Posted by Seth on January 2, 2012 under Flying, News | 
Not sure how I missed this earlier but apparently Air Canada is matching the 50% off base fare sale that Porter Air launched on Boxing day in markets where Porter operates. The deal on both carriers is good for bookings made through this week and travel through April.
On Air Canada the discount codes to use online are PROMO26DEC11 or USPROMO26DEC11. On Porter Air the code is BOX50.
Happy travels!
Posted by Seth on December 22, 2011 under Dining, Flying, Trip Reports |
Flights from New York City to western Europe are generally too short for anything remotely resembling a good night’s rest. In many cases even a chance of a decent nap is pretty low. The key to having a chance, however, is to be done eating before clearing the edge of Canada. That generally means at least 4.5 hours until landing, leaving a 4 hour window for sleep before the attendants have to put the cabin back together for arrival.
And so I was watching the in-flight map as we departed Newark for Frankfurt last night, trying to figure out how we were doing on the meal as we headed east. When the appetizers showed up we were over Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Not good for hoping to be done with the meal before clearing Canada. On the plus side, the food was quite good, a pleasant surprise in quality and quantity. I even managed to skip the Fernet Branca, going to sleep without that flavor in my mouth for the first time in a long time on a Lufthansa long-haul flight.
By the time the meal was done we were 3:45 out from landing. I slept almost all of that, even in the angled seats of Lufthansa business class. We were fortunate to arrive to a gate at the terminal rather than a remote stand and from there wended our way through the terminals and the SkyTrain to find some lounge time.
Our onward flight to Chennai departed from B42, directly adjacent to the new Terminal B Senator Lounge. The new lounge is quite a welcome improvement over the old B lounge, though it still suffers from crowding at the peak morning departure bank; the wait for a shower was about 30 minutes and our layover wasn’t long enough to make that work.
And then it was time to head out to the gate and board our flight to Chennai. Another 8.5 hours in the sky with Lufthansa as we begin this crazy adventure.
Tags: Canada, Chennai, Dining, Frankfurt, in flight, India, Lounge, Lufthansa, New York City, Newark, NYE2011, Photos
Posted by Seth on December 15, 2011 under frequent flyer, News, points |
As part of the revamp of their Divided Miles program scheduled to take effect in 2012 US Airways has announced new fees – in addition to the miles required – for upgrades on flights. The upgrade fees will apply to all flights, not just their Envoy long-haul product and the rates are based on the length of the flight.
The good news here is that they are also cutting the miles required in many cases, making the overall upgrade proposition slightly better on the shorter flights. But for anything over 1500 miles or outside of the Continental US and Canada the numbers are not attractive at all.
The fees are waived for all Dividend Miles Preferred members or passengers on Y/B fares.
In addition to the new fees US Airways also announced a couple cuts to their Silver Preferred status level. Those passengers will only be able to check one bag for free going forward, matching a policy change first made by United Airlines a few weeks back and also recently matched by Delta. And the company changed their "quick ticketing fee" cutoff for award reservations from 14 days to 21 days, with a charge of $75 for that service. Silver Preferred members will not be exempt from that fee, though Gold and higher will be.
All in all, a whole lot of downgrades for the Dividend Miles program, though it still isn’t the worst out there by a long ways.
Posted by Seth on August 5, 2011 under Hotel, Review, Trip Reports |
At this point I think I’ve probably written about all that I can regarding our four days in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. It is simply some of the most beautiful scenery out there. But I’ve got a few (dozens, really, but I won’t go there) photos left over that I haven’t worked into any other posts yet so I’m sharing them here. Enjoy.
These last two were taken from the beach area outside our room at the Glenghorn Beach Resort, our last hotel in the area. I’m not entirely sure what qualifies it as a resort but it was relatively cheap and in a good location for what we were doing. Other than that and these views, however, not a ton to recommend it.
The first is of the sea shortly before sunset, exposed for 0.8 seconds to provide that soft feel.
This one is a 30 second view straight up. The lack of light pollution does amazing things for viewing the stars. The red dot traveling towards the upper right corner is an airplane passing overhead.
Posted by Seth on August 3, 2011 under Flying, Trip Reports |
It seems that about once a year or so a news piece comes across the wire about a passenger who books a flight to Sydney and ends up in Sydney, only to find out that it is not at all what they expected. Rather than arriving in Sydney, Australia they find themselves in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Quite a difference there.
As part of our Canadian Maritimes adventure I purposefully booked an open-jaw award ticket. This was partly to ensure that we got to see as much of the area as possible without needing to double back with the rental car when it was time to leave. Just as much, however, it was to be able to fly out of Sydney. On purpose.
The flight was completely uneventful. Nothing special at all. Well, except that a woman in the row behind us was on her first flight ever and it was on a DASH-8 prop that took just about every bump along the way and transmitted it right into the passenger cabin. There were a few yelps at those points.
Soon enough we were in Halifax and ready to connect to our onward flight back to Newark. Not nearly as entertaining as the flight from the "other" Sydney.
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Posted by Seth on July 30, 2011 under Dining, Review, Trip Reports |
Our journey through the Canadian Maritime provinces was yet another in the long list of trips where I truly wish I could eat more. The food was delicious at every turn. One particularly difficult choice we faced was lunch on our last day in the area. We had just finished up our kayaking trip so we had definitely earned a good meal. Alas, there are two restaurants in Neil’s Harbor to choose from and we had only one meal to eat.
We ended up at Sea Breeze, supposedly sacrificing the view slightly for a better seafood chowder. After lunch we walked out to the lighthouse and saw the other restaurant and I cannot believe that the view there was sufficiently better to justify giving up anything on quality of food, mostly because the food at Sea Breeze was delicious and the view didn’t particularly suck.
The restaurant only operates seasonally and doesn’t appear to have changed much over the seasons. The full menu is on display but there’s always a chance that something isn’t available if the seafood isn’t fresh. No crab, for example, when we visited. There are specials, too, adding to the choices. In our case this meant more lobster options, keeping our streak of lobster every day during the trip alive.
Dine inside or out; either way the view is divine, as is the food. The photo above shows the steamed mussels, chowder and lobster burger that I had for lunch.
The Sea Breeze is only open in the summers and is located just off the Cabot Trail.
Posted by Seth on July 29, 2011 under Trip Reports |
There is, without a doubt, a reason that the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton National Park is considered the go to trail when visitors have a limited amount of time to experience the park. Sure, choosing a favorite trail is sortof like choosing your favorite child. They’re all wonderful in their own way and picking just one doesn’t really make a ton of sense. Still, the Skyline Trail generally gets quite high marks and of the trails we hiked it is definitely my favorite.
The Skyline Trail is a rather easy hike across mostly level ground on well groomed gravel trails and boardwalks. The round trip from the parking lot takes 2-3 hours to do the loop, depending on how often you stop to take photos and admire the scenery. Needless to say, our version was a bit on the longer side thanks to my stopping all too often.
At the end of the trail the boardwalk descends out to a point from which the views are simply unbelievable. Full panoramas of the ocean in front and the mountains behind, The boardwalk also serves to protect the area as it is a quite delicate ecosystem that experienced significant erosion prior to the construction of the pathway. And the benches provide great spots to rest, relax and picnic if you’ve remembered to bring food with you (ours was fried chicken and it was delicious!).
There is also an "advanced" version of the trail where part of the loop is less well groomed and less level. No gravel or boardwalks in this area but it is still quite a reasonable track and not particularly strenuous. It also adds a different set of flora and difference vistas to the hike and I highly recommend it.
Oh, and bring your windbreaker. The point juts out into the water in an area where the trade winds meet each other, creating an area where the breeze is more like a gale. You can see this in some of the segments of the video.
Words don’t really do justice to the beauty that is the Skyline Trail. Even the photos and video only show a small chunk of just how beautiful the area is. It certainly isn’t just this one hike that makes the Cabot Trail area a UNESCO World Heritage Site (my 46th visited!) but it doesn’t hurt the cause either.
Posted by Seth on July 28, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Cape Breton is certainly not lacking for incredible beach areas. Both inside the park and out there are many options, all of which are likely to please. Situated at the junction of the old coastal road and the new Cape Breton Trail is the small town of Neil’s Harbor. Just outside the border of the park the beach at Neil’s Harbor offers up some great views, along with a couple dining options and a cute – though small – active harbor and lighthouse worth walking around.
The day we were there the sky happened to have some pretty awesome clouds overhead which made for dramatic photos, though not necessarily sun tanning weather.
A visit to Neil’s Harbor is quite unlikely to be a life-changing experience. Still, it is a pretty place to take a break during a journey through Cape Breton.
Posted by Seth on July 27, 2011 under Trip Reports |
One of the most enjoyable things about Cape Breton National Park in Nova Scotia is that there are a wide variety of hiking options available. Some trails are many miles and hours long while others can be done in a few minutes from the nearest parking lot. Mary Ann Falls certainly fits in the latter category, making it a great place to visit quickly after hitting up some of the other, more significant bits of the park (or other activities in the region). Oh, and you can go cliff jumping there, too.
The falls are accessible via a dirt road that runs several kilometers up into the park off the main Cape Breton Trail. From the parking area it is only a 10-15 minute walk down to the foot of the falls. The pool at the bottom is swimmable, assuming you can get over the chilly water temperatures. And from the edge of the rock formation one can make a leap into the pool. It isn’t quite so elegant as to be considered proper cliff diving, but it is definitely possible.
After our morning spent kayaking out of Dingwall we had a delicious lunch in Neil’s Harbor before making the drive up to the falls. When we got to the pool we saw some other folks making what appeared to be rather ridiculous leaps into the water.
As ridiculous as the jumps may have appeared, the folks making them survived repeatedly, suggesting that it was probably safe. Before I knew what was happening Linnea had climbed up and was leaping off. After watching her survive the jump I set up my camera and headed over to perform my own jump into the water. Needless to say, it is not the most elegant of moves I’ve ever made. Still, I didn’t flop nor did I injure myself, so I’ll take it.
Easy to get to and lots of fun once you’re there. What more can you ask for??
Posted by Seth on July 20, 2011 under Trip Reports |
Perhaps the absolute best way to experience waterfront scenery is from the comfort of a kayak. You cannot beat it for the ability to get up close to things you want to see, so long as you’re willing to invest the energy for paddling. And there is something incredibly peaceful and serene about being so close to nature. The morning of our last full day in Cape Breton was spent out on the water and it was simply phenomenal.
Our tour was arranged with Eagle North Kayaking, based just outside of Dingwall, Nova Scotia. They have several different option available, depending on demand. Unfortunately we were the only pair interested in a full day tour so that wasn’t on offer; we settled for the half day option. Thanks to our previous kayaking experiences in Alaska and Norway we were ready to go when we got to the facility and before long we were on the water and enjoying nature up close and personal.
An hour or so into the trip we took a snack break on the shore of a desolate beach, just south of the end of the island. Looking north we could see where the Cape ends and the Atlantic Ocean begins. It was pretty awesome.
After that was some open water paddling. No longer protected by the cove things got a bit bumpier on the water, but nothing particularly rough. We were paddling through a seat of lobster trap floats, dreaming of the tasty deliciousness below when we happened upon one of the fishermen, out harvesting the daily catch.
The last segment of the trip was also the roughest. We no longer were in the bay and we no longer had the benefit of the cliffs blocking the wind. It got nasty in a hurry. Needless to say, I put the cameras away as we paddled through the white caps. That section definitely required the most effort, but it was also the most fun, with the cool sea spray splashing up into our faces and actually needing to work a bit to make progress through the waves.
Alas, the three hour tour ended much too quickly (and after only about 90 minutes of paddling). We were back on shore and then in the van riding back to the shop. This portion of the adventure ended much too quickly.
Read more of our Maritimes adventures here!
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Posted by Seth on July 18, 2011 under Hotel, points, Review, Trip Reports |
Passing through Moncton for a few hours and looking for a place to stay? We were, too. Thanks to the folks at hotels.com (I love me some Welcome Rewards points!) we ended up at the Rodd Park House Inn. Arrival was at 11pm. Departure was the following morning at 8:30am. Honestly there isn’t all that much that can happen in a hotel during that brief a stay to make it stand out as awesome, though there are plenty of things that can make it suck. Fortunately for us nothing happened in the latter category.
The hotel was actually fine. Free breakfast in the morning, similar to what you’d find at a Hampton Inn and the rate was quite reasonable. The room is nothing special, but it has all the necessary fixtures to serve for an overnight. Free WiFi in the room that worked great helped, too.
After the quick breakfast we were on the road so I cannot speak too much to the quality of the area around the hotel. It looked rather bleak, though the tattoo and piercing shop across the street appeared to be reasonably nice. Our window did face the street side but I didn’t notice too much noise filtering in, either because there wasn’t or because I was too tired.
There is a small park adjacent to the hotel that I discovered while trying to find the Avis facility to pick up our rental car. Nothing particularly special about it but the monument there was pretty cool.
It is hard for me to muster too much of an opinion on the hotel, both because the stay was so short and because it is so plain. For the price paid it was exactly what we needed. The location was across from the rental car which made it easy to get the car in the morning and the bed worked. Hard to do too much wrong with that.
Apparently there is some construction going on in the hotel but it wasn’t clear to us what was involved, other than that we got a cool hard hat squishy ball toy as part of the stay.
Read more of our Maritimes adventures here!
