travel

3 days in Seattle

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Seattle is one of my top five destinations.  The drizzly climate suits me, there’s an abundance of arts, music and food, and it’s just so damn cool.  The people here are hip, tech savvy and seemingly pave the way for the rest of us without caring if we know it or not.  It’s also so close to the effortlessly amazing Vancouver.  I love the Pacific Northwest.

That being said, it’s hard to do a city guide for a few days because there’s just so much to see.  I could probably do a half dozen guides representing each trip I’ve taken here in the past 5 years, and maybe one day I will.  I’m a true believer that you should do the touristy things on your first trip to get them out of the way so that you can start exploring the local vibes of a city, but in Seattle some of their tourist spots are the best and I like to visit them every time I’m in town.

SO much to do, you’ll probably be left sleepless in Seattle…

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know before you go: Stockholm (ARN)

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Stockholm is a huge Scandinavian hub for SAS and Norwegian, so it’s no surprise that it’s a pretty big airport.  I spent the good part of a 3 hour layover here looking for Swedish meatballs, finally finding one place that had them.  They need more Swedish meatballs.

Arlanda is the main airport in Stockholm, and is about 23 miles (37 km) north of city center.  Terminals 2 and 5 serve international flights, while 3 and 4 are domestic.  There are around ~72 gates (?) and this may be the only airport where they advertise wedding ceremonies to be held in the VIP lounges.  Would not be my first choice for a wedding venue (taking the plunge is not something I’d want to hear in an airport), but to each his/her own?

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There is a large shopping/restaurant facility called Sky City in between the terminals, and I’m sure there’s a way to get to it without having to re-enter security from Terminal 2 to 5, but I could not find it.  However, security is very fast so it wasn’t a huge deal.  The design is very aesthetically Swedish, simple, clean lines with lots of windows and modern light fixtures.  There are also Volvos on display throughout the concourses, can’t get more Swedish than that.  It was a great place to have a layover, lots to see and do, but installing a people mover would be helpful.

Remember: ✈️ =  S.O.S. to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = you can jive, having the time of your life (Dancing Queen)

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (far from city center, there are trains/buses that go directly to the airport, if you have a very long layover, probably doable)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (there has got to be a way to get to Sky City without exiting, so I’m taking a plane off for lack of directions to it)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️  (it was very fast, even though the line was long)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Scandinavian, Asian, Italian, pubs, McDonald’s, juice bars, Starbucks.  Taste of Scandinavia has Swedish Meatballs and it only took me walking around like five times to realize it was the only place that had it)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️  (clean, each stall has its own sink, but very long lines)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, fair amount of charging at the gates)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (decent shopping-longchamp, marc jacobs, victoria’s secret; two hotels, airline lounges, pharmacy, medical clinic, hair salon, dry cleaning, DHL.  And like I said you can get married here, so basically it’s its own city)

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finally

3 days in St. Louis

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St. Louis has one of the most recognizable features of any location in the world, the St. Louis arch.  There’s so much more to see here though, with charming neighborhoods and stunning architecture, cultural character and museums and one of the biggest parks in the US.  The best thing is, a lot of attractions are free here.  Which cannot be said about most places.  Most importantly, it is home to the best frozen custard in the US, nay, the world, Ted Drewes.  I love Ted Drewes. I dream of Ted Drewes.  Marry me, Ted Drewes.

One taste of the Big Apple concrete will have you saying, meet me in St. Louis.

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2 days in Kruger National Park

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Going on safari in South Africa was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Seeing these magnificent animals up close was thrilling and surreal and I still can’t believe I’ve had this opportunity.  It’s fun to look at pictures, but the reason I work hard is to get out and see this beautiful world we inhabit amongst so many other beautiful creatures.  It’s easy to get caught up in ourselves and in our everyday routines, but traveling opens your mind and reminds you that there’s a bigger picture out there.

South Africa is an incredibly beautiful country, with distinct terrains and landscapes, and to best experience it, make sure you see everything from Cape Town to Johannesburg (you’ve come this far).  And you certainly can’t miss Kruger National Park, home of the Big 5 animals: lion, water buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros and elephant. Formerly used as a term to denote the most dangerous animals to hunt, it is now thankfully used to delineate the most exciting animals to shoot with cameras only.

I bless the rains down in Africa…

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know before you go: Oakland (OAK)

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This is not my favorite airport.  I actually don’t care for either SFO or OAK, but at least SFO has a decent international terminal.  Oakland is an older airport that has limited amenities and dining options.  If you are stuck here as I was on a delay, it can be painful.

The airport itself is located about 10 miles from Downtown, and is very close to San Leandro.  There’s two terminals, T1 and T2, with 17 and 12 gates respectively.  T1 serves Alaska, Allegiant, American, British Airways, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Norwegian, Southwest, Spirit and Volaris.  T2 is exclusively Southwest.  The terminals are connected by a walkway and it’s a small airport, so it’s not too much of a hike from one end to another.

The thing it has going for it is that the BART station is very convenient to get to Oakland or SF.  I used to fly into Oakland to get to SF to avoid SFO.  And if there’s delays for SFO, usually you can hop on a flight to Oakland that may get you to the Bay earlier.  Of the NorCal airports, San Jose and Sacramento are better, but for convenience sake, Oakland just edges SFO out in my experience.

Remember: ✈️ = basket case to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = time of your life

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (BART and amtrak stations; freeway access can be real crowded at rush hour)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (not too big of an airport)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (the check in area is small and the security lines can be long and slow)

Dining: ✈️✈️ (T1 there’s a chili’s to go and the Silver Dragon chinese isn’t bad.  They also have blue bottle coffee cartons, which is a plus for the bay area.  T2 has more options in typically airport fare: vino volo, gordon biersch, CPK and Fenton’s ice cream)

Bathrooms: ✈️  (I would literally give it negative planes if I could–the toilets are old and missing porcelain–every toilet is like this)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi available, could have more charging areas)

Amenities: ✈️ (very few shops including Raiders store and an Escape Lounge)

 

 

know before you go: Chicago (MDW)

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I don’t know how many times I’ve been in this airport, I’ve lost count.  Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world and it was hop, skip, jump away from Kansas City, so there’s a lot of flying through MDW.  Some of us on this blog are from Chicago or have family/significant others there, so we’ve all seen it dozens of times.

MDW is the little (although older) brother to O’Hare and from a convenience standpoint, it is much preferred.  A, it’s quick (although security can be a nightmare).  B, it has direct access to the Orange Line which I take for ~ 8 miles to the Loop downtown.  C. it’s not O’Hare.  I’ll save it for a blog post one day, but O’Hare has given me PTSD more than once.

It’s a manageable airport, 43 gates split amongst three concourses A, B, and C.  Southwest airlines controls 34 of these gates out of A and B concourses.  Delta, Volaris and something called Porter airlines operates out of A.  C is for charter planes.

There’s a decent food court, with greek, pizza, a Potbelly.  There’s also a McDonalds and Let Them Eat Cake, which sticks in my mind every time I walk by.  You will smell honey roasted awesomeness from Nuts on Clark.

Remember: ✈️ = Bears at their worst to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = Cubs winning the WS in 2016

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (take the Orange line directly to the airport)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it’s not very big, there’s moving escalators)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (sometimes it can take a very long time to get through this line, it’s very busy)

Dining: ✈️✈️ .5 (not bad for its size, but minus a point for closing SuperDawg)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi NOT available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️ (airport shops are typical, there’s a yoga room, no lounges)

24 hours in Hoi An, Vietnam

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Hoi An was easily my favorite stop in Vietnam.  It was a colonial trading post, and has a completely distinct feel from any other city in Vietnam.  One, the Old Town architecture preserves the history of this port city and adds to its charm.  Two, foreign influences laid the foundation of international sophistication since Hoi An was a stronghold for the Cham people in the spice trade centuries ago.

I only spent a very short day here while traveling through Vietnam, but that was more than enough time to enchant me and make me want to plan my trip back to this coastal town.

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know before you go: Salt Lake City (SLC)

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Salt Lake City International (SLC) is a large hub for Delta from the west coast, and it’s an airport that actually carries flights from all the top American airlines, so it’s quite busy for being not that big. I’ve always felt the hours are odd for their restaurants and shops, and they are sparse in each concourse.  I had Pinkberry for dinner there last month, which is not that bad if you consider the options.  And they do have local chain, Cafe Rio, in the Terminal 2 food court, and their food is bomb.  The airport is undertaking new construction to be complete in 2020, so cross your fingers that they’ll expand on eating and shopping availability.

Beyond those gripes, the airport has a gorgeous backdrop of snowy capped mountains, and you get an aerial view of the Great Salt Lake coming and going.  You’ll drive pass this body of water driving to and from the airport also, as it is located a ways away from downtown.

There’s two terminals and an international terminal (don’t know why they don’t number it) for about 70 total gates.  Terminal 1 has concourse A and B.  Terminal 2 has concourse C and the international has concourse D and E.  Delta, KLM and Skywest are all Terminal 2.  Everything else domestic (Alaska, American, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, United) is Terminal 1, and you can walk pretty easily from terminal to terminal (it’s a long walk).

Remember: ✈️ = needs more salt ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = don’t stay salty

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (it’s a long walk)

Convenience of security lines: very fast for TSA pre-check ✈️✈️✈️✈️

Dining: ✈️✈️ (Even though there seems like there’s a lot of fast food choices: McDonald’s, Cafe Rio, Jamba, Starbucks, Pei Wei, Smashburger, they’re split up amongst the terminals/5 concourses, so each one doesn’t have much i.e. hope you like Seattle’s Best because there’s no Starbucks in Terminal 1 and vice versa for Terminal 2)

Bathrooms:✈️✈️ (needs a facelift, but are clean)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️ (Delta lounge is the only one available, some Xpress Spas, banal airport stores)

 

 

24 hours in Little Rock

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Little Rock was a pleasant surprise to me.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but there were cute neighborhoods, a vast waterfront area with shops and food halls, and of course, the William J. Clinton Presidential Library (which I obviously knew about).

The capital city of Arkansas, it is a medical, cultural and financial hub of the state and of the south, due to its presence next to the Arkansas river.  I passed through briefly on a road trip and I thoroughly enjoyed my stay there.  So much so that I want to go back…and go diamond hunting.  Gonna find me lots of “little rocks,” hopefully.

Little Rock wit u…

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know before you go: Reagan (DCA)

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DC metro area has a plethora of options transportation wise, being our nation’s capitol, with three major airport allowing for travel to this area.  Dulles, Baltimore and Reagan all feed our nation’s capital.  Reagan National is probably the least chaotic and most convenient. Located in Arlington, VA, it’s a quick Metro ride away from the city center.

As a hub for American Airlines, there are very limited international flights allowed to land here (must be from countries that have pre-clearance US Customs facilities), instead those flights go to Dulles or Baltimore.

Terminal A has 9 gates and operates flights from Air Canada, Frontier, Southwest and Sun Country.  Where it gets a little tricky is that B and C are split into three concourses. Terminal B serves Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue and United with gates 10-22, Terminal B/C gates 23-34 and Terminal C gates 35-45.  Terminal C is used by American and Virgin.

Remember: ✈️ = popcorn jelly belly to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = pear jelly belly

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (quick train ride from the city, traffic in DC can be bad so plan accordingly)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it can be a long haul from the train station to Terminal A, like so long I thought I had crossed into another state)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (security is long here, but for good reason)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Starbucks, of course, Chick Fil-A, Legal Seafood, Pinkberry)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️  (not the newest or cleanest)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, designated charging areas)

Amenities: ✈️✈️ (lounges available, it is DC after all; Smithsonian and Spanx stores–just in case you forgot your shapewear?)