I had an early evening flight out of Ontario Airport. My flight was with American Airlines, so I got dropped off at Terminal 4. After getting through TSA security screening, I used the restroom before heading over to my gate. I didn't have dinner yet, so I went over to the Hudson News convenience store that was next to my gate to buy some healthy snacks to tide me over. I thought that that would be a better choice than eating something greasy from one of the airport restaurants.
Aspire airport lounge
Hudson News
Snacks
Originally, I was planning to eat dinner at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Good thing, I decided to just go with snacks, as my flight out of Ontario was delayed just long enough to make the connection a bit too tight. I didn't have too much time to dilly dally in getting over to my gate to catch my connecting flight out to Newark Liberty Airport. During the flight, I watched Novocaine. Overall, I found it to be a pretty hilarious movie, but I was only able to catch about ¾ of it as my old Google Pixel 2 had run out of battery. I opted to catch a little bit of shuteye for the rest of the flight.
Phoenix
Novocaine
Friday 6/27
My plane landed at about 5:30 am. While waiting to deplane, I noticed that I was getting really congested. Then my nose started to run nonstop. Someone on the plane must have been wearing some fragrance that triggered an allergic reaction. I quickly used up the napkins that I had on me. Anyways, it was nice that we were in Terminal A. It had just recently been redeveloped.
Sunrise
Newark Terminal A
After using the restroom, I followed the signs to catch a bus ride over to the AirTrain. Then over at the Newark Airport Train Station, I paid $16.80 for a one way ticket on the NJ Transit for a train ride over to NY Penn Station. When did everything get so expensive?
NJ Transit Train
I reached Penn Station at about 7 am. I headed west towards the Hudson River along W 34th St. The walk was very familiar as it was the same walk over to the Javits Center for the NYC Marathon race expo. However, this time it was for me to finally check out the High Line. Along the way, I stopped in at the Starbucks between 8th and 9th Ave for my morning coffee. I had recently received an email reminding me that I had some stars that were about to expire at the end of the month. I cashed in 200 stars for a venti blonde vanilla latte.
Starbucks on 34th St and 8th Ave
Venti blonde vanilla latte
It was pretty cool checking out this city park. It was definitely a good and creative way to repurpose a pre-existing structure. I was there early enough where there wasn't too many people. I was able to enjoy my coffee while I walked from end to end. It turned out to be about 1.45 miles in length from 34th St down to Gansevoort St. Per their website:
The High Line is a public park built on a historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side. Saved from demolition by neighborhood residents and the City of New York, the High Line opened in 2009 as a hybrid public space where visitors experience nature, art, and design.
High Line
Foot Fountain
View of Little Island
Gansevoort St and Washington St
After taking the stairs down to the street level, I headed west and crossed over the Hudson River Greenway to go check out the Little Island. This was another place that I wanted to check out after seeing some of my friend's photos on Facebook. Similar to the High Line, Pier 54/55 was replaced with a beautiful park. Per the Hudson River Park website:
Little Island, a new, free public Park pier within the larger Hudson River Park, opened to the public on May 21, 2021, providing New Yorkers and visitors from around the world with a unique green space unlike any other in New York City. Planned in partnership with the Hudson River Park Trust, Little Island was funded primarily through Barry Diller and the Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation through an extraordinary philanthropic gift to the Hudson River Park.
Little Island
View of Gansevoort Pennisula/Pier 53
View of lower Manhattan
Little Island selfie
After checking that out and crossing it off of my list of things to do, I crossed the street at 14th St to go check out Flannery's Bar. They're a Tottenham Hotspur supporters bar. One of these days, I'll catch a Spurs match here.
Flannery's Bar
Flannery's Bar selfie
I then hopped on a 2 line train and took it up to Columbus Circle. Before exiting the subway station and heading up to the street level, I walked through the Turnstyle Underground Market to get over to the Brooklyn Diner on 57th St for breakfast. Per the usual, I got coffee and ordered their steak & eggs. For some reason, it took about 30 mins for my food to come out.
Weird mannequin arrangement
Coffee
Steak & eggs
After breakfast, I walked over to the nearby NYRR RUNCENTER to pick up my race packet for the Achilles Hope & Possibility 4M race. After showing them my check-in pass QR code, I was assigned a race bib. Then I headed back to the store to pick up my race premium. For this race, it was a neon yellow singlet. I hung out a bit on the bleachers. I used a restroom before heading out.
Race singlet
Back of race singlet
Per my usual routine, I then walked up to the Target on Broadway and W 61st St to buy a gallon of water for the weekend. I went with the cheapest option ($1.69), the Good & Gather brand. I knew that it was a long shot since we were in June, but I still looked to see if they were selling Mallomars. No dice.
1 gallon water
I then took the 6½ St to head over to the Club Wyndham Midtown 45. Once I had arrived, I checked in with the lady at the front desk so that they knew that I was there. Then I found an open seat by the entrance to sit and wait. At about 1 pm, I received a text notifying me that my room was ready for me to check-in. I returned to the front desk and was assigned to unit #1004. Then came the worst part with staying at this property. I had to make that dreadful stop at the concierge station. Even though I reminded her that I had attended an owner update twice in the past month including once last month at this very location, the lady still wanted me to attend yet another one. She allowed me to go upstairs to drop off my bags. While I had no problem talking to a sales rep for an hour, it was clearly a waste of time. The secondary salesman was clearly upset that I had attended so many of these "updates" so close together. He stated that it would be hurting their figures. Yeah, like I care about that. I told him that they should take that up with those at the concierge station. Thankfully, I was able to finally go relax up at my room. My respiratory allergies were really kicking my ass! I had so much sinus pressure that my teeth were hurting! I took a hot shower and eventually took a nap which really helped. It took about 20 hours for whatever irritant to finally clear out of my system. I hadn't had such a bad bout in quite some time!
Yet another useless Travel & Leisure owner update
View from my room
I normally don't eat so late, but at about 7:30 pm, I ordered some food from the nearby Gai Chicken & Rice. I got their roasted chicken salad and Zaab wings. I was still getting acclimated to the time change, so I ended up catching a late night showing of Mickey 17. While I'm not a fan of Robert Pattinson, I thought it was an interesting novel story. There was a good amount of humor in this movie. This movie further solidified my dislike for Mark Ruffalo as an actor. I thought he was by far the worst actor to play Bruce Banner/Hulk, but somehow he ended up being the one to stay for the MCU. Anamaria Vartolomei, who played Kai Katz, did catch my attention for her minor role. I will have to look into what other work she has done.
Gai Chicken & Rice
Roasted chicken salad and Zaab wings
Saturday 6/28
At around 5:30 am, I started my walk over to Central Park to put in my +1 volunteer shift at the Front Runners New York LGBT Pride Run 4M. The check-in location for course marshals was located at the 102nd St Crossing near the mile 2 marker. After we were all checked in and received our hip pack and rain poncho, they split us up into 2 groups. We were told to pair up. I paired up with a local guy that belonged to the Boogie Down Bronx Runners running club. Near the end of my shift, I bumped into Coach Ben. I see this guy pretty much every time I'm in NYC for a NYRR race. On the way out of the park, I stopped by the Fred Lebow statue at E 90th St.
Volunteer check-in
Volunteer swag
Volunteers, making new friends
Coach Ben
Fred Lebow
Fred Lebow selfie
I headed down to Junior's at W 49th St and Broadway to get some breakfast. However, one of the employees informed me that they were in the middle of transitioning over to the lunch menu. Since I only was interested in their breakfast, I walked over to Xie Bao Crabhouse on 9th Ave to see if I could order something to-go. Unfortunately, they would not be open for another hour.
Xie Bao
At this point, I gave up on getting any food. However, when I came across a Starbucks on W 45th St near 5th Ave, I popped in for a cold drink as it was a pretty warm day. I cashed in another 200 stars for a trenta salted caramel cream cold brew. I drank about half of it before I got back to my room.
Starbucks on W 45th St and 5th Ave
Trenta salted caramel cream cold brew
For lunch, I really didn't want to go anywhere in that heat. I ended up ordering a bunch of food from Gai Chicken again. It worked out well as this month, they had a BOGO deal for loyalty members where the second item was half off! I ordered a roasted chicken bowl. For my second item, I got a roasted chicken platter with green beans and cauliflower.
Gai Chicken
Roasted chicken bowl and roasted chicken platter with cauliflower, green beans
For dinner, I begrudgingly placed an Uber Eats order for Xie Bao Crabhouse as I had a $25 voucher that was expiring this weekend. Since I didn't trust a stranger to deliver my food, I opted for picking it up myself. I ordered the crab roe over rice (蟹黃蓋飯). It was one of the pricier items on their menu. However, I thought it was good and worth it if you like crab eggs. After finishing my meal, I laid out my flat runner, took a shower, and called it a night.
Xie Bao
Crab roe over rice 蟹黃蓋飯
Flat runner
Sunday 6/29
Unfortunately, the weather was warmer today compared to yesterday. The forecast said that it wasn't as humid, but it was still pretty humid for someone from California! I was already pretty sweaty when I arrived at Central Park. Thankfully, I only had to get to the Balto Statue at about 68th St for the start fo the race. My assigned corral D was right next to the William Shakespeare Statue, so I found a bench to hang out and wait after I used one of the nearby portapotties. I couldn't see him from all the way back in corral D, but it was pretty cool to hear Jon Stewart deliver a pre-race speech.
Start line
Corral D
I wasn't too sure what pace I could hold, but I ran the first 2 miles at a 8:05 min/mile pace. However once I had turned left onto West Dr, I knew that I had to take a walk break as I was overheating. Once my body cool down a bit, I cruised the remainder of the race. I was almost 5 minutes slower than when I ran this race back in 2018 where I finished it in 30:59.
Finish: 35:52
Click here for my Garmin data.
They had post race drawings and stuff over at the Naumburg Bandshell, but I didn't stick around. I just wanted to get back to my room. I was so sweaty that it felt like I had jumped into a swimming pool. Thankfully, today's race was only 4 miles as it really wore me out! I didn't go out to get lunch. After getting back to my room, I took a shower, ate the pretzels and apple before I vegged out and watched TV. That was fine with me as the History Channel's 'Built America' documentaries on Sundays were my favorite.
Finisher medal
Back of medal
9+1 status
Pretzel and apple
Columbus Circle selfie
Lee's Art Shop
Eataly Caffè - Rockfeller Center
30 Rockefeller Plaza
The Waldorf Astoria
I definitely didn't want to go anywhere, so for dinner, I got something at Gai Chicken again. It's my go-to spot now as it's pretty much right across the street. I ordered their roasted chicken salad and Zaab wings which had clearly become my favorites. The weather had been so hot that I finished off the gallon jug of water already.
Gai Chicken... again!
Roasted chicken salad and Zaab wings
Monday 6/30
I got up at about 6 am and got ready to go get breakfast. This time, I opted for nearby Chick-fil-A at E 42nd St and Madison Ave to keep the cost down. On the mobile app, I ordered their grilled breakfast filet x2, berry parfait with granola, Simply orange juice, and coffee. I used my reward points to get the parfait and coffee for free. With tax, it came out to be $10 even.
Chick-fil-A
Grilled breakfast filet x2, berry parfait with granola, Simply orange juice, and coffee
I waited until about 11 am before heading down the elevator to check-out of my room. From there, I headed up to 53rd St and Lexington to catch an E train over to Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Ave/74th and Broadway. There, I waited for a Q70-SBS bus for a ride over to LaGuardia Airport. I got off of the bus at Terminal B. After getting through TSA security screening, I stopped at the Starbucks in the food court. I cashed in another 200 stars for a trenta chocolate cream cold brew. With coffee in hand, I headed over to my gate to wait for my flight.
Lexington/53rd St
Q70-SBS
Starbucks
Trenta chocolate cream cold brew
So my standard plan when booking my airfare would be to book the earliest and/or the cheapest flight out. For some reason, I decided to go against that and instead booked an afternoon flight out with a layover at Charlotte Airport. Also I normally would pick an airport that doesn't deal with extreme weather. Unfortunately, a lot of flights all along the east coast were being canceled due to storms.
The incoming aircraft was delayed, but it eventually arrived and we boarded the plane. Unfortunately, while waiting on the tarmac, the pilot announced that we were put on hold and not allowed to take off on our flight path. During that long wait, I finished the remainder of Novocaine and started watching the news. As required with tarmac delays, the flight attendants brought out cookies and water after 2 hours. Then when the 3rd hour approached, that pilot announced that we were heading back to the gate so we could deplane.
Live TV
Back in the terminal, we all got in line to see what were our options. During that wait in line, I received an email that my connection in Charlotte was rebooked for Tuesday since I was still in NY and had missed my original connecting flight. Just as I had reached the front of the line, the gate agent switched her attention over to getting us boarded back on the same flight out to Charlotte. Once I got seated, I got on the mobile app and switched my connecting flight for tomorrow to a flight with an earlier departure. However, it came with another connection in Phoenix. I also took the time to book a room at a Microtel near the airport.
Ginger ale
Once we landed at Charlotte, I used a restroom and headed outside to wait for a shuttle ride to my hotel. There were a bunch of people all waiting there at column 1, designated for hotel shuttles. I called the hotel just to make sure that they had sent over a shuttle. The lady at the front desk told me to keep an eye out for a grey van. A guy headed for Vancouver was on the van with me.
Hotel shuttle
At the hotel, I got checked into room #133 and scheduled a van ride to the airport for 11 am tomorrow. It was just your typical no-frills Microtel hotel. After I got situated, I took a shower and caught the FIFA Club World Cup match between Manchester City and Al Hilal. City was favored to win, but they ended up losing in extra time 3-4.
Microtel
Wrong room number?
FIFA Club World Cup, Man City v Al Hilal
Tuesday 7/1
I was pretty thirsty when I woke up in the morning. I headed over to the lobby to see what they had. First I tried for orange juice, but it was dispensing water. I poured that out and tried apple juice which worked. Another guy also staying at the hotel asked the lady at the front desk about the orange juice. She assured him that she had just put in a new batch and eventually, it'll come through. I didn't care to try again as I was planning to eat at Cracker Barrel when it opened at 7 am.
I believe I was the first one there as it was empty. I only saw 2 employees and they didn't look at all ready to be serving anyone. One eventually told me to sit anywhere I wanted. I started things off with coffee. Then I ordered their steak and eggs with grits. The food was pretty standard, but they had forgotten to bring me gravy for my biscuits.
Cracker Barrel
Hey, I'll be in Draper, UT for REVEL Big Cottonwood!
Coffee
Steak & eggs with grits
Microtel
At about 10:45 am, I got my stuff ready and headed over to the front desk to get checked out. Then I took a van ride to the airport with 2 other people. After getting through TSA security screening, I headed over to my gate where I found no place to sit. The airport looked to be extremely crowded. I'm sure it was mostly people in the same boat and were stranded in Charlotte due to the storms. I stopped inside the CNBC News Shop to buy a bag of pistachios and a liter bottle of Deer Park water. That should tide me over until I get into Phoenix Airport. On the flight, I was able to stream some Wimbledon matches.
Deer Park 1L water and Wonderful Pistachios
Charlotte Airport
Tomato juice and Wimbledon
Once we landed in Phoenix, I walked over to terminal B to eat at Matt's Big Breakfast. I started with coffee and ordered the usual steak & eggs. Unfortunately, the steak was way overcooked! I had ordered medium, but it came out well-done. Everything tasted different and not as good compared to my last visit. My guess would be that the cook was different. My final flight home kept being delayed, but eventually I got back home.
Matt's Big Breakfast
Coffee
Steak & eggs
Last leg home
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