Fifth Avenue Forum

Landed in Dublin. Didn't sleep a wink on the flight. Let's gooooooooo

NC 12 was closed because of the offshore storm:





When my dad left Pitt in 1990, we looked at a restaurant/miniature golf course near Rodanthe as a family business opportunity. They passed on it, despite our love for that part of the Outer Banks. At some point a year or two later, a barge knocked out part of the bridge over Oregon Inlet. Which effectively shut down tourism for a good part of the next year. I think about that a lot, how difficult it was with the business they did end up buying (and still own 32 years later).

Visited Cliffs of Moher yesterday...Definitely worth the trip. Got about four feet from the edge which was plenty close.

Heading to Tralee and Dingle today. I woke up at 5 AM local, for some stupid reason decided to check the Pens situation on my phone, and now I'm angry and can't sleep.

I woke up at 5 AM local, for some stupid reason decided to check the Pens situation on my phone, and now I'm angry and can't sleep.

Developing this love/hate relationship with CLT which I have traversed 10 times in the past two months.

The rental car location is the best outside of PIT. No bus, no train, just walk across the street and get your vehicle

One of the best spotting locations anywhere, especially for operations to the south. Right at the north end of 18/36C.

Short security lines except very early. Left hotel 15 min away at 8:30 for a 10:30 flight today and was at gate 40 minutes before boarding started.

Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar.

It’s close to downtown and anything west of the city. 30 min from the gate to the office. Unlike IAH which is next week’s destination.

It’s outgrown what was intended. Too many 321 sized aircraft and not big enough lounges for that many passengers. Have to walk through gate lice all over the place. It is crowded absolutely everywhere

Those E gates….. flew out of E-44 the other day. 3/4 mile walk from rental drop off. Yes my fat ass is capable of walking that far, but dragging a suitcase and carrying a backpack it’s a little much.

So... Ireland is incredible. We've spent the last five days traveling around the western part of the country, and heading to Dublin for the final two days tomorrow before heading home.

We've stayed at three separate Airbnbs with three fantastic hosts. Just driving around the country is one vista after another. The left hand driving thing isn't so bad once you get used to it, which happens surprisingly quickly when your first experience is on the M50 during rush hour

Driving down a back road in the middle of nowhere we stumbled upon this 1200 year old abbey. We were the only souls around except for an old farmer next door that hopped down from his tractor to show us around the place.

Only downside is that you still have to get a negative COVID test before flying back (despite just about every other country dropping this stupid requirement months ago), otherwise you are stranded over here for a while in a quarantine room. That would suck on a multitude of levels.

So... Ireland is incredible. We've spent the last five days traveling around the western part of the country, and heading to Dublin for the final two days tomorrow before heading home.

We've stayed at three separate Airbnbs with three fantastic hosts. Just driving around the country is one vista after another. The left hand driving thing isn't so bad once you get used to it, which happens surprisingly quickly when your first experience is on the M50 during rush hour

Driving down a back road in the middle of nowhere we stumbled upon this 1200 year old abbey. We were the only souls around except for an old farmer next door that hopped down from his tractor to show us around the place.

Only downside is that you still have to get a negative COVID test before flying back (despite just about every other country dropping this stupid requirement months ago), otherwise you are stranded over here for a while in a quarantine room. That would suck on a multitude of levels.

Hope you just didn't shadjinx yourself lol.

It's ok. He'll be Dublin his luck.

Since school was out today for the elections, we planned a trip to the Bronx Zoo. Absolutely perfect weather for it, and we spent the most time that we ever had at a zoo there today. It’s still the gold standard for me, and I will always recommend it to anyone in the area or visiting.

That said, holy **** hell was the GWB a disaster. It took us an hour to cross it thanks to… I’m not even sure what. It was just brutal both ways, somehow.

What time of day were you on the GWB? Not that it’s ever great.

I typically only cross the GWB at off times....it's the fastest way to get home from the inlaws in Poughkeepsie Sunday morning normally. Going to the Bronx your options are certainly limited.

What time of day were you on the GWB? Not that it’s ever great.

Unfortunately, during rush hour both times (9:45ish, then close to 4pm). However, we've always arrived around the same time, but this was 1000x worse.

That said, we stopped at Candela Brother's for dinner (wife's family friends' place), and dinner was outstanding. I wish they were closer to home.

On United this morning- I tend to get American Sucks myopia but in case anyone was wondering, United sucks.

I have this uncomfortable thin seat that feels like it’s made of cardboard, no charging outlet and at 5’8” my knees almost touch the seat in front of me. Mainline A319.

I have my first flight on United in over a decade next month.

Looking at booking my flights for next February, and it looks like they're all going to be on United, as those flights are simply better and cheaper than AA (from an AA hub, no less). My wife has a Barclay Aviator for the AA perks, but with a $99 AF, it's not going to be worth it if we continue down this path with United.

One thing I just noticed with United is that you actually have to purchase the tickets on United's site if you want the free checked baggage perk from their Explorer card, which sucks. With AA, the person making the reservation just has to have one of their cards linked to their rewards account for it to apply, regardless of where you purchase the ticket (the Chase UR travel portal, in my case). So it looks like I'll be paying for baggage for the first time in... a very long time.

Well, tested negative, got 200 Euros worth of duty free Irish whiskey through customs with no issues (didn't have to declare anything), and headed home.

The newish preclearance at Dublin Airport is fantastic. When I land in Newark, I can bypass customs and go straight to baggage claim. Big stress reliever.

has anyone been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville?
we're headed to Asheville this weekend. we'll probably spend most of the time in breweries but I'm just trying to figure out why tickets to tour Biltmore range from $86 to $336......

has anyone been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville?
we're headed to Asheville this weekend. we'll probably spend most of the time in breweries but I'm just trying to figure out why tickets to tour Biltmore range from $86 to $336......

My parents just spent 2 nights there and loved it. They toured the house and did a Monet exhibit.

Well, tested negative, got 200 Euros worth of duty free Irish whiskey through customs with no issues (didn't have to declare anything), and headed home.

The newish preclearance at Dublin Airport is fantastic. When I land in Newark, I can bypass customs and go straight to baggage claim. Big stress reliever.

Pre-clearance is the best. It's been around for a long time. I grew up with Shannon pre-clearance and thought it was normal to do US immigration/customs in other countries. Helps if you have tight connections on the other side.

I've walked through dublin pre-clearance with 6 bottles of wine and 4 bottles of whiskey. I even told them and they waved me through

Well, tested negative, got 200 Euros worth of duty free Irish whiskey through customs with no issues (didn't have to declare anything), and headed home.

The newish preclearance at Dublin Airport is fantastic. When I land in Newark, I can bypass customs and go straight to baggage claim. Big stress reliever.

Did you have to test before leaving the states as well? We're flying to London at the end of June and have to test... just wondering what the process is, do we do it at the airport or do we have to have results prior to arriving?

has anyone been to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville?
we're headed to Asheville this weekend. we'll probably spend most of the time in breweries but I'm just trying to figure out why tickets to tour Biltmore range from $86 to $336......

I don't remember tickets costing $300+ but we went years ago when it was decorated for Christmas and it was pretty awesome. It's just like a giant ass house museum. If you have any interest in giant houses or architecture I would say it's worth it, but certainly not for $300.

I don't remember tickets costing $300+ but we went years ago when it was decorated for Christmas and it was pretty awesome. It's just like a giant ass house museum. If you have any interest in giant houses or architecture I would say it's worth it, but certainly not for $300.

the $300 tickets include everything plus a 90 minute small group "expert-guided" tour. assuming "small group" is under 10 people, I'd be curious to know how much they're paying that expert guide.

I don't remember tickets costing $300+ but we went years ago when it was decorated for Christmas and it was pretty awesome. It's just like a giant ass house museum. If you have any interest in giant houses or architecture I would say it's worth it, but certainly not for $300.

the $300 tickets include everything plus a 90 minute small group "expert-guided" tour. assuming "small group" is under 10 people, I'd be curious to know how much they're paying that expert guide.

I've been a couple of times, once like Dickie during Christmas. We did the self guided tour, and that was fine. Didn't stay at the Biltmore resort on site, either. It's really worth the visit, and the gardens would be nice this time of year as well. Mostly designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, too.

We've stayed at the Grove Park Inn, which was awesome. Similar vibe to Biltmore, and a very cool experience. But a lot more expensive now then it was 10+ years ago when we stayed there.