Friday, October 28, 2022
South America Trip - Day 1
My Patagonia Adventure starts today! I was awake at 0515 and finished getting the house ready. I ate my breakfast (finishing the last of my food) and then met Monte in the parking lot at 0545. He drove me to the Dartmouth Coach stop in Lebanon (I left keys and a copy of my passport with him). By 0600, I was inside the warm lobby and, about five minutes later, was boarding the bus (I was able to scan the ticket from my phone). Only about 10 other people were onboard. We left Lebanon at 0615 and made no stop in Hanover, for some reason. Instead, we drove to NYC (via I-91). On the way, I watched a movie (“Dog”), read and enjoyed the scenery (nice sunrise). The driver provided a free box of snacks and mini-waters. Our journey (via I-95) to NYC went well - before long, we passed through Queens and I saw Arthur Ashe Stadium, (Mets Stadium) and Worlds Fair Globe. I also got a good view of the Manhattan skyline. Our bus stopped at a location close to Grand Central Station just after 1100. From there, I walked all the way to Penn Station (via a series of zig-zags on Park & 5th Ave, Broadway and 34th Street (saw Macy’s too). It was a beautiful day! All told, I walked just over a mile. I found the ticket desk for the LIRR (1130) and was able to board the 1138 train to Babylon. Every train ride is different, I guess, but I must admit that I was surprised when the conductor took my ticket. I got off the train at Jamaica by 1200 and made my way to the AirTrain station. When I arrived, I found that I needed a MTA ticket (kicking myself I didn't bring the old one I had). This led to some trouble with ticket kiosk because the machine would not take my credit card. When I eventually paid in cash (1210), I then had trouble making the ticket work in the gate. Eventually, I got inside and made my way to the platform. I was on the JFK-Bound AirTrain by 1219. As I rode along, I started to remember images of my first international flight (it was also out of JFK). So much has changed since I was that rising High School Senior... On that trip, I actually flew into the airport and didn’t have to navigate through the city. Still, the trip went pretty well and, by 1240, I was at JFK Terminal 5. I’d coordinated (in advance with the volunteer staff) to stop at the USO and wait for three or four hours for my flight so I tried to locate the lounge. It took a bit of walking and floor changes but I eventually found the USO (1255). Unfortunately, the volunteer lady running the place told me she went off duty at 1300 and there was no person taking over for her - basically, she said “we’re closing now." She did let me come in and check things out and get a few snacks. She also had a lot of good recommendations for where I could wait before checking into the LATAM ticket counter. I took one of her ideas and walked a short distance to the TWA Hotel. It turned out to be designed (restored?) in the style of the 1960s. I walked around, examining the décor for a little while, and checked out the menu of the vintage restaurant and drink bar - “holy overpriced food, Batman!” I did stay in the lounge area for over an hour, though. At around 1430, I started walking to Terminal 4. It wasn’t far but I had to go outside to make the trip. Then, I had to look for a while to locate the LATAM ticket counter. The fact that I was quite early made things less stressful... When I arrived, the check in process was mostly in Spanish and I failed miserably to recall much of my High School class work. Fortunately, I got some help from a nice gate agent and ended up getting my seat moved from middle of the row to near a window. One surprise, though, was that I was not allowed to take my carry-on bag onboard. It was collapsible and I’ve used it several times but they said it wouldn’t fit under my seat... Fortunately, I already had prepared for this situation and downsized most of my stuff into a backpack. Also, both checked bags ended up being free. About 10 minutes later (1500), I got in line for Security. This was my first time going through the process with my Global Entry and I discovered that it was a lot easier. I was struck by how few people were wearing masks - I guess I missed the worst of the COVID-19 rules during the last few years... I was through the line by 1525, which was a relief because the line and delay was getting much longer by then. I explored the terminal and then backtracked for a beer and some wings at BWW. The food and drink was good but cost a small fortune in the end (1645). While there, I met a young couple who (between them) ate about 45 wings. It turned out that they were moving from their current home (NYC) to San Francisco. We ended up having a great talk about National Parks and other benefits of moving around the country. By 1700, I said goodbye to them and made my way up the departure gate so I could charge my phone. During this time, I did a lot of texting with kids (telling them my status). At 1835, my LATAM Airlines flight started boarding. It turned out to be a B787 (first time on one of those). I’d been “upgraded” to a window seat in an exit row but, when I got to it, found there wasn’t any window or place to stow my carry on (backpack). I grabbed a few items for my seat and, when I was seated, realized that I’d somehow been separated from all three of my bags. As I waited for departure, I realized I didn’t know how to set up inflight WiFi (I don’t think they even had it) and started to wonder how I’d pass the nearly 10 hours of the flight. Fortunately, I figured out (by watching some other passengers) that there was a nifty entertainment center that lifted out of the seat (like a tray table). The system had almost every conceivable form of entertainment (movies, TV series, music, games and a flight map)! After a lot of multilingual instructions (the flight attendants did well for those of us who spoke English, Spanish and Portuguese), we got airborne (2000). It was too dark (and our flight path took us out over the ocean) to really see anything through the tiny part of the window I could see in the row behind me... Within about 15 minutes of “seatbelt light off”, I’d decided I could turn off my phone completely because there was plenty to keep me busy. The middle seat in my row was empty and this gave me some room to relax. I also met the young passenger, Christian, on the aisle. I was about an hour into my first movie (“Top Gun: Maverick”) when the flight attendant came by and offered me (free) dinner! This was so unexpected (just like the free checked bag and free entertainment center) because most US Airlines have nickel and dimed me for over 20 years. The food (penne marinara and some kind of flat bread) was good and I was more than satisfied. Bonus: wine and beer were free (!). Actually, though, I had a Sprite. I finished the first movie and then watched “The Martian." After that (1145 New York time), I was tired enough that I decided to try to sleep. Somehow, I dozed several times (I know because I woke up with “help chimes"). Unfortunately, this promising scenario was disrupted later when two different passengers came to sit in our middle seat during the night. I'm not sure why they thought they could do this - and I woke to a third and fourth time when the flight attendant came by to ask them why they each were there. The second person (a guy) really annoyed me by trying to watch a movie in the middle of the night. Fortunately, the system was too complicated for him and he gave up. It was restless sleeping but at least I wasn’t up ALL night (the next day began during the flight)...