OT: Newark, Vancouver, Skagway

[Waquoit]

That's one hell of a paella.

Only becuase of the lobster they stuck in it. I doubt it was any better than the one I had last weekend at Costa del Sol.

 

[intlzncster]

If you go all the way to Alaska and order pizza, you are doing it wrong.

And that's coming from a pizza hound.

 

[8893]

If you go all the way to Alaska and order pizza, you are doing it wrong.

And that's coming from a pizza hound.

If you spend a week backcountry camping and hiking in Denali and eating GORP and dried food, you will gladly order and eat whatever warm meal they are serving at the first establishment where you can get one.

 

[8893]

By the way, I'm looking forward to hearing the description of the person driving the 2:00 a.m. shuttle from the airport back to the hotel when you return.

 

[Fishy]

As far as I can tell the only pizza place in Skagway is Northern Lights Pizza. I'm sure their pizza is just swell.

Irony.

They are too far south to see the northern lights and too far north to serve pizza.

But it is now a goal to have pizza there.

 

[Fishy]

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.

Helpful. Thank you very much - made reservations at Blue Water for the night we return from the cruise. The seafood on ice menu sealed the deal.

Must be popular - wasn't easy to get a table.

 

[SixRings]

It sounds too late but I would stay over in Hoboken if you have a few hours the day prior. Love that place. Great places to walk and eat with great views of NYC. Young crowd but relaxed.

Vancouver is a top 5 city. Stanley Park could arguably be a top 3 city park in the world. There are not many like it. Great views, paths, gardens, beaches, etc. all next to the downtown area. I love to walk the the entire circumference which is just over 10k. Grouse Mtn is a great workout for late afternoon. Climb the Grouse Grind around 5:00 pm, have a few beers up top, enjoy the views of the city and take the gondola down. You're no triathlete if you can't do the grind in under 45 min. Eat seafood anywhere there. If you have a chance to hike The Chief in Squamish or Lake Girabaldi you will cherish it for life along with visiting Tofino.

Wish I could make suggestions with Alaska but cannot.

 

[huskypantz]

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

Ironically, also the name of a stripper working at Brandi's in Vancouver. Perfect vacation stop segue.

 

[Waquoit]

Ironically, also the name of a stripper working at Brandi's in Vancouver. Perfect vacation stop segue.

Sounds like someone is pining for the fjords.

 

[Fishy]

By the way, I'm looking forward to hearing the description of the person driving the 2:00 a.m. shuttle from the airport back to the hotel when you return.

Had to call an audible.

Next door neighbor predicted that my wife would sleep in the car before the Newark Ramada, so we opted for the Courtyard which was just remodeled.

It was fine. $229, which included 14 nights parking and airport shuttle.

But we got a chance to take their 3 am shuttle. The driver was sober and hardly terrifying.

Instead of just taking us to the Air Train, he took us to the terminal. Saved us 15 minutes which got us through TSA's lunacy before the masses.

Next up - a review of Newark airport, gate C80. How does it stack up to C79 and C81? Find out next!

 

[temery]

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)

Why would deep water be any worse than east coast water?

 

[temery]

@Fishy

I have trouble trusting weather channel at this point. They've become the drama queens of the internet. However:

First Significant U.S. Snowfall of the Season Possible This Weekend

 

[8893]

Had to call an audible.

Next door neighbor predicted that my wife would sleep in the car before the Newark Ramada, so we opted for the Courtyard which was just remodeled.

It was fine. $229, which included 14 nights parking and airport shuttle.

But we got a chance to take their 3 am shuttle. The driver was sober and hardly terrifying.

Instead of just taking us to the Air Train, he took us to the terminal. Saved us 15 minutes which got us through TSA's lunacy before the masses.

Next up - a review of Newark airport, gate C80. How does it stack up to C79 and C81? Find out next!

How was the paella?

 

[Fishy]

How was the paella?

Our vacation in Newark flew by.

After arriving at 10 pm, we considered our recreational options and chose sleeping. After waking up at 2:55 am, we were whisked to the airport by a cheerful Russian person. Sum total of the conversation - "You want I skip train and take to airport?" Yes, Vlad. Yes.

After noticing several dozen TSA workers standing around doing nothing, I made a note to like JSM's next post on the working habits of public employees. But the ones that were working completed their review of our travel documents and decided that our footwear posed no danger to the airliner and we were allowed to mosey to gate C80.

Good gate to have. Made gate C90 look like something you'd set aside for livestock or other people's children.

There was no paella on offer. There were about 30 bars open, but we had to wait until 5 to have breakfast.

Opted for a plain cinnamon raisin bagel and some grapes. The bagel was burned but I actually like it that way, so thumbs up. The grapes were delightful and almost worth the $5.97 we paid for them. The wife and daughter each had a muffin and pineapple. I didn't ask for their thoughts.

Boarding was uneventful.

We're flying United for the first time. I have sized up the flight attendants and if they want to brawl as is their wont, they will not soon forget the thrashing I'll mete out. There are three of them on the plane and all of them would fit in an overhead bin, so I have my plan of attack if things start to go sideways here.

The plane is an AirBus A320. It is far too small to fly across a continent, but it is because it's United and the big planes mean passengers have more open field to run when trying to evade capture. The captain's name is Mark and the First Officer's name is who cares, he's not the captain.

The snack is something called a "stroopwafel". It looks like a flat waffle with sugar on it. I have not tried it - I'm saving mine for bartering when/if society in the cabin breaks down. I've collected the stroopwafels from my wife and daughter. I believe three will make a fine trade and allow us to take ownership of the family behind us - I've always wanted litter-bearers.

Cultural note: Flight 1778 is a diverse bunch. There are many Japanese and Indians on the flight.

The Japanese all fell asleep the second they sat down. They are all asleep. It is a remarkable and useful talent.

The Indians are the exact opposite. They are all over the plane. Some of them will hit their Fitbit numbers before we land.

The Indian gentleman in front of me reclined his seat and then bounced in and out of it for the first two hours of the flight. I don't mind the reclining, but the bouncing is compressing my kneecaps. He has gone to sit elsewhere, so I have returned his seat to the upright position. If he comes back, we will talk.

I am bored. I have hit the point where my daughter realizes that I am not actually listening and she has taken that as a challenge to double her efforts to engage me in conversation. I am realizing why there are 30 bars near C80.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Our vacation in Newark flew by.

After arriving at 10 pm, we considered our recreational options and chose sleeping. After waking up at 2:55 am, we were whisked to the airport by a cheerful Russian person. Sum total of the conversation - "You want I skip train and take to airport?" Yes, Vlad. Yes.

After noticing several dozen TSA workers standing around doing nothing, I made a note to like JSM's next post on the working habits of public employees. But the ones that were working completed their review of our travel documents and decided that our footwear posed no danger to the airliner and we were allowed to mosey to gate C80.

Good gate to have. Made gate C90 look like something you'd set aside for livestock or other people's children.

There was no paella on offer. There were about 30 bars open, but we had to wait until 5 to have breakfast.

Opted for a plain cinnamon raisin bagel and some grapes. The bagel was burned but I actually like it that way, so thumbs up. The grapes were delightful and almost worth the $5.97 we paid for them. The wife and daughter each had a muffin and pineapple. I didn't ask for their thoughts.

Boarding was uneventful.

We're flying United for the first time. I have sized up the flight attendants and if they want to brawl as is their wont, they will not soon forget the thrashing I'll mete out. There are three of them on the plane and all of them would fit in an overhead bin, so I have my plan of attack if things start to go sideways here.

The plane is an AirBus A320. It is far too small to fly across a continent, but it is because it's United and the big planes mean passengers have more open field to run when trying to evade capture. The captain's name is Mark and the First Officer's name is who cares, he's not the captain.

The snack is something called a "stroopwafel". It looks like a flat waffle with sugar on it. I have not tried it - I'm saving mine for bartering when/if society in the cabin breaks down. I've collected the stroopwafels from my wife and daughter. I believe three will make a fine trade and allow us to take ownership of the family behind us - I've always wanted litter-bearers.

Cultural note: Flight 1778 is a diverse bunch. There are many Japanese and Indians on the flight.

The Japanese all fell asleep the second they sat down. They are all asleep. It is a remarkable and useful talent.

The Indians are the exact opposite. They are all over the plane. Some of them will hit their Fitbit numbers before we land.

The Indian gentleman in front of me reclined his seat and then bounced in and out of it for the first two hours of the flight. I don't mind the reclining, but the bouncing is compressing my kneecaps. He has gone to sit elsewhere, so I have returned his seat to the upright position. If he comes back, we will talk.

I am bored. I have hit the point where my daughter realizes that I am not actually listening and she has taken that as a challenge to double her efforts to engage me in conversation. I am realizing why there are 30 bars near C80.

Spot on on the Japanese falling asleep instantly. Last flight I took to Italy, the Japanese woman next to me put on elbow length gloves, hospital socks, an eye mask, and put her hoodie on backwards and put the hood over her face. She was asleep before we took off and didn't wake up until we landed. It was honestly one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen.

 

[Fishy]

For the first time in the history of this website, there was actually good advice dispensed.

Newark was fine - we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott because they had a 14-day parking deal. The shuttle service was fine; we finagled an earlier flight home, so I did not get to see what kind of driver they use at 3 am. The 8 pm shuttle driver was not a murderer or at least he was not murdering when we saw him.

Vancouver is an awesome city. They have a waterfront and snow-covered peaks in close proximity - that is an unbeatable combination.

Not a cheap city - we stayed at the Pan Pacific before the cruise and the Fairmont afterwards. The service at both is terrific, but they're expensive. I think the Pan Pacific will bury a body for you if you're staying at the club level.

Unfortunately, there were a couple of tragic accidents outside of our hotel on both days we were there before the cruise which disrupted the shuttle buses to Capilano and Grouse, so we were unable to do both the same day. It seemed disrespectful to push past the accidents just to find another tourist bus stop, so we waited and left later in the day.

Capilano was great. Grouse Mountain was twice as great. To the guy above who threw out 45-minutes as the time to aim for going up the Grouse Grind, we did it in about 54 minutes...but my daughter is just 13. She had to stop and rest a few times, but she did well. I've never seen as many shattered human beings scattered around a hiking trail as I did going up Grouse.

At someone else's suggestion, we rented bikes and rode around Stanley as well. I'd move to Vancouver just to live closer to that park.

As for restaurants...we've come to the realization that we really just do not care that much about food. We ate for convenience - we went to the Steamworks Brewery twice and a place called Rogue once. Rogue sold a beer called Boneyard. I tried it - it was bad. (Big plus for Canada - when the bill comes, they show up with a credit card reader and handle the transaction right there. No watching your card disappear for ten minutes. Canada is way ahead on the tap and pay curve.)

The cruise to Alaska was as good as advertised. The weather was what I gathered typical for Alaska - it rained from the second we got on the ship to the second we got off. Temp was consistently 50-54.

We tried to take a helicopter to a glacier in Alaska in Juneau, but that sucker got rained out. We took a bus to Mendenhall instead and tried to find a bear, but struck out there, too. I did manage to take the family on a hike from Mendenhall down a trail that flooded behind us. Wife was thrilled to have to take her shoes off and walk through glacial streams to get back to the trailhead. Refreshing, I said.

We skipped the train in Skagway and hiked up to Upper Dewey Lake instead. It's about a three mile hike up to the lake, but there's 3,100' of elevation to be gained and it's generally pouring rain. But it's worth it - there wasn't another soul on the trail and there's a postcard view every time you look up. The lake is something like you will see once in a lifetime. It's beautiful.

We took a Deadliest Catch crab fishing boat trip in Ketchikan. It was retired from crab fishing and refitted for tourism. They give a four-hour tour, demonstrate how to fish for various crab and fish species, spot some whales, eagles, etc. Very touristy, but fun. (For Deadliest Catch fans, our cruise ship tied up next to the Time Bandit; they're fishing for salmon right now.)

A note on societal differences - we generally take Disney cruise ships. The service is great and we prefer it to the cottontops on some other cruise lines and the drunks on some others.

On the Caribbean cruises, there are a lot of Germans, southerners and Brazilians. LSU and UF garb everywhere. On the Alaska cruise, there were a lot of midwesterners, New Englanders and Asians. Michigan, Oregon and UConn were the most-seen college garb. Saw at least six-eight people wearing UConn stuff - the block C carry-on luggage that I have brought three UConn fans up to me in the terminal before we even got on the ship.

Another note: there is nothing in this world that you love more than young Japanese women love Disney characters. Nothing. Not your wife, not your kids, nothing. It was fun to watch them lost their marbles every time a person in a mouse costume was in their presence.

On Alaska - I'd go back again in a heartbeat. My daughter loved it. Eventually, we just ignored the rain and spent most of our time out on deck anyway. We got used to the rain when we were in port as well. My wife liked it, but she's done it and has no desire to go again. Typically, she likes to spend some time outside reading on deck, but that's not happening in the rain and cold, so she felt a little confined inside by the end of the trip. So...heading back to the Caribbean next year.

But we still need to walk on a glacier, so Iceland looks like a long weekend trip next spring.

 

[nomar]

(Big plus for Canada - when the bill comes, they show up with a credit card reader and handle the transaction right there. No watching your card disappear for ten minutes. Canada is way ahead on the tap and pay curve.)

The entire world does this. I'm not sure why US restaurants don't.

 

[Vuce]

We did the Alaska cruise on Carnival three years ago. Best cruise we have ever been on and we have done all of the Caribbean stops. It only rained 1 or 2 days. Did zip lining, river rafting and other things. Saw tons of eagles, whales, sea lions. We will do the northern Alaskan cruise one of these days.

 

[Dove]

I would like to be the first to honestly write....welcome back.

 

[superjohn]

Just seeing this thread.

Newark- I can vouch for the Ironbound restaurants. New Jersey Drive was filmed in Newark and it was at one time the car theft capital. A long time ago my friend Anthony was at a gas station in Newark when a couple of kids tried to carjack him. He was a wrestler and pretty tough, he beat up one of the kids with a roll of quarters in his fist. Anthony had to go to court because the carjacker pressed charges. Newark has always been rough but if you've spent any real time in the area you would know Irvington is rougher. Irvington is flat out scary, at least that's how I remember it.

Vancouver- Beautiful city and the Pan Pacific is one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in. Hung out with some Canadians last weekend and they reinforced to me that Canadians are the friendliest/coolest people on earth.

 

[Fishy]

Vancouver- Beautiful city and the Pan Pacific is one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in. Hung out with some Canadians last weekend and they reinforced to me that Canadians are the friendliest/coolest people on earth.

The Pan Pacific was very nice - we stayed at the Fairmont on the return trip and I recommend that as well. The Fairmont has check-in nailed - they send you an email in the morning asking when you want to arrive. Press the button you want and you are checked in. Once you get there, a concierge desk hands you an envelope with your name on it. Keys and such are inside. That is the only time you need to interact with anyone at the hotel.

The Pan Pacific has a private check-in for club levels, but it was a little clunky the day we were there. It's no faster than regular check-in, but you get to wait in a much nicer area.

Also...if you're traveling alone or if you're a couple and you know you need just one bed, book a room with a good cancellation policy wherever you're going as back up and then haunt Hotels Tonight in the last days before you visit. They cannot guarantee a room type which was a deal breaker for me traveling with the family, but if you knew you needed just one bed, you could have rented a room at the PP for about $650 less than I paid for that weekend.

Every luxe hotel in Vancouver - Fairmonts, Trump, Pan Pacific - had rooms on their service on the day we arrived and they were going for hundreds less a night than they were online.

 

[temery]

The Pan Pacific was very nice - we stayed at the Fairmont on the return trip and I recommend that as well. The Fairmont has check-in nailed - they send you an email in the morning asking when you want to arrive. Press the button you want and you are checked in. Once you get there, a concierge desk hands you an envelope with your name on it. Keys and such are inside. That is the only time you need to interact with anyone at the hotel.

The Pan Pacific has a private check-in for club levels, but it was a little clunky the day we were there. It's no faster than regular check-in, but you get to wait in a much nicer area.

Also...if you're traveling alone or if you're a couple and you know you need just one bed, book a room with a good cancellation policy wherever you're going as back up and then haunt Hotels Tonight in the last days before you visit. They cannot guarantee a room type which was a deal breaker for me traveling with the family, but if you knew you needed just one bed, you could have rented a room at the PP for about $650 less than I paid for that weekend.

Every luxe hotel in Vancouver - Fairmonts, Trump, Pan Pacific - had rooms on their service on the day we arrived and they were going for hundreds less a night than they were online.

I have a hard time understanding, "hundreds less a night" when the most I've ever spent for a room was ~ $80.

I guess it's time to once again look into using the couple hundred thousand reward points I have from Chase.

 

[CL82]

I have a hard time understanding, "hundreds less a night" when the most I've ever spent for a room was ~ $80.

I guess it's time to once again look into using the couple hundred thousand reward points I have from Chase.

You're single.

Conversations you don't want to have to with your wife:

"But, honey, it was less that $80 bucks a night."

 

[August_West]

The Pan Pacific was very nice - we stayed at the Fairmont on the return trip and I recommend that as well. The Fairmont has check-in nailed - they send you an email in the morning asking when you want to arrive. Press the button you want and you are checked in. Once you get there, a concierge desk hands you an envelope with your name on it. Keys and such are inside. That is the only time you need to interact with anyone at the hotel.

The Pan Pacific has a private check-in for club levels, but it was a little clunky the day we were there. It's no faster than regular check-in, but you get to wait in a much nicer area.

Also...if you're traveling alone or if you're a couple and you know you need just one bed, book a room with a good cancellation policy wherever you're going as back up and then haunt Hotels Tonight in the last days before you visit. They cannot guarantee a room type which was a deal breaker for me traveling with the family, but if you knew you needed just one bed, you could have rented a room at the PP for about $650 less than I paid for that weekend.

Every luxe hotel in Vancouver - Fairmonts, Trump, Pan Pacific - had rooms on their service on the day we arrived and they were going for hundreds less a night than they were online.

Hotel tonight has been the secret weapon to my life the last couple years. Fantastic app. Don't use it until day of stay though. That's when you hit the jackpots. Works perfectly for me on mid level driving gigs where I waffle on doing 3 hours home at 3 am or a room. I decide that day and hotel tonight has saved me bundles of cash on some really really sweet places.
Did a 900 dollar weekend stay in Chicago last month for about 250.

Great app. So much better than the websites. Spot on about having to accept singles though.

 

[Fishy]

Hotel tonight has been the secret weapon to my life the last couple years. Fantastic app. Don't use it until day of stay though...

I would actually say to start a few days out.

Stuff comes and goes and you absolutely know where you want to stay, you could have nailed down a deal three days out in some cases.

 

[temery]

That one looks more like a by the hour, bring your own sheets, hotel.

You're single.

Conversations you don't want to have to with your wife:

"But, honey, it was less that $80 bucks a night."

 

[CL82]

That one looks more like a by the hour, bring your own sheets, hotel.

I yield to your expertise.

 

[August_West]

I would actually say to start a few days out.

Stuff comes and goes and you absolutely know where you want to stay, you could have nailed down a deal three days out in some cases.

Yes you can do that but you pay for that convenience in my experience. Im on that app fairly frequently and I seldom if ever see the same price 3 days out. Hell , even 1 day out, than I do the day of.

I did something that made my wife pull her hair out last month in Chicago, but ended up being a small change hero. Was looking for a Fri/sat stay. Found a killer deal on a 400 plus a night room the day of ( 125 bucks) . In the exact part of city we wanted to be in. We wanted 2 nights there but when I tried to add the 2nd day on the app my price averaged about 200 night. The next day on the app the day before was like double the price of the day of ( but still substantial savings over their website and when I called to check. Always call to check!) So I said screw it and only booked the first night. I was in a favorable position because worst case scenario was that we move to one of the other 100 nice hotels in that area ( river north/magnificent Mile) and we were traveling light.
Wife wasn't happy because she doesn't like moving around in the am and was bemoaning the idea of another check in check out. But my plan was to wake up in the morning and check the app back for the hotel we were already at.
I did just that and sure enough it had come down to only 4 dollars more than I paid the previous night. A call to the front desk to ask nicely that I would prefer to keep the same room after I bought on the app again and I felt smart for the first time since I walked into an Arbys.

 

[Chuck]

@Fishy, sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I'm headed to Vancouver with my wife for a few days this weekend. Flying into Seattle (from Newark!) and driving up to Vancouver. Staying 3 nights and then 1 night back in Seattle. We booked a few restaurants and plan on the whole bike thing in the park(s). Any can't miss things we should do? Any "best things ever" that actually suck and we should stay away from? Thanks in advance!

I think I'm looking most forward to the weather. A man of my carriage doesn't do well in the 90+ and humid weather we have coming our way. Looks like Vancouver is perfect spring weather (permanently).

 

[Fishy]

@Fishy, sorry to dredge up an old thread, but I'm headed to Vancouver with my wife for a few days this weekend. Flying into Seattle (from Newark!) and driving up to Vancouver. Staying 3 nights and then 1 night back in Seattle. We booked a few restaurants and plan on the whole bike thing in the park(s). Any can't miss things we should do? Any "best things ever" that actually suck and we should stay away from? Thanks in advance!

I think I'm looking most forward to the weather. A man of my carriage doesn't do well in the 90+ and humid weather we have coming our way. Looks like Vancouver is perfect spring weather (permanently).

Biking in Stanley Park is a must - there are bike rentals everywhere.

I would highly recommend the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. It gets fairly crowded there, but it’s open until 8, so heading there later in the day helps.

Grouse Mountain was fun. You can either take the tram up to the top or you can hike the “Grouse Grind”. The hike is two miles...straight up. No nuance to that hike - it’s a two-mile stair case. My wife, who’s in very good shape, had angry words for me for making her hike up that mountain, so if you don’t enjoy some suffering, definitely take the tram. Once to the top, there’s a logging show, animal displays, a bear habitat with a few rescued bears, etc. There’s also another chair lift with amazing views of the bay and the entire Vancouver area.

We didn’t get the chance to visit these two, but people who advised us on traveling to Vancouver were high on Granville Island and Queen Elizabeth Park.

Enjoy yourself - Vancouver is awesome. I’d go back in a heartbeat.