The Pacific Coast Highway

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Chris

In September, I decided to drive from Oakland to Santa Barbara, mostly along CA-1 from Santa Cruz to Santa Barbara.

Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway

Pacific Coast Highway: Bixby Bridge Pacific Coast Highway: Bixby Bridge Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway

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Hyatt Regency SFO

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Chris

I had a visit to San Francisco where I chose to stay at the Hyatt Regency SFO.  It’s a short walk from the Burlingame Caltrain station.  While it only sees weekend service, this was fine for my purposes.

Hyatt Regency SFOHyatt Regency SFO Hyatt Regency SFO Hyatt Regency SFOAs I wanted to check-in early in the morning, my room had a view of the 101 expressway.

Hyatt Regency SFO

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Seattle

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Chris

Seattle Seattle SeattleSeattle

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Vancouver

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Chris

From the train station, we took to walking around Vancouver until it was time to head to the airport to catch our flight back to Seattle.

Vancouver Vancouver

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Amtrak Cascades Business Class Seattle to Vancouver

Posted on February 5, 2014 by Chris

With Vancouver so close to Seattle, how could I pass up the opportunity to visit Canada?

From Seattle to Vancouver, there are three realistic options:  Planes, trains, and automobiles.  (Sadly, “boat” is unlikely to be very timely.)  As a truck had recently caused a bridge carrying I-5 to collapse, driving seemed potentially out of the question, so I looked at my options for Amtrak and Alaska Airlines.

Amtrak has a fantastically generous award chart on its “special routes,” 1.5k points for a coach one-way and 2k points for a business class one-way.  Amtrak was selling seats for $81 each the night before, so I was happy booking two with points instead.  With the low marginal cost of 500 points per ticket, I splurged on business class.  I’m glad I did:

  • Business Class has its own check-in line at Seattle King Street Station.  In contrast, the coach line was still a sea of humanity minutes before boarding.
  • Business Class is allowed first off the train and consequently, first through Canadian immigration.
  • These tickets come with a $5 voucher for the cafe car.  While prices aren’t terrific, we didn’t have the luxury of time on our way from the hotel to the station.

Seattle King Street StationUnlike the Amfleet cars that I see all too often on the NEC, the Cascades train has a unique livery.

Amtrak CascadesThe seats can’t rival p.s. Business Class, but they’re far better than coach on an airplane.

Amtrak CascadesThe route is scenic, spending a considerable amount of time along the coast.

Amtrak Cascades Amtrak Cascades Amtrak CascadesAlong the way, we were treated to a glimpse of the collapsed I-5 bridge.

Collapsed I-5 BridgeOverall, the train took 4 hours; it’s agonizingly slow compared to New York-Washington on the NEC.  I slept on the train, just as I was going to if I had stayed at the hotel.

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Hyatt at Olive 8

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Chris

For Memorial Day weekend, I decided to go to Seattle (with a small dash of Canada added in as well).  For our three nights in Seattle, we stayed at the Hyatt at Olive 8.

Seattle

I had booked this reservation speculatively before my Hyatt Diamond status ran out at the end of February 2013.  While my status dropped away for purposes of enjoying a free breakfast that View from the Wing raves about, it seems to have lead to a considerable upgrade to a 740 square foot Premier Queen room.

Hyatt at Olive 8 Hyatt at Olive 8Just so we’re clear, allow me to repeat: 740 square feet.  Larger than my New York apartment.

Hyatt at Olive 8 Hyatt at Olive 8 Hyatt at Olive 8 Hyatt at Olive 8To the right of the hallway, there’s an entrance foyer as well.

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Colorado Springs

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Chris

I’m often told that I don’t showcase the photos of my destination enough.  Back in May, I went to Colorado Springs.  Here are a few, with a very minimal trip report as a lead-in:

I flew a very delayed, but remarkably pleasant Jetblue flight from New York to Denver, overnighting at the Hyatt Place Denver Tech Center before driving down to Colorado Springs the next morning.

I managed to do a bit of sightseeing on my Sunday afternoon before driving back to Denver airport:

Garden of the Gods Garden of the GodsI drove to Pike’s Peak, but snow necessitated a road closure several miles from the top.

Pike's Peak Pike's Peak

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American Airlines First Class Honolulu to Los Angeles

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Chris

As I wanted to get back to New York in the early morning, I wound up booking an early afternoon departure from Honolulu, connecting in Los Angeles.  United’s nonstop to Newark was scheduled to arrive too late and connecting in Dallas makes for a 10-11AM arrival time to La Guardia, let alone Manhattan.

American 162
Honolulu (HNL) – Los Angeles (LAX)
Monday, April 22nd, 2013
Depart:  12:20PM
Arrive: 8:55PM
Duration:  5 hours, 35 minutes
Aircraft: Boeing 757-223 (N690AA)
Seat: 1B (First Class)

Lunch service began with a salad and a roll.

American Airlines First ClassFor my entree, I selected the cheese ravoli.

American Airlines First ClassI chose the cheese plate for dessert.

American Airlines First Class

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The Moana Surfrider Waikiki

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Chris

As I discussed in March, I successfully booked two nights at the Moana Surfrider Waikiki under the old award chart by calling when the website began showing the new rates prematurely.  I spent 24k points for two nights when the cash rate was hovering around $400/nt.
The Moana Surfrider Waikiki

 

 

While valet parking is available in front of the main hotel building, self-parking uses the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani’s lot.  At night, it tends to be at capacity, so it’s always an adventure parking a car there.

 

The lobby:The Moana Surfrider Waikiki The Moana Surfrider WaikikiI received an “upgrade” to a partial ocean view room.  After looking at the main tower, however, it’s not clear to me what rooms don’t have some glimmer of an ocean view.

The Moana Surfrider Waikiki The Moana Surfrider WaikikiThe room itself had normal Westin finishes and stylings.

The Moana Surfrider Waikiki The Moana Surfrider Waikiki The Moana Surfrider WaikikiOn my last morning, I had breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which overlooks the ocean and the hotel’s 100 year old banyan tree:

The Moana Surfrider WaikikiFrom further down Waikiki Beach, it’s possible to appreciate the relative size difference (and appearance) of the main Moana Hotel building and the adjacent tower.

The Moana Surfrider Waikiki from Waikiki Beach

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This Isn’t The End?

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Chris

I was just about to write-up my “it’s February 1st in the Central Time zone” post commemorating the devaluation (and the hundreds of thousands of miles that I’ve booked in the last 36 hours)…

…but Matthew at upgrd.com is reporting that the old award chart has been giving a one two day reprieve?  (Edit:  Apparently reading comprehension isn’t a strong suit of mine…) It’s even UAInsider on FlyerTalk official!

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