So why not a Top Seven List...
Yucatan Peninsula
1. Best Presidents Club...
So let's be honest. I'm starting with this because I've become a travel snob. I like elite this, quicker line there, upgrades, frequent flyer miles. And for anyone that travels as much as I do, a Presidents Club pass is a MUST. Thank you Kelly for turning me on to this. Leather seats, free drinks, accessible outlets for charging. What else could you ask for?
Winner is... Cleveland.
Home room wins by a nose. Clean, comfy and convenient. Good service and accessible to most gates. It's the only way to spend the inevitable delay during the winter, and during the random summer storms.
Close second.... Newark.
Elevated view above the cattle, unique work space.
Worst... O'Hare. They charge for drinks. Damning.
2. Best unmanly drink...
Tough choice here. Every night another bar/restaurant. And it's hard to mess up Jameson. But, if you must drink something else...
Winner is... Bonefish. Fayetteville NY. Lemon drop martini. (must get on the rocks with not fruit or sugared rim. Gotta be a man, in spite of the fact that it's not a manly drink.). Plus, the service here is impeccable. Ashley, Kelcie, Kate- you can't go wrong. It's like Cheers. Everyone knows your name. And try the Bang Bang Shrimp...
Close second... Smirnoff Ice. Walking down the middle of Las Vegas Blvd, 10pm, struggling to make it to midnight, New Year's Eve. This stuff was refreshing and perfect. Besides, walking down the street with a jug of Jameson is obnoxious. Even for me. Well..not that obnoxious.
3. Best appetizer ...
Easy choice here. A local establishment that serves a non-tradional twist on a typical app
Winner is... Cheesesteak egg roll, Dublin Square Pub, Cherry Hill, NJ. An egg roll. With cheesesteak inside. With cheese to dip it in. Wow. End of story.
Second place... If you are ever in Erie, PA, and God knows everyone gets here sometime... head down to the Bayfront Sheraton. Great hotel, amazing view, for a nothing sort of town. They have mussels in a white wine and garlic broth. Amazing. Extra points for view and the fact that you wouldn't expect this from a Sheraton.
4. Best bar...
Tough, tough decision here. But based on some good advice, with ten hours to kill BEFORE a red-eye, Yo Adrien directed me to...
Winner is... McMenamins -White Eagle, Portland OR. Tucked in the middle of nowhere, spent several hours on the patio reading. The band was playing by 4pm on a Wednesday. Great covers, good music. The least I could do was buy their CD. They wanted $10, and I gave them $20. Generous Squires strikes again. I listen to it in the Jeep all summer long.
Second place... Winking Lizard, Coventry. We've spent every other Sunday during football season here for ten years. Loyalty and good service, do still count for something. Now if they had just kept the Golden Tee machine.
5. Best beach bar...
Discounting my honeymoon (see below), I don't see many beaches in my travels. But I did get to San Diego. And it has nothing to do with a whale's vagina.
Winner is... 710 Beach Club. Great bloody Mary. Amazing people. And the BEST FISH TACOS ever. Trust me. I've had a few. It's an odd sort of bar though, with deep roots to Chicago. Bears and Cubs stuff everywhere, so for a boy from the Midwest, it felt just a little bit like home (in the beautiful sunlight, warm temperatures and did I mention sunlight, in January!).
Erie PA. (no really, it is...)
6. Best (surprising) view ...
I'll go with the surprising view because I get some places sometimes.
Winner is... Sheraton Bayfront Erie. Nobody ever wants to be in Erie, PA. I've found no evidence to the contrary. But if one gets stuck there, make your way through the dirty, decrepid downtown, towards the Bayfront. There is a halfway decent seafood restaurant, a better than average beach type bar, and a damn surprising Sheraton Hotel. I've stayed here enough to get to know the General Manager and let me tell you, it's amazing hospitality always. All of that would make it a pretty good spot to hang out on a summer day, even without the spectacular view.
7. Best honeymoon experience
I've had two (so far) and they were both Caribbean, St. Lucia and the USVI.
Winner... Morningstar Charters. Though I had thoroughly planned the surprise our honeymoon, leave it to Jen to find the hidden jewel of our adventure together. Sitting at a bar in Charlotte Amelie, USVI, Jen (my lovely wife) mentioned that someone she went to high school ran a charter down here somewhere. Enter Captain Mike Roses and the Morningstar. A day and half of sailing around, to St John and back, drinking Painkillers... Our best memories of the trip were on that boat.
Second place... nothing comes close.
SO there are my Top Seven thoughts from the last year of travel. Been to a lot of places, met a lot of people, drank a lot of Jameson. I'm sure I'll have more.
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