Travel Thread

Post by **skullman80** » Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:42 am

To be fair I want to go to NYC for the Christmas stuff. I also want to see Wicked on broadway after seeing the movie recently.

My wife got super annoyed with family drama and people not making decisions for Christmas and just said we should just leave town for a few days. So we are lol.

She is also roadtripping with me to NC next year for a few days to see Metallica and is going to be in the snake pit with me. So we both compromise on things lol.

Post by **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:52 am

skullman80 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:42 am To be fair I want to go to NYC for the Christmas stuff. I also want to see Wicked on broadway after seeing the

couldn’t even complete the sentence. Tsk tsk

Post by **skullman80** » Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:03 am

MalkinIsMyHomeboy wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:52 am
skullman80 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 01, 2024 10:42 am To be fair I want to go to NYC for the Christmas stuff. I also want to see Wicked on broadway after seeing the
couldn’t even complete the sentence. Tsk tsk

lol. I edited my post now.

Post by **shafnutz05** » Sun Dec 01, 2024 11:59 am

willeyeam wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2024 1:24 pm i think pfidc is in too

Post by **RonnieFranchise** » Mon Dec 09, 2024 9:58 pm

Someone explain how I checked a bag at 4:10 for a 5:30 direct flight and it didn’t make it on the plane. I either wait at Hobby Airport till 11 pm while it connects in Nashville or get it delivered in the morning and wear what I wore all day today.

Post by **shoeshine boy** » Tue Dec 10, 2024 8:56 am

this is why when I board a plane. I always have a backpack containing at least 2 days worth of clothes. I was very glad I did this when traveling to Italy in 2015. only one flight on Emirates per day between JFK and Milan and my bag didn't make it.
most likely scenario is that your bag was sent to another plane or just left off entirely.

Post by **MalkinIsMyHomeboy** » Wed Dec 11, 2024 4:44 pm

Just finished a trip to Seattle. It’s interesting seeing posts from Feb about recommendations of what to do

Maybe it helped that we went around Xmas but the area around the space needle/climate pledge arena was awesome. I can see it being bad/lame in the summer but the Xmas lights were cool and there was like a little Christmas festival which was really fun

We ate at Six Nine (named after the pier it’s on) which was awesome. Also Von’s 1000 was a really good late night dinner place. We were hoping to eat at Premier Meat Pies but for some reason it was closed after 8 despite Google saying it would be open

My gf is a big Grey’s Anatomy fan so we tried to hit the big spots for that including KOMO Plaza (next to the space needle), Kerry Park (a bit of a hike away from everything but cool view) and the ferry to Bainbridge Island. The ferry itself was cool but Bainbridge is very charming and seems to be where the rich people live considering we looked at all the real estate offices that had listings outside their buildings and we could only find like one or two houses for less than a million. Though also I instinctually despise Bainbridge because apparently that’s where paddleball was invented. The island has a really nice public transportation system (on demand buses to anywhere on the island and only $2 for a ride)

We also did a day trip to Mt Rainier which was awesome. We lucked out that the temp was surprisingly warm (46 degree high) so despite the park being in winter mode and relatively snowy the hike was awesome

Pike Place was…ok. I guess cool to see, especially how winding it is but it’s a “see it and then not care much about it after” type place

Overall I think my gf wants to move there now

Post by **dodint** » Fri Dec 13, 2024 9:50 am

MalkinIsMyHomeboy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2024 4:44 pm Overall I think my gf wants to move there now

She's cute.

Post by **tifosi77** » Fri Dec 13, 2024 3:08 pm

CBP Trusted Traveler has rolled out Global Entry on Departure, where you can complete your GA in-person interview at your U.S. departure point. As of now it's limited to IAD, ATL, and SFO, but I'm sure if it goes smoothly it will be expanded to other high-volume international ports. (e.g. JFK, LAX, SEA, etc)

We were going to to our GA interviews in Dublin on the way back from Spain last year, but Seamus was apparently on his lunch break at the time. And appointment times at LAX are so competitive that you can only get times at like 2:45pm on a Wednesday. We flew through IAD outbound on that trip, so this would've been a useful service.

Post by **Shyster** » Sat Dec 14, 2024 2:16 am

MalkinIsMyHomeboy wrote: ↑Wed Dec 11, 2024 4:44 pm Overall I think my gf wants to move there now

The question for Seattle is whether it will first be destroyed by lahars from an eruption of Mount Rainier or by the shaking and tsunami produced by a megathrust earthquake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Post by **skullman80** » Fri Dec 27, 2024 6:00 am

TSA precheck really is the best especially on a busy travel day and also when your wife realizes she left her ID and wallet in the car.

Having next to no wait after she ran back to get her wallet and ID (I offered to go but she said it was her own dumb fault so she would go) helps immensely when the normal line is really long.

Post by **skullman80** » Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm

I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.

Post by **nocera** » Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:24 pm

skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.

We were there the 12th - 14th. Thursday was fine. Crowded but very manageable. Friday was nuts. And I’m so glad we left Saturday afternoon. On our way out of town, we passed all of the “Santas” starting their Santa-Con. If we do it again we’ll stick to weekdays.

Post by **Dickie Dunn** » Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:43 pm

skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.

Did you get in today? We leave tomorrow. Today has been the worst day for crowds. Christmas Eve and Day were pretty manageable.

Post by **skullman80** » Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:45 pm

nocera wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:24 pm
skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.
We were there the 12th - 14th. Thursday was fine. Crowded but very manageable. Friday was nuts. And I’m so glad we left Saturday afternoon. On our way out of town, we passed all of the “Santas” starting their Santa-Con. If we do it again we’ll stick to weekdays.

We came for Wicked on Sunday night everything else is just a bonus. We got here at like 9:30am and had to wait for our room for a bit so we went out and roamed around.

Went through Times Square and Rockefeller center for the tree. Hit up the Nintendo store and Bryant Park for their winter market. Have like 18k steps already.

Rockefeller center was by far the worst. Just wall to wall people near the rink and Tree etc. It’s what I imagine Disney to be like. We will head back later to get pics at night but yeah….it was insane. I’d never come here by choice again at this time of year but as a one time thing it’s fine.

Weekend looks like off and on rain so hoping that keeps some people inside.

Post by **skullman80** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:17 pm

The amount of people who bring their small children and babies in and around time square and even nyc in general is insane to me.

Also people who just stop in the middle of sidewalks or crosswalks deserve to get shouldered out of the way. Keep it moving.

Post by **Dickie Dunn** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:27 pm

I mean, I just took two so

Even just ignoring the tourist aspect, there's like a million kids under the age of 10 in NYC. Would you prefer they live somewhere else?

Post by **skullman80** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:35 pm

Dickie Dunn wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:27 pm I mean, I just took two so

Even just ignoring the tourist aspect, there's like a million kids under the age of 10 in NYC. Would you prefer they live somewhere else?

I’d prefer they not be here when I’m here that’s all lol. I get there are kids in NYC but I’m specifically talking the Times Square touristy areas.

I just couldn’t imagine pushing a kid around in a stroller in Times Square with all the chaos that is going on especially this time of year. That’s probably why I have no children though.

Plus there was this little **** at the Central Park Zoo that was just being a menace bumping into people and pushing others out of the way to see things. Parents did nothing. Last time he tried to do it I purposely blocked him frim cutting in front of people. He eventually gave up.

Post by **RonnieFranchise** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:46 pm

We took our kids to NYC, it would have been Columbus Day weekend sometime between 2013 and 2016. My daughter would have been somewhere around 8. Had to tell her, hold our hands, do not let go. The worst was getting into the old flagship Toys R Us, with the ferris wheel inside. It was insane.

Apart from Times Square, it was a great time. We did the Statue of Liberty, Intrepid Museum, Museum of Natural History, authentic delis, not touristy restaurants, and saw Cinderella on Broadway. Great time.

Post by **skullman80** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 5:05 pm

The 8-10 range or older get. It’s the babies and super small children …say 5 and under that makes no sense to me.

Post by **nocera** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 6:52 pm

skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:45 pm
nocera wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:24 pm
skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.
We were there the 12th - 14th. Thursday was fine. Crowded but very manageable. Friday was nuts. And I’m so glad we left Saturday afternoon. On our way out of town, we passed all of the “Santas” starting their Santa-Con. If we do it again we’ll stick to weekdays.
We came for Wicked on Sunday night everything else is just a bonus. We got here at like 9:30am and had to wait for our room for a bit so we went out and roamed around.

Went through Times Square and Rockefeller center for the tree. Hit up the Nintendo store and Bryant Park for their winter market. Have like 18k steps already.

Rockefeller center was by far the worst. Just wall to wall people near the rink and Tree etc. It’s what I imagine Disney to be like. We will head back later to get pics at night but yeah….it was insane. I’d never come here by choice again at this time of year but as a one time thing it’s fine.

Weekend looks like off and on rain so hoping that keeps some people inside.

Guessing yinz missed this?

Post by **Dickie Dunn** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 7:11 pm

It's super easy with little ones. Stick them in the stroller and go.

Post by **nocera** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 7:17 pm

Same goes for the elderly.

Post by **willeyeam** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 7:20 pm

Bryant Park sucked. Wish that happened before we went

Post by **skullman80** » Sat Dec 28, 2024 7:27 pm

nocera wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 6:52 pm
skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:45 pm
nocera wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 1:24 pm
skullman80 wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:11 pm I knew NYC would be crazy but holy ****.
We were there the 12th - 14th. Thursday was fine. Crowded but very manageable. Friday was nuts. And I’m so glad we left Saturday afternoon. On our way out of town, we passed all of the “Santas” starting their Santa-Con. If we do it again we’ll stick to weekdays.
We came for Wicked on Sunday night everything else is just a bonus. We got here at like 9:30am and had to wait for our room for a bit so we went out and roamed around.

Went through Times Square and Rockefeller center for the tree. Hit up the Nintendo store and Bryant Park for their winter market. Have like 18k steps already.

Rockefeller center was by far the worst. Just wall to wall people near the rink and Tree etc. It’s what I imagine Disney to be like. We will head back later to get pics at night but yeah….it was insane. I’d never come here by choice again at this time of year but as a one time thing it’s fine.

Weekend looks like off and on rain so hoping that keeps some people inside.
Guessing yinz missed this?

We got to Bryant park about an hour after it happened yesterday. Saw the remnants of the fire it was roped off. We are at Bryant park again now and the carousel is back up in that spot.