would like to introduce you to what is quickly becoming my new travel favorite, Eagle Creek's Specter Compression Cube Set.

Part of their Pack-it System, this lightweight piece holds a lot and then zips up to compress the bag just enough to make a difference in your suitcase. It does not let out air and flatten up like the vacuum space bags, which is good as I am not very fond of those. They leave everything too wrinkled but I'll admit they do serve a purpose.

I found this 2 piece set at The Container Store. They are having a luggage sale and I was lured in to their packing demonstration where they showed mostly Eagle Creek products. I love luggage and packing and all of the gadgets that go with it so I was happy to participate. I was rewarded at the end with a $15 Container Store gift card which I happily used on this set, sale price $29.99.

Shown in the photo are all of the clothes I'm taking for my 2 day trip to DC tomorrow! It fits great in my carry on suitcase leaving plenty of room for toiletries, shoes, and laptop.

Oh the weather outside is...amazing

The past few days have been incredibly beautiful, weather-wise. It makes one want to be outside all the time.

This has been keeping me moving lately - 

Rodrigo y Gabriela. Fantastic album!

Trip planning is in full swing. 

Upcoming in June:

DC

San Diego

Las Vegas 

"Picture Perfect" Day

The weatherman called Sunday a "picture perfect" day. You know what? It was. They are not often right, at least where good weather is concerned. I was lucky enough to take advantage of the comfortable temperature, cloudless sky, and bright sun up in Rockport, MA.



First stop Heath's Tea Room on South Street to pick up one of their freshly baked scones. Heath's is about a mile or so outside the main downtown Rockport area and worth a visit. Not only do they serve an amazing afternoon tea, but they also offer up other homemade lunch items.



Next up, lunch at Nate's at Front Beach.  Nate's is tiny, around 10 tables, and is situated across from Front Beach so the views are amazing. They serve a nice breakfast and lunch- seafood, sandwiches and my favorite burgers. In the summer, they stay open for dinner. They also do take out.

The rest of the day was spent outside, enjoying the picture perfect day.