Aviation Nation Flies Into Las Vegas

Aviation Nation is one of the coolest events for any plane loving geek in Southern Nevada. Every year, Nellis Air Force Base opens up its doors for the public to see and experience what the Air Force does on a daily basis.

Nellis Air Force Base:

A very brief background. Here, pilots from all over the world (yes, world) train in a variety of aircraft and for a variety of missions- mostly in the desert. You can assume where they’re training to be deployed. It’s also home to the Air Force’s Weapon School. Think “Top Gun” of the Air Force. 

The Show:

Ok, now that we got that out of the way. Here’s how my day in the sun went down.

Walking off the bus and onto the flight line at the air show is awe inspiring. You see so many people, aircraft displays and shows of force (from the planes, not the people). The first plane you see is the Galaxy C-5. If you’ve never seen this plane up close then you’re missing out. Think of it as a 747 on steroids.

This year’s static displays selection included mostly military aircraft ranging from fighter jets, surveillance aircraft and trainers. There was a small selection of general aviation aircraft which is more my speed. But nothing other than the Air Force’s B-2 bomber made me drool. This stealth bomber comes with a cost of nearly a billion dollars a piece! It can carry all sorts of armament and is an aircraft that shows air superiority.  Here’s more about the B2.

The other half of Aviation Nation is dedicated to showing off what the Air Force can do. There were several demonstrations. The coolest one to me besides the Thunderbirds’ performance was a demo flight of the C-17. This high-wing cargo jet was put through its paces. Pilots completed a short field take off, high G turns, and a short field landing.  Other demonstrations showed off the capability of the A-10, F-15’s, and World War II vintage aircraft. The show comes to a flying end when the Air Force’s Thunderbirds take off and perform an arial display for all to admire.

I skipped out of last year’s Aviation Nation for what I’m sure was a valid reason then. Nellis Air Force Base is keeping things exciting though and I’m excited to see what next year brings.

Click here to see more pictures from 2011 Aviation Nation posted on my flikr site. 

The 24 Hour Blitz

The 24 Hour Blitz

So it’s football season but I’m not talking about a football play here. Instead, I’m talking about a recent trip in which I traveled about 3,000 miles in the span of 24 hours.

The trip started as a surprise for my grandmother. I hadn’t seen her in a few months and my mom decided it would be great to surprise her while on a “mother-daughter” weekend in San Antonio, Texas. With that my flights were booked and I would soon be on my way. The trip would ultimately take me to Los Angeles and Houston in addition to San Antonio.

My routing was a bit strange. I flew from Las Vegas to Los Angeles’ International Airport (LAX) on United then transferred to United Express and from there flew into San Antonio.  Being an airplane geek I must explain the variety of jets I was on. The first leg of the trip was on an United Airlines Boeing 757. I normally love 757s as they are big, spacious and comfortable. United’s was not any of those. The seats were clearly aged, there were CRT monitors in the aisles, airfones installed in the middle seat’s headrest (does anyone still use them?) and the leg room was less than desirable even for a short person like me. The flight was about half full- not sure why United has such a big plane for a low traffic routing (Saturday morning at 6:30). Most on the flight were connecting in LAX .

Descending Into LAX

The flight took about 45 minutes and I was able to catch some great photos from the air. One as we were descending into LAX while we were still above the cloud / fog layer and more shots for my wing collection.

Touching down into LAX, I was immediately in airplane heaven. Seeing all those “heavies” as they are refereed to made me want to ditch my Texas plans for some international travel. Sadly, unless someone else pays for it, that trip will have to wait awhile. Seeing all the aircraft on the tarmac and the people in the terminal, you would have no idea that it was 7:30 Saturday morning on a holiday weekend. People were coming and going, languages were being spoken from all corners of the world and people were hustling and bustling to get to wherever they were going.

I changed terminals and made my way to my United Express flight. In recent years more airlines have been relying on their regional affiliates to handle lower trafficked routes.

Ground Worker Cleaning the CRJ's Window

After about an hour or so of waiting it was time to board our Canadianair Regional Jet bound for San Antonio, Texas. The RJs are smaller than what you would expect on a “mainline” carrier or Boeing 737s or Airbus A-320s. More carriers are adding first class cabins which is great for those in coach looking to have a bulkhead seat. My seat was considered a bulkhead, right behind first class, but I lucked out. There was neither a bulkhead partition or a seat in front of me. The 2 and a half hour flight went pretty quickly. Service was friendly, seats were surprisingly comfortable and the flight was right on time.

This is where the surprise happened. I had figured someone would have said something about my trip but as I walked down the stairs into baggage claim I could tell everything was kept very quiet. My grandmother looked at me a bit confused because she recognized me but couldn’t figure it.  She then realized it was me and couldn’t believe the surprise that mother had promised. We spent several minutes getting over the shock value and finally headed off into the city.

We had some lunch then visited for hours at our hotel. The hotel was packed with kids and their families. I couldn’t believe how many kids there were- and of all ages. It must of been a “kids stay free” weekend.

Saturday night we headed out to the River Walk.

San Antonio's River Walk

This is an area that San Antonio is famous for next to the Alamo. The city has built an incredible attraction based on the San Antonio river that goes through the center of Downtown. On both sides of the river there are shops, restaurants, unique plants and statues telling the story of the city. Click here for more of a history of this great city.

The River Walk

There are dozens of boats on the river staffed with tour guides who tell you the story of the city. If you have never been here I highly recommend it. There are also some great restaurants including one of my favorite, “Mi Terrera” or My Land.

After walking around we headed in the direction of one of my parent’s favorite restaurants. It’s called “La Fogata.” This is another one for your “must see” list. Walking up to the place you are amazed at its location. In the middle of a residential area there is a HUGE restaurant. It consists of two separate buildings with a bar and courtyard in the middle. The grounds are beautiful too and have even won awards for it. I gorged myself of Mexican food. I ordered the “Un poco de todo” or a Little Bit of Everything. What I found out was that it was a little bit too much. However, it’s a great value if you are looking to sample the cuisine.

Sunday came quickly. We met in the lobby where it looked an elementary school’s lunchroom. Kids were EVERYWHERE! Some were happy and cheery while others were noticeably not happy to be awake at 9am. My grandmother and I made waffles in the shape of Texas. Yes, Texas pride even reaches the waffles. Then it was off to do some shopping before heading back to the airport.

My quick trip had come to an end.

Cruising at 37,000 Feet

I boarded my Continental flight which went through Houston where I changed planes and headed right back to Las Vegas. It feels as though I’ve never left. While in Houston though I couldn’t believe how much international traffic there was. Most of the flights that I saw were going to areas in Mexico and Central America but there were several large planes heading for destinations overseas. It must of been the “evening push” for them as there was Singapore Airlines 777, British Airways 777, Air France 777, Lufthansa 747, KLM 747 and an Emirates Airlines 777 all waiting to depart.

Finally it was back on the plane and heading west. My quick 24 hours had come to an end and before I knew it we were back in Vegas.

Discount Airlines Betting Big in Las Vegas

There’s an expansion going on in Las Vegas. Yes, that’s right. Someone is banking on the city with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, the home of the housing bust and the city where the term “mothball” has become a common phrase. But it’s not on the strip or another big box store moving in. It’s several low cost airlines that are betting on an economic turnaround.

Leaving Las Vegas

Over the last several months passenger counts have steadily risen at McCarran International Airport. After a tumultuous recession, things are starting to bounce back here. More conventions are being held in Las Vegas, more travelers are coming to Sin City for a quick weekend getaway. And to help everyone get to and from the oasis in the desert, airlines are ramping up their service.

In the previous seven days three airlines announced new routes to and from Las Vegas. Frontier Airlines announced its new route first, Las Vegas (LAS) to Kansas City (MCI). The route does not excite me but I believe Frontier is putting more faith in Las Vegas.

Second up for the week was Las Vegas based Allegiant Airlines and its new service to Lafayette, Louisiana. Allegiant’s business model of flying into smaller cities not frequented by airlines is working. Allegiant’s fares averages about $90 each way and it pulls in roughly $30 per paying passenger in ancillary fees, according to Allegiant’s July 2011 Traffic report. The ancillary fees are for everything from seat selection to checking bags. While it’s a new route, the airline’s big payoff will come once its new 757s get ETOPS certification. Then Allegiant will start flying to Hawaii- going head-to-head with Hawaiian Air.

Spirit Airlines ended the week by announcing twice-daily service from Las Vegas to Oakland. This is the one route I found very surprising. The route is already heavily dominated by two airlines. Southwest Airlines flies to both OAK and San Francisco. Spirit will also be going head-to-head with Virgin America which flies into SFO. The fee-centric airline made a big splash a few months ago when it started flying from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Again, another route heavily dominated by other Low Cost Carriers and legacy airlines. Spirit’s new route is advertised at a very cheap fares- from $11 to $29 but there’s a catch- a pricey one. Don’t forget Spirit charges for seat selection, carry-on luggage and checked bags.

I think it’s great more airlines are expanding. By expanding, they’re putting faith in the economy, banking on Las Vegas’ come back and keeping people on the job. While I don’t think all the routes will stick in the long run, I believe they have the right idea. With the opening of McCarran’s terminal 3 next year, there will be even more spots to fill at the airport’s older terminal buildings. This, in turn, will mean more airlines will have the opportunity to add service to southern Nevada.

This was a guest blog written by me for the website NYCAviation.com.

Flying High

The alarm broke the silence of my dark hotel room. It was just before five am. It was time to get up and get ready for a full day at Oshkosh – the EAA AirVenture 2011 air show.

A group of people were gathered outside the hotel. We were all heading to Oshkosh via Southwest Airlines as it continues celebrating its 40th anniversary. At check in, we were greeted by two very cheery and awesome Southwest Communication Team leaders. With security documents in hand, we all made our way to gate A-11 where we would be boarding the special Oshkosh Ferry Flight.

Arriving in Oshkosh

Less than 30 minutes after taking off we were on the ground in Wisconsin. We were the hit for the day as everyone who was at the show rushed to see our pretty new Boeing 737-700 touch down midfield.

Off we went.

I first met up with an aviation blogger- @danwebbage  – who gave me the lay of the land. The show is a week long but I only had eight hours to see it all.

I stumbled upon the Sikorsky helicopter tent where there were two new products on display.

An All Electric Helicopter

The first is the Sikorsky Firefly. It is set to be the first all electric helicopter to take flight. Flight time is said to be around 15 minutes. The first flight is set for later this year. I’m told the helicopter will be outfitted with lithium ion battery packs.

Secondly, there was a new helicopter with three props. Two were on top of one another and a third was in the aft of the helicopter. The thought behind this is so the aircraft isles stable in flight and once reaching cruise the aircraft can fly more like an airplane.

Next I made my way to the ultra light section. Ultralights are just that- very light aircraft. Some have full engines and cockpits while others are simply parachutes with an engine.

Taxing For Takeoff

Air show organizers set up a grass strip so the aircraft could come and go without interfering with the main runway located about 100 yards away.

Back on the shuttle and off to the Sea plane base. The air show is so big that they had to set up a special section off property for sea planes. To get to it, you had to take a 10 minute bus ride. Once there, it felt like being at a youth campground except there were sea planes and pilots roaming around. I think I got the camp feeling from the constant announcements Saturday night’s watermelon social.

Back at the airport, I walked around other displays with the newest aviation technology. Piper was displaying its line of single engine aircraft including a mock up of its Piper Jet. The jet is still in testing and first deliveries are expected in 2014. Cessna had a wide range of products on display as well.

FedEx's Caravan

Included in Cessna’s offerings were its tried and true aircraft and a FedEX Caravan. The company also had its new CJ-4 (Cessna Jet) on display.

Finally I made my way to the Southwest airlines VIP tent for shade, relaxation and snacks. While there, i found seats overlooking the flight line- amazing! Thats all I can say! While at the tent I met more employees. I also got into a nice discussion with the mind behind Racing Winds ( http://www.racingwinds.com/en-us/Home.html).

After a few hours, it was time to get on the Southwest plane and head back to Chicago. Since the weather turned sour at the last minute, boarding was quick.  The flight back was pretty quiet as most people were exhausted from the day in the sun.

The special paint job.

The trip was great! Everyone involved did an amazing job making sure everyone had a good time. Thanks to Southwest for the opportunity.  AirVenture was incredible.

 

 

 

 

In the effort of full disclosure, Southwest Airlines provided transportation and accommodations. 

Planes, Trains & Automobiles: A trip that will live in History and The National Archives

Wow. It’s nice to be back to my ole’ site. It’s been a while since I’ve updated it so I figured I’d let you know what has been happening since the last post.

First, I spent roughly 8 days traveling in March. The two destinations were New York and Washington, D.C. Both locations had very different purposes and they were amazing.

New York:

Traveling to New York was a breeze. I booked my trip through Travelocity and would fly to New York on American Airlines, traveling by train to Washington and finally fly back home via JetBlue.

The outbound trip was going well until about 30 minutes into the flight. That’s when the pilot announced there had been a medical emergency and we would be diverting to Denver to allow paramedics to check out the said passenger. However, word quickly traveled back that the passenger was just hungover from a night in Vegas.

After a two hour delay, we were back in the air heading for the big apple. I arrived in grand style- seeing the “Welcome to New York” sign in the airport. Mission one: Complete, now I needed to get to my cousin’s apartment. I grabbed a cab but of course in hindsight it wasn’t a cab. Somehow or another I made it to my cousin’s place alive and well. I paid the driver the amount we agreed on and off he went.

The first night we stuck around the East Village. I was loving the small bars and atmosphere. The weather sucked– well it was just cold– but coming from the desert anything below 50 was freezing.

After a few hours of sleep, I was up and ready to go exploring. I took a cab to Central park and from there started my walk down to my cousin’s office near Union Square. The first stop was Rockefeller Plaza. This place was amazing! I had to remind myself of how light I travel because I would’ve bought everything in the NBC Store. I tried getting on a studio tour but they were all sold out. Oh well, I’ve seen a TV studio before. Instead of the tour tickets I bought a ticket to go up to the “Top of the Rock.”

The Empire State Building

The view from here is amazing and I’d highly recommend it to everyone. I’ve been told that the view from here is much better than the Empire State building.

Back on solid ground, I made my way to Times Square where I grabbed a bite to eat and wondered around like a lost tourist. I did feel at home as everyone in that area- if they weren’t pitching their new CDs- was a tourist. My walk included stops in the Fashion District, Macy’s, and a few Starbucks- again- it was about 35 degrees and windy. About eight hours after I started, I finally reached my cousin’s office where I took a short nap and prepared for the rest of the day / night.

That night we went to a dinner and we’ll just leave at this. It was an all you can eat and drink special and well.. I can assure you there was plenty of food left over.

The New York Stock Exchange

While tired but not hungover, it was time to visit Lower Manhattan. We hit the obvious spots- the Seaport, Wall Street, Ground Zero and Battery Park. All were nice to see but by the time we reached Battery Park, I was ready to take a nap. That night we took it easy but the next night I was in for a treat– if you can call it that.

Sunday Funday was finally here. We bummed around for a bit, checking out a park and some shops and then we headed out to Nassau. We had tickets to see Lil’ Wayne in concert. It was most definitely an experience for sure.

Monday morning came along and it was time to bid a due to the Big Apple. I headed off to Penn Station where I got a train to D.C.

A blury shot from Penn Station

The trip was awesome. I wanted to sleep but it was really interesting to watch the eastern half of the country pass by my window. The train trip was incredibly slow, stopping every 20-30 minutes. Finally, we arrived at Union Station. After a quick and easy transition to the Metro, I was on my way to my cousin’s house. This is where reality hit. I did not save my cousin’s phone number in my phone and I was told to call them when I arrived at their stop. “Great,” I thought. I was about to have to call my parents to dig out their phone number all while rocketing underground in a subway car. After feverishly searching my phone and e-mails from the last 4 months, I found their number and was ready to go when I arrived at the stop.

The trip to Washington was literally one for the history books. I was in town to watch my Grandmother and her band be honored by the Smithsonian for being the nation’s first integrated Big Band. While the history is deep, my grandmother played saxophone and toured the country and parts of the world during the 1940’s in the height of segregation.

Items donated by my Grandmother

Speaking with band members now, they all had no idea what their overall impact and legacy would be and many still don’t believe it. We went to three different events at the Smithsonian and I had to pinch myself at each one. I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments.

I had one day to tour the nation’s capitol. The day started with a meeting on Capitol Hill, followed by a walk through the big museums including the Air & Space Museum and the Newseum– a museum about news.

The following day I walked around The White House and remembered fondly the time I spent in the West Wing during a tour a few years ago.

Capitol Hill

I had a quick lunch and then picked up my luggage and headed out to the airport. By this point, I was getting sick and I was exhausted and ready to get back home. The flights weren’t too bad even though I had to transfer planes in Boston. The trip from Boston was roughly 5 VERY long hours.

Overall the trip was incredible. I can’t wait to go back to both cities.

Forgot Something: The Directions

After another short night in the hostel it was time to get up and head off for my next stop on this world wind trip: London.

I packed up, checked out, left my bags at the front desk and headed out for a few hours to take in as much of Amsterdam as I could. After some breakfast (I could never wake up in time for the hostel’s offerings) and some coffee, I went souvenir shopping. Amsterdam is Europe’s ve

rsion of Las Vegas but just a whole lot more liberal. There were things for sale in the gift shops that could get you tossed into jail in the United States for years!

While walking back to get my backpack at hostel, I reminded myself to get the directions from the airport in London to the hostel. I opened virtually every pocket on my bag, searching for one sheet of paper. Turned out it was the one sheet of paper I did not print out with me before I left. “Crap,” I thought. “This is going to be really interesting.” Instead of finding the directions, all could find was my reservation and thankfully it had an address on it. At least I could ask people how to get to the general area and go from there.

Finally, it was time to head to the airport. A short walk through the Dam Square and I was at the train station waiting in line to buy a ticket. The train ride was about 15 minutes and with that we were at the airport. Check in and security was a breeze and I was at my gate within a few minutes. There was just a lot of walking- A LOT OF IT! By this point though I was used to it.

The flight was less than an hour and with that I was back in London– this time I was actually leaving the airport. Once I got my backpack I set out on a course to find my hostel, again only armed with an address. I bought a ticket to the center of the city on London’s Heathrow Express train system and while I was there the ticket agent gave me some good direc

tions to the area where the hostel was. The train trip was smooth and quick. We arrived at Paddington Station and I was instructed to follow the yellow line on the ground to reach the Underground system (subways). With a few questions along the way to staff members, I was on the Tube hoping that I got on the right train. With three different lines using the same rails, I was worried I didn’t pay enough attention and accidentally got on the wrong train. Thankfully, I was heading in the right direction and within a few minutes I arrived at South Kenninsgton station.

At this point I knew I was in the general vicinity of the hostel. I remember reading the directions before I left and looking at Google Maps to get the lay of the land. But everything was thrown out when I got to the street level. The ballet of cars driving on the wrong side of the street threw me for a loop, the large groups of people walking briskly.. oh this was rush hour! I asked someone for directions and all they could tell me was ask a cab driver. So, off I went to the middle of the street to speak with a driver who told me I was about two blocks from Queensgate. “Sounds Good,” and with a wave goodbye I was walking with a high thinking “I’m almost there!” Like all good plans, this too didn’t pan out. I got to Queensgate and turned right. Not sure why but I figured this was the right way to go. I thought I was on the right track as the addresses were going up. Then suddenly, in some strange European way, they started going down! I stood there in disbelief for a moment as it started to rain. I refused to accept that I was lost, but then again I was. I walked the area again and still couldn’t figure it out. Finally, I stopped into a bakery and asked for help and they said I hadn’t walked far enough down the street. Sure enough they were right. Within ten minutes I was at the hostel.

I was exhausted from the day. All I wanted was some British food, a beer and a place to sit down. The people at the hostel told me of a pub about two blocks from we were. The food was about what you could expect. Good, fried and pretty cheap. The beer on the hand. Awful. Don’t drink warm beer.

That night I took it pretty easy spending some time at the hostel relaxing. This was the first time I had access to the internet after leaving Spain so I was able to get caught up on all my emails and such.

The next day would be my last full day in Europe and I wanted to take advantage of it. I woke up early and was out the door by 8:30am. The hostel gave me directions to get on a tourist bus — a double decker bus at that– which would take me to all the “must-sees.” The first stop was Piccadilly Square where I changed busses and headed down to the Tower of London! This place was awesome! I paid about 20 pounds for a ticket and it was worth every penny (not sure that‘s the correct currency). The coolest part was actually seeing the Crown Jewels. These are the diamonds the Queen wears. Wow! Impressive. The next stop was a look at the London Bridge, Big Ben and then Buckingham Palace. I got off here and walked around. It was interesting to see in person and next time I’ll be sure to see the changing of the guards.

It was back to Piccadilly Square where I walked around and did more shopping. I spent a good hour or two there before catching the bus to Harods. Harods is the oldest department store in London. The place is enormous! There are five floors and over a million square feet of shopping space! I got lost a few times. By this point it was getting late and I was getting tired so I decided to head back to the hostel. I tried catching the bus but it had stopped running for the day. So, instead of dealing with the Tube (subway) I decided to just walk. I knew I was in the vicinity though no idea how far I really was. After what seemed like miles, though I knew it was probably a lot closer than that, I got back to the hostel. I decided that I would treat myself to a nice dinner and take it easy again.

The trip was slowly coming to an end. This would be my last night in Europe as tomorrow I would be heading back home.

In the morning, I checked out and grabbed some breakfast from a place nearby– the hostel’s offering’s weren’t too appetizing. After a few hours in the area it was time to head back to the airport.

With my backpack tightly secured to my back and directions in hand, I headed off for the Tube which will take me to Paddington Station where I would catch the Heathrow Express. All-in-all, it only took about 20 minutes. I left really early making sure to leave enough time. But I quickly realized I didn’t need all of it. Too late now.

I was on the train and within a few minutes we were off heading to the airport. The 20 minute train ride went smoothly and a short time later I was checked in, through security and ready to wait for my flight.

I had a few hours to kill so I grabbed some food and did my last minute souvenir shopping. At about 3:30 it was time to board. My time in Europe was over and now it was time to head back to Las Vegas.

Just over ten hours after leaving London, we were touching down in Las Vegas. About an hour later I walked through my front door of my home simply exhausted from the trip.

It’s hard to imagine what life is like in Europe unless you see it yourself. Their customs are so much different than those in America. The trip was an eye opening experience and I found out how much I loved traveling and seeing other countries and cultures. I highly recommend taking a trip out of the country to see something new and different.

Adios Barcelona; Hej, Amsterdam (Goodbye Barcelona; Hello, Amsterdam)

After what seemed like just a few hours of sleep it was time to get up and set out on the next part of my adventure. Today would be a day to challenge my language skills and put whatever Spanish I’ve learned over the last few days to the test.

With a slight hangover from Spain’s World Cup victory party, I said farewell to my cousin (who also was not feeling his best do to the World Cup) and off I went. I walked across the street, hailed a cab and this is where my life almost flashed in front of my eyes. No, not because he was a crazy driver but he didn’t speak ANY English and my fluent Spanish that I could speak while drinking has all but dried up. “Crap” I thought. I had very specific directions: “Plaza Catalonian.” And with that we were on our way. It was a silent 10 minute ride as we both came to the realization that we couldn’t understand each other. We arrived at the cab stand and with a glance he pointed at the fare: 5.15 Euro. “Cheap” I thought… then the world stopped moving. I handed him 20 Euros hoping for change as I needed it for the bus to the airport. He looked at me in disgust and shook his head “no.” This is where it would’ve paid to have walked the few blocks. The driver refused to accept my bill only wanting coins. All I wanted to do was get out of the cab, walk over to the Aero Bus and get on my marry way to Amsterdam. Yet I was firmly planted in the back of a cab, in plain view of the bus, stuck in a English-Spanish Culture and Language chess match. Finally, the driver got out opened up his trunk and tried to explain his frustrations with the lone American to his fellow cab drivers. A few minutes later he came back and was about to let me on my way but I had a present for him. I gave him the 20 Euros (15 more than the fare), waving and smiling as I said “Adios!”

While walking to the bus through the main tourist area I couldn’t help but laugh at the entire situation. In America, you would be hugged and praised if you gave a cab driver a $15 tip! With that, I was on my way to the airport to begin the next leg of the journey. I’m off to Amsterdam.

The ride wasn’t long at all. Maybe 20 minutes. The airport was hustling and bustling. Everyone was smiling but tired from last night’s celebration. I was among those who partook in the party and man I was feeling it. Checking in my backpack was a cinch and I was through security and border patrol in a matter of minutes.

A few hours later it was time for boarding. I was flying from Barcelona to London’s City Airport (small) to change planes.  The flight wasn’t full at all and everyone was exhausted. We landed, parked and walked into the terminal. Little did I know that this small airport would become VERY large. Unlike London’s Heathrow Airport, you actually have to enter the United Kingdom just to leave it again. I explained to the passport control folks that I’m an American and have no idea what I was supposed to do. With a nice smile and a quick pen I was able to fill out a “landing card” and be on my way within minutes. But… this was already 20 minutes into my 1 hour layover. After following the signs through this tiny airport, getting the full body pat-down at security, passing the guys with machine guns I arrived at my gate. The problem— someone locked the door! You see, in many airports they “open the gate” and “close the gate.” Basically, when the gate is “open” you can enter a room where you technically “board the plane.” If it’s closed- then you’re out of luck because you have missed your flight. I looked at my watch and couldn’t understand how I missed my flight because we were still 10 minutes away from closing. Turned out someone just closed the door by mistake and we were soon on our way downstairs.

The flight to Amsterdam was a quick 40 minutes. We were right on time even with a 20 minute long taxi from the runway to the gate.

Once through immigration, customs and baggage claim (or baggage reclamation as it’s called in Europe), I faced the next challenge. I needed to catch a train to Ceentral Station which is basically downtown Amsterdam. I bought a ticket, headed down to the platforms, asked which train was going to Ceentral and waited. A few minutes later a train came along, I got on as did the people I was waiting with. About 10 minutes into the ride the conductor came by to stamp my ticket and a sense of fear rushed through my head when I heard “Wrong Train.” “What?” “What do you mean?” The conductor gave me and the people I asked for help in the first place all directions for getting on the right train to Ceentral. By the way, the Netherland’s countryside is beautiful.

After changing trains we all arrived at Ceentral Station. I said goodbye to my seatmate as we disappeared into a sea of people. WOW! This is a freaking HUGE train station. With directions in hand, I made my way through the city, across the Dam Square, through a back alley and finally arrived at The Bulldog Hostel.

The Hostel was busy with people coming and going. This was my first experience at a hostel and I knew it would be a great experience. I paid for my stay in advance and headed up to my room. Hostels are basically large dorms with several bunk beds in a room. The first room I was in someone’s stuff was in my assigned bed and locker. I went back downstairs, explained the situation and was moved to a different room. Turned out this was the greatest thing to happen to me there! While in the elevator I started talking to some people who were from Argentina. They would become my greatest friends while there! I put my stuff down in my room and headed down to the bar for happy hour with my new friends! We talked about where were from and what were doing in Europe. In hostels, the coolest thing is that everyone is traveling and has different experiences! It was an incredible conversation.

We went our separate ways that night and after a few hours I was ready to catch some sleep.

The sun came up on the next day and it was time to see what Europe’s answer to Las Vegas was all about. Yet, today was a bit different. I was about to get my second wind of World Cup Fever!

While looking for a place to eat breakfast, I noticed everyone and I mean EVERYONE was wearing Orange. What the heck was going on?! I asked someone and they said the city was throwing a homecoming for the Netherland’s futbol team! What?!?!? They lost two nights ago in the World Cup!! Well, like any good tourist, I continued on. I stopped by the Anne Frank Huise (House). I wanted to go inside by the line was too long. I then walked back across town and visited the Sex Museum. OK. This was hilarious and totally worth the 4 Euros! After that, it was time for a cruise through Amsterdam’s notorious canals. An hour later it was time for lunch and a beer. Yes, people drink all day and night in Europe so I had to feel like a local at times. Then I set off to go to the one place I wanted to go the whole trip. The Heineken Brewery.

I was given directions yet every street was closed because of this party for the team. I really didn’t care about the celebration because I had become a die-hard Spain fan overnight. But when I realized getting to the brewery was not going to happen, I became a Netherland’s fan! Hup Orange Hup. Or, Go Orange Go! I quickly found myself with another beer in hand, an orange shirt around my neck and surrounded by thousands of Dutch soccer fans! They had this giant outdoor concert which lasted for hours as the team made their way through the canals with fans lining both sides screaming and hollering at their favorite players. I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said and I turned to people behind me to ask what was being said. This is where I met another a couple from Ireland! They too had no clue about what was happening! We talked and sang what we thought was the English version of the songs being played. Hours later it was time to say so-long with the promise of keeping in touch.

I walked back to the hostel to meet up with Fernando and company for happy hour and dinner. We talked about how we all ended up at this concert by accident. There was a TV on and the caption said there was 180,000 people at the concert! HOLY CRAP! I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT!!!!

We headed out for a night on the town and went to a disco. After a few hours it was time to go back to the hostel and get a few hours of sleep as we were all leaving in the morning.

The morning came quickly and after packing my bags I walked around town for the obligatory pictures. A few hours later I made my way to the train station where I grabbed a train and headed back to the airport.

Next Stop: London.