Recorded in the beautiful home office, Chateau/ Relaxo, FL.
If you’re a first-time listener, welcome. If you're a returning listener welcome back.
Tonight I am partaking in a Regatta Double IPA from Biscayne Bay Brewing Company coming in at a very hefty 8.5% ABV
Two trips since our last episode one was a three-day road trip to the ATL, and the other was a 5-day visit to the Northeast.
First the Atlanta road trip.
For the past year or two, I had been visiting Atlanta by taking 75 north to Macon, and then winding my up through Athens Georgia, and then back down to the Duluth GA area.
For this trip, I decided to change it up by heading up 75 north and then taking 475 around Macon back on 75 to 675 to 285 to avoid the downtown Atlanta gridlock finally ending up on 85 north toward Duluth. I’m here to tell you no matter how much road construction Atlanta performs it will never solve Atlanta’s traffic issues. And one of those issues is that most cars in Atlanta have a single passenger.
The first two nights were spent in Duluth Georgia and the third night was in Valdosta Georgia
The fitness center at Hilton Garden Inn located in Valdosta did have a Peleton and it was in perfect working order. Surprising as most hotel fitness equipment is normally trashed in under 12 months. Possibly this was the second or third cycle.
This past week it was to fly into Philly on Monday and drive to Baltimore and make that base camp for Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a day in Pennsauken NJ before flying out of Philly on Friday morning.
First, the hotel roundup, two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn White Marsh, one night at the Hilton Double Tree Pennsauken, NJ and the last night it was another Hilton Double Tree Philadelphia Airport.
The HGI White Marsh also had a Peleton, but this one had a sign stating that it was out of order due to a manufacturer part recall. A solid HGI including my Tuesday night dinner of wings. As surprising as it sounds the wings at Hilton Garden Inns are far better than anything BDubs serves. A friend of the show Robbie Morris hit me up to those featherless taste sensations several years ago and they are consistently delicious.
The Double Tree in Pennsauken was long in the tooth, friendly staff but was in dire need of an overhaul. Especially the greenhouse pool enclosure which was missing screen panels and looked like it might be an actual greenhouse from the plant growth.
Finishing up with the Hilton Double Tree Philadelphia Airport. I had a Friday morning 6:15 AM flight home, so here’s a tip for all you baby road warriors. Book your last night hotel at a hotel that offers an airport shuttle, then drop your rental car off the night before your flight take the rental shuttle to the airport and then take the hotel shuttle to the hotel. Yes, it takes a bit more time but I promise you it’s less of a hassle than dropping off the rental at 4:00 AM.
The Hilton Double Tree Philadelphia Airport was in much better shape but the highlight was Players Sports Bar located in the lobby. My dinner was the cheesesteak, minus the word Philly since we were in Philly. Deliciously prepared steak mixed with sauteed onions covered with a blanket of cheese.
Players also offered a solid local beer selection. I zeroed in on the Brotherly Love Hazy IPA from Victory Brewing, and that’s where I stayed for the duration of the meal.
Othe beers on the trip.
Dead Cat IPA from Basement Brewing
Fiddlehead IPA from Fiddlehead Brewing
Monotone Citra from Tonewood Brewing
Aboriginal Gangster from Burley Oak Brewing Company
And finishing up with a Straight Outta Baltimore from Oliver Brewing Co.
Beer isn’t cheap in Maryland as we were paying $18.00 for 16 oz 4-packs. So beer prices in addition to the housing prices it’s doubtful that I could afford to live here.
The hotel roundup is as follows. Eight nights and five different hotels.
If you needed room service you had to let the front desk know the night before.
None of the hotels offered much of COVID reminders except for the hand sanitizer stations. Most of which were empty and crusty around the nozzle.
The only new addition was that all the hotels had QR codes that you could scan for the TV channels, hotel directory, and local food delivery.
When it came to bathroom toiletries each bathroom had a single bar of soap next to the sink but all the shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner were housed in pump bottles mounted to the shower wall. This I am not a fan of, is it enough to make me pack my own shampoo and gel? Probably not.
It’s been several months since I’ve flown and not much had changed. Of course, when flying Southwest the direct routes are limited so the flight up to Philly, as well as the return flight, required connections.
The flight up connected in Nashville, Tennessee, and the return flight stopped in Chicago, Illinois, and then Columbus Ohio.
The Nashville airport is ever-evolving, there’s always live music but it seems that more and more of the stores are selling Nashville beer and Nashville liquor.
Last week's five flights offered a couple of surprises.
Airplane occupancy was surprisingly light as my flight to Nashville was 75% full and my flight from Philly to Columbus was only 50% full. Of course, the flight back into O-Town was packed, with lots of kids and lots of families wearing matching Disney shirts.
The snack on Southwest is no longer mini-pretzels, the current Southwest snack is Remys Graham crackers. Absolutely wonderful. I probably haven’t eaten many graham crackers since the kids were little, but these are a total game-changer.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that taking early morning flights is still a giant cup of suck. Yes, the first flight out does reduce the chances of your flight being delayed, but they wreak havoc on my sleep patterns. My flight to Philly departed at 6:55 am which required leaving Chateau Relaxo by 4:30 AM, which meant I started waking up right around 3:00 AM.
My return flight departed at 6:15 AM which required boarding the hotel shuffle by 4:00 AM, which meant I started waking up right around 2:30 AM. In 23 years of travel, I’ve never missed a flight, but I just don’t sleep well before an early morning flight.
The other thing that an early morning flight does is by the time you get to your destination, it’s typical early afternoon, so there’s still plenty of time to work.
Each day I try to find at least one thing to be grateful for. On Monday and Friday, the one thing that I was grateful for was having a TSA pre-check. At both airports the non-TSA pre-check lines were horrendous.
This is a scaled-down crazy travel roundup, but this month we have
10 drinks isn’t an excuse to be Creepy McCreeperton
How clean is clean?
Are you an entitled traveler?
What fourteen words will get you banned from an airport?
Opening with this from Boing Boing “10 drinks under his belt, a 69-year-old man charged with groping teen next to him on Delta flight”
Dateline North Carolina, here’s the Cliff Notes
Shortly after the plane took off, the 15-year-old picked up Jack Allen Roberson's headphones after he dropped them.
In response, he said "Thank you, I don't know what I would do without you," Seems like a kind elderly gentleman.
Sometime afterward, the teenager felt him touch her thigh, which she thought was accidental because he appeared to be asleep. Seriously the old playing possum trick.
Then, he "slowly moved his hands up her thigh, and under her skirt," Enter this month Creepy McCreeperton.
The teenager then alerted her aunt, who switched seats with her before notifying the flight crew about Roberson touching her niece — resulting in him getting a new seat.
In an interview with federal investigators, after the flight landed, Jack Allen said he had eight alcoholic beverages prior to boarding the flight to Seattle and drank two double vodka tonics on the flight, according to a complaint filed in federal court. I’m saying that's 12 drinks, maybe 10 physical glasses but definitely 12 drinks.
In case you didn’t know, abusive sexual contact on an aircraft can result in up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Remember, that alcohol or other drug use doesn’t excuse felony sexual abuse.
Repeating my June PSA….. Dudes, all of the dudes,… no matter what you’ve watched on PornHub or read on Reddit, women, don’t like this, they don’t welcome this or want this, and everything that you’ve watched and read is total BS if a woman wanted you to act like that that they would ask.
And doing something like this to a 15-year-old Mr. Jack Ass Allen, you’re deplorable.
For this next story let’s head to the Ticky Tok and focus on Rochelle N. Stewart’s account. In addition to listing JESUS, Mom, Wife, Cook, Clean, Organize & Self Care in her profile Rochelle has 1.1 million followers. Rochelle recently shared the intense 20-minute cleaning routine she does in every hotel that includes checking for bed bugs with a blue light. She wipes down everything from the shower to the light switch.
During the Ticky Tok, Rochelle said: 'This clean life isn't for everyone, but this is what I do when I check into a hotel,' as she wiped down the phone with a Clorox wipe. Next, she used soap and a Scrub Daddy to clean the sink. Then she a Clorox wipe on a sponge and wiped the toilet, the floor, and the shower. Finishing up with cleaning the shower floor, she said: 'Even if I wear flip-flops, I got to at least clean the shower floor, call me crazy if you want.'
OK, Rochelle as of July 31st I have spent 23 years being a road warrior, and I work with at least 30 other road warriors and I have yet to find out that any of them have ever gotten sick from a hotel room. Make no mistake about it I appreciate your cleanliness, you list it in your profile even if it is strictly for views.
Over the years I have seen baby road warriors bring a black or blue light when they travel, and when they disclose this I always ask, “What are you going to do if you find something with that light?” Every time they reply with, “Ask for a new room” to which I reply, “Do you think they have a different housekeeper for each room?”
Short of licking the toilet seat in a hotel room chances are you will not get sick.
Thank you View From The Wing. Here’s a point to ponder. What is your definition of entitled? With travel, it could be always expecting the upgrade no matter what number you are on the list or expecting the hotel staff to clean up after you in the breakfast area.
But here’s an example of an entitled traveler that never came to mind - Business Class Passenger Loses It When United Runs Out Of First Choice Meal. After reading the multitude of stories posted about this “Loses it” isn’t the best descriptor.
This guy pitched such a fit that United Airlines flight 20 from Houston to Amsterdam dumped fuel, and then diverted to Chicago. After removing the passenger and refueling at O’Hare, the flight just landed, about three and a half hours late.
There’s a video, there’s always a video, I’ll post a link. And of course, as the story unfolds it appears that there was some pregaming before the flight which might have attributed to the outburst.
I’m not sure about the cost of a fuel dump, and I’m guessing it’s not the greatest for the environment, but this was all over this passenger not getting the first choice of their meal. It’s not that they didn’t get to eat, it’s that they didn’t get what they wanted. Plus it’s a meal on an airline and the airline is United. I’ve flown United a few times over the years and I don’t recall any 4-star dining experiences.
As with most of these stories, the comments hold the real comedy gold.
DanK: They should start putting a small padded jail cell next to the toilet to hold these people so they don’t have to divert.
Sva Says: A uniquely American problem…..along with guns, and low IQ….and failed geography tests…and standard of living….and lower life expectancy….
Andy says: If he were so passionate about onboard dining, why did he choose United?
Finishing up with the fourteen words that will get you banned from an airport.
Those words are, "I'm going to blow this [expletive] up. I'm going to take you all out,"
And why would someone choose to utter those words? Well, it turns out that 30-year-old Vincent Cirino showed up at the gate, and was told the flight was closed already, and that he would not be allowed to board because Vincent was late.
Deputies apprehended Cirino following the incident. As one would expect, the situation further escalated when officers attempted to inform Cirino of his Miranda rights, as the 30-year-old refused to cooperate and became even more agitated, using explicit language and raising his voice toward officers.
In the court proceedings, the judge acknowledged concerns about the specific charges Cirino was facing but found probable cause to proceed with the case.
The judge ordered Cirino to post a $10,000 bond and forbade him from entering any airport property.
And where did this all take place? Glad you asked. This took [place at the Thank You Florida, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
And what’s the Florida motto? “Florida, come on vacation. Leave on probation.”
There you have it episode 191, Traveling like I used mixed with some July Crazy Travel Roundup is in the books.
If you want detailed show notes, links, and pictures head over to podpage.com/travel-stories/
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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.
Traveling Like I Used To Mixed With Some July Crazy Travel Roundup - Travel Stories, Episode 191