I should add that I had already made up my mind to go to Phoenix with or without tickets to the game, so had booked my flights and hotel accommodations weeks ago. This was a risky move, but with lots of activities going on all weekend, I knew there would be plenty of fun to be had outside of the game.
My flight this morning left out of JFK, which is an airport I have never booked a flight out of because of its distance from my apartment and expense to take a cab such a long way. However, by flying on the weekend I had a little more flexibility, and the flights to Phoenix out of JFK had much better time options as well as being direct flights. Besides taking a cab, the other option for getting to JFK is the AirTrain - which is usually not an option because it takes longer and I'm usually flying right after work or very early in the morning, neither of which allows me much time flexibility. But because my flight wasn't until 10:00am this morning, I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to try out the AirTrain, as I would not be in a rush. The AirTrain costs approximately $70 less than taking a cab, and the subway train that connects to the AirTrain is actually very convenient to my apartment. I left my apartment at approximately 6:45am, leaving more than enough time to get to the airport an hour early for my 10am flight. I took the L train toward Brooklyn, then met up with the A train, which goes straight to the Howard Beach AirTrain connection. My one-way trip, which I was able to pay for with my MetroCard, costs only $7. The other way to connect to the AirTrain is via the LIRR, but this costs more money. The AirTrain terminal was just an elevator ride up from where the A train dropped me off. The AirTrains seemed to be running pretty frequently, and a train arrived within 3 or 4 minutes. It took an additional 15 minutes (approximately) to get to the Delta terminal, which was one of the last stops on the train).
I was through security (which was all Auburn fans!), had eaten breakfast in the food court and was sitting in the terminal talking to some friends by 8:45am. AirTrain success! This was one of the longest direct flights I've ever taken, and made me a little nervous about my potential Australia trip later this year! I landed at the Phoenix airport early, a little after 1pm. My friend Tiffany wasn't landing until around 4:30pm, and we had decided in an effort to make this trip as inexpensive as possible, we would share a cab from the airport. So I had an afternoon to kill with dilly-dallying at the restaurant in the airport and a good book.
Once Tiffany arrived, we headed out and caught a random cab to our hotel, the Best Western InnSuites. I had done some research beforehand and found a great cab service called Discount Cab, but they unfortunately are not able to pick up at the airport, only drop off. The fare was approximately $35, split between the two of us. The hotel wasn't that far from the airport (maybe 10-15 minutes), so I thought this was a little exorbitant. The feeling I got about the cab fare was quickly replaced by complete joy at the fact I just left the frozen tundra of New York to be in this warm, no-humidity cacti paradise. The weather is gorgeous and supposed to stay that way all weekend!
I was pleasantly surprised when we checked in to the hotel - there was free wifi, a hot continental breakfast, computers and printers in the lobby, a beer and wine happy hour every afternoon and very pleasant employees at the check-in counter...all things that one might expect in a hotel, but if you found out I was only paying $30, you might decide I was getting some pretty sweet perks! In fairness to the hotel, there are 4 people splitting the room (my brother and his friend are arriving tomorrow), but this is still a pretty remarkable deal considering every hotel in a 50 mile radius had been sold out since the teams playing in the game had been revealed. We quickly dumped our bags off in the room - a small but nice suite, probably most appropriate for a business traveler needing a mini-fridge and microwave - and headed to the happy hour so as to not miss a moment of wine intake. We met lots of Auburn fans imbibing at the happy hour - it is pretty obvious we are in the majority at this hotel! After a few drinks, we headed back to the room to unpack and clean up for dinner. A co-worker of Tiffany's had recommended a Mexican restaurant in walking distance of the hotel called Aunt Chilada's. It was a little less than a mile walk, but it felt a bit longer than that...but that may have something to do with the fact that our wine buzz had us taking pictures with every cactus we passed.
Aunt Chilada's had a heated patio which was nice, as it got pretty chilly after the sun went down. We ordered a pitcher of margaritas and way too much food, which easily put us to sleep after our long travel day. Tomorrow we are planning to wake up early and go for a hike near our hotel that Tiffany's co-worker had recommended followed by the Auburn pep rally in Scottsdale, which we need some serious energizing for. Good night. :)
Miles Traveled Today: 2,433
Total Miles Traveled: 11,307
No comments:
Post a Comment