Category Archives: Travel

Almost First Class

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Barb’s iPhone put this little video together. Barb and her friend, Lisa, braved the long lines to fly to Europe overnight. These photos were taken (by someone) in the cabin of a JetBlue plane. According to Claude their seats are in JetBlue Mint, their business class product.

“The seats are lie-flat, converting to a roughly 6’8” bed. The privacy dividers between seats are what you’re seeing in both photos — they can be raised or lowered. The suite-style pods have a sliding door for full privacy on some configurations (the “Mint Suite”), though these look like the standard Mint seats without the door. The cabin has that signature blue mood lighting JetBlue uses — pretty distinctive and instantly recognizable.”

“The transatlantic product is notable because JetBlue positioned Mint as a direct competitor to legacy carrier business class at a significantly lower price point when they launched transatlantic routes (JFK to London, Paris, Amsterdam). The menu in photo 2 appears to say “Transatlantic” on it, and mentions what looks like a Charlie Bird partnership for the food program.”

“Practical details: Mint includes a decent amenity kit, good Wi-Fi (JetBlue’s Fly-Fi has a strong reputation), and the food program has been well-reviewed compared to comparable seats on legacy carriers.”

A few days in Amsterdam then on to Paris. Part of our Die Broke strategy.

Bleak, Crime Infested Towns In the (Missouri) Bootheel

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There is a seemingly endless variety of genres on YouTube, and one that has been showing up in my feed more frequently of late is what I call the “driving tour of small town America” videos. During my many years, on the road in the Midwest, I had occasion to drive through lots and lots of small rural towns, so I’ve found this series interesting.

The video above offers a rather depressing look at four towns in southeast Missouri: Caruthersville, Hayti, Kennett, and Cardwell. Some of the demographic statistics were almost as bleak and shocking as the images.

Pleasant Hill School (Lineville, IA)

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(Wikipedia) “The Pleasant Hill School, also known as the Little Red School House, is a historic building located north of Lineville in rural Wayne County, Iowa, United States. It was built in 1881 on land that had been purchased for educational purposes in 1873, and it housed a one-room school until 1958. The Grand River Independent School District donated the school building to the Wayne County Historical Society. They maintain it as it was when it served as a schoolhouse. The interior furnishings are authentic, if not original to the building. The school yard is maintained as a roadside park along U.S. 65. The building follows a rectangular plan that is three bays long and two bays wide. It is capped with a gable roof. A small entryway is located on the south side of the structure. The school building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.”

Took these photos one a road trip in 2013.

Washing your hands isn’t enough

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My brother’s work takes him to China and Southeast Asia seven or eight times a year. (The China travel has been halted for the foreseeable future) During our phone chat last night he mentioned he has not missed a day of work (for illness) in the last five years. A good trick considering how much time he spends in airplanes. The secret, he claims, is a combination of Clorox Disinfecting Wipes and small travel bottles of Lysol spray.

He immediately wipes down the seat-back tray, the seat arms, and other surfaces he’s likely to touch during his fifteen hour flights. Surfaces in the restroom get a wipe-down. And he never touches one of those blankets they give you. Surfaces that don’t lend themselves to a disinfectant wipe (in the plan or hotel room) get spritz of Lysol.

As I write this I’m sitting in my favorite coffee shop where the tables get a wipe (usually) between customers but I don’t see any disinfecting going on.

Washing your hands is always a good idea but my chat with my brother has me thinking about all the surfaces we touch in a day that were touched by hundreds of others. All those coughing, nose-wiping, hand-sneezers are not washing their hands.