OK. I won’t comment on Sen. Craig’s guilt or innocence. I won’t even comment on whether or not he should resign. But I will comment on this…… Did anyone read the details of the police report where the arresting officer said the good Senator entered his stall and placed his carry on bag up against the door, and that this usually meant that the person doing so was soliciting for sex?

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anywhere else to put my damn bag in those tiny airport bathrooms!

I’ll add possible arrest for putting your bag in the wrong position in the airport bathroom to my list of reasons to join your favorite airline’s airport club!

Have a good Labor Day weekend!

Summer winds down, and I hit the road. Traveling to Dayton, Fort Wayne and Hailey, Idaho for sure. Potentially to other spots as well.

I’m pretty jazzed about Hailey. Should be interesting just getting there and back in 2 days! I’ll be sure and post about it.

Well, I can say that I’ve survived my first week at work after returning from Key West. What a wonderful place! I’ve always loved Key West, but had only visited as part of a cruise itinerary. In other words, I’ve never been there for more than 6 hours. All I can say is that isn’t enough, and neither was our long weekend!

Our flights were mostly fine. We traveled American Airlines from Washington National to Key West with connections in Miami. The service from Miami to Key West is American Eagle turboprop service, but that’s fine for such a short flight. We experienced perhaps a 15 minute departure delay from DCA on the outbound. The flight was operated with a 737-800, and is scheduled for a 35 minute turn. Speaking from some experience on the subject, turning a full Miami inbound and outbound in 35 minutes is hard to do…..and AA didn’t. On the upside, the airplane was clean by today’s standards, and the crew was relatively pleasant.

Our return flight from Key West was 30 minutes late, but our layover was scheduled for over 2 hours, so no problems there. No reason for the delay was ever offered, but the agents did announce the updated departure time as soon as the aircraft operating our flight took off from Miami.

We visited the American Airlines Admirals Club on Concourse D in Miami during both layovers. The D club is large and relatively new. It is a beautiful club, and is equipped with several showers, T-Mobile Wi-Fi, and they do offer a cheese and cracker service in the afternoon dinner hour time frame. As you probably know, any US airline’s club offering in the food department is usually inferior to that of most foreign carriers. But that still doesn’t change the fact that the Miami club is very nice. As a side note, I have visited the other Admirals Club in Miami on other trips, and it is very nice as well, just a good bit smaller than the D Concourse club.

The very fine staff at American’s Admirals Club at Washington National was wonderful as always. If you ever have occasion to visit this club, ask if Gary is tending bar that day. And if he is, order a Bloody Mary. You will not be disappointed. Though Gary tells me that the San Juan Club may give him a run for his money on Bloody Mary’s! Fortunately, I’ll be there in November, so I’ll get a chance to sample their offerings!

All in all, a wonderful trip to a wonderful place. I already want to go back. And oh yeah…. Lady Astrojets and I got ourselves engaged while we were there!

Greetings from the Conch Republic! Lady Astrojets and I traveled down Thursday afternoon for a long weekend in Key West, one of our favorite places. August is not exactly high season for Key West so I was able to obtain a favorable rate here at the Westin. I’m not disappointed. The hotel, formerly a Hilton property, was reflagged to Westin sometime in 2006. Located at 245 Front Street, the hotel is close to everything one could possibly want to do in Key West. Basically, we are a block or 2 from every bar, shop, restaurant in the center of town.

The hotel has its own marina and is located adjacent to the cruise ship docks. We picked a good weekend as there are no ships scheduled to be in port. We love cruising, and frankly, this is our first visit to Key West that has not been part of a cruise. But the town just has a different, slightly less harried feel without an extra 3,000 cruisers trying to rush through everything in time to get back on the ship.

Our pool view room is located on the 1st floor. When we first arrived, I thought I smelled a slight twinge cigarette smoke, but soon realized I was smelling the aroma of brand new carpet. The room is equipped with Westin’s Heavenly Bed and Bath products. While the carpet may be new, I have noted that several of the bathroom floor tiles are cracking and in need of replacement. I would call that more of an observation than a complaint. Wireless internet access is complimentary, and evening turndown service is provided, which include complimentary bottled water and chocolates. And in what I think is a nice gesture, the turndown server also provides a note card with tomorrow’s weather forecast and water temperature.

We have yet to sample the pool or bar/restaurant facilities, and I will update this report when we do. In the meantime, if you’re heading to Key West, and want a convenient hotel in the center of everything, by all means consider the Westin.

Just completed a 4-night stay at this hotel. The hotel is located right in the middle of the Penn’s Landing area and Old City Philadelphia. It is very convenient to many restaurants and night spots. I was blessed with a recently renovated room that has all the necessary amenities for life on the road, including wireless internet ($9.95 for 24 hours), and Sheraton’s trademark “Sweet Sleeper” bed. Renovations are ongoing, and there are many signs of construction with several rooms unavailable for occupancy while renovations are ongoing.

The fitness center is located on the 3rd floor, but is only accessible from the 4th floor pool area during the hotels renovation process. It appears to be in need of renovation itself, but it is equipped with an adequate amount of exercise equipment and met my needs during the stay. I did not dine in the hotel restaurant, but did inbibe in a nightcap in the well-stocked hotel bar on 2 occaisions. Service was friendly and fast on both visits.

The location was fantastic for a meeting as it was very near an area of several restaurants and nightclubs in the heart of Old City Philadelphia. At least we could entertain ourselve in the off hours! I highly recommend Eulogy Tavern for its impressive selection of beers, and Bleu Martini for great music and fun.

Overall, the hotel was ok. Front desk staff was friendly and helpful. I’d stay again.

I just completed my first roundtrip on Amtrak’s Acela service. It was a short-haul trip from Washington, D.C.’s Union Station to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station and return. This was a Monday out, Friday return trip. As I stated in my previous post, I was extremely pleased with the service offered. Acela is fast and comfortable. The seats are wide and comfortable with plenty of pitch. In fact, Amtrak’s website states that the seat pitch in Business Class (the minimum class of service on Acela) is a generous 42 inches! Amtrak offers First Class service on Acela as well, but I didn’t try that on the company dime. I just may on my own time at some point in the future though.

Just a suggestion to make life easier…. If you’re buying your tickets from Amtrak online, buy your outbound as a one-way, and your return as another one-way in a separate transaction. Doing so will allow you to obtain just your outbound ticket on your departure from one of Amtrak’s Quik-Trak ticket machines, and then you’ll retrieve your return ticket on the day of your return. Why is this important? Buying 2 one-ways in advance as opposed to a single roundtrip will allow you to change trains without seeing an agent. You’ll simply pick up your outbound ticket on departure, and your return ticket on the way home. Amtrak’s Quik-Trak machines allow you to change trains prior to spitting out your ticket, and this is the way to go if at all possible. Buying roundtrip travel in advance will produce both your outbound and return tickets at your first check-in. And having your return ticket in hand will force you to visit an agent on your return if you finish business early and would like to catch an earlier train. Based on my experience at Amtrak’s ticket window in Philadelphia yesterday, the line was very long, and might force you may miss your opportunity to catch an earlier train while you’re waiting in line.

Hi from the Philadelphia Sheraton-Society Hill. More on the hotel later. For now, I want to discuss today’s trip on Amtrak’s Acela from Washington, DC to Philadelphia.

First things first, we departed and arrived on schedule….to the second. Considering the state of flying this summer, that’s a real reason to consider Acela for your travel needs in the northeast. The seats were Amtrak “Business Class,” and were wide and comfortable. Pitch at least met, and I really think exceeded that of domestic first class airline travel. 110V power is available at every seat, and there’s no need to turn off your cell phone or Blackberry! Although, I admit that I wish the person 2 seats behind me would have turned off his cell phone. But alas, there’s even a solution for for cell phone “yappers” in the Acela “Quiet Car” where cell phone conversation is not allowed.

The only negative comment I have is that the attendant in the cafe car appeared to be “bothered” when I asked for a Diet Pepsi and a pack of almonds. An attendant does offer beverages and snacks for purchase at your seat, but I missed them when they were in my car.

I’ll offer a more in depth trip report after the completion of my trip on Friday. But in the mean time, I’m very comfortable saying that Amtrak’s Acela will be my preferred method of travel from Washington, DC to anywhere as far as New York (dependent upon where I need to be in the city) from now on.

I thought I’d post a link to a new website about travel. Surf on over to http://www.travelingbetter.com/ and check it out. It’s a forum for the discussion of all things travel. It’s a brand new site, so try and support it.

On my way to Philadelphia Monday afternoon for a manager’s meeting with work. Looking forward to the trip. The hotel is the Sheraton Society Hill, and the mode of transport is Amtrak’s Acela. Details about the trip will be posted as soon as possible.