The last few weeks have been planes and automobiles. Left for New Jersey on a Monday, flew home on a Friday, only to land and then head to Georgia, If you follow my Newark Airport adventures you know that over the years it’s rare that I take the same route from the airport to my hotel. This evening it was no different, my car service once again found another new route.

Stumbled on a great deal with the Hilton DoubleTree in Fairfield, NJ. With all the promos & bonuses I netted a little over 13,000 points for the 3-day stay, and then my Hilton AE card will add another 6000 points, almost 20,000 points. Coupled with Thursday nights Newark airport stay of 7,000 points I netted 26,000 points for the week.

New Jersey food never disappoints, lunch was at Jose Tejas,  which is a normal stop. Think Mexican Cajun, today it was the shrimp & crawfish quesadilla, huge chunks of crawfish and shrimp stuffed into a warm tortilla with cheese goodness overflowing…. you couldn’t pick it up, fork and knife on deck. Their crawfish etouffee can go toe to toe with anything that New Orleans offers.

Dinner was at Prime 94 and there was at least 15 of us there. When you enter you’ll see their bar that offers a handful of custom cocktails as well as some local brews. We started with Caprese salad and fried calamari. For the main course, I had the Prime  94 chicken. Chicken breast, broccoli rabe, sun-dried tomatoes topped with a long hot pepper.

It’s not often that I brag on hotel restaurants but the DoubleTree in Fairfield is great. When I first started to stay there it was a Holiday Inn property and was recently acquired by Hilton and then updated. The breakfast area is staffed by folks that have worked there 15+ years and they rebranded the restaurant into something that’s actually good. We filled our bellies with wings and pizza, all at half-price.

 

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyqj_KF4t60[/embedyt]

 

Televangelist Finds Passengers Getting Dragged Down the Aisle Too Distracting, Has to Fly Private – View From The Wing

Kenneth Copeland’s ministry once disclosed that it owns at least 5 planes, though now says he has three — including a Gulfstream V which was purchased from Tyler Perry. Copeland says the Lord speaks to him, and performs maintenance on his aircraft.

The minister has described flying commercial as getting in a long tube with a bunch of demons. People. I love people. Jesus loves people. People get pushed in alcohol. Do you think that’s a good place for a preacher to be and prepare to go preach to a lot of people when somebody in there is dragging some woman down an aisle, it made me so mad to see that on television I wanted to punch the guy out myself. I can’t be doing that when I’m trying to get ready to preach.

 

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=envRYX6JnXo[/embedyt]

 

The Turbulence Was so Bad a Flight Attendant and Beverage Cart Hit the Ceiling – View From The Wing

On Sunday, June 16 an ALK Airlines flight VBB-7205 from Pristina in Kosovo to Basel Mulhouse near the shared border point of France, Germany, and Switzerland provided even greater flight than promised when passengers booked their itinerary.

The Boeing 737-300 with 121 people on board encountered severe turbulence at 34,000 feet about 30 minutes prior to the end of the 745 mile flight. The pilots were deviating around a thunderstorm and eventually landed on runway 15 as planned.
It experienced turbulence so bad, though, that 10 passengers were ultimately taken to the hospital on arrival. No emergency was declared. Some passengers reported that “seats were ripped out of their anchoring” however this turns out not to be accurate.

Video filmed by a passenger shows a flight attendant “flying up toward the ceiling of the aircraft, along with the drink cart, which spills over several passengers. One of the soaked travelers can also be seen praying immediately after the cart comes crashing down.”

 

Passenger Causes 7-Hour Delay by Mistaking Emergency Exit for a Bathroom – The Points Guy

A Pakistan International Airlines flight was severely delayed leaving Manchester, England, on June 8, but not because of poor weather or aircraft maintenance. Instead, PIA has stated that a passenger opened an emergency exit while the flight was on the tarmac. According to the airline, the passenger mistook the exit for a restroom, causing the emergency slide to deploy automatically and leading to a seven-hour wait.

Nearly forty passengers stepped off the plane — they didn’t take the slide — and waited for flight to be reset. No passengers were injured, although some complained about the wait on social media, reports USA Today.

Florida man found naked in Broome County chicken coop after manhunt – Q Country 103.7

A 25-year-old Florida man is jailed in upstate New York after police say he crashed a stolen car and was found naked in a chicken coop after a seven-hour manhunt.

Kirkwood is 57 miles southeast of Ithaca.

State police say John Mehne of Sarasota faces numerous charges, including criminal possession of stolen property for crashing an Audi A5 reported stolen in Florida and cruelty to animals for killing a dog and some chickens.

Police say Mehne crashed the Audi on Interstate 81 about three miles north of the Pennsylvania line Tuesday morning, rode a passing pickup truck for a mile and ran into woods. Police say he stopped at several homes, killing a dog at one and attacking chickens at two others.

He was arraigned Wednesday and jailed without bail. Police say he has requested a lawyer.

Teacher accidentally killed herself after swallowing bag of cocaine in airport lounge – The Mirror

A British teacher accidentally killed herself with a lethal overdose after she swallowed a bag of cocaine in a first class airport lounge whilst waiting to fly home to Dubai.

Ex-Pat Victoria Buchanan, 42, ingested the resealable bag when it is thought she realised she still had the drug in her possession whilst drinking a glass of champagne after she checked in with her luggage.

The mum-of-three had earlier acquired £200 worth of the Class A drug during a family visit to the UK with her husband Mark – a shipping company boss.

She had £60 worth of cocaine left when she decided to swallow it in the hope of getting it back home, but moments later she collapsed and had a severe seizure when the bag burst in her stomach.

Man Caught at JFK Smuggling 34 Finches in Hair Curlers – Snopes

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal authorities say a 39-year-old Connecticut man has been caught trying to smuggle nearly three dozen live finches through John F. Kennedy Airport in order to sell them for singing competitions.

Francis Gurahoo was arrested Sunday after arriving on a flight from Georgetown, Guyana. Prosecutors say customs officials found the 34 live birds in his carry-on luggage hidden inside individual plastic hair curlers.

Gurahoo was arraigned Monday on a charge of unlawful wildlife smuggling. Information on his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

Officials say the finches from Guyana are prized. They are used in singing contests in Brooklyn and Queens where wages are placed on the birds with the best voice. Prosecutors say Gurahoo said he planned to sell them for about $3,000 each, for a total haul of over $100,000.

 

 

Man Strips Naked At Detroit Metro Airport’s McNamara Terminal – WWJ950

A traveler caused quite a stir at Detroit Metro Airport when he stripped naked and tried to pass through security at the McNamara Terminal.

Airport officials say the man walked up to a checkpoint around 6:30 a.m. Friday, removed all of his clothing, disconnected a stanchion and approached a metal detector. TSA agents did not allow him to pass through the checkpoint.

“The Wayne County Airport Authority’s police and fire departments responded and determined the man did not pose a security threat,” Erica Donerson, a spokesperson for the Wayne County Airport Authority.

Donerson said the man was transported to an area hospital. No injuries were reported, but several people witnessed the incident.

 

A Travel Nightmare: Waking Up Cold And Alone In A Darkened Plane – NPR

Ever had a nightmare in which you wake up at night, alone, strapped in a seat in a completely dark and freezing cold room with no means to contact anyone?

That’s the story Air Canada passenger Tiffani Adams told about what was supposed to be a simple 90-minute flight from Quebec City to Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this month.

Her account was posted on the airline’s Facebook page by her friend Deanna Noel-Dale.

Adams, who has since been experiencing anxiety and insomnia, wrote that she fell asleep in a row of seats on a nearly empty flight, and by the time she woke up the plane had arrived at its destination and had been parked away from the nearest terminal.

Her cellphone battery was depleted, therefore useless, and there was no power on the plane to recharge it.  No one else was on the pitch-black plane.

There you have it, safe travels and thanks for listening.

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