OT: Newark, Vancouver, Skagway

[noeynox]

Ever heard of revitalization?

I have family in Newark. Been there plenty. It was called The Bricks then and if my recollection is correct the movie New Jersey Drive was based on it.

Funny personal story. My cousins were coming back from a Mets game and were driving down one of the main strips in Newark when car came over the center line and hit them close to head on. Some kids had stolen one of their cars and wouldn't you know it smashed into them. The cops on scene didnt believe them and had to get confirmation from store owners that kids got and ran and they had to get a lawyer cause the insurance company thought they were scamming.

Guess I saw enough of Newark when I was younger though the downtown was coming along nicely those days.

 

[Waquoit]

We had an early flight out of Newark in March. We did the Park, Sleep, Fly thing at the Ramada Plaza. Clean room, good rate and quick trip to the Airport.

 

[8893]

We flew out of Newark in March. We did the Park, Sleep, Fly thing at the Ramada Plaza. Clean room, good rate and quick trip to the Airport.

That was the one we stayed at when we did it.

 

[Peacefrog]

I was just in Vancouver in May for business and didn't have a ton of recreational time but I did do Capilano. My expectations weren't very high and I was pleasantly surprised. Its reasonably priced and I thought it was very well done and the free bus ride from downtown was a bonus. Lots of fabulous views: cliff walk, bridge of death and elevated walkways through the trees. Its certainly going to take over an hour to get through everything here and you could probably make a half-day out of it. I didn't do Grouse Mtn but I'd guess that if you drive yourself to Capilano and are already on that side of the bridge you can do both in the same day.

My wife did Granville Island while I was working. She's not a big shopper and said it was neat and everything but didn't spend a ton of time there.

There's a ton of good Asian dining in the city, most of it quite casual. If you decide to go for an upscale meal I had a couple of real good ones. The views (and food) at Five Sails were great and the seafood at Blue Water Cafe was excellent.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I have family in Newark. Been there plenty. It was called The Bricks then and if my recollection is correct the movie New Jersey Drive was based on it.

Funny personal story. My cousins were coming back from a Mets game and were driving down one of the main strips in Newark when car came over the center line and hit them close to head on. Some kids had stolen one of their cars and wouldn't you know it smashed into them. The cops on scene didnt believe them and had to get confirmation from store owners that kids got and ran and they had to get a lawyer cause the insurance company thought they were scamming.

Guess I saw enough of Newark when I was younger though the downtown was coming along nicely those days.

So they drove to the game with two cars, on the way back they both get into to car #1 to drive to get to car #2, and on the trip to get car #2, car #2 - which was stolen - crashed into them in Car #1? That's a wild story.

 

[ihatepants]

Just did an Alaskan cruise with my wife a couple of weeks ago and went to most of the places you mentioned.

The helicopter onto the glacier in Juneau is well worth the cost and is a once in a lifetime sort of experience. Wear lots of layers and a winter jacket because it is extremely cold on top of it. Bring some gloves too.

In Skagway, if you have time to take the White Pass railroad, be sure to do that because the views are spectacular. We saw a bear right along the tracks too.

In Ketchikan make sure to either take a boat or seaplane to see the Misty Fjords.

 

[gtcam]

And with me assisting Deep in cleaning this board up you should feel confident all will be well while you're gone. Stay until the hoop season begins as a matter of fact.

Mau - I can give you some suggestions!!!!

 

[jibsey]

Vancouver is great. Right near Stanley Park they rent bikes because the park is pretty big with bike paths. Watertaxi to Granville Island the market is good, all different kinds and flavors of smoked salmon. Going on a small boat to see whales or fish is the way to go, when I went they pulled up near a shore with Grizzly bears.

 

[gtcam]

Fishy - I know your Newark comments are in jest, but if you are getting food in the area, I recommend Spanish Tavern in the Iron Bound section. My parents took me there for my birthday before a concert at Prudential Center.

Really good food, really good portions and in a safe neighborhood in Newark.

www.yelp.com/biz/spanish-tavern-newark

Safe and Newark - why doesn't that seem to fit???

 

[CL82]

Fishy - I know your Newark comments are in jest, but if you are getting food in the area, I recommend Spanish Tavern in the Iron Bound section. My parents took me there for my birthday before a concert at Prudential Center.

Really good food, really good portions and in a safe neighborhood in Newark.

www.yelp.com/biz/spanish-tavern-newark

Let me second this. You can get a pretty memorable meal in the ironbound section of Newark. Safe enough to walk around as well. (Full disclosure: I once came back to my car in Newark and found my windshield with a bullet hole in it. I dug the slug out of the driver's seat. It was about where my heart would have been if I had been sitting in the drivers seat at the time. I was parked at the train station just outside the ironbound section. But inside, it's safe.)

Spain is good, Iberia is good but my personal favorite is Fornos. I am pretty sure that they'll pick you up at the airport so it's pretty easy.

I personally like the veal Siciliano, but the paella is pretty popular as well. I think that you'll be happy with whatever you get. The Sangria is worth considering as well.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Let me second this. You can get a pretty memorable meal in the ironbound section of Newark. Safe enough to walk around as well. (Full disclosure: I once came back to my car and found my windshield with a bullet hole in it and dug the slug out of the driver's seat about. I was parked at the train station just outside the ironbound section. But inside, it's safe.)

Spain is good, Iberia is good My personal favorite is Fornos. I am pretty sure that they'll pick you up at the airport so it's pretty easy.
I personal like the veal Siciliano, but the paella is pretty popular as well.

Damn that looks fantastic. I may have to check that next time in Newark.

Safe and Newark - why doesn't that seem to fit???

Iron Bound, the area around the Prudential Center, Newark Penn Station/Path train station and Broad Street Station are the only areas I've been and would ever go haha.

 

[CL82]

Iron Bound, the area around the Prudential Center, Newark Penn Station/Path train station and Broad Street Station are the only areas I've been and would ever go haha.

When I went to get my windshield repaired the shop was in an area of Newark that I wasn't familiar with. It was pre-GPS days and I got a little lost. I stopped and asked for directions from an old guy on a stoop. It was a few blocks away. On my way back to the car he said. "Oh sir" I looked back and he continued "You should roll up your windows and get out of here as soon as you can. You're not safe here." But that was a lot of years ago. Newark isn't bad at all in the business district, around Gateway, the Pru Center, the arts center and the ironbound. Away from there, well let's just say @Deepster wouldn't be a fan.

 

[sledog]

Newark a/p not really near downtown, so no worries if you stay in hotel there. The Newark cops must all be former NFL linebackers because they are HUGE.

Vancouver is the bigfoot capital of the world, so keep looking over your shoulder. Lots of strange disappearances there.

 

[stjohnnie75]

Gastown is the place to go in Vancouver for pubs and restaurants. Just stay away from Downtown East Side, which is sadly full of junkies.

 

[noeynox]

So they drove to the game with two cars, on the way back they both get into to car #1 to drive to get to car #2, and on the trip to get car #2, car #2 - which was stolen - crashed into them in Car #1? That's a wild story.

My cousins went to a game together. Brothers. On the ride back, a group of kids crashed into them and got out the car and ran. While at the game, the car that they didn't drive in got stolen and the kids crashed into them. It was a wild story. The cops who responded didn't believe them. The insurance company didn't believe them. Who would? He had to contact an attorney to get the insurance company to cover the damage.

Their father my uncle, had a car stolen out of his driveway. That's a sad story as they crashed it and killed someone. HBO America Undercover did a piece on a pizza shop/car wash building where the mob. The pizzeria in this documentary, was up the street from where they all grew up. You could literally walk out their house, look left and see it.

 

[The Funster]

Alaska deep water is not like long island or anything on the east coast. It is a insane. My family still talk about it being the worse 10 hours of their life. (Not mine probably 2nd, I jumped into the Nile and had the worse 30hours humanly possible)

Schistosomiasis?

 

[whaler11]

We arent talking about Newark, NJ right?

Nope newARK DE

 

[Chuck]

Fishy, you had to know this thread was going to get out of control with limited helpful information. I'll add my 2 cents as someone that has spent plenty of time in Newark, and did an Alaska cruise before turning 85 years old. Don't know if you're actually cruising so I'll keep advice general.

• The Newark advice has been pretty spot on. Has Newark gotten better over the years? Sure, but it's comparable to Detroit in that there is some pride from residents, but it deserves most of its reputation. Your best bet is the Airport Marriott, BUT you are still going to be waking up at a ridiculous hour, so I'd recommend sleeping in some type of car service at a slightly more ridiculous hour. I left from central Jersey to Philly airport once at 2:30am. If you do go to Newark, I'd listen to @CL82. I haven't been to the Ironbound in a few years, and it's becoming more Brazilian (over Portuguese), but the restaurants are solid and the area safe. There is also a Dinosaur BBQ now, but I haven't been.

• Vancouver. They slapped a sticker on our bus from the airport to the port. If the sticker was broken we'd all have to go back to the airport and through customs. We protected that sticker. Beautiful city from behind a minibus window.

• Alaska. Wonderful place. Don't do a whale watch! We saw more whales on a small fishing boat we chartered than our wives did on the whale watch. I highly recommend the small fishing experience (I don't generally fish). All 3 of us on our boat caught multiple salmon and we got one small halibut. Donated all of it to a local indigenous groups food kitchen (or the guy sold it). We also saw Puffins, seals, whales and bald eagles. It was awesome. Helicopter to glacier in Juneau was very cool. Did a hike / canoe trip outside Ketchican that was beautiful.

 

[August_West]

When I went to get my windshield repaired the shop was in an area of Newark that I wasn't familiar with. It was pre-GPS days and I got a little lost. I stopped and asked for directions from an old guy on a stoop. It was a few blocks away. On my way back to the car he said. "Oh sir" I looked back and he continued "You should roll up your windows and get out of here as soon as you can. You're not safe here." But that was a lot of years ago. Newark isn't bad at all in the business district, around Gateway, the Pru Center, the arts center and the ironbound. Away from there, well let's just say @Deepster wouldn't be a fan.

I walk the streets of Patterson for fun.

 

[CL82]

I walk the streets of Patterson for fun.

Patterson, bah, that's the Disneyworld of NJ urban blight. I used to go to a restaurant in Camden that you had to, literally, step over a drunk to enter.

Patterson, that's single A ball. Camden, that's the big leagues.

 

[Fishy]

We had an early flight out of Newark in March. We did the Park, Sleep, Fly thing at the Ramada Plaza. Clean room, good rate and quick trip to the Airport.

This is likely what we're going to do.

I called the Marriott to make a reservation for the night and they had some package that included eight nights of parking which is about five fewer than we'd need. You can pay for the extra days, so it's no big deal. But out of curiousity, I called Ramada and they offered to just comp the extra days. I prefer the Marriott, but I like customer service, so they win.

 

[8893]

This is likely what we're going to do.

I called the Marriott to make a reservation for the night and they had some package that included eight nights of parking which is about five fewer than we'd need. You can pay for the extra days, so it's no big deal. But out of curiousity, I called Ramada and they offered to just comp the extra days. I prefer the Marriott, but I like customer service, so they win.

Sound choice. I wouldn't have taken my advice without finding out on my own, either.

After you put your hand on the burner and confirm that it is hot, I would be curious what the price difference is between that and a car service. Because I'm betting that's what you'll be asking next time.

 

[Chuck]

I walk the streets of Patterson for fun.

Patterson, bah, that's the Disneyworld of NJ urban blight. I used to go to a restaurant in Camden that you had to, literally, step over a drunk to enter.

Patterson, that's single A ball. Camden, that's the big leagues.

You both spelled Paterson wrong!

It's where I got all my alcohol well before my 21st birthday. Now it's where I get my Home Depot and Lowes stuff at half-tax pricing.

 

[CL82]

You both spelled Paterson wrong!

It's where I got all my alcohol well before my 21st birthday. Now it's where I get my Home Depot and Lowes stuff at half-tax pricing.

Mea culpa.