Fourth annual! Here’s where I’ve stayed the past 12 months. As expected, it’s a very short list, thanks to the little guy, although we did manage to get out of the country (sort of). This list would be a lot longer if it included day trips. Cities with multiple visits are denoted with an asterisk as usual.
New York, NY * (home base)
Miami, FL
Livingston, NJ *
New City, NY *
St. John, USVI
St. Thomas, USVI
San Francisco, CA
Beach Haven, NJ
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
The coming year is shaping up to be more robust for travel, what with two business conferences already committed and a probable return to the annual Massachusetts trip. Nathan proved himself an excellent airline traveler this week, so he’ll be learning to pack his bags sooner than later.
Category: travel (Page 4 of 4)
Seth Godin posted a provocative piece (is that redundant? Seth’s goal is to be nothing but provocative) Saturday entited Random travel thoughts. In it he challenges the conventional wisdom about a lot of the headaches of airline travel.
As a fellow business traveler I have seen and contemplated many of Seth’s observations. Pragmatist that I am, I thought I’d expand and rebut a few of his points. On the whole, I agree with his thesis (“we can do better”) but not his overall view.
Why does a banana cost twenty cents at the supermarket and $1.61 at SFO? Are hungry people supposed to subsidize non-hungry travelers?
This is simple economics at work, not airline policy. My $4.06 frappuccino at any other Manhattan Starbucks cost me $5 at the Javits Center last week. A bottle of water that costs 20 cents in bulk and $1.25 at the corner store is $4.50 at Yankee Stadium (this year… next season, at the new park, it’ll be $9). Captive audiences demand premium payments.
Why doesn’t the airport have sleeping benches?
Sleeping benches encourage loitering. Apparently some airports, like the new American terminal at DFW, bring out springy hammock-like cots when people get stuck at the airport overnight.
After seven years, why is random yelling still the way that TSA screeners communicate their superstitious rules to people in line?
Security in general is a joke to all but the dangerous. Why did the security guards at Yankee Stadium make my brother throw away a perfectly good, safe Bluefly shopping bag and put his things in a clear plastic bag instead? Ridiculous. Unless you’re the guy with the gunpowder.
Why does the FAA require the airlines to explain to every passenger how to buckle their seatbelt?
I’m guessing someone sued. I wonder how Seth feels about snarky flight attendants who poke fun at their own requirements, or the Virgin America safety film that assumes you’re yawning and disinterested, and assumes the same vibe.
For the third straight year (and prompted by Jason for the third time as well) here is my list of travels for 2007. Per tradition multiple-visit locations are denoted with an asterisk:
New York, NY * (home base)
Livingston, NJ *
New City, NY *
Palisades, NY
Miami, FL
La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Playa Conchal, Costa Rica
Half Moon Bay, CA
Dallas, TX * (N.B. I flew to Dallas four times in 2007, and never stayed longer than 18 hours)
New Paltz, NY
Marco Island, FL
Lake George, NY
Rockport, MA
San Francisco, CA
Yountville, CA
Healdsburg, CA
Mystic, CT
Edgartown, MA
Chatham, MA
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Last year I was able to extend my streak of international travel to five years (and seven of the last nine) thanks to the Costa Rica vacation. I’m probably not straying too far in ’08, though.
Having done this last year, I’m presenting another summary of my travels for the year. As per Kottke, destinations with multiple visits are denoted with an asterisk.
New York, NY * (home base)
Livingston, NJ *
New City, NY *
Palisades, NY *
Santa Barbara, CA
Paris, France *
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Lake George, NY
Chicago, IL
Hyannis, MA
Nantucket, MA
Edgartown, MA
Rockport, MA
Ann Arbor, MI
Atlanta, GA
London, England
Longboat Key, FL
West Palm Beach, FL
If only my wife were a blogger: her list would include most of mine, plus stays in Baja California, Alesund, Norway, and multiple cities in China.
Jumping on the meme, here’s my 2005 list (one or more nights in each location, * indicates multiple nonconsecutive visits):
New York, NY
Paris, France
Livingston, NJ *
New City, NY *
Palm Beach, FL
Schroon Lake, NY
Rockport, MA
Cape May, NJ
London, England
Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Lancaster, PA
Longboat Key, FL
Palm Beach Gardens, FL
Pretty thin year for me, in the scheme of things (hey, I did this in 2004 too).
This year promises to be more exciting: already on my agenda are Honolulu, Maui, and Lanai, Hawaii; Santa Barbara, CA; Rio Grande, Puerto Rico; and Edgartown, MA, plus several repeats from 2005.