(Sorry for the delay. Some more members had to edit
)
From Private to Cattle - The Impromptu DO to CLESo instead of waiting a year and a half for an AJK TR [AJK: Yes, I agree BOB and AKL are more important than this, not to mention Mrs. AJK, Baby JAK, and my job], I (MosheD) have decided to take matters into my own hands and write one myself. AJK has promised to add his pics though [AJK: Which I have sans editing], so we still have that. (ETA: I really only wrote a MUCH rougher version of this. I would like to thank the group, especially CS91, for their editing, transforming this into much more enjoyable TR.)
Anyways, it started with EJB deciding that it makes sense to go from NYC to CLE just for a Cavs game. After about 10 of those trips over the past year, Dan posted in the CLE DO thread asking if anyone wanted to come in for a Cavs game. But of course, no DDF DO is complete without good kosher food (especially when Dan is involved), so it was decided to wait until a date when there was both Chef Dave's and a Cavs game. That turned out to be this Monday.
Originally, it was just a small DO of with AJK and EJB flying in to meet Dan for dinner and the game. But then CS91 posted (
http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=5154.msg1415208#msg1415208) this awesome deal for a FREE Private Jet to CLE! After some back and forth, both he and I were booked as well. (Side note, if the deal is still alive, you can only book it from iOS not Android [EJB: You, of all people, would know this well
].)
The jet left from a small airport in Morristown, NJ (MMU), and it was quite a drive to get there. AJK, EJB and I ubered from Penn Station and CS91 took an Amtrak from PHL to Newark and Ubered it to MMU. Apparently, protocol when flying private is to show up about 15 minutes before scheduled departure (like many of us normally do when flying commercial, thanks to PreCheck). We found this out when CS91 showed up about an hour before departure and they quizzically asked him why he was there so early. [CS91: I also got grilled for not knowing the tail number of our plane because apparently that’s how you tell them which flight you’re on when flying private. Clearly stood out as a rookie.] The minute we arrived, AJK pulled out his camera and started taking pictures of everything in sight. The lounge, the private jet signs on the wall behind the counter and the views of our plane from the lounge.
Apparently doing that is against “the rules” because some airport employee who was clearly on a powertrip started yelling at AJK and threatened to take his camera away. Ha! [AJK: And I said, my friend, you will *certainly not be taking away my camera.*] [EJB: If you ever fly from a small airport like MMU, keep in mind that that the entire airport will stop what they’re doing to listen into a shouting match, even if the shouting isn’t that loud]. After hanging out in the lounge for a couple of minutes (and CS91 being there for an hour and a half), our pilots told us that the jet was fueled up and ready to go! [CS91: Okay, okay. So I showed up a bit early. But I happened to have gotten some work done so wasn’t the worst thing in the world.] We walked outside, started taking some pictures of the plane, when Mr. Powertrip ran outside and continued yelling at AJK. [AJK: Actually, Mr. Powertrip told the pilot to yell at me. I think I sufficiently scared him during our previous encounter that he had to put the Pilot between us.] Apparently you can’t take pictures inside OR outside. Our pilots told us that they’d be happy to take pictures of us outside the jet when we landed in CLE, so we boarded the plane. I’ll let the pics do the rest.
Our fueled up jet waiting for us:
Inside the plane:
Another picture of inside the plane (taken by Chucksterace who flew on the same model a day later; we didn’t take a picture of the empty plane):
Wish the flight would have been longer:
Flying private is obviously awesome and quite different compared to commercial. No TSA. No rules about turning your phone off. And of course, you’re on a private jet so it’s stocked with tons of free snacks and drinks for the taking [EJB: Aside for the most important part, the alcohol. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we were unable to enjoy the open bar on the plane. Chutzpah!] [CS91: Planning on filing a complaint with DOT. We’ll see what they have to say].
We landed in a separate section of CLE and saw the Piston’s jet parked on the tarmac. [CS91: Jet looks pretty dated. I think ours was nicer.]
Two more pictures of our plane:
It took some time for our Uber driver to find our little nook of the CLE airport. When he finally did, he seemed to know a little about airplanes. He even told us about this plane with a (Gasp!) shower on board! On the plane! AJK was shocked to hear such a thing even existed, much to the amusement of the rest of us. [CS91: I think he said the airline that has that is Emirates. Something like that. Never heard of them so gotta look into it.] [EJB: Honestly, he seemed more interested in Jennifer Aniston than in the plane itself.]
We stopped at the Sheraton at CLE so that AJK, EJB and CS91 could check in and drop their bags off and then we Ubered over to Beachwood to meet Dan and YYK for dinner. I made a brief stop to say hello to my parents, while the rest of the guys enjoyed some Chef Dave's. I will let AJK and Dan regale you with detailed pictures and descriptions of every item [EJB: And while I thought AJK would be a professional eater, I was thoroughly disappointed. All I have to say is: “big eyes, small stomach”] [CS91: If any of you reading this ever go for dinner with either AJK or Dan in the future, don’t order appetizers. One of them will inevitably order too much and you’ll get the free leftovers!].
Beef Chili:
Lamb Bacon Salad:
Salmon Cakes:
Truffled Risotto Cakes:
Grilled Boneless Ribeye Steak:
Cherry Smoked Ribs:
Lemon Crumble:
Chocolate Fondue:
[AJK: Stars of the show were the salad and risotto cakes. Really good.]
[Dan: By the time we ate the great apps we were too full for the main course. AJK got a lot of his to go.
The desserts were awesome as well!]
After dinner, EJB, CS91, YYK and myself Ubered over to the game while Dan and AJK went separately because they had to stop by Dan’s house to pick up jerseys. [CS91: AJK showed up in a Varejao jersey. Clearly didn’t hear about the trade.] We bought tickets to the game on Dan Gilbert's very buyer-friendly [CS91: read: awful] website – flashseats.com. We got awesome 100 level seats for ~$100. Unfortunately, LeBron didn’t get the memo that some fans flew in to watch him play and left his game in OKC. All in all, the Cavs played terribly. This just means we will have to do this again a different time. Playoffs, anyone??
[Dan: Rafi loved seeing the famous AJK of Emirates A380 ice bucket challenge fame as referenced here:
http://www.dansdeals.com/archives/53006 AJK and I got an interesting UberX driver in a Lexus to the game. Told us wild stories about drunk riders that he left passed out on the side of the road, 18 year old guys that he brought to their female teachers houses late at night, and picking up a tailor from LeBron's house...
Outside the arena I told AJK that he's have to hide his doggie bag if he wanted to bring it into the Q. I turn around and there is AJK, literally wolfing down the other half of the steak with the caramelized onion dripping down his face from laughter as he blocked me from taking his camera to record the event for all time. I nearly passed out from the laughter though
]
After the game, we hit up the Horseshoe Casino for a bit [CS91: where AJK hit about four straights in a row, all on the river, and mercilessly took money from me, a student.] to SPEND some more money before finally calling it a night.
AJK, EJB and CS91 had early flights out so they chose to stay at the very convenient Sheraton CLE Airport. AJK had this to say about the following morning. [AJK: Boys, I don't quite know how to say this, but you haven't shared a night in a hotel with someone until you've shared one with EJB. I can't even describe it, but let's just say that when my alarm went off this morning, it was as if someone had lit an *actual* fire under EJB’s butt. He shot out of the bed so fast that when I looked over and saw him running back and forth like a dart in his skivvies I wondered if I had slept through a five alarm fire. Chazal says wake up and get out of bed like a lion. EJB woke up and got out of bed like a NASA rocket. I was exhausted but I just BURST out laughing and couldn't stop for 10 mins. The fact that EJB *got back in bed at 531 to sleep for five more minutes* was just the cherry on top. Had to be there.] [EJB: You may not have been conscious enough to have an accurate recollection of what happened. Here is what actually happened: I woke up from my alarm, packed for 1 minute (pretty slowly, I might add. Might have been a blur to AJK, though), hit the snooze button, then got ready to check out. AJK, likely still on a residual high from the prior evening, murmured incoherently in bed: “Why is EJB moving around like there are ants in his pants? Where am I? Why did my alarm just go off? Why am I still wearing these Sheraton bathrobes???” After hearing this, I burst out laughing for 10 minutes]
It was quite a step down flying cattle after private, but the DO was great and I'd definitely do it again. It was really great meeting everyone.