Travel: August 2005 Archives

It's rare that I fly Continental, but my past two trips with the airlines have included full meals and two rounds of drinks. And I thought on this round, I'd immortalize the almost non-existent airline meal. While I wouldn't call the burger tasty, it wasn't any better or worse than a McDonald's burger. Now, the barbecue sandwich on the way home was wretched, but the burger, it was AOK.

Also a little travel note: If you ever show up at an airport early and asked to be put on the standby list for an earlier flight, while still getting checked into your later flight, don't then go to the airport bar, have a few beers and some fried oysters and decide that you'll just skip the standby option and get on your regular flight. If the airline is in a surly mood, it'll drop you right off its roster as though you never existed, and that makes getting on your real flight (even with a boarding pass) a real pain in the ass.

Thought I'd throw a little love my grandpa's way--happy 90th! (That's the hat that was bought for him on the occasion of his birthday.)

Abrooklynlife heads off to Brenham, Texas, for the weekend, where it is HOT: Today's high is 97, tomorrow's is 100, and then it cools to 99 on Sunday. It's amazing my grandfather has managed to live until the ripe old age of 90 in this heat, but it's exciting to celebrate his birthday despite the weather. See ya Monday morning, and remember however hot it gets in Brooklyn, it's not as hot as Texas.

The city holds a certain sway over the new inhabitant, but as I pass my two-year anniversary in its fair clutches, I begin to realize the value--the real, tangible value--in escaping it, especially in August, especially when it is hotter than ... well, when it's really, really hot. On Sunday, I convinced our friends with a car, to head towards the Long Island beaches. After some discussion among people who know about these things, we decided to head to Robert Moses State Park on the west side of Fire Island (only an hour drive at 10 a.m.). Perhaps because the forecast originally called for rain, or maybe because even Long Islanders were on vacation, the beach was pretty empty and we spent the entire time wondering why we didn't do this earlier. It was beautiful, and I finally started to get a tan. My message to all Brooklynites: Get out! Do whatever it takes to enjoy some of nature's serenity.

... is perks, of course. The other night I was returning to Brooklyn in what some might refer to as an inebriated state. I like to think I was not visibly so, but one never really knows. So I flag a cab on Bowery, we hang a right on Houston, and I sink back into the faux leather seats to reminisce over that last drink in that last bar and all the bars and drinks before it. Suddenly, I hear a voice and see a hand pop through the open window between passenger and driver. "Hey, you want a cheeseburger?" the voice asks. There before me is a rather tasty looking wrapped McDonald's hamburger. Now, I'm not a McDonalds eater, but exceptions get made at 3:30 in the morning, and that night was a definite exception. So I protest (faintly) and soon I have my lips wrapped around a hot burger. "Now that was nice," I think to myself. About halfway through the burger, I hear another little "psssssst" and look up from my half-finished burger to see a bag full of fries. "Take a handful," the disembodied voice continues. My protesting remains faint, and soon I have a fistful of crisp fries stuffed in my fingers. As we crossed the Brooklyn bridge, I popped the last bit of caloric goodness into my mouth and thought pleasant thoughts about my extremely enterprising cabbie who has just earned himself a very nice tip.