IntroductionThis trip started (as almost all of my trips do) with a look at the
Master Thread Of Master Threads: Links To 125+ Destination Threads!. I was looking for somewhere for a relatively short vacation (Sunday-Wednesday) so I could wrap it into my annual pilgrimage to St. Louis for Thanksgiving. The reason I wanted to combine this trip with my Thanksgiving trip was that flights from NY (JFK/LGA) to STL were so expensive, and I figured flights from somewhere else might be cheaper. I happened to notice that the Islanders were on the road, two days in a row right after Thanksgiving and their road games (Detroit then Montreal) were relatively close to STL and on the way back to NY. Since I’ve been on a quest to see an Islanders game in every opposing city, this seemed like a great opportunity to cross two more cities off my list.
Once I had the idea for the back end of my trip, it was time to figure out where to go before STL. I considered going to California to maybe catch the Islanders in San Jose and Anaheim, but I didn’t really wanna fly trans-con (and it’s a good thing I didn’t because the Islanders lost all three games in CA). After perusing the Master Thread and taking suggestions from some friends and family I decided on Atlanta. I figured there was enough for 3+ days but not a full week, so it was perfect.
With my destinations set it was time to start working on flights. I regrettably didn’t write down the cash costs of the tickets I booked with points so I don’t have the value I got. I’m usually pretty on top of that, but I dropped the ball. Oh well.
The flights I booked were as follows:
- Sunday 11/24/19 - LGA-ATL AA 4498 Depart 9:40a Arrive 12:31p. Cost 9k BA (which I had plenty of because I transferred from MR during the last 40% bonus promo)
- Wednesday 11/27/19 - ATL-STL WN 2393 Depart 3:35p Arrive 4:20p. Cost $160.98, but I bought the ticket using WN GCs I bought at 25% off from a Staples Amex Offer so the real cost was $123.48.
- Monday 12/2/19 - STL-DTW DL1897 Depart 6:45a Arrive 9:21a. Cost 15.5k DL. Flights on Monday after Thanksgiving are expensive!
- Tuesday 12/3/19 - DTW-YUL DL 5494 Depart 10:10a Arrive 12:05p. Cost 9k DL.
- Wednesday 12/4/19 - YUL-JFK DL 5185 Depart 7a Arrive 9:05a 6,917 UR +$5.60
For hotels I booked the following:
- Sunday-Wednesday - Atlanta - Hyatt Regency Atlanta $260.85 including tax (for 3 nights I thought that was pretty solid)
- Monday - Detroit - Courtyard Detroit Metro Airport Romulus 12.5k Marriott
- Tuesday - Montreal - Crowne Plaza Montreal Airport - 25k IHG (less 10% rebate from the IHG credit card from Chase)
After booking flights and hotels, came planning my time in Atlanta, Detroit, & Montreal. I headed to the
Atlanta Master Thread. For things to do, the wiki had most of what I was looking for. I was also interested in touring the new Braves stadium (SunTrust Park) and the Falcons stadium (Mercedes Benz Stadium, not to be confused with the Mercedes Benz Dome which is in NOLA). The other two attractions I did were suggestions of my dad and were history related (he’s a history teacher).
Sunday - November 24, 2019The day had arrived, I got a ride to the airport, checked my bag and sat at the gate for about 45 minutes before boarding started. I’m one of those people who’s petrified of there being a long line at bag drop or pre-check and missing my flight, so as long as I’m not coming from something else, I’d rather sit at the gate (or a lounge if available) than risk missing my flight.
The flight itself was uneventful and when I landed I retrieved my bag and headed for the Uber/Lyft pickup area. I was planning on taking the subway (MARTA) downtown but since I wasn’t feeling well, I figured Uber would just be easier and quicker. Turns out it was neither easier nor quicker. I walked for what felt like forever to the Uber/Lyft pickup area and ordered my uber when I got close. I don’t like ordering an Uber before I get there when I’m in an unfamiliar airport because I don’t want the car to get there before I do and have the driver wait. I got to the pickup area and then waited another 8 minutes for my car. Finally my car arrives and I open the trunk and its filled with crap and there’s almost no room for my suitcase. Also part of the trunk is hanging from the door, it was a mess. I was able to barely fit my suitcase in the trunk and got in the car. She confirms where we’re going and starts driving, when I notice that the gas light is on. I asked her if she’d have enough gas to get downtown, and she responds “oh I meant to get gas before I picked up someone else, I’ll stop and get once we get away from the airport.” She was willing to inconvenience me by having to stop for gas, but she had to go out of the way to try and save a few cents a gallon. A trip from the airport that should have taken about 20 minutes, took about 45 between walking to the pickup area and our extra stop. Just for reference, according to google maps, it would have only taken me 23 minutes to get from the airport to the hotel. Oh well.
I finally get to the hotel and head to check-in. The woman at the front desk (who was apparently originally from New York) said my room wasn’t ready, but she’d try and find me another one. She was able to, but it was on the second floor so it wouldn’t have any views and might have some street noise. I said that would be fine. It turned out that it was also an ADA room, but that didn’t really make a difference to me. I dropped off my stuff, and headed out for my first day in Atlanta.
Hyatt Regency Atlanta
One comment about the weather in Atlanta in November. Every morning (and all afternoon Sunday) it was chilly ~40s in the morning when I left the hotel, so I needed my winter coat, but by 11am it was in the 60s so I was stuck carrying my coat around all day. Annoying.
I made the ~5 minute walk to the
World of Coca-Cola. There was a really long line, and I waited about 10 minutes before they finally opened another ticket window for those using credit cards, and I was in shortly thereafter. As the wiki in the Atlanta Master Thread points out, the museum is basically a giant advertisement, but I still enjoyed it. I like how they show the progression of Coke from just a product to a brand. It was also cool to see the tons of memorabilia they have. I spent about 3 hours there, I’m sure some could have spent more, and others less, it depends on your pace.
World of Coca-Cola - Old Signs
World of Coca-Cola - Memo on the Bottle Design
World of Coca-Cola - Santa Coke Sign
World of Coca-Cola - Coke Can Prop Plane
World of Coca-Cola - Coke Can Giraffe
World of Coca-Cola - WWII Russian General Clear Coke
World of Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola Clock
World of Coca-Cola - Coca-Cola Bottle Frame
World of Coca-Cola - Coke Holiday Decorations
After finishing at the World of Coca-Cola, I headed to
Centennial Olympic Park for the audio tour. The audio tour ((which can be found online) has 13 stops and the guide goes through the history and significance of each stop on the tour. My two issues with the audio guide where that it was dated (it mentioned the someone as the current mayor who is long gone and it mentioned the Thrashers, who went to Winnipeg in 2011) and that there were parts of the park which were closed for some winter wonderland they had set up that also made it hard to navigate to the parts of the tour which were open. The audio tour took about 45 minutes.
I headed back to my hotel to relax for a little while before heading out for dinner. I took an Uber to what I thought was called Pita Palace, but has apparently been renamed Toco Grill. The place is pretty small with limited indoor seating. If it was nice outside they do have a patio with plenty of outdoor seating, but it was cold out and that wasn’t an option. I ordered Shwarama and the service was kinda slow, but the food was good. My only complaint about the food (and I had this issue both times I went) was that the guy couldn’t wrap the laffa well. I took an Uber back to my hotel and I was in for the night.
Centennial Olympic Park - Park Entrance
Centennial Olympic Park - Gateway of Dreams
Centennial Olympic Park - Quilt of Nations Flags
Centennial Olympic Park - Quilt of Origins - Tribute to Olympia
Centennial Olympic Park - The Atlanta Nine
Centennial Olympic Park - Olympic Rings
Centennial Olympic Park - Reflecting Pool
Centennial Olympic Park - Fountain of Rings
Monday - November 25, 2019Monday was the day I was venturing out of the downtown area and therefore had rented a car. I could have sworn I picked the rental place that was only a few blocks from my hotel, but when I looked at my reservation it turns out I booked one that was like 8 mins away by car. The mistake I think I made was that I looked up to see how far the rental place was I put in NW instead of SW, a mistake I made later on when returning the car. I took an uber, and to try and save a little money, I chose POOL, but with my luck it somehow added 20 minutes to what should have been an 8 minute drive. Add in the fact that there was nobody at the desk at Enterprise, and it was almost 9:30am by the time I got into my rental car. Thankfully it was only about a 15 minute drive to
SunTrust Park. The issue came when I got there and didn’t know where to go. A guard told me where to park but I then got super lost trying to find my way out of the parking lot (there were like 12 exits) and then got lost trying to find my way to the ticket window. I finally saw it (at 10:08a) and I saw that the tour started, and the guide told me I could run to the ticket window and still get on the tour. Phew! It would have really messed up my day if I’d had to wait until the 12p tour. The tour took about 2 hours and I got to see some interesting aspects of the stadium and some nice memorabilia, including the bat and ball from Hank Aaron’s 715th home run.
SunTrust Park - Lego Tomahawk
SunTrust Park - View from Right Field Corner
SunTrust Park - Xfinity Rooftop - Game Tables
SunTrust Park - View from the Press Box
SunTrust Park - 715 Made of Bat Knobs
SunTrust Park - Home Run 715 Ball Bat
SunTrust Park - View of Other Suite Seats
SunTrust Park - Hank Aaron & 755 Made of Bats
SunTrust Park - Tomahawk Behind the Plate
SunTrust Park - On the Field - From Behind the Plate
After the tour I headed to
Pita Grille for lunch. I got a burger for lunch and also picked up a grilled chicken laffa for dinner (so I wouldn’t have to schlep out to the Jewish areas for dinner). The burger was ok. Nothing to write home about, but not bad.
After lunch I headed to
Atlanta History Center to see the Cyclorama. This was one of my dad’s suggestions. A Cyclorama is a giant 360 degree painting which was the 1800s version of a 3-D movie. This Cyclorama is of the Battle of Atlanta. The history of this Cyclorama is interesting because it was originally painted as a Union victory (as the battle of Atlanta was), but after being purchased by a Southerner, he had the painting altered to appear to show a Confederate victory. The have a 12 minute (I think) video which is projected onto the canvas and then there is a guided tour of the painting. Not only is it a 360 degree painting, but at the bottom they have a diorama which is kinda merged into the painting made to appear to be an extension of the painting which was done really well. There is other stuff to see at the museum, but I only went to see the Cyclorama. Museum admission is $21.50 so just to see the Cyclorama, that’s kinda steep, but I think it was worth it. It was something unique and very well done, so I was fine with the relative high price of admission.
Atlanta Cyclorama - Troup Hurt House
Atlanta Cyclorama - General Logan
Atlanta Cyclorama - Stone Mountain
Atlanta Cyclorama - Only Black Person in Painting
Atlanta Cyclorama - Clark Gable
Atlanta Cyclorama - Meshing of Painting and Diorama
Atlanta Cyclorama - Battle Ground
Atlanta Cyclorama - Diorama
From Atlanta History Center I headed to my final Civil War related activity,
Stone Mountain Park. Stone Mountain has a bunch of different things to do, skyride to the top of the mountain, museums, mini golf, a railroad and a 4-D experience (among other things). The main attraction (and the only reason I went) was to see the famous
Confederate Memorial Carving. This was the thing my dad convinced me to see because he’s afraid that the governments in the South are slowly trying to erase the history of the Confederacy. I’m not sure how they’d get rid of a relief thats 90 ft by 190 ft and 400 feet above the ground, but still. It was an impressive sight to see. I believe you can hike up and down the mountain, if that’s your thing, but it’s surely not mine, so I took the skyride to the top of the mountain and got a great view of the carving both on the way up and on the way down. I also got some nice views from the top of the mountain.
Stone Mountain - Cable Car 2
Stone Mountain - Confederate Memorial Carving
Stone Mountain - Confederate Memorial Carving
Stone Mountain - Top of Stone Mountain Sign
Stone Mountain - View of Downtown Atlanta
After leaving Stone Mountain, I headed back to return my rental car, where I got lost since I put in a NW address instead of a SW address of the Enterprise location. I was lucky and made it to Enterprise with a few minutes to spare. I took an Uber POOL (since I was in no rush and didn’t really care how long it took) back to my hotel and was done for the night. I had my grilled chicken laffa from Pita Grille for dinner, which was good (despite having been made several hours earlier).
Tuesday - November 26, 2019Tuesday began with a short walk to the
CNN Studio Tour. According to the website, the tours run every 20 minutes starting at 9am, so I had planned on taking the 9:40 tour, trying to line it up with my next planned event. I got there a little before 930, and was told that the next tour wasn’t until 10am. This in theory caused a scheduling issue with the next item on my to-do list, but there was nothing I could really do about it. I bought my ticket for the 10am tour (for which the security screening starts at 9:50am) and having about 20 minutes to kill, did my souvenir shopping before the tour instead of after.
The tour starts in a theater where they show you screens like a control room, with a little intro on CNN and how a control room works and then they show you a studio (which I don’t think was real), but it had a desk a smart TV screen and a teleprompter. Here they explained the smart TV & how the teleprompter works (which I didn’t know before that). That is the only area of the tour in which you’re allowed to take pictures. You then see a few different studios (some in use, others not) and see more of the building and learn interesting facts about its history. I thought the tour was nice, nothing crazy exciting, but not boring. At $15+tax, it was a nice and not expensive. The tour lasted about an hour, which caused me issues with my next stop.
CNN - Teleprompter
My next stop was the nearby
Mercedes-Benz Stadium Tour. The issue I ran into here was that according to the website, the tours are hourly from 11am to 4pm, and I looked like I wouldn’t make it from the CNN tour to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the 5 minutes between when one tour ended and the other began. I walked (about 10 minutes) from CNN to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and was told that the next tour was at 11:30am not noon. Perfect. I bought my ticket (which they sent to my phone, since it’s done via Ticketmaster) and I waited for my tour. The tour (which had a very small group of 5 including me) covers several different areas of the stadium, including the locker rooms for both the Falcons and Atlanta United (soccer), the owners club, the 100 yard club, luxury clubs, and the field. In the case of my tour since it was 2 days before the Falcons Thanksgiving matchup against the Saints, they were painting the field so we weren’t allowed on the field, but we were allowed on the sidelines. I find it interesting to see what different stadiums do to enhance the experience of their fans and to make their stadium unique and Mercedes-Benz Stadium did that. I enjoyed the tour, but it was a little pricey at $27. I don’t think it’s a must see, but I don’t regret having gone.
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Stainless Steel Falcon
Mercedes Benz Stadium - View of the Field from the Window to the City
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Gulwing Club - Football Shaped Chandelier
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Clock Art Piece - 12:17pm
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Falcons’s Locker Room
Mercedes Benz Stadium - On the Field
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Atlanta United FC Locker Room
Mercedes Benz Stadium - Mosaic of Final Game at Georgia Dome
The tour took about an hour and a half and after the tour I ordered an Uber POOL to take me to
Formaggio Mio for a late lunch. Again, my POOL took forever because there were 2 other stops before me and for some reason Uber put me with two people going nowhere near me. I spent a lot in Ubers/Lyfts on this trip and I even tried to save money by going with POOL but it was frustrating how bad my rides were sometimes. /rant
The place looked kinda fancy when I got there, but I was surprised when I got the check and it wasn’t as expensive as it looked. I got Marinara Pasta and it came quickly and was good. I then walked over to Toco Grill (it’s around the corner) and picked up dinner.
From there it was off to my final stop of the day
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. The museum goes through the early life of Carter and then into his time in politics, his political accomplishments and then his life after his time in the White House. There is also a short video (narrated by Martin Sheen who played the president on the West Wing, which I thought was funny) on Carter’s life, pre, during, and after his term as president. Near the end of the museum they have (what I believe is temporary) an exhibit called “Georgia on My Screen.” The exhibit is all about TV and movies filmed in Georgia, and the role Carter played in bringing filming to Georgia. They also have a replica of the Oval Office, but it’s mostly closed off and you only walk through the edge of it (unlike the Oval Office at the GWB Library in Dallas where you can sit at the president’s desk). Not really being a fan of Carter I didn’t love the museum, but it presented a large amount of information in an entertaining way. After the museum which oddly closes at 4:30pm, I took a Lfyt back to my hotel and had my dinner. I was contemplating going for a ride on the
SkyView Atlanta, but it was cloudy and didn’t seem like it would be worth it with nothing to see.
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Front of Museum
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Naval Academy Patch
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Carter for Governor Button
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - “I’m Running For President” Button
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Carter for President Buttons
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Other Democratic Candidate Buttons in 1976
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Oath of Office Used at Inauguration
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Inauguration Address
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Oval Office
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Silver Dish Commemorating Camp David Accords
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Carter Painting Made of Buildings, Ships, & Flags
Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum - Camp David Peace Treaty
Wednesday - November 27, 2019Being my last day in Atlanta, I thought it would be fitting to go to the
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. There are several parts to the MLK historical park, the visitors center, the birth house, Fire Station No. 6, the King Center, and the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. I went to the visitors center, the birth home, and the King Center. The visitors center has a few films that they show on rotation, and an exhibit on Dr. King and the civil rights movement, and is where you get your free tickets to the tour of the birth house. This would not be my only civil rights visit of the trip (keep reading!). I took the 10am tour of the birth home. Unfortunately, while the house is owned by the Parks Department, the contents of the house are owned by the King family and you’re therefore not allowed to take pictures. The tour was nice, the tour guide was funny and had a great wealth of information to share. After the birth home tour, I wanted to see if the Fire Station No. 6 was open, but it was not because it’s staffed by volunteers and since it was the day before Thanksgiving, they were short. I then went on to the King center to see the exhibits on MLK, Coretta Scott King, Mahatma Gandhi, and Rosa Parks. After the King center (which was smaller than I expected, it’s only a few small rooms) I walked along the reflecting pool and saw the tombs of Dr. & Mrs. King. I went back to the visitors center to see if I could catch one of the films, but the next film (which was ~25 minutes long) was on the birth house which I’d seen in person, so I called it and headed back to my hotel to pack up.
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Birth Home
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Fire House No. 6
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Glass Chains
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Jean Jacket Worn on Famous Marches
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Reflecting Pool
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Eternal Flame
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Martin Luther King & Coretta Scott King Tomb
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park - Ebenezer Baptist Church
I took an Uber back to the hotel, packed up, and watched some TV before heading to the airport. Since I had plenty of time, (and was feeling better than when I arrived in Atlanta) I decided to take the Subway (which was only a block away) to the airport. It was cheap, easy to buy the ticket and took me about 25 minutes to get to the airport. I checked in, dropped my bag, which took forever and then started heading for security. I saw signs for CLEAR, which I’d signed up for a 2 month free trial but hadn’t had a chance to complete my registration or try. I went to a kiosk and the guy helping me had serious issues scanning my ID, he tried my passport, driver’s license, & my global entry card at least 3 times each before he was finally able to get my passport to scan. The registration process ended up taking more time than it saved me, but I’d get to use it once more on this trip and maybe I’ll use it again before my trial expires. It was nice to skip the pre-check line. I made it to the gate about 45 minutes before boarding and watched some netflix while waiting for boarding to start. I was in boarding group B8 which isn’t bad, but the woman in front of me (who was actually supposed to be behind me) was B10 and her kids were in the B40s and when they announced family boarding for those with children 9 and under she went up with her two kids (both of whom were clearly over 9). I just hate when people try to cheat a system like that. I thankfully got a window and the rest of the flight was uneventful.
My time spent in St. Louis isn’t really a vacation vacation, so I won’t spend any time writing it up except that on Sunday we went ice skating, something I hadn’t done in over 17 years, and I now have a greater appreciation for hockey players and their ability to skate.
Monday - December, 2, 2019I had a crack of dawn (6:45am) flight from STL to DTW and since I was checking a bag I wanted to get there an hour before the flight. My friend dropped me off at the airport at 5:30am but the DL bag drop line was so long I didn’t drop my bag off until almost 6am. That left me with less than 10 minutes to get to my gate before boarding. Thankfully there was nobody in the pre-check line and I made it to the gate a few minutes before boarding. The flight was about 2 hours and after landing at DTW I got my bag and found the shuttle to my hotel. I checked-in dropped off my stuff, took what I’d need for the game and headed, via Uber, to the
The Henry Ford Museum. The museum has three main parts, the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, and Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village was closed (as it is for the winter) so I purchase the combo for the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, & the Ford Rouge Factory Tour. I started with the factory tour because it closes earlier than the museum. The factory tour has four parts. The first part has two films, one on the history of Ford and the Rouge factory and one on the F-150, which is built there. The second part has 5 historic Ford cars and information about them. The third part is a viewing deck, but since it was cloudy and snowing (lightly) there wasn’t much to see. The final part is the factory itself. Pictures are not allowed in the factory itself. Usually you’re supposed to do the films first, then see the cars, and end with the factory, but because of how close it was to lunch time, it was suggested that we start with the factory and go back to the films and cars.
It was cool to see how much goes into assembling a car, and while you don’t get to see every step of the assembly, I was surprised by how little was done by robot, and how much was done by man. The only things I saw done by robots was the installation of the windshields and the measuring to see that any gaps in the car (where two parts connect but aren’t flush against each other) met the required size. The way you tour the factory is by catwalk going around the factory, but you only see a fraction of the entire factory, which was somewhat disappointing. I went back to see the films and the cars after seeing the factory. I also ate my lunch which I’d brought from STL while at the factory.
Ford Museum - Rouge Factory - 1929 Ford Model A
Ford Museum - Rouge Factory - 1932 Ford V-8
Ford Museum - Rouge Factory - 1949 Ford Coupe
Ford Museum - Rouge Factory - 1956 Ford Thunderbird
Ford Museum - Rouge Factory - 1965 Ford Mustang
I took the shuttle bus back to the museum. I spent another 3+ hours exploring the museum which has exhibits on a variety of subjects. I started with the exhibit on Presidential Limos, then moved onto the evolution of cars, other methods of transportation, and then an exhibit on flight. There was an exhibit called “With Liberty and Justice for All” which has the chair Lincoln was in when he was shot and the bus Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat (there’s the other civil rights thing I teased about earlier). There was then an exhibit called “Your Place in Time” which was about the different technologies that were popular in different generations spanning five generations. My favorite part of the museum was the exhibit called “Towers of Tomorrow” and it contained skyscrapers from different cities all over the world, made of Lego. They also had a model of downtown Detroit made of Lego, which was made by a local Lego group. Having loved Lego as a kid, I loved this exhibit. There was also an exhibit called “Mathematica,” which seemed really familiar to me and after having discussed it with my dad, it turns out they used to have that exact exhibit at the science museum we used to frequent in Boston.
Ford Museum - Reagan Car (Used 1972-1992)
Ford Museum - Kennedy Car (Used 1961 to 1977)
Ford Museum - Eisenhower Bubbletop (Used 1950-1967)
Ford Museum - FDR Sunshine Special (Used 1939-1950)
Ford Museum - 1901 Columbia Victoria
Ford Museum - 1932 Ford V-8 Engine
Ford Museum - 1965 Ford Mustang
Ford Museum - “Safety First”- Safer Car
Ford Museum - Holiday Inn Great Sign
Ford Museum - AAA Triptik
Ford Museum - 1925 Fokker F. VII Tri-Motor Airplane, ''Josephine Ford,'' Flown Over the North Pole by Richard Byrd
Ford Museum - Atari System
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Burj Khalifa - Dubai, Abu Dhabi
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Chrysler Building - New York, NY
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Shanghai Tower - Shanghai, China
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Barangaroo Crown Sydney Hotel Resort - Sydney, Australia
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Empire State Building - New York, NY
Ford Museum - Towers of Tomorrow - Sears (Willis) Tower - Chicago, IL
Ford Museum - With Liberty and Justice for All - Rosa Parks Bus
Ford Museum - With Liberty and Justice for All - Rosa Parks Bus
Ford Museum - Exploded Model T
I headed to
Prime 10 on a friend’s recommendation for dinner before the game. He told me to get the “Detroiter” which he said was the best steak he’d ever had. When I saw the price $60, I said no thanks. I like food, but I’m far from a foodie, and I wasn’t going to pay $60 for a steak. Had I realized how expensive this place was, I’d rather have gone to
Kravings for a burger. Since I was already there I wasn’t gonna walk out, so I ordered the brisket burger, which was disappointing to say the least. I ate my burger and then ordered a Lyft to head to Little Caesars Arena for the main event, Islanders vs Red Wings. Continuing with my rough Uber/Lyft trips, the car said it’ll be there in 5 mins, and once he was about a block away, he just kept making wrong turns and after I tried calling him, and 8 minutes of him being 1 minute away, he finally cancelled the ride. I then ordered an Uber (which was nice since the price had dropped) and he came pretty quickly, but it looked like he was getting a little lost to, he turned into the parking lot in the front so I tried chasing him down. It turns out that the parking lot goes all the way around and he knew where he was going, I didn’t.
Prime 10 - Brisket Burger
After the ride downtown with nice conversation (as it mentioned in his Uber profile), I arrived at the home of the Detroit Red Wings (& Detroit Pistons). I got there plenty of time before warmups and walked around a little. I had purchased tickets on the glass where the Islanders shoot twice which meant it was where the Red Wings warmed up. I probably could have gone to where the Isles were warming up, but I chose to watch from my seat. It’s nice to see a nice new arena as opposed to the dumps the Islanders play at in the Barclays Center & Nassau Coliseum. While I wasn’t the only Islanders fan there, I was the most vocal, which annoyed some of the fans nearby as the Islanders led. The Isles won and I left the arena happy.
Little Caesars Arena - Isles Logo Projection
Little Caesars Arena - Islanders & Red Wings Warmups
Little Caesars Arena - National Anthem
Little Caesars Arena - Islanders Offensive Zone Faceoff
Little Caesars Arena - Isles Win!
Little Caesars Arena - Gordie Howe Statue
Uber/Lyft prices were insanely high around the arena so I decided to walk a few blocks away hoping that with fewer people around the price would drop, it didn’t drop much and I paid much more than I’d have liked to for my ride back to the hotel. I also had the chattiest Uber driver who wouldn’t stop talking about how much he knew about New York. I got back to my room and headed to sleep since I had a 10:10am international flight.
Tuesday - December 3, 2019I got up super early (much earlier than I needed to) and left the hotel around 7am for my 10:10am flight from DTW to YUL. I made it through bag drop and security pretty fast and headed to the Delta SkyClub. I relaxed there for a while, had some snacks and watched some TV and headed to my gate for boarding around 9am. Since it was an international flight, they schedule boarding an hour before, but really we didn’t start until closer to 930a. I was waiting at the gate when I saw (who I thought was) one of the Islanders radio announcers
Greg Picker, I went over to him to say hi, and he pointed out the play-by-play guy Chris King. Ok. That was cool, I chatted with them for a while, told them I was following the Isles around a little. A few minutes later I heard a familiar voice, it was
Butch Goring the Isles TV color commentator! He was there with
Shannon Hogan who does sideline and intermission reporting for the Isles! So Cool! Once I saw the four of them together I had to get a picture. I asked where
Brendan Burke who does the TV play-by-play was and I was told he took the earlier flight, so I missed him
I then got upgraded to Comfort+ and had a better seat than everyone but Shannon Hogan since her upgrade to first cleared. As we’re on the plane and boarding finishes, I see a guy in first class (I was in the first row of Comfort+) who kinda looked like
Jon Ledecky the owner of the Islanders. I wasn’t 100% sure until the end of the flight when I saw him chatting with Shannon Hogan. He then saw me and waived. I also got a chance to chat with him as we walked up the jet bridge together. I was secretly praying while we chatted (and I told him that I was following the team a little) that he’d offer to let me watch the game with him, but he didn’t. Still probably one of the coolest flights I’ve had, four of the five members of the Islanders broadcast crew and the owner on my flight, pretty cool.
DL 5494 - Me & the Isles Broadcast Crew
I got off the plane, headed to passport control (which the walk felt like forever) and when I got to the officer he asked me why I was there, I told him the hockey game, and he asked me which one. Was there really more than one hockey game that night, was he testing me, or did he genuinely not know who was playing? I don’t know, and don’t really care that much. I got my bag and went out to wait for the shuttle to the airport.
Crowne Plaza Montreal Airport - Bed, Desk, & Day Bed
I got to the hotel, checked in, dropped off my stuff and ordered an Uber downtown for the
Bell Centre Tour. I don’t like that in Montreal, Uber doesn’t give you a firm price, and since we hit traffic, the ride was more than I would have liked, thankfully the price I saw was in CAD and was ~23% cheaper in USD. Because of the traffic the ETA was pretty close to 2pm and I didn’t wanna miss the tour, so I bought my ticket on my phone through Ticketmaster. One annoying thing is that the Bell Centre doesn’t allow bags or cameras with detachable lenses so I was stuck taking pictures with my phone.
I finally got there and just in time for the tour. Just like my tour of Mercedes Benz Stadium, this tour was very small, and only had two other people. The tour goes through some history of the Habs, and the arena. The areas visited on the tour include the lower bowl, the press area, Jacques Beauchamp Lounge, Alumni Lounge, and Press Conference Room. On non-game days you can also see the Canadiens Dressing Room. What I thought was most interesting about the tour was the press area which is a ring suspended from the ceiling, and was actually directly in front of my seat, but in no way obstructed the view of any seat. Overall the tour was nice, the guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Having been on the tour also got me a discount at the shop.
Bell Centre - View of the Ice from the Lower Bowl
Bell Centre - View of the Ice from Luxury Suite
Bell Centre - Jacques Beauchamp Molson Trophy
Bell Centre - View of the Ice from the Press Ring
Bell Centre - Alumni Lounge
Bell Centre - Mini Stanley Cups
After the Bell Centre tour, I had planned on checking out the Underground City Montreal, but by Uber driver had suggested since it was “nice out” (not below freezing) that I walk around Rue Ste-Catherine. It turned out that it was actually just shops so it was like walking down 5th Ave, so nothing really special. The special thing that happened was that as I was walking from the Bell Centre to Rue Ste-Catherine I saw Barry Trotz (head coach of the Isles) and chatted with him for a min, but since he kept walking as we chatted I got the impression he wasn’t really in the mood to take a picture with me and I didn’t wanna annoy him.
I then ordered an Uber to take me to
City Grille for dinner. While in the Uber, I saw Ryan Pulock, Johnny Boychuck, Jordan Eberle, & Thomas Greiss of the Islanders, so I rolled down the window and yelled “Go get em’ Greisser!” and he gave me a thumbs up! I was surprised that the Islanders were staying so close, since I’ve been told in a number of different places that visiting teams will generally not stay near the arena for fear of being bothered by fans, but they must have been close if I saw Trotz and the players walking. As for my food, it was ok, the food is typical Israeli shawarma schnitzel type stuff. I got a schnitzel pita and fries and I forgot that Canadians do this weird thing to their fries where they’re coated in some breading or something. I wasn’t a fan.
City Grille - Dinner
I headed back to the arena and got there plenty of time before puck drop. I got to my seat which was right behind the broadcast booths. There was a pre-game ceremony honoring the 110th anniversary of the Canadiens which had all the living captains (except for Max Pacioretty since he plays for Vegas now) which was nice. It’s nice to see a team with that much history celebrate it like that.
Bell Centre - Guy Lafluer Statue
Bell Centre - Warmups
Bell Centre - View from My Seat
Bell Centre - Isles Broadcast Booths (upper is radio, lower is TV)
Bell Centre - Captains Ceremony
Bell Centre - Opening Faceoff
As for the game, it left me beyond disappointed, as the Islanders looked terrible, and while they made it close at the end, they couldn’t pull the win out and my Islanders road winning streak (which began last season in STL on 1/5/19) ended at four.
Despite the fact that the Isles lost, it was still a fun place to watch a game, I was 5 rows from the back and still had a perfect view of everything. The fans were really into it, and unlike when I was in Philly a few weeks ago, I wasn’t harrassed for being an Islanders fan.
I again trying to get a lower price on my uber, walked a bit away from the arena, and then the uber ended up driving into traffic right past the arena, but it still wasn’t too expensive. I had a 7am flight and since YUL has pre-clearing I had to get to the airport super early, so I went right to sleep.
Wednesday - December 4, 2019I woke up super early (4am) and took the 4:30am shuttle to the airport. I had another long line at bag drop, and a surprisingly long line Global Entry line (where the guard asked to see my global entry card which I’ve never experienced before). I made it through security (almost forgetting my laptop) and cleared customs shortly thereafter. I stopped to check out the scotch at Duty Free, but there was nothing of interest. YUL does have a Priority Pass lounge but it was in the opposite direction of my gate and with only about half an hour until boarding it didn’t make sense to walk in one direction for a few minutes in the lounge before having to walk all the way back.
I knew from my discussion with Greg Picker the day before that most of the Isles broadcast crew was on one of the 7am flights to NY, one to JFK (mine) and one to LGA, so I looked to see where the LGA flight was boarding to see if I could catch Brendan Burke in case he was on that flight, and it was past my gate so there was a good chance that even if he wasn’t on my flight, I’d be able to catch him heading to the LGA flight.
I saw Butch Goring, and Greg Picker walk by, and then I saw Chris King (who I knew would be on my flight because I saw his name on the upgrade list). I chatted with him for a bit and he remembered my name, which was nice. As I was sitting looking in the direction of security, hoping to catch Brendan Burke, there he was! I saw him and went over to say hi. I told him how I had met and flown with the rest of the crew the day before and was disappointed that I’d missed him and now the crew experience was complete because I’d met him. His upgrade cleared (unlike Chris’s) so he boarded before I did but I chatted again with Chris while we were boarding. I was really impressed by how friendly they all were. The flight was short and when I landed at JFK, I walked forever to baggage claim and was in an Uber home shortly.
DL 5185 - Me & Brendan Burke
Overall the trip was great. Atlanta was a nice city for a few days. I had a great Thanksgiving (as usual) in St. Louis, Detroit was great between the Henry Ford Museum and sitting on the glass at the Isles game, and Montreal was a nice experience (even if the game sucked).
I hope you enjoyed the TR as I enjoyed the trip!