Day 1
I actually had to work today but an early out got me away from the job at 4pm. I’ve got a flight out of Stewart-Newburgh, the local airport here in Newburgh, NY. This is convenient and I don’t have to spend the time and money on rental cars going to Newark. The only drawback is having to connect instead of flying non-stop.
I’m flying on USAir this trip. This is one advantage of the merger between America West and USAir for me. The fares out of Newark and Stewart were similar but the rental car prices to and from were VERY high so I went with the connection from the local airport and savings.
The fare for this flight was originally $335 but I had gotten voluntarily bumped from my flight home back in December and got a $200 voucher good on America West/USAir among other perks. This brought the flight price down to $121 after the voucher and reduction in taxes.
I had one of the guys from work run me up to the terminal and I got there a little after 4:00pm and the flight isn’t until 6:11pm. This is a small airport and there is no need to be here this early but I didn’t have much of a choice. It was either get here 2 hours early or hang out at work. Check in was super fast and there wasn’t anyone in line so I got right up to the counter. In 2 minutes I was at security and 2 minutes later I was sitting in the empty terminal!
This is flight 4371 out of Newburgh and will connect in Philadelphia. There is only a 45 minute lay over and I’m not too thrilled about the short time between flights. The flight was (how was the flight). This flight was on a little puddle jumper and the air conditioning didn’t work very well. The flight was just about 1 hour and we landed in Philly with no issues. This is my first time ever using this airport in Philly. The short lay over was bad enough but then I found out we landed in terminal F. My connection was in terminal A. You had to take a shuttle bus to the other terminal and this bus runs right along the tarmac dodging incoming planes, fuel trucks, and service vehicles. We got to terminal A and my terminal was 24, clear at the opposite end of the terminal. I got there and they were already boarding.
The second leg of the flight from Philly is on flight 649. It’s a real drag having to fly over an hour south and knock no time of the distance to the west but that’s what happens here. I’ve still got another 4 ½ hours to go before getting to Las Vegas. This flight was on a 757 and quite full. Of course I got stuck next to a lady that felt the need to sigh every couple of minutes. He flight was smooth most of the way other than some bumps at one point. I tried to nap with little success.
After landing I made my way to baggage claim and grabbed my luggage. The wait was short and I had both my bags pretty quickly. From here I made my way to the Alamo shuttle. No one was on there and I had the shuttle to myself!
I haven’t used Alamo in quite a while because Dollar has had some great rates in the past few years but they couldn’t touch the rate I got form Alamo this trip. I reserved a luxury car (Cadillac DTS or similar) for a 3 week base rate of $655 or $218 per week. This was only a $10 and change per day more than a full sized car and only 80 cents per day more than a premium was so it seemed like the way to go especially since I’ll be in town for so long. It’ll be nice to drive a luxury car around town. There was no wait at the counter and I was on my way to the car. I also got a 10% discount of $65 for using the Entertainment book code and another $15 off with a coupon knocking the base rate down to $575. The lady at the desk said I was Quicksilver and to just go to the lot pick out a car and they’d handle everything at the booth. I didn’t think my Quicksilver account was on this reservation since I joined way after I made the reservation. When I got to the lot all there was in the luxury row were Dodge Magnums. This wouldn’t cut it as a luxury since I don’t find these similar to a Caddy. I spoke to the attendant and he said there were a few along the curb and told me I could have the DTS. He ran inside and got the keys and I was on my way. This car was new with a little less than 3800 miles on it.
My first hotel for the trip will be at Circus – Circus. I know there are a lot of naysayers about this place but I get really good bang for my buck here. No, it’s not Bellagio or Wynn, but it is good enough and they made an offer I couldn’t refuse. The offer I got is good for up to 5 nights, unlimited food and beverage and $300 cash. I know a lot of people say they wouldn’t stay here even if it’s free but how do you pass up all food and free money?
I couldn’t check in at the VIP room because it was closed. Damn, I have to wait in line with everyone else. The line moved fast and since I was pre checked in I was on my way to room 1354 in the Main Tower. This was a standard room and that’s fine because I’ll only be staying here for 1 night, although I booked 2 nights (the minimum to get the cash). Tomorrow I’ll be moving to a better hotel. My only issue here tonight was the bathroom had dirty towels on the floor and the trashcans were full. It’s too damn late in the night to worry about it though so I just kicked them under the vanity.
Since I hadn’t eaten anything other than airline pretzels and peanuts since I was at work it was time to eat. I hit the Pink Pony Coffee shop. There was a long line considering it was midnight but long lines are ok when you have a line pass. I scooted past everyone and was seated immediately. I had the French Dip sandwich with prime rib and a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup. Everything was pretty good and I was on my way back to the room to call it day. Other than a few minutes on the flight I have been up for 24 hours. No gambling will be done tonight!
Total win/loss for the day $0
Wednesday June 28, 2006
Total comps for the day $73