Episode 204: The November Roundup

Hello and welcome to episode 204 of Travel Stories from the Back Again And Gone podcast.

This is being recorded in the beautiful home office of Chateau Relaxo, FL. If you are a new listener, welcome; if you are a returning listener, welcome back. Tonight, it’s the November Roundup.

Tonight, I am drinking a Bound By Time IPA from Edmund’s Oast Brewery in Charleston, SC. At 7% ABV, Bound By Time is quickly becoming my favorite beer. Look for it at your local Publix; a four-pack will set you back around $15.00.

There have been no real trips of note in the last month. The CEO and I did make to Disney Springs, and as we tend to do, we had dinner at Splitsville as we negotiated our relationship. I enjoy Disney Springs in the late afternoon this time of year since the temperature is in the 80s, not the 90s.

Let’s start with holiday travel since it is that time of year. Here are a few holiday travel blunders to avoid.

Packing more than you need. After 24 years of business travel, I have perfected this. I don’t pack clothes that I haven’t worn in 3 years, and I don’t need to pack ten pairs of underwear for a 5-day trip. The CEO is a “Team Over-pack” member, which means she will check her bag. Regarding checking bags, here are a few things to consider. Does your credit card offer free checked bags?

Another thing to consider is being mindful of your bag's weight, especially during the holidays. You could return home with gifts in your luggage. You might incur extra fees if you check multiple bags or a bag of more than 50 pounds.

If you plan to travel by plane, look for a reservation you can change or cancel. Most airlines will give you credit for your ticket if you cancel, but if you only travel once or twice a year, you might prefer the cashback in your account. If you are booking travel with a credit card, look to see if they provide free travel insurance. Airlines typically won't cover a flight if it is canceled due to weather.

If you can be flexible with your travel plans and leave a day later or return a day later, this might provide some options, some of which might be cheaper. This is a no-brainer: avoid flying on the busiest days. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving will be a dumpster fire, but flying on Thanksgiving day might be a better choice since most travelers are already at their destination. The CEO and I used to do this flying into Atlanta on Christmas day, and typically, it was an easy travel day.

The last thing to consider is whether using points or paying for the plane fare with dollars is cheaper. I am not the best at this because my points vs. dollars strategy is as follows: I consider how many airline points I have vs. what I can afford to pay when my credit card bill comes due. For you financial nerds, there is a calculator that can help you out.

I rarely touch on religion, but when a post contains a church leader, thank you, Florida, and a mid-flight fight, I do have a duty. Former ayahuasca church leader Everett Chad Nelson, one of the three named people, recently got in a mid-flight fight. If you’re not familiar with the ayahuasca religion, I wasn’t. After a quick Google search, there seems to be only one ayahuasca church, and it’s in Florida, about 34 miles from Chateau’ Relaxo. If you’ve never heard of ayahuasca or listened to Joe Rogan, here’s the 50,000-foot view. Ayahuasca is a plant-based psychedelic. Which can alter a person's thinking, sense of time, and emotions. They can cause a person to hallucinate—seeing or hearing things that do not exist or are distorted. Sounds like fun.

Back to Everett, Chad Nelson was on a flight from California to Washington, D.C. About two hours into the five-hour flight Everett Chad Nelson, 44, left his seat in the rear of the aircraft and headed to one of the lavatories up front. When Everett Chad Nelson exited the bathroom, he stopped at seat 12F and “without notice, began physically attacking a sleeping male passenger by punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn. The man began screaming, after which a Good Samaritan intervened and managed to pull Everett Chad Nelson off of him.

Aside from giving the unidentified passenger two black eyes, Nelson opened up a gash on the man’s nose, spattering blood on his seat, the wall, the window, and the sleeves of Everett Chad Nelson’s green windbreaker. There was no motive, and the pummeling came completely out of nowhere.

I’ve shared my opinion on the devil's lettuce, which isn’t favorable. That being said, I’m doubling down on any psychedelic by saying it's not for me.

View From The Wing posted this last month: People Are Showing Up At Hotels For Free Breakfast And Leaving—And They Aren’t Even Hotel Guests. Most commercial hotels offer some sort of free breakfast. You’ll find it at Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, and Holiday Inn Express, which serves these amazing cinnamon rolls.

I rarely see a hotel check that you’re a guest before giving you access. This is a case of looking like you belong there: You can park in the lot, walk in, and eat.

 The only hotel I recall recently verifying that I was staying at is the full-service Hilton at Disney Springs. Now, their Covington Mill’s breakfast buffet is one of the best you’ll find, with a price tag of $30.00 per person.

Years ago, most Hilton properties gave you a daily copy of USA Today. A sales rep once asked me to bring him my daily copy and spare room key. Since this was a dude, I had no interest in handing him my extra room key. I would’ve felt the same way if it had been a female, so I asked him why. His angle was with a USA Today tucked under his arm and room key he could get himself a free breakfast. Internally I said to myself, what a dumbass as my mouth put forth, hell no.

I have probably spent more than 1700 nights in hotels, so I’ve had more than 1700 opportunities to dine on a hotel's breakfast offerings. There are only a few properties that stand out in my mind: Crown Plaza, Greenville, SC; the full-service Marriott in Mobile, AL; the Hampton Inn Duluth, GA; and the Hilton at Disney Springs. That’s it—four properties. There may be a fifth or sixth, but I am getting older and don’t recall. Most hotel breakfasts offer what I call square eggs, limp bacon, and oatmeal that could be used for wallpaper paste. One saving grace is bagels, yogurt, and anything in a container, such as jelly, honey, or peanut butter. The other saving grace is the juice machine. If I ever hit the lottery, I will buy a juice machine for Chateau’ Relaxo. The aerated apple juice is a perfect way to start your day.  

This one comes from the Delta subreddit.

Carlydoingthings posted, I was punched in the face by another passenger - Delta is saying there’s nothing they can do

Carlydoingthings was flying from Detroit to Los Angeles, and about an hour into the flight, another passenger punched her in the eye. At first, she didn’t realize what was happening as she watched a movie with noise-canceling headphones. A flight attendant saw it happen and asked the guy, “Did you just punch her?” Apparently, this guy had been vaping, touching other passengers inappropriately, was extremely inebriated, and overall caused a significant disturbance all over the plane. He was being escorted to the back of the plane to be detained when this happened. Another passenger had to sit in the last row with him so he didn’t harm anyone else.

Carlydoingthings did report it and did give a statement to the police when they landed.

To make things worse, when she deplaned, the Delta agent I spoke to wasn’t even sympathetic. They told me they knew this guy had caused trouble before the flight and that he probably should never have been allowed to board in the first place. Yet, somehow, Delta still let him on the plane.

When Carlydoingthings contacted Delta about the incident, they offered her 4,000 SkyMiles (about $40) as a “goodwill gesture.” That’s it—no flight reimbursement or further compensation, even though she always flies Delta for work. For reference, Delta routinely awards travelers 5000 SkyMiles for lost luggage.

Now, Delta says it doesn’t get involved in passenger conflicts, but here’s the thing: this guy shouldn’t have been allowed on the flight at all. If they had acted sooner, Carlydoingthings wouldn’t have been assaulted.

Right off the bat, 4000 SkyMiles are ridiculous. You can open a Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card and get a 70,000 Bonus SkyMiles after you use your new card to make $2,000 in purchases within the first 6 months. And the tip-in is that you don’t have to get punched in the face.

All things being equal, if a bar is liable for overserving someone who goes out and gets in a wreck, Delta should be liable for someone who was quote-unquote causing trouble before he boarded the plane. If Carlydoingthings wanted to get assaulted, she could have flown Spirit.”

From the, you have to be kidding department; I give you JetBlue passenger sues after being served a ‘dangerously cold’ ice cream sandwich via The Independent. Karla Quinonez, who broke an incisor on her way to Paris, claims the ice cream sandwich was “at a temperature below what is reasonable or safe for consumption”. 

This sounds eerily like the infamous 1994 hot coffee lawsuit against McDonald's, where Stella Liebeck was awarded $160,000 after she purchased hot coffee from a McDonald's restaurant, then accidentally spilled it in her lap, and suffered third-degree burns in her pelvic region. 

“The ice cream sandwich that JetBlue served to Quinonez was frozen solid and caused Quinonez to sustain severe bodily injuries, including a root fracture of tooth number 10,”. Quinonez argues, that no one said anything about how hard the ice cream sandwich was, and she immediately cracked her upper left lateral incisor when she bit down; the complaint continues. According to the complaint, this necessitated an emergency tooth extraction immediately upon landing, a subsequent implant, and continuing care upon returning to the United States, which blames Quinonez’s “pain, suffering, and mental anguish” solely on JetBlue’s “negligent acts.”

It’s that time of the year when Florida fall is here, which means the day's high temperature is 84, and the afternoon rain showers have gone away. It’s also time for the annual Epcot International Food & Wine Festival. If you’re unfamiliar with this yearly spectacle, this allows everyone to embark on a culinary adventure across six continents—from August 29 to November 23, 2024, for a price. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you’ll know I’m more of a Disney Springs fan than any of the Disney parks. However, I find Epcot to be my Disney-happy place. 

There’s a detailed post on the Substack, but here’s a rundown of some of the food and beverages we sampled, mixed with a game called Hide-N-Squek.

We sampled Schinkennudeln, a Pasta gratin with ham, onions, and cheese, for $5.25 in Germany. I found a recipe and will be making this at home. 

When we reached Canada, it was time for Braised Beef Poutine: French fries with braised beef, Boursin Garlic & Herbs cheese sauce, some cheese curds, and gherkin relish out the door for $10.00. 

In Mexico, it was an order of Flauta de Barbacoa, which is fried tortillas filled with barbacoa beef topped with salsa verde, crema Mexicana, and queso fresco—$8.00.

The last memorable meal is a Food & Wine Classic: the Teriyaki Chicken Bun, a Steamed bun filled with minced chicken, vegetables, and teriyaki sauce from Japan—$7.95.

For beer, I limited myself to one flight, which included these three. Dunkel Lager by von Trapp Brewing, Weihenstephaner Festbier by Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan and  Lemon Zest Hefeweizen by Radeberger Gruppe. I do not like fruit beers, but the Lemon Zest wasn’t that bad.

One drink that surprised me was the Expresso Martini from Joffery’s coffee kiosk. Ever since the Entrepreneurs' wedding, I have grown to enjoy an Expresso Martini. 

In Spain, we enjoyed red sangria.

The most unique drink from Italy was a blood orange margarita. It is a simple drink consisting of tequila, triple sec, and blood orange liqueur.

One last thing to do at the food and wine festival is Remy’s hide & squeak scavenger hunt. This Ratatouille-inspired scavenger hunt takes place around the World Showcase. To participate, all you have to do is drop $10.00 for a map, and then as you wander around the World Showcase, you look for statues of Remy holding the ingredients for his favorite dish: ratatouille. Once you spot Remi, you apply the matching sticker to your map. Even if you are not good at hide & seek, you don’t need to find all or even a single Remi just turn your map in at Disney Traders for your prize, I think we got a refrigerator magnet.

Well, there you have it, Episode 204, the November roundup

For long-time listeners, thank you for your comments and emails. For new listeners, I hope you return.

If you want detailed show notes, links, and pictures, head over to substack at travelstories.substack.com/

You can also leave me a message on Anchor or shoot me an email at TravelFrick@gmail.com.

As I always say, travel safe, stay safe, and thanks for listening.