Flying with US Airways Miles

When I visited London in January 2013 I was able to use some of my miles and a small amount of cash. I looked ahead to see what I would need to come over for the Steeler's game in September and once more for my birthday in January 2014. All three trips would require 30,000 miles and not more than $200 for a round-trip flight. Now that I am planning a trip the miles have gone to 60,000 RT with about $240. My two up-coming (almost) free flights with US Airways has been cut down to one. Dam.

Well, the September flight for the game is not going to happen for a few reasons so that leaves January. But I have found that the entire month of February 2014 is available for 17,500 miles each way. This is great as I can save a lot of miles if and when another month opens for the same amount. But there are restrictions Any day doing February will charge me 71,500 one-way but getting a flight on a particular day is the challenge. I have to fly into Heathrow as US Airways pulled out of Gatwick. I have a choice of traveling through Philadelphia which I do not want to do as it is too large and my connecting flight is "miles" from my point of touch-down. I prefer Charlotte. US Airways does not.

Most of the days I select to fly to or from Charlotte are sold out. In order to be in London for the Battersea Beer Festival I can only depart on the second of February and I have only two days that I can return without going past my available time off from work. Dam work. But I can still get in a nine day visit. Last January was sixteen days and I wanted to stay longer. Philadelphia gives me more flight options but I just hate navigating that airport. It's not real that bad but can be stressful if your lay-over is short due to the hike to the connecting flight. Been there, done that, good god never again.

It is nice to be able snag a very cheap flight on any day of the month but not very nice when the airline says we have no seat for you. I do understand that airlines have to set restrictions, after all I am not exactly chairman's preferred. The chairman doesn't even know who I am. But what is available to me is something that I can work with and I am excited to be able to be making plans to come back to the city that I love. It does help that I am very flexible with my schedule.

One other item that I am trying to factor into my planing is the return city I want to use to get back to Pittsburgh. I prefer Charlotte Airport and I can get a flight that will get my home airport at 6 PM. But I leave London at 10 AM. Getting to Heathrow may not be bad but not having been to Heathrow in 20 years I need to find my way like a newbie. The flight to Philly departs at noon, which takes a lot of stress off me. But the flight to Pittsburgh lands at 8 PM. That's 1:00 AM to my body and I still need to drive home.  I find London to be calming an stress free but trying to get there and back is what I thing made me loose my hair.

Passport Control Reform

There is a lot of talk in the United States and Mexico about reforming the immigration policy of the United States. I say Mexico, as they appear to not like what we do. I wasn’t sure that they had a say in the matter but it seems that so many do. One phrase that gets tossed around is Comprehensive Immigration Reform. I have no idea what that is supposed to mean but some view it as allowing people coming in the United States illegally to stay. I would ask; why would somebody come into a country illegally? There can be several answers to that but the obvious answer is opportunity. This is why so many people fled Europe in the 1800 and 1900’s to come to America. This is a big reason to this day. But the one element to immigration that applies to everyone coming into any country is that the receiving country has the right to say no. Yet some in my country (as well as from other countries) seem to think that the United States should not say no. I have a question for those having that opinion.

Before I ask my question, please remember that I am keeping my opinion out of this conversation. The question is being directed to those in the just say no camp, but the kick em out camp may have something to say as well. At long last, here is my question. If you are in favor of allowing undocumented workers to remain in the United Sates (under a variety of scenarios) what is your opinion of Passport Control at entry ports in the United States?

Being connected by land to Canada and Mexico, it is easy to simply walk into the States. Once here “visitors” can benefit from what we have to offer in the way of work, health care, education, etc. It is different when you come in off a plane or boat. Once you set foot on America you encounter a uniformed sentry who wants to know who you are and why you’re here. When I land overseas I am asked how long I plan to stay and will I be working. My answer that never gets a smile in return is “not long enough and don’t work at the office so why start now”. Countries want to know who is coming to the party. If you had a party at home and saw a stranger, wouldn’t you ask him how he got in? I think this a small part of the debate that is missing. I am not sure how my ending sentence should read. If we allow those coming in illegally should we allow those coming in with a passport? How do we tell one yes and the other no? So many people want to come and work here but are denied before they leave home. How do we bring parity to everyone?

My Fullers' Porter

As anyone who could not flee from me in time knows, I was in London for 16 days recently. I go at least once a year and it has been usually in March. The cost in cash and air miles was next to nothing for January and I just had to go. One thing that is available in London in January that is usually not available in March in London Porter by Fuller’s, Smith & Turner in Chiswick. London. It is my favorite beer in England and one of my tops worldwide. I have written the brewery several times in the past to tell them this. I wrote this time asking if it was going to be on and where could I find it. Their response was surprisingly unexpected and something that I would never have asked for.

Fullers’ sent me a keg: kind of. But it wasn’t a keg it was a cask. And it wasn’t actually for me but they sent it because of my e-mail asking where I could fine it. Maybe I should explain. London Porter is available in bottles and keg most of the year. The best tasting for me is cask condition served through a beer engine. But the cask version is typically available only during the colder months. And the best place I have always found it in cask is at the Dove in Hammersmith. The Dove is an historic riverside pub that has a lot of history in it. Once you come in you never leave quickly.

Knowing how much I love the cask porter, Fullers did something really nice for me. They sent the cask version to the pub prior to my arrival and all I had to do was to let the pub know when I was coming in. How many breweries have done that for a customer who only comes to the pub a few times once a year? This was unbelievable. Not having the patience to wait I headed for the pub directly. They were ready to put it on but one beer had to finish first. So the manager drew a pint directly from the cask in the cellar. Once again, I was thinking this was all a dream. The cask was on the next day and I spent several days the next two weeks enjoying one of my best beers in a fine pub. I thought it could not get any better than this until I ordered the lamb shank with barley. So many places do this over rice it was no surprise that a brewery run pub would cook with barley. This is now on my list of comfort foods ad something you kids can try at home. The cask was readily available to all customers and judging by how fast it went there are a lot of people who enjoy cask London Porter. But I think the brewery already knows that.

I have sent thanks to Simon Robertson-Macleod and Tia Nicholson from Fuller’s for making this happen and asked them to extend my gratitude to all other at Fullers’ who put effort into this. Not to be omitted is Mr. England (yes, that is his real name), manager of the Dove. He could not have welcomed me more and made my visits a pleasure. Good people running a good pub serving good beer to good customers: beer brings people together.

Web Links

Dove Pub: http://dovehammersmith.co.uk/ 

Fullers’ Brewer: http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=207 

Fullers’ Brewery Tour: http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=9 

Fullers’ London Porter: http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=63  

30,000 Miles to London

I have a strong desire to spend my 60^th birthday in London this January but things looked bleak. I have been to London in January many times in the past as it is the cheapest time to go and all of the other tourist stay at home. It’s a win for all of us. But instead of paying my usual $500 to $600 for a round trip I will have to pay over $1,000. It looks as though I would be staying home too. But then I remembered to check my air miles account. I have a lot of miles from flying to London once a year but the bulk of them come from my credit card. I did not think that I have enough for a ticket this time but I tried making a reservation using the awards tab on US Airways website. I will be in London this January.

You buy with miles, which can vary but you also have to pay the taxed and fees with money. In looking at different months I found that the T & F is somewhat constant all year and about $200. The miles can vary with the days of the week and what season a month falls. US Airways tickets can be had for as little as 30,00 miles and can peak over 100,000 miles in summer. So I pulled out my US Airways credit card and bought a trip. But I am not going for my birthday.

I would have had to use 45,000 to blow out the candles in London. Then I thought about some events I would like to see. I altered my trip for late January with a return in February. I saved 15,000 miles that I can apply for a future flight. I still have a fair number of miles and will pick-up more on this trip so doing this next year should be a done deal. If you have a miles card it may be worth a check of your account. Spending miles can give one a head ach. One way to look at miles is that you receive them when you buy things you need such as food and gas. Another way to look at them is that they accumulate one mile per dollar. That means I spent $30,000 for a flight that goes for $1,000. Still, if you have miles you can have a nice holiday for very little cash out of pocket. With the money saved one can enjoy high tea at the Savoy.

Jogger’s Jogging

I do not live in London but I visit often. I enjoy so much of the city but most of all engaging in chat with people in pubs. I noticed something and passed it off but I have subsequently seen if again: terrorist in trainers. Yes, men jogging down the sidewalk at all hours of the day. Normally this is nothing a walker would give any thought of. But now I pause to see when the jogger will strike. What I saw was a male jogger run into a woman. It looked like an accident but there was room for him to pass. What bugged me out was that after he hit the woman he never stopped or even as he continued he never said sorry. During my last visit I saw one of two joggers run into a woman with infants. Once again, not stopping or sorry.

Is this a growing trend? Is it getting worst? Have men lost (or loosing) their civility towards women? I have only seen this twice but I cannot help but think this is more common that I suspect. I hope not because it will diminish London’s reputation as being walking friendly. They don’t even do this in New York. And yes London, you can take that as a hit.

Airline Carbon Tax

Yes, that is my question. Has the airline carbon tax been imposed on flights to and from Europe? I was in London in December 2011 and March 2012 and paid around $500 USD round-trip. US Airways is posting RT prices for this summer at triple what I recently paid. This is understandable as it is summer. The Olympic and Diamond Jubilee would have influence on price, too. But I have looked into January 2013 and prices remain steady at $1,300 USD. Can I ask; bloody hell?

I am assuming that the airlines are tying to re-coup some loss in fuel cost but it can’t be just that driving prices up. I know the EU is/was looking into adding a carbon tax in airlines. Has that occurred? Is it that much? I don’t know but it is playing havoc with my future London Holiday plans. It will be interesting to see if these high prices affect tourist travel this summer and fall. All I know is that publicans will be crying in their pint glasses if I don’t get back over too soom.

Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream

What would England be without Cheddar Cheese? What would a holiday be without ice cream? How would I to know that I would find them on my plate in London as a dessert? I had the pleasure of having a long lunch with friends at the Gilbert Scott Restaurant in London. The restaurant is in the newly refurbished and recently re-opened St. Pancras Hotel. It is very old world in service and décor. In scanning the list of deserts I found one item of particular interest: Cheddar Cheese Ice Cream. This was most unusual to me and it had to be very good or very bad. Using the food that I just finished as a guide I knew it had to be good. It was interesting.

In a multi-star restaurant presentation is everything. The desert came on a brilliant white plate with no fancy chocolate swirls or garden plants. It was plain and simple. The ice cream sat upon what looked like a crab cake. Or, should I say crab-shell cake, as it was rather hard. After chipping into the central core of this moon rock I found a delightful raspberry filling. The ice cream was next. It was soft, as in slightly melted, and vanilla-cream in color. I found the initial taste to me mild and the mouth-feel to be pleasant. It was ice cream so it was refreshing. Then, as it warmed in my mouth if changed in taste. At least to me it did. The cheddar flavor started to come out and gave me a dry-bitterness in my mouth. I was interested in trying it and glad that I did. Would I recommend it to you? Yes. It was something new away from home. OK kids, you can try this at home. Take a small bite of cheddar cheese and a spoon of your favorite ice cream and see what happens. Have the video set to record. Dairy Queen would be amused.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/lonpr-st-pancras-renaissance-london-hotel/

http://www.thegilbertscott.co.uk/