All You Can Jet... a postscript

Has it really been over 2 weeks already since I returned from my 30-day JetBlue All You Can Jet Adventure? Wow, time flies... whether you're having fun or not!

It was a fun 30-days, but it was tiring. I think it was the constant thoughts of... Where am I? Where do I go next? Do I need any reservations? Is it all set? Who do I need to call? Should I check the weather? Am I behind on my blog? Is there WiFi here? Did I print out my boarding pass? How am I getting to the airport? Which airport am I getting to?

All those little things add up. And of course your normal sleeping and eating patterns are completely confused. It's fun, because I tend to get bored when things are too routine for too long. But the other extreme can be exhausting! Like everything else in life, it's finding the balance that's the key... and the trick.

Flying 30 days for $499. It's a great idea, and a way to fill seats, during a slow season, on flights that will be flying anyway.

Turns out, back in 1966, my father did a similar... but different... trip. He traveled on a Greyhound bus for 99 days for $99. He broke it up into segments. I think it was 3 weeks in one direction, then home to the Chicago suburbs. Then 3 weeks in another direction, then home. For 99 travel days. He was writing for a restaurant industry magazine at the time, so he wrote about restaurants he found along the way.

Personally, I think I'd rather spend 30 days on a plane, than 99 days on a bus. But it's all relative I guess. I took a 24-hour bus ride from Chicago to Denver once, many many years ago with my friend Mary Beth. It was a fun adventure too. But, we were much younger then... 24-hours on a bus is a fabulous adventure... the first time. Its glamour can wear thin after that.

Travel can be tiring, but I enjoy exploring new places. Maybe it's genetic, being willing to travel for days on end, for a little adventure, to explore new places, to shake up our normal routine working lives. I sometimes envy people who are travel writers, who explore new places for a living, and share what they have found. But I suppose even that can become a routine of sorts.

I met a woman in Wales once, on a girl's choir tour I took (that's a whole other story). She asked us to call her Auntie Joyce. Auntie Joyce loved to travel. She enjoys being home, but after she's home for awhile, she said, in her lovely Welsh accent, "If I'm home too long, I get itchy feet. I have to travel and go somewhere new." Itchy feet. I love that expression.

So, here's to itchy feet. That desire to explore, to expand our horizons, to meet new people in new places, and learn more about the world. JetBlue's AYCJ pass satisfied my itchy feet for now... but who knows what travel adventures lie ahead?

AYCJ - Day 22 - Last day in Florida

Tuesday, September 28, Day 22 of my 30-day JetBlue AYCJ Adventure, end of the Florida Road Trip.

A day of practicalities, getting ready for the final week of travel. Laundry, errands, packing, necessary things in 30 days of travel.

Getting ready for a long travel day, starting tonight, well actually tomorrow early morning. Leave Tarpon Springs around 3am. Return rental car 4am. Catch 6am flight from Tampa to JFK. Hang out at JFK for a little while, JetBlue's Terminal 5, before catching a flight to the west coast. Let's just hope I don't fall asleep anywhere along the way, at least until I get on a plane. And there were some weather delays today, so... here's hoping for a good travel day tomorrow. Stay tuned.

AYCJ - Day 9 - The People Ride in a Hole in the Ground

Day 9 - Wedneday, September 15, in JetBlue's All You Can Jet 30-day travel adventure -- more NYC adventures.

Photo: Staten Island Ferry, NYC skyline

This was a day when I'm better off traveling alone, because I walked and walked and walked all day long, covered a lot of ground.

Started with a nice breakfast in Brooklyn, with my current friend/host Todd, who is letting me stay at his place for a few nights. Then onward to the Brooklyn Museum. I wanted to see the exhibition for Abdi, who won the Work Of Art competition on Bravo TV, which I wrote about previously in this blog. There are about a dozen of his pieces there, I really like his work. Walked around the museum seeing their other collections, they have some interesting things there.

Got back on the subway into lower Manhattan, walked over to the Smithsonian American Indian Museum, a free museum that I always enjoy walking around and seeing what they have. Their main collection moved to Washington DC when the museum opened there, but they still have interesting collections.

As I walked outside, I saw the Staten Island Ferry... so I decided to take a boat ride. It's free, and takes about 25 minutes each way. You have to get out in Staten Island and wait for the next ferry returning to Manhattan, so figure about 1 1/2 hours to complete this trip. It was a beautiful afternoon.

After returning to Manhattan, I walked along the Hudson River, in Battery Park City, a lovely place for a walk in NYC. There's a lot of construction happening around the World Trade Center, apparently things are starting to progress on new buildings there.

Took the subway up to Soho, to a gallery that a friend recommended. It was almost closing time, but I walked around and looked at some interesting drawings. Then subway again, up to midtown, checked out what used to be the Revlon employee's store, for discounted cosmetics. It's now a store on 39th Street where they sell cosmetics, either last year's colors, or overruns I think. I looked around, but all I could think of was... more stuff to carry around! So I didn't buy anything.

For dinner, I went to Kennedy's pub on W. 57th Street. A good Irish Pub in NYC is a great place to go for dinner at the bar. It wasn't too loud in there, there was a spot at the end of the bar. I ordered delicious fish and chips and a beer, and had great conversations with others at the bar. It was a great end to a very busy day, and I was tired! You can stay in good shape walking around NYC, without even realizing it. Miles and miles and miles you can walk, and lots to see along the way.

JetBlue All You Can Jet -- Day One

AYCJ -- Day One -- of 30.

30 days of travel? Really? What have I done? And what made me want to do this? There were a couple times today when I asked myself that question. But all in all, it was a good day.

The first time I questioned my own sanity was when the first of 4 alarms went off between 6:15-6:30 this morning. (I am not, by nature, a morning person). I even told my mom the night before, if you're up at 6:30, call me... just in case I'm not up. And she did. Thanks mom! I woke up and in my groggy first moments, had thoughts of... wait, what am I doing today? 30 days traveling? Really? OMG. And WTF! Why am I doing this? But then I awoke fully and started getting ready to go. I figured missing the very first flight would not be a good start to the 30 day travel plan.

My first flight from Long Beach, CA to Chicago, IL was fine. I even got my AYCJ luggage tag! It didn't seem like there were very many people flying out of LGB using the AYCJ pass. Or if there were, they were being very quiet about it all. The flight was very full, I was in a middle seat, which is never the seat of preference. And one man next to me was... how shall I say... above average in terms of width in relation to height. But I concentrated on eating my snacks and clicking around my Direct TV screen, checking the weather, the news, and seeing what Judge Judy was up to.

A flight attendant (not from JetBlue) once told me that flight attendants really really like when the passengers have things like TV's to watch during the flight, because then passengers often stay quiet for hours! TV -- our big distraction. And I'm sure it's true. Just think, at home, you think nothing of clicking around your TV for 3 or 4 hours. And on JetBlue, you do that, and, hey look, you're in Chicago!

So, we landed 30 minutes early in Chicago, and isn't that just typical, we couldn't find a place to park. We sat on the tarmac for several minutes, then pulled in to the gate, still a bit early. All was well.

After picking up my checked bag, I headed for the "trains to the city". Chicago is one city that has a subway system (the blue line) that will get you, in one train ride, from the airport, to downtown. (It shouldn't be that rare for a city to offer this ... but it is.) I love being able to take public transportation at times like this, but, since a trip to the airport almost always includes luggage... after today I wanted to research who invented escalators... so I could thank them. I have never been so happy to see escalators in all my life. But mostly there are stairs.

I have a sore left shoulder. So I wanted to use my right hand to lug the biggest (35 lb) suitcase up and down the subway stairs. But, being weighted down with a carryon and a purse, strapped across me like a pack mule, I also wanted to hold on to a handrail. That meant I had to go up and down stairs on the left side of the stairway. The wrong side. Which frankly is one of my pet peeves when people do that, because it completely screws up pedestrian traffic. But I couldn't explain to everyone, "You don't understand, I have a sore shoulder."

So I just waited for the crowd to subside and made my way down stairs, up stairs, down stairs, up stairs. I had to transfer to second train to get closer to my ultimate destination. At 5pm. Rush hour. Everybody just wanted to go home from work and there were a few of us, trying to maneuver ourselves and our luggage, onto and off crowded trains. I was sweating, tired, and just ready to land somewhere! I'm doing 30 days of this! OMG and WTF!

This post is too long already and I'm tired! But to sum things up, my day ended well. I'm in a hotel room that's more like an apartment, in a lovely area of Chicago's near north side. I walked to a wonderful exhibit of Alexander Calder mobiles, which always make me smile, and it was even free night at the museum (which I had discovered when researching my trip). Stopped and picked up some wine and some food to eat, came back to my room, took off my shoes, put my feet up, enjoyed a lovely glass of wine and thought, okay, there it was, I made it. Day one of 30!

JetBlue AYCJ -- T-minus 3 days and counting

As I've described in the last few posts, I'm about to embark on a journey across America, using JetBlue's All You Can Jet Pass.

Today I made my last visit to the torture team, Jon and Erin... Sorry, that's not nice, they're the fabulous physical therapy team who have helped me work my very sore shoulder back to normal, or as close to normal as possible in such a short time. Now I just have to keep exercising and stretching while I travel. So, if you're also traveling JetBlue in the next few weeks, and you see someone slowly stretching her arms overhead, to the side, to the back, with a slight grimace on her face ... that might be me. And let's hope that lugging luggage all over the country will just make me stronger. So a shout-out to Jon and Erin. Thanks guys. Now, where's that ice pack?

This is it, the final 3 days for planning and packing. Tonight I visited the Pacific Ocean, as the sun was starting to set. A beautiful day at the beach, people fishing off the pier, swimming, walking on the beach, in the cool evening air. In the coming weeks, I will also visit the Atlantic Ocean, arriving around sunset time. Although, since that it's the Atlantic and, you know, east-facing, I suppose checking out the view at sunrise will be more impressive at that end, won't it? Hm... what time is sunrise, and will I be awake early enough to see it? I don't know the answer to that. Typically, the odds are very slim that I will be up early enough for a sunrise, but when one is traveling, one's sleep schedule is often, well, non-typical. So will I be up in time to watch the sunrise over that other ocean? We'll just have to see what happens.

But first, packing... how much stuff do I really need to carry around with me? Let's see... no, on second thought, let's sleep. I'll figure it out tomorrow.

JetBlue AYCJ -- Preparation Continues

The JetBlue "All You Can Jet" Pass is such a great idea and it's going to be fun. But I wonder. Have other passholders spent as many hours online as I have, trying to figure out these 30 days of travel? I'm exhausted and I haven't gone anywhere yet!

But now that booking is allowed, I have booked my first flights. So, I'm on the way!

Since I'm coordinating with several friends and relatives, some time has been spent coordinating dates and schedules. And just because JetBlue flies to the 2 cities you want to visit, doesn't mean it's easy to get from one to the other... it appears we will all be spending some time at JFK, no matter where we're going.

Two weeks to figure out the rest of the routes, and the adventure begins.

Stay Tuned For A JetBlue AYCJ Adventure

Look what I've gone and done now... I just bought a JetBlue "All You Can Jet" Pass. It's not just a plane ticket, it's an adventure... hopefully. Check it out at www.jetblue.com

This means I can fly as much as I want, wherever JetBlue flies, from September 7 through October 6. I bought the less expensive pass, so I can't fly on Fridays and Sundays, which, frankly is kind of a relief... two days each week when I just have to stay put!

It's already become like a full-time job, trying to figure out how to get to all the different places I want to go in those 30 days. I've been meaning to visit friends and relatives in Florida, New York, Chicago, and a few other places. So now I can go see EVERYBODY. All in one month. Yes, I may be crazy.

"Can I get there from here?" becomes an issue with JetBlue. To fly between some cities, you have to connect through either Long Beach CA, JFK-NY, or Boston. So I'd rather not go back and forth too much, from Seattle to NYC, to LA, to Boston if I can help it. I guess you could try to spend all your time actually in planes, for 30 days, but... I don't think that's for me.

Perhaps I am a bit of an obsessive planner when it comes to things like this. But I want to get my money's worth and take the best advantage of this thing, while also trying not to spend a gazillion dollars. I will be depending on the kindness of friends and relatives, crashing on a couch or spare bed in some places, getting some hotel rooms and rental cars in others. Once I figure out a few basics for the month, then I can relax and enjoy, knowing there's always the option to make flight changes, as long as you give a 3 day notice.

Just think of how much time I'll be spending in airports for 30 days. No, on second thought, I don't want to think about that, do I? Air travel and airports -- just not as much fun as they were 20 years ago. The key to this travel month will be staying in the right frame of mind. Stay calm, have fun, it all works out in the end.

When I've boarded the first JetBlue flight to ... well, I'm not sure yet, but I'll know soon... I will be blogging my adventures, so stay tuned. Until then, I have some more planning to do.