My daughter, Betsy, picked me up at 11:00 and then we picked up Carolyn and Gary. At the airport by 11:50. Check in was fast as we had boarding passes already printed (my past flights I got a new one at the airport but not this time).
Carolyn and Gary were TSA pre-approved but I wasn't this time so I had to take off my shoes. Nobody was ahead of us so we got through at the same time.
Barbara and Tommy were waiting at the gate when we arrived. I then remembered I had forgotten to let my credit card companies know I was traveling. (Truth be told, I completely forgot on my last cruise and had no problems.) It took me about 40 minutes to get it done, which included a great deal of waiting for a rep with whom to speak.
While I was on the phone, the group went over to get lunch at Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger. I joined them after I was finished and had some really good onion rings. It was soon time to board the plane. Since it was a little puddle jumper, it did not take long. We pulled out exactly on time at 2:17 but got out on the runway and stopped. Shortly thereafter a few drops of water fell on me and then the flight attendant announced that the air conditioning had blown a fuse (or whatever it is planes have) and they were going to repair it. The good news was that only took a few minutes, the bad news was that we had lost our place in the queue and would have to wait our turn.
At 3:15 we left the ground and touched down in Newark at 4:00. By the time we got to the carousel our luggage was up. We walked outside directly to the taxi rank. We had to wait awhile to get a van that could carry all five of us and our luggage (we had thought we would need two taxis).
Our van came and, of course, it was the middle of rush hour. We got the scenic tour of (not so beautiful) downtown Newark. It took about 45 minutes to go the 4.5 miles to the hotel (we chose probably the only hotel without a shuttle but it was about $50 per room less than our other choices). As it turned out, it was a good deal because the taxi had a flat rate (no meter) and it was only $30 for the five of us. We left him a good tip and still only cost us about $8.00 per person.
We are not in the most desirable area of Newark and although there were a few restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, none of us were real keen on walking back in the dark. Instead we decided to order pizza after tossing a coin (we had a choice between pizza and Chinese). We ordered two large pizzas ($30 - about what we would have paid at home) and ate in the breakfast area of lobby. (We saw the same delivery man three more times as we were eating, so we were not the only ones with that bright idea!)
After filling ourselves we gave the left over pizza to the desk clerks and sat and talked until about 9 pm (way past Carolyn's bedtime). The others made plans to meet for breakfast at 8:00 and I told them they might (but probably won't) see me then. (For those who don't know me, I am a night owl an not overly fond of breakfast.) I am going to (hopefully) make an early night of it.
If you happen to be around a computer a little after 4 pm on Thursday, you should be able to see us in the New York Harbor and passing under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.
http://www.nyharborwebcam.com
Barbara, Tommy, Gary and Carolyn
Our tiny plane arriving in Richmond
My room at the Comfort Suites
Enjoying our dinner
Smooth sailing until next time!
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