Kevin's Watch

Jocularity, jocularity!

Where in New York are we talking about?

The hotel near Fisty is in Middletown. It's about an hour north of NYC via commuter train. There is a hotel in the town where Fist lives, but it is in a truck stop, so I would really rather not stay at that particular one. The hotel in Middletown sounds nice. The regular rooms are mini-suites, and there is a pool and a hot tub. For those who are not on as tight a budget as I am, they have king rooms with hot tubs.

I know that there is an airport closer to Fisty than the three in the NYC area (La Guardia, JFK, and Newark) but I can't remember which town it is in. Hopefully he will pop in and let you know.

There is also Amtrack service to Penn Station in NYC, but then you would have to walk/get a cab to Grand Central Station to catch the commuter train. Depending on where you live the train might be faster than flying, especially with those high speed trains they have now on part of the east coast. I know when I was trying to visit him this month (it didn't work out, so I changed my plans to the summer), the train service was cheaper than flying from Detroit, though it takes about 14 hours to get there from Michigan/Ohio.

OK, my supervisors just released the vacation schedule for the coming year. I will be off from July 29 through August 14.

So would people prefer the first or second weekend in August??

Either weekend is OK with me.

Either for me too.

The airport near me is Stewart International, in Newburgh, NY. Not a huge place, and it's probably "International" the way Elohimfest was - because of one person. heh. Anyway, it's listed as SWF, though what the F stands for is anybody's guess. www.stewartintlairport.com/home.html

My deep regrets. The woman who covers my job while I'm gone is on vacation both of those weeks, so I can't get Thursday and Friday off for either time.

There will be no Joy in our lives that weekend.

I would have loved to see you all. But have a joyful time on my behalf.

Ah, Joy. I hope you can make it to the next Elohimfest, though, whenever that will be!

So do I, Kay. If only they didn't make us plan all our vacations for the entire year at one time. There isn't much room for adaptation.

Yes, I have the same problem at my job. And then family and in-laws get angry because you can't make it to weddings, graduation parties, etc.

Hopefully you will get plenty of warning before the enxt get-together, or Elohimfest, as everyone would love to finally be able to meet you!

I did a quick search for airline tickets on expedia.com and it's going to be ~$250 roundtrip to Newburg. It may be cheaper to NYC but I've never been there and would prefer NOT to try to find my way to Grand Central Station.

Once we make more definite plans as to the weekend I can make a decision from my end.

I don't remember where you are, but $250 sounds decent. Also look into Newark, NJ. It's been years since I went there, but I remember it was easy enough to get to.

They say LaGuardia in NYC is also easy, but I've never been there. Still, if you found a great price, I could figure it out.

I'm flying out of Knoxville, TN. Roundtrip to Newark is $271 but it's non-stop which is a plus. How far is Newark from you?

Probably an hour. Easy drive - just going from one big highway to another.

My office roommates tell me there is going to be a new airline company opening up, with non-stop travel from coast to coast for $99. I haven't done an investigation, but it might be just the thing for somebody to look into.

Sheesh, sounds like just the thing for everybody to look into! I'll be visiting you and Furls a couple times each year at those rates!! I'd be surprised if it stays in business for long, though. My impression is that airlines are doing badly these days. I can't imagine there's a good enough profit margin at that price to keep things going.

JetBlue Airways. Here is their website. It seems they are already in business.
www.jetblue.com/

in anticipation

Ah! My boss talks about them a lot. I'll check it out!