Dispatches from the Road: SAN DIEGO

Dispatches from the Road #1

With all of my traveling of late I am being given an opportunity to expand the nature and frequency of posts here on the Thumbnail Traveler blog. I'm introducing a new, more frequent type of entry to be entitled "Dispatches from the Road".

As I have smaller, more specific adventures -- whether it's driving from point A to point B uncovering something I'd like to share, or just walking up the street in a particular destination -- this will give me the opportunity to share those smaller moments without working to include it in one of the more detailed ROAD TRIP: entries. The Road Trips will continue to be primarily photographic in nature, while the Dispatches will be largely text. Both will be labeled as to their category, while the other blog entries will only have a title describing the topic.

As I'm writing this I'm sitting in the lobby restaurant of the Indigo Hotel in San Diego. It's a short hop from the waterfront, convention center and Petco Field (home of the Padres). The Indigo is a small chain owned by the same company as Holiday Inn, but the character of the hotels are completely different. The Indigo is a boutique and trendy hotel, catering to a younger crowd, with a solid nod towards business travelers. Upbeat dance music is played in the lobby areas, and the primary color for the decor is orange. (Better than it sounds.)

San Diego boasts a wonderful downtown district, which includes the Gaslamp Quarter, which I have featured in a previous ON THE ROAD post. The Indigo rests on the southern boundary of the Gaslamp.

The weather here is spectacular, particularly compared with the news from the eastern half of the country which is facing a monster of a snowstorm that promises to bury most of the major cities in a half foot or more of the white stuff. (A few years ago I was in Philadelphia when just such a storm blew through, stranding me there for an additional four days -- the first of which was spent in a hotel without a restaurant. Had it not been for finding a local pizzeria with a 4wd SUV there would have been a whole lot of hungry travelers that day.

So San Diego is a welcome respite. I'm heading home in a day, and at this point it looks like next week's trip to Arizona is on the chopping block, so I may actually have the chance to spend a week at home. After a month on the road that will be a welcome break.

Stay tuned!

The People Who Love What They Do

"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work."

                                            - Aristotle

Simply put, the very best experiences -- of any kind -- come when you're dealing with people who love their job.

Think about it. Think back on every wonderful travel experience you can recall. What made it special? What made it great?

Chances are, it included someone who loved what they were doing. A tour. A flight. A hotel. A cruise ship experience. What made it a cut above? Someone who was enthusiastic and excited by what was going on. Not you -- it's a given you were an enthusiastic participant. But what about everyone else?

We've all been in those situations in which the people around us...other travelers, service people, locals...were going through the motions. Yeah, we can still have a good time, and for the most part build ourselves an experience which we can look back on and fondly remember,

But what takes it to the next level?

I have flown literally hundreds of times. I have sat back, watched out the window as the aircraft rose above a dense, dark grey sky into a wondrous heaven-like expense of soft fluffy clouds silhouetted against a rising sun. It's a truly momentous experience.

Visually.


But what about the overall experience? If, for example, I turned from this stunning vista outside my window to encounter a flight attendant...tired and bored and wishing they were still tucked tightly into a hotel bed...lackadaisically asking for our beverage order, wouldn't that kind of kill the mood?

If I were digging into the very best bowl of chili this side of the Pecos River and had a waitress slap down the tab with a distinctly unenthusiastic "that it?", wouldn't that pretty much dull the tastes working their way around your palate? Yeah, still tastes great, but the ambience is gone.

So what is it? What is that special something that takes an everyday experience and makes it something special?

Sometimes it's simply a smile and happy-to-see-you greeting. We see it all the time on those TV shows dedicated to Turing around a failing bar, hotel or restaurant, right? That often it's the customer experience...not just dirty linen, but discourteous or uncaring staff.

Sometimes it comes down to an enthusiasm for solving problems. You can tell, for instance, when
employees are simply, going through the proverbial motions. How do they interact with each other, how do the communicate? Do they simply hand things off, or is there a genuine warmth to their interaction?

On a flight tonight I saw two terrific employees encounter each other. Connie is a gate attendant at Long Beach Airport. Connie distinguishes herself by an enthusiasm that is impossible to teach. She genuinely loves people. You can see it in her eyes, her expressions, her smile. Everyone who approaches the gate to hand off their boarding pass for entry onto the plane benefits from her approach, and has a better-than-average experience in the process. They leave Long Beach with a smile and a positive experience.

Irini, a flight attendant for Mesa Airlines, dba US Airways (now American), is a force of nature. She will bowl you over and MAKE you have a good time. She kept a group of very seasoned First Class passengers in stitches on a flight from Long Beach to Phoenix. Not easy to do with a group of people who have seen and done it all and just want to be left alone. She won them over with her sheer force of will.



On this particular trip, Connie was the gate agent, and Irini was the flight attendant...and they instantly hit it off. They recognized a kindred soul in each other and made it clear to the passengers we were in the best of hands.

It made a difference.

Three weeks ago, as I write this, I was in Las Vegas. A town built of cynicism and artifice. I sat in the bar, Rojo at Palms Place, and dug myself into my iPad. A few other people were around, and gradually I noticed that the bartender was talking to them as people, not as tourists and transitory visitors, but as people. I realized she was touching them personally. Not by digging too deeply into their lives, but listening to them as they talked, as the spoke. Again, the moment transcended the "usual", and you could tell that this was a person who loved what she did. She wanted to be there, and she wanted to talk to her customers and learn something about them.

Afterward, when the other patrons had cleared out and it was solely the bartender and I in a quiet room, I asked her about this. At first she wasn't sure she wanted to share, but within a few minutes she let me know that it all came from a very personal place. She'd had a very rough life herself. One she wouldn't share with others, and which I only got a glimpse. And being there, being able to interact and care and share her evening with people she could "bring up", "make happy" was important to her. Despite her own challenges, it made her life better to be able to make other people happy.

In my travels I could cite hundreds of examples of people to whom it is important to make a journey worth making, to whom it is important that the people they deal with leave with a positive, an upbeat.

And to those folk, I raise a glass and say "thank you". Noted and appreciated.

Waitresses who smile and greet you affectionately. The guy at the car rental agency who is happy to see you and gives you the keys to the best car. The hotel desk clerk who spends that extra minute to make sure you get the top floor, nonsmoking, with a view of...whatever. The bartender who listens intently. The tour driver who tells great stories and has a lot of fun --  for the third time today -- with the paying riders. The cruise ship yeoman who learns your name on day 1 and remembers to pop a little extra soap in your cabin.

These are the people who matter. Who make a difference and bring you back, happily, the next time you're in town.

Because, ultimately, the People Who Love Their Jobs are the people who count. The people to whom travelers need to look to for support and enthusiasm and fun. Without the folks who enjoy what WE do, and make it special, WE would never know it was special. Fun. Rewarding.

And for that, they all deserve a round of applause.

Just sayin'.

Along the Scenic Route(s)

"George felt the Piranha surge forward, the big reliable stirling engine recycling the hot air for more and more efficient thrust."

          - Harlan Ellison, Along the Scenic Route



In 1969, writer Harlan Ellison -- a man I am privileged to call a friend -- wrote a short story entitled ALONG THE SCENIC ROUTE. The core setup of the piece was that driving had become, under the right circumstances, a blood sport. In the story, set in the near future, the main character, a middle aged man, is drawn into a challenge with a snot-nosed youth in a hopped up power car not too dissimilar to the then popular Muscle Cars such as the Mustang, Camaro or Firebird.

In many ways, this 1970s fantasy has solidified itself into part of our collective culture, with Road Rage and other forms of insanity peppering our daily commute as well as impacting, usually negatively, plans we have for travel time. (Recently a trip to San Diego was canceled because my wife and I got thirty miles down a hundred mile drive, hitting excessive holiday traffic enhanced by a distant car accident, turning our expected hour and a half total drive into a three hour marathon just to get from where we were, to where we wanted to be. After a quick discussion, we pulled off, called the friends we'd expected to join -- letting them know not to expect us -- and found ourselves a much quieter (and closer) pocket of Southern California to explore.)

Harlan's story has a resonance for any of us who spend a good deal of time on the road. Roughly half my regular trips involve a road element of some kind that transcends the usual commute between airport, hotel and destination. In many cases, I deliberately book an Open Jaw flight to enable me to drive between sites, particularly when those areas are close enough that the inconvenience of the airport far outweighs some time spent on the road.

So it stands to reason that anyone who spends quite a bit of time behind the wheel would look to find ways to enliven the drive without resorting to violence. I, personally and to borrow Harlan's title, prefer The Scenic Route.

When I'm faced with getting from Point A, let's say Portland, and Point B, Seattle, the obvious choice would be to drive directly up along Interstate 5. It's a two and a half hour drive if the weather and other drivers don't get in your way, and is through some lovely country. No doubt. And certainly at the time span it's preferable to checking in a Portland Airport well before a flight, then waiting in line and fetching your luggage at the far end (whether it's from the overhead bin or baggage claim, you still have to go through TSA checkpoints and drag the stuff along with you).

So I opt for the road. Recent trips have taken me down highway 180 between El Paso and Carlsbad, New Mexico. From Reno to San Francisco along Interstate 80. Ambling through the Tonto National Forest on the aptly-named Apache Trail Road. Through the North Dakota and Minnesota countrysides. And the aforementioned Portland to Seattle trek.

And whenever the option offers itself -- and provided it doesn't add extensively to my time on the road -- I will look for something other than an interstate, preferring instead the more intimate and carefree time on a highway or or more local drive.

Sometimes there simply are not other options. Essentially the ONLY route between Reno and San. Francisco is the Interstate, unless you side-trip through Lake Tahoe, which adds more than an hour to the already five hour drive. Not that it isn't gorgeous, because it is. But again you must weigh the impact it will have on the overall trip.

The fun of a road trip is to see the world from ground level. The problem with doing that on an Interstate is that the flies by at 60-70 miles per hour, is largely populated with chains and shopping malls, and can suddenly descend into a commuters' Hell if a single semi pirouettes itself into the guard rail.

Given that most people bypass the highway and go straight to the Interstate, driving by highway or local road can often be a relaxing and fascinating experience, and certainly allows the driver to participate in the areas they pass through. Stop at a local diner for lunch. Drive through beautiful countryside and actually pay attention to the scenery around you. Bypass the insanity of the other drivers and rediscover in many cases a more leisurely and rewarding environment, not dedicated to simply getting to Point B, but enjoying the journey along the way.

Yeah. It might take a little longer. But if it's not too much more you may arrive at Point B in a better frame of mind, refreshed and relaxed, and certainly the better for having seen a world the Interstate commuter might have simply passed without a thought beyond getting to the next mile marker.

As for me, you'll often find me

ALONG THE SCENIC ROUTE.

(All quotes from Harlan Ellison used with the permission and copyright of the author.)

"Sometimes it's the little things, isn't it!"

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

                                                                                          --John Wooden





The title of this week's entry was suggested by a tweet I received from US Airways after sending them a thank you note for a small courtesy from one of their flight attendants. It wasn't a whole lot in the vast scheme of things, but it was a nicety which was greatly appreciated by six people on a particularly full flight. 

(If you have to know -- and I'd want to if I were reading this -- the attendant simply ensured that the overhead bins above the bulkhead seats were not used by passengers other than those seated there. Unlike most other seats on a plane there are no underseat storage areas at the bulkhead. If you don't get your overhead bin, you're essentially screwed. A lot of people flying these days just pop their luggage in the overhead as soon as they can, rather than using a bin near their seat. In most cases this is merely inconsiderate...but upon occasion it creates a major inconvenience for another passenger.)

I'm making note of this not to curry favor with any particular provider -- my dollars and frequent flyer status take care of that -- but to recognize the humanity behind the big corporations. All too often we fail to consider that the people we're dealing with are people. On a rough day, travelers can become just a blur of faceless luggage -- and service people are just obstacles to getting what the traveler may want. It's not a good situation, and anyone who read my recent 10 Rules for Pinhead Travelers knows that they get to me too.

Let me get that for you...

I try, as often as possible, to offer compliments for good service. Either directly, or sometimes even better doing it indirectly so the person's superiors know they are doing a good job. I've found that not only is such feedback appreciated, it also buys you credibility when, well, things don't go as smoothly as we'd like. If an employee demonstrates a cheerfulness and willingness to take a small extra step...such as the overhead bins...that deserves reinforcement every bit as much a problem deserves recognition.

So it's often the little things, isn't it. Those courtesies offered in both directions that let people know you value them as a partner in travel.

Little things such as the pleasant response I received from US Airways when I complimented their employee. It's what prompted the topic for this entry, in fact.

@USAirways: @stevebarber_tt Sometimes it's the little things, isn't it! We're glad you noticed and appreciated that.

Yes, guys, it is. And kudos to you for recognizing it. It's one of the major reasons I fly and continue to fly US Air. Thank you.

And it's the little things elsewhere as well. Little services or actions or considerations which show the person at the other end is working to earn and keep your business.

Little things.

Long Beach Municipal Airport is my favorite airport. Yes, convenience has a lot to do with it. It's ten minutes from my house. But above and beyond, it's a well-designed and effective airport which has earned my business. It's a medium-sized facility -- ten gates. Size does matter in many cases, but given a choice between the mass chaos of LAX's TSA checkpoints and the efficiency of Long Beach's, there's no contest. Between the crowded and noisy terminals at LAX and the local and friendly lounges at Long Beach, again no contest. 

Deep Breath...

Between the ability to sit in a crowded recycled-air gate at LAX, or the luxury of an outdoor patio space with Palm trees and fresh air...nope. (And when LGB gains a customs desk, LAX loses all advantages in my opinion.)

But those aren't the things that really keyed me on the extent of Long Beach Airport's thinking. It has, and this is unique in Southern California as well as many other cities, an outdoor passenger greeting space just yards from most of the gates. Not the cold, impersonal long walks down dark corridors to the cold metal steel and crowds of baggage claim, where if you're lucky your greeters can find you. A gentle, welcoming oasis for a warm hello and exchange of greetings before grabbing the luggage. It's a nice touch. Conversely, the chaos (there's that word again) of LAX's Departure level is nothing less than overwhelming for some. The White Zone is for loading and unloading only...

(Apologies if I seem to be picking on LAX. I've traveled through dozens of airports in the last few years. LAX is simply an up-the-freeway example at the other end of the experiential spectrum.)

I fly through and to dozens of airports every year. Some large (LAX, JFK, PHX), some medium-sized (Oakland, Albuquerque, Reno) and some small (Fargo, Kona, Tucson). You get a feel for an airport, for the convenience and modernity of their operations, and for the way they reflect the city in which they are located.

At LGB the designers clearly thought about the airport's desire for a passenger-friendly environment and the resort-like "feel" of what they wanted to convey for the city of Long Beach. And while no big deal is made about it, having a special spot for families or friends or business associates meet their charges is just one little thing that no one likely thinks too much about, but enhances the travelers' experiences greatly. At LGB you deplane onto the Tarmac rather than through a boarding tube. After a short pass through the gates you come out again into the central patio area and through a TSA door into the outdoor greeting area with sitting area for those waiting, amid palm trees and an open-air freshness.

Again, it's the little things. Flying can be a stressful adventure, for a variety of reasons. Having a destination which let's you take a deep breath and relax, rather than plunging you into a new and entirely different brand of crazy, is a little thing, but so important.

This sort of experience and attention to the little things aren't restricted to air travel. National Car Rental has almost entirely dispensed with counter service, allowing its customers to proceed directly to the car lot. This eliminates at least one line, which is itself a tremendous relief. I did not properly appreciate the importance of that one little thing until a vacation trip in which we selected (sorry National) a less expensive provider. 

The open road beckons, once we finish the paperwork...

Yes. In this case, you get what you paid for. (There ya go, National, right?) The lower cost provider kept us waiting for nearly a half hour as they helped the people in line before us, then had to go through several steps with us to finally bring our car around. The value of that half hour was immeasurable on a vacation, when the last thing anyone wants to do is follow a long flight (no matter how pleasant or accommodating an airline, a long flight is taxing) with a stand in yet another line waiting to hit the road. (Disneyland -- famous for its long and winding queues for rides -- would be proud of modern air travel's lines. There's check-in, TSA, queuing to get into the aircraft, queuing to leave the aircraft, and standing an a mob to collect luggage. This doesn't include a line at the car rental agency, or a line for check-in at the hotel if you're going someplace popular like Las Vegas.)

On the other hand, when a problem developed with the vehicle (nothing the rental agency could have foreseen or prevented, they responded immediately and without hesitation to take care of the problem. The little things. 

So the little things, such as going directly to a car and driving off or getting a direct and rapid response when there's a problem, count.

Windstar Cruises rightly pride themselves for the fact their crew quickly learn passenger names, and in turn greet each passenger by name. It's a small touch, but immediately let's the customer know they're someplace different. Yes, they have beautiful cabins and go to exotic ports, but it's the little touch of knowing your name that sets the Windstar mood.

Many years ago, my wife and I were fortunate to stay at the five star Halekulani Hotel on Waikiki Beach. For our honeymoon. A five star resort, they go that extra mile, quickly demonstrated as we entered the open-air lobby and were unexpectedly greeted by name at the counter. How they do this I still have no idea, but it's a wonderful way to show appreciation. That personal touch. 

Parc your head here

(To this day our go-to hotel in Honolulu is the Waikiki Parc, the sister property to the still-fabulous Halekulani. The advantage of the Parc is it more of a boutique style hotel, which we have grown to prefer to over resort properties. For attention to detail, check out the pattern on the orange pillow -- subtle but still very romantic.)

Chains also know the value. Within a half hour of checking in at the Homewood Suites in Beaverton, Oregon, I received a call from the front desk checking to make sure the room was good and to let them know if I needed anything. Maybe a thirty second conversation, with an immeasurable impact on my future hotel selections.

Courtesy -- doing the little things, as US Airways noted in their reply to my note -- goes a long way towards creating that long term customer loyalty. The relationship that both provider and traveler come to appreciate. As I commented above, it also served to smooth over those times when things don't quite go as well. The at-some-point inevitable lost luggage, the delayed flight/ missed connection, the missing hotel reservation, the car you reserved becoming unavailable at the last minute.

These things happen. Any seasoned traveler knows that when they do you need to trust in people to make it right, but also make note when they do those little things, those largely uncommented-upon niceties that make the day go a little bit smoother, a little bit more pleasant.

Yeah, we all have complaints. Nothing is ever perfect. But noting when things go well will not only make your day brighter, but recognizing them will make someone else's day better too.

And it's the little things, like that, that add up.

Where Everybody knows your name.

The Brands We Love

"When I go on Japanese Airlines, I really love it because I like Japanese food."
                                   - Phil Collins   

Disney!!

You're driving along. It's dark and raining. Night. The highway ahead an endless black pit with a solitary divided yellow line down the center of the darkness. To either side a blind expanse of black. The tempo of the windshield wipers beats itself along, mindless of the sleep-inducing rhythm as it brushes the water from your view. You've been driving for hours in unfamiliar territory, with little more than mile markers for the last forty-five minutes. It's 2am and you're exhausted.

A sign looms out of the dark, indicating you're approaching an exit two miles ahead. It promises accommodations of some kind. You're not optimistic...the last place along the highway was a prototype for the Bates Motel. A flash of light from between the tress suggests it might have electricity at the very least. As you near the ramp you see a sign for a chain you're familiar with. Sighing with relief you pull off, finding the driveway and pulling into a familiar and well lit portico. There's a bed with your name on it...

MGM Hotels and Casinos

We all know the classic brands. There is a familiarity and a comfort in them. Whether you prefer the high end, or know the value you get at the low end, the brands we prefer are automatic go-to's when it comes to planning travel.

Hotels, airlines, car rental agencies, travel agents, cruise lines. You name it, you probably have a preferred brand or two. Websites, bloggers, magazines, tv shows. They're all brands of one kind or another, and each attract their own set of consumers.

Branded

Do you follow the luxurious indulgence of Samantha Brown, or the rugged adventurism of Todd Carmichael? Each has their own set of followers. When you fly, do you book American, AirTran or JetBlue?

We each have our favorites, and for our own reasons.

I use two sets of criteria: business traveler versus personal. The brands I prefer for one are not necessarily the ones I prefer for the other. Part of that is budget, of course. I will indulge myself on a personal trip that would be unacceptable on a business one. (It's always pleasant when things work out and those worlds collide, however.)

Disney

I am a member of several Frequent Customer programs. They are based, largely, on the brands I use most frequently, of course. There are the hotel mega-brands like Hilton and Starwood. These two offer a wide spectrum of properties, each with a readily identifiable style and expectation. I know that with Hilton I will get one experience with Embassy Suites and another entirely with Homewood Suites. Both are brands within a brand, and each give me a standard of expectation when I pull off that lonely highway. With Starwood I know Westin will be a certain quality, while Aloft will be entirely different. But I know what I am getting when I book.

It's the brand reinforcement which is so vital. In the same way you know what kind of burger to expect from McDonald's versus those at In-and-Out. And Fuddrucker's, and, well, you get the point. The importance of a brand isn't just saying what you'll get, it's following the words with actions.

If a cruise line bills itself as small and intimate, you'd better not pull up to a leviathan liner with facilities for three thousand passengers. Likewise a budget cruise better not break the bank with added fees and charges. It puts a lie to the advertising and virtually guarantees a one-time guest. The image that is projected needs to be the image that is observed.

U S Airways

As the Thumbnail Traveler -- yes, it's a brand...that's not my real name -- I have been working to establish an identity which is, at the very least, consistent. It needs to be adventurous. It needs to be perceived as an exploration of the world, not just a set of pretty pictures. In the same way AFAR and LONELY PLANET have created a brand style I've been working to create one for the TT.

Looking back over the last three years, hundred plus blog entries, thousands of tweets and a decent library of destination images on the Facebook page, we've been fairly successful. Not entirely, but I hope reasonably.

With my job transition of last year my own time on the road has hit overtime. Between business and personal travel I've logged thousands of miles, been to almost every major city in the US and quite a few internationally. Sometimes I think Phoenix Sky Harbor is a home away from home. (It's a primary hub for USAirways, my main air carrier.)

And this is what started me thinking about the entire concept of branding. Cities do it. Airlines do it. All travel companies do it. People do it. (Can anyone deny that Anthony Bourdain is as valid a brand name as The Travel Channel?)

It's all part of giving us, the consumers, an idea of what to expect, of what we can anticipate and know we will encounter when foot hits the pavement.

See you at the Sheraton!

It's a Carnival!!!