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= WEBSITE Didn't have a chance to read last week's newsletter? Click here! HOUSE KEEPING: Remember when you click on the pictures in "Where's Johnny Jet," they will open up in another window. Just click the "x"(close) in each picture to get back to the newsletter. This should alleviate complaints about closing Johnny Jet. Thanks again for your support, and remember: If you book trips on the web, please go through johnnyjet.com (we get a commission and it doesn't cost you any more money). "If you want Johnny Jet to continue I need your support and the support of your fellow travellers". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bula! That word should give you a hint as to where I am writing this newsletter from – but more on that later. Right now let's head down (and then back up) the 405 freeway for a couple of quick stops in Southern California, before heading out on our nine-hour international flight. Last Thursday, Amber Airplane and I drove down to San Diego to guest-host the radio show Travel Hub on World Talk Radio. One of the regular hosts was traveling, so the producer asked us to help out the other co-host, Rochelle. Of course we agreed, but because it was our first time hosting a show (we have always been guests), it was kind of nerve-racking. We wondered what in the world we could talk about for two hours. But we quickly learned that once the "on air" button lights up, two hours is not a lot of time to discuss travel -- especially when there are phone calls. Thanks to our guests (Scott McMurren from AlaskaTravelGram.com, Tom Parsons from BestFares.com, and Concierge Hugh) the show went well. We had plenty of positive feedback. (Of course, we also had a few stumbles, but what do you expect from a couple of rookies?) Hopefully, one day we will have our own show. After the show Amber’s father Mr. Airplane (just kidding) invited us to a really cool place to eat: the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant. Not only was it just around the corner from the studio, but it served really good food, and is perfect for aviation enthusiasts like us. The restaurant sits right on Montgomery Field Airport, which serves small private planes. The place is similar to the Proud Bird near LAX, which I have written about numerous times. However, I think the 94th Aero Squadron has better food, and is more romantic. Don’t get me wrong: I still love the Proud Bird, especially because you can see the big commercial jets land there. The 94th Aero Squadron is packed with military memorabilia and aviation relics. There are even biplanes and old army vehicles on the property. The restaurant’s interior is a replica of a World War I French farmhouse, with plenty of pictures and objects. Everything is decorated perfectly. Everyone ordering an entrée gets creamed corn with their meal, and it’s the best creamed corn I’ve ever tasted. Make sure you try their tasty desserts too! 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, 8885 Balboa Ave., San Diego, CA; tel.: (858) 560-6771. The following Saturday, I attended the largest consumer travel expo west of the Mississippi: the Los Angeles Times Travel Show at the Long Beach Convention Center. This event is always great. Not only do hundreds of exhibitors represent everything from individual hotels to countries, but organizers have the best panel sessions anywhere. Their experts are always top-notch and for years I have looked up to and learned from many of them: Peter Greenberg, Arthur Frommer, Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa .... What’s especially cool is that for the past two years I have been fortunate enough to sit alongside them, speak on these fine panels. That really is an incredible honor. This year my session focused on budget travel. Fellow panelists included airline expert Terry Trippler from cheapseats.com and Sandra Gustafson's, author of the "Cheap Eats and Sleeps" series. Our moderator, Catherine Hamm of the Los Angeles Times. She was also my moderator last year, and is amazing to work with. (I’m not trying to be a brown-nose; I just call it the way it is. Besides I know Catherine doesn’t even read this newsletter!) This year I arrived at the show early to do a live call-in interview on KFQD-AM with Chris Elliott (another travel expert who was on a panel that day). It was pretty funny to stand side by side on our cell phones, talking to the same radio station. Afterwards we went into the press room and hung out with other panelist, including Don George (editor of Lonely Planet Guide Books), Tony Wheeler (founder of Lonely Planet), James Gilden (Internet travel writer for the L.A. Times), Kevin Coffey (security expert) and a bunch others. Our hour-long panel was very well attended. There was a full house of 800 people. It went really well (at least I thought so). When it was over I was shuffled off to Distant Lands bookstore, which had a large booth at the show. I was shocked and happy to see a long line of attendees lining up, waiting for me to sign copies of my book, "You Are Here Traveling with JohnnyJet.com." Thanks to all of you, they sold almost every one! In case you missed out, you can buy my book through Amazon.com -- just click here. After the show Amber Airplane and I hopped back on the 405 freeway and drove straight to a party in Marina Del Rey. Our friend Peter Greenberg from the Today Show and TravelNewsToday.com (a new website for which I write a weekly column) was hosting a party on his boat. We thought it would be just a little cocktail party, with people coming and going from the docked boat. How many people do you know -- especially in L.A. --who actually go out on their boat? Well, you can include Peter in the small percentage of those who do. Not only does the guy take out his boat on the water -- he drives it himself too. That’s pretty impressive, especially because it’s more like a yacht than a boat. I guess it’s about 65 feet long. The only problem with Peter taking out his boat was that Amber Airplane and I had a ton of things to do before our big trip, and were stretched for time. We thought we could make a quick appearance and leave. Nope! Soon the engine started, and the boat lines were untied. The good news (!) is that it was really windy and rough out on the ocean, so Peter could not take us on a long cruise. Instead we slowly cruised the marina. The party was great, and we met a lot of nice people. Most are in the travel industry, in some way or other. Unfortunately, Amber Airplane did not have warm clothes or socks. The weather got really cold, so as soon as Peter docked the boat a few hours later we disembarked. On the way to the car Amber started running and said, "I need some mad heat on my feet." I thought that was pretty funny, but I guess you had to be there. After getting warmed up we went home and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. As I said, we were going away for a couple weeks, but because we had been so busy with work we hadn’t made any preparations at all. On Sunday afternoon I went back to the L.A. Times travel show to listen to some panels and pick up our tickets from an Air Pacific representative (that’s a huge hint as to where we are). Air Pacific flies 747-400 series planes from LAX to and from Fiji. Yeah, baby: We’re in Fiji! I’m doing the moonwalk as I write this. I was really excited about going until the representative said she had good news and bad news. The good news was that Amber Airplane and I got upgraded to Business Class. The bad news was that the emergency door in Business Class was not working, so everyone from Business Class was being moved upstairs, and the airline was keeping an empty seat in between everyone. (The seating configuration upstairs is Economy Class, with three seats on each side of the aisle). At that point I didn’t really care about getting upgraded. I just cared about getting to Fiji -- safely. The problem was that Tony Wheeler of Lonely Planet told me earlier in the day that the movie "Cast Away" was filmed in Fiji. That struck a nerve, because the movie scared me like "Jaws" did (after seeing that film as a kid, I had a hard time swimming in a pool by myself. Shoot, I still hear that damn theme music in my head when I swim in the ocean). Back to my story: The movie "Cast Away" shows an awful and realistic plane crash in the South Pacific. Whenever I fly across the Pacific I see that image of Tom Hanks holding on for dear life, with the plane going down and the door wide open. So when I heard there was a problem with the emergency door, my knees and stomach got weak. It was the first time I became really afraid of flying since I was 21. I quickly called a few friends who know a lot about planes, and asked what they thought. They all said it was no big deal; it was probably just something wrong with the emergency raft, so the FAA would not let anyone sit near that door. It turned out they were right, and I got my nerves and knees back. Thank you, God!. We were supposed to be at LAX at 8:30 p.m. for a 10:30 flight. I made sure Amber Airplane knew that we needed to leave by 8:15, if we were getting a ride or taking a taxi. (As you can see, we live very close to the airport). Then I found a free coupon for the Parking Spot, so I said we needed to leave a few minutes earlier in order to park. As usual, Amber Airplane was running late. I didn’t pack until 8 p.m., but it takes me only five minutes (I start laying out my stuff the day before in my office, so I won’t forget). Amber Airplane should do the same thing, because it takes her at least an hour to pack all her stuff for a big trip. I said (she says I "yelled"), "Amber, we have to go now!" Things got a bit tense. We didn’t leave until 8:45, which meant we had to use the valet at the Parking Spot (can you say "more money"?). The good news was that the Parking Spot was quick, and we made it to the airport by 9:05. The bad news was that the airport was a zoo. I’m not kidding -- there was complete chaos in the International terminal, which Air Pacific shares with dozens of other carriers. Air Pacific’s line wound around the corner, and we did not check-in until 10:25. (Tip: When checking bags with Air Pacific, let the agent standing around the entrance know. The TSA will scan them, then leave them in a secure area. Then when it’s your turn to go through security, you only have to point to which bags are yours). The security lines were even longer than those to check in. Luckily an Air Pacific agent got us and other late passengers near the front of the security line. As we went through security we heard the final boarding call over the P.A., and put on the after-burners. We ran to the gate, and just made it. I often heard that Fijians are the friendliest people in the world, and I must say that everyone at Air Pacific -- from gate agents to flight attendants – was very nice and professional. Once I got on the plane all my fears vanished. Once again I started to get very excited about going to Fiji. Everyone on the plane got free drinks, two meals, and movie headsets (to go along with their own personal TV monitor). Before takeoff the flight attendant gave each of us a small bottle of Fiji water. Even though we were in coach seats, we were served business class meals. The first meal was supposed to be light, but it was plenty. We had cream of mushroom soup, green beans, fettuccine Alfredo and barbecue chicken. Our other meal was served three hours before landing, which I thought was weird. They should have let everyone sleep another 90 minutes before waking us up to eat. This meal was breakfast, and it was very large and good. It started with a big fruit plate, followed by a croissant or toast (when was the last time you had toast on a plane?!) and cereal. Then came a cart filled with cheese omelets, bacon, sausage, sauted mushrooms, tomatoes and onions. It was tasty! The flight -- normally 10 hours -- took us just 9 hours and 15 minutes, and was relatively smooth. It was dark the whole flight, which made for perfect sleeping conditions. (I always bring my mask and earplugs, just in case). The seats in Business Class would have been unbelievable, with a 50-inch pitch. Coach, however, had only the standard 32-inch pitch. However, they were surprisingly comfortable. Unfortunately, a rude lady in front had the whole row to herself, but insisted on putting every seat all the way back. Every time she fell asleep I pushed her seats up. She didn’t even notice. I woke up frequently to check the in-flight map. If you’re like most people, and don’t know time zones, some of the info was not helpful. I wanted to know how much time was left in the flight, but all the map showed was the time at our current location. That was way too much math for me to do, so I fell back asleep. In fact, I slept almost the entire flight. I didn’t use my computer, play card games or read magazines. When we arrived, I was refreshed and ready to go. I’ll tell you all about the first island we visited in next week’s newsletter. Right now, I gotta go for a swim. It’s about 85 degrees -- and I’m talking about both the air and water temperatures! Happy Travels, Johnny Jet P.S. 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LONDON I wanted to start off by telling you thank you for all of your information and tips on where to stay and what to do while visiting London England for the first time! Your website was a tremendous help in finding maps and places to stay while in the city for a short period of time. Speaking of time, below I mention what we did in London for our first visit in a short period of time, hence the title "London in a Weekend". Valentines, London in a Weekend: We left LAX at 5:30pm on UAL to London Heathrow arriving 12pm on Friday 2/13/04. Once we arrived we took your advice and caught the express train to London after collecting our bags which is right outside baggage claim. It's easy to find since London, England is extremely user friendly for tourist by not only having everything in English but to make everything so easy to find and understand. a Quick and easy train ride brought us to a major stop called Paddington where the major interchange takes place in order to catch a subway to anywhere in London (it reminds me of the original Grand Central Station in the twenties and forties). Slightly! From there we find out ahead time what stop our hotel was in and that was only a ten minute subway ride. Went to the hotel which is a four start hotel which I purchased through priceline via Johnnyjet (of course) and paid next to nothing for two nights and a location to die for (Kensington and Hyde Park). Went for coffee at Cafe Nero where we relaxed and people watched until we decided to go check out Harrod's. We walked a great deal to see as much as possible and than ran into a great cozy Italian restaurant where we must have stayed for hours until stumbling upon a tavern next door and drank until we closed the place after flying for ten hours. Let me just tell you that we had no plan, we were in no rush, and accomplished the following during the next 36hours: Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Royal Opera House, Buckingham Palace, Queen Vicoria Memorial, Green Park & Palace Gardens. After viewing the London Eye from the bridge we walked back through St. James Park on our way back to the hotel to get ready for a valentines dinner. Of course, we had no reservations and were craving Indian food which we stumbled upon around the kensington area close to Harrods, where we found a great authentic Indian restaurant where they had Valentines balloons and a preset menu that was to die for...the works. Sunday, woke up and had breakfast and caught the train back to Paddington and the express London, Heathrow train to the airport where we just experienced one the easiest European (short) trips of our lifes. Thanks again for your help and your great website! Happy Traveling, Steve in Southern CA... Have A Travel Tip? (Send it to Johnny@johnnyjet.com) |
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Top five bargain destinations for spring Spring is just around the corner, and now is the time to come out of hibernation and begin planning for this year's vacation adventures. In terms of money, climate, and crowds, spring is one of the most pleasant times of year to travel. March, April, and May mark the slow transition from snow and warm-destination vacations that define winter trips to the busy tourist season that you'll find in most popular destinations during the summer. Our two main criteria for this season's bargain destinations are—you guessed it—price and appeal. Click Here To Read Article |
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