Author: rphbaker

Ok we aren’t really there yet but it seems really none of us got sleep. Brooks is the winner with maybe 3 hours in his spacious suite.

He also somehow got some fancy still water that no one else on the plane got. But I digress…

I’m not sure if we are flying over ice or clouds but regardless it’s pretty.

Thankfully the coffee came early and it wasn’t terrible. Or maybe it was just my low expectations. Either way I will take it. Even the cup, saucer, tiny spoon is cute.

Next came the main course and it was just ok. Some sort of coconut yogurt that was mundane but I still ate every bite. A smashed croissant with no butter or jelly but that also didn’t stop me. And some watermelon with some mint on top.

Getting closer to Amsterdam now…

This has been a great flight minus the wifi stopping way earlier than it should. Well and the lack of sleep which isn’t jetBlue’s fault. Also Brooks informed me that I’ve been misspelling jetBlue. I’ve been capitalizing the ‘J’ so now I’ve corrected myself.

Also, Brooks informed me the name of this aircraft is LiMintless. How about maybe LilNoSleepness.

Oh and now that we are officially landing it works again.

Also, they brought around towels before we landed that we literally scalding hot but went to ice cold almost immediately. I’m not mad though, the quick scald was worth it for some refreshMint…pun intended!

Hello Amsterdam!

Despite all the mood lighting in this plane that’s even customizable and the melatonin I took sleep is not occurring. This plane is hot and I’m having some sort of allergy attack. Because of this I’ve been to the restroom twice for tissues and the bathroom was a let down.

Don’t get me wrong, it had the essentials and was clean but I was hoping for some perks like revitalizing face spray or something to help me not look like I feel. No such luck.

Greg and Logan are currently awake in their pods. Brooks seems to be resting comfortably in his suite and it looks as though Maddie has also fallen asleep.

Literally no clue what time it is or where we currently are but my screen says we land in 2hr and 12min. My phone says it’s 2:30am. It’s gonna be a long day.

Might as well recap my dinner.

I think I’ve maybe got 30 mins before breakfast service. Is it bad I’m most excited for what’s sure to be crappy coffee. Dare I try to take a power nap before service starts?

Our plane has arrived and boarding is about to start.

As we are getting ready to board Brooks says “does anyone want to have dinner with me in my suite?”

I’m sorry…what?

Brooks and Greg both say yeah, the first row is a suite. Two people can eat there if you wanna share your suite. No wonder Brooks wasn’t worried about my upgrade earlier….he’d already secured his suite for the long flight.

When Greg scanned his boarding pass (for the suite) the gate agent said “oh man! Enjoy your suite!” Greg said “oh yeah, it’s not mine for this flight.”

And we are off!! Amsterdam here we come…but only to transfer out.

So ready for my food, my mint condition and then sleep…

JFK was crawling with people. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a longer security line in all my life. Thankfully we all have pre-check since Greg only has Brooks’ birthday messed up at United. And let’s be honest, Brooks probably booked these tickets.

Slight snafu going through pre-check when the facial recognition didn’t pick up Maddie’s face and she was told to step aside.

Second snafu was when Brooks was selected for an additional screening and had to go thru the bigger metal detector only to be selected again for a pat down. I’m not sure who was more irritated….the TSA guy or Brooks.

Maddie finally made her way through and we were off to the roof top deck.

We have about an hour to kill before boarding. There are worse places to be!

Before heading to the gate we needed to decide who was sitting where. I’m not sure why we book seats and then somehow those seats don’t mean anything because it ends up being a negotiation of who is sitting where.

I said “why can’t we just sit where we are ticketed?” Greg said “oh there’s no way Brooks is letting me sit in 1F.”

I assume Brooks can’t listen to Greg’s complaining about the bulkhead but with the lay flat seats I can’t really figure out what’s happening. Whatever. Just tell me where to sit.

This blog is not for educational purposes. Entertainment only. So…I cannot give the history of the TWA hotel I only know it’s like stepping back in time. And that I’ve always wanted to stay here.

Greg suggested that me and the boys walk over and check it out and he’d stay behind with the bags. Don’t mind if I do.

The hotel was retro inside with the old flip type arrival and departure boards.

Brooks and Logan said the funniest thing that is going to happen on this trip just happened. We were walking to the outside bar (in a plane) and some woman walked full speed directly into the glass. She was fine but it was crazy.

Unfortunately we were unable to check out the rooftop infinity pool overlooking the runway. Guess we will have to come back and actually stay.

So fun!!!

After leaving Penn Station and thinking Shake Shack was literally right across the street we walked for what felt like a half a mile before we finally found it.

I could have bought all the Gucci’s. And Louie’s. If only I wouldn’t have to haul them around for the next 20 days.

Cue the happy music..

We found a few tables in the back of the restaurant and set up shop. I got everyone’s order and went to the counter. Greg wanted a beer and somehow they were out of all beers except IPAs which he doesn’t like. So no beer for him which was blamed on the blog. It’s the curse of the blog that Shake Shack is out of beer. If that’s the worst of the curse I’m going to call it a success.

Before heading out for our next train we bought our tickets.

Back to Penn we go to catch our train.

We finally made it back and thankfully there’s an actual working escalator.

Guess what else is directly inside the doors. Yep, you guessed it. A freaking Shake Shack.

Even though we just did all this I can’t even remember how. Somehow we took a train to Jamaica and then took I think an air tran to JFK.

Upon getting on the air tram I noticed that the JetBlue terminal was the same place where the TWA hotel is. I’ve always wanted to stay at the TWA hotel!!!

Not all that surprising but we aren’t eating at Newark. I could have easily convinced Greg to stop but airport food isn’t overly appealing at the moment based on taste and price. Also, I’m feeling hopeful that we will find ourselves near a Shake Shack.

We head straight for the air Tran

People were legit running to get to the track and Greg was like what are these people doing. There are trains every ten minutes.

Might as well take our first family selfie at the beautiful Newark train station!

We boarded the train and could find no place to sit. We stood with all our stuff while we waited for seats to open.

I decided to have another snack. I appreciate the motivational quotes in my Chomps.

Logan confirmed there is a Shake Shack at Penn Station. Not too much longer until my next meal!

Until then…we are just chilling on this train.

First flight is right on time. Greg received an upgrade about 5 mins before boarding and it was a bulkhead seat. Greg would literally prefer to not sit in first class than to sit bulkhead so I took one for the team and took the seat. Pretty sure my only competition for it was Maddie and Logan but thankfully Starbucks took way too long so I was comfortably seated when they walked past me to their seats behind me.

I’m literally starving already so the snack basket is currently giving me life. Not much life because the serving size is laughable but a snack nonetheless. Speaking of which, Maddie had packed a giant purse full of snacks that exceeded the size for a personal item in Europe. When I suggested that maybe she consider a smaller bag she did, which resulted in me carrying a ton of her snacks in my bag. I’d eat some but, I’m in the bulkhead so I don’t have my bag. 😦

And we have landed. It’s 1:45…wonder if Greg will let us actually eat lunch or if we will be running for our lives to catch a train.

Somehow we will make our way to JFK…that’s not my specialty. Speaking of which, I’ve decided that Brooks could seriously open up a consulting business where he advises people on what airlines are options based on where you are trying to go as well as the best seat to sit in. Drawback, he’s probably going to want it to mostly be United and he’s going to likely tell you to pay for a seat because he doesn’t sit middle or in the back unless he has no choice. And by no choice I mean he might choose not to go if that’s the only choice. The trip has to be worth it to him.

In trying to figure out how to get to the Taylor show he knew all the airport and airline options. Maddie and I are flying Whizz Air. Who even knew that was an option? Also who decided that Whizz Air was a great name for an airline? It’s one that doesn’t instill a ton of confidence but that didn’t stop me from booking tickets on it.

So anyway, who’s ready to hire Brooks?!

Before we even made it to the airport, Brooks reminded Greg that he has his birthday wrong in his United profile so Brooks never gets TSA precheck unless Brooks fixes it before he checks in. That didn’t happen this trip which means that Brooks will have to go through normal security. For anyone who knows anything about Brooks, this is not ok.

Also, Greg misspelled Jake’s middle name so someone will have to call the United help desk to have his name changed to the correct spelling. Seems like so far, I’m sure I just jinxed us, these are the only problems which are self induced.

Dad took the opportunity to remind us we would have plenty of time to resolve these at the airport.

Brooks isn’t about to carry his backpack through the normal security line and remove all his liquids and computer so Greg will take both backpacks. It’s enough of a chore for Brooks to remove his shoes.

Despite us having pre check, Brooks breezed through standard security (albeit with no luggage) and was done before us. It’s finnnnne.

And now we wait…..

We pulled out of the house at 10:45am. Our flight leaves at 11:55am. We are ahead of schedule because Maddie wants to ensure she has time to get Starbucks at the airport.

You’d think leaving early would be a good thing but Greg and Brooks aren’t happy about this. Greg is asking my dad to drive laps. He considers it a loss if he has time to sit at the airport before he boards.

And Brooks has already blamed the blog for travel issues that haven’t come up yet.

Despite not being on the road for two years it feels as though everyone has fallen back into the Baker travel routine.

Except, we all struggled to pack our lives in our backpack. I packed, unpacked and repacked to make it all fit. Logan has the most room thanks to my amazing rolling and packing skills.