Au Revoir, Jamaïque, Bonjour Montréal! The Jetlag Junkie Journals Jamaica (and other exciting locales) Pt. 3

As this is in journal form, it is a tad rougher around the edges than my normal posts.

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 - Kingston, Norman Manley International Airport, Jamaica; and Toronto, Pearson International Airport, Canada


Checking out that morning in the Club Sandals Concierge Lounge was a snap, and after a quick breakfast down in the Southern Table (the Biscuits & Gravy, oh my lord...), and I was on the Shuttle Bus bound for Kingston promptly at Noon.  After a very smooth (compared to my arrival, this was a dream ride) 2 hour ride, we arrived at Norman Manley Airport in perfect time.  Check-in with Air Canada Rouge was a snap.  I had heard stories both good and bad about Rouge, but I had to check them out for myself.  Within 20 minutes I was past security, and up in the sterile area waiting for my flight to be called.

Because of space limitations, you can't wait at your assigned gate for your flight to be called and have to wait in the main terminal until boarding is announced.  Fine by me, I had a great view of the ramp.  So I found me a spot to sit next to the window with a convenient wall jack to plug into and charge my phone, and whiled away the hour or so until time to leave the island (which I really couldn't wait for).

Boarding was a relatively painless process in those cramped confines by the jetway, and since I was in Premium Economy, I was in one of the first groups to board.  I had booked myself in 13A, the window, the 2nd row of Premium Economy.  I have to admit, I was so happy getting on that gorgeous plane, I really couldn't wait to get off Jamaica.  Don't get me wrong, I learned a ton about the Sandals and Beaches Resorts and met some incredible people from the Resorts, Pleasant Holidays, and fellow AAA Travel Agents, but, as far as my own personal travel, All Inclusive Resorts nor the Caribbean (except for St. Maarten) are my cup of tea.

The 4 1/2 hour flight to Toronto was fantastic.  After takeoff, I switched seats and let the guy next to me have my window seat (a 6'9" Jamaican basketball player takes up a ton of space, after all) while I got situated in the empty row behind.  All 3 seats were mine, so I spread out and even gave Philbin his own seat, haha!  The Flight Attendants thought that was hilarious and loved Philbin, especially after I told them why I take him with me on my journeys.  Back the flight at hand, I was on the 26 year old former Canadian Airlines Boeing 767-300ER registered C-GHLK.  I can already hear the grumbles from my readers at the age of the plane, but I have to tell you, she was well maintained, and even though she had an older layout and seats, she performed the flight admirably, and I really have no problem selling Air Canada Rouge (especially from the West Coast of the US to leisure destinations like Athens, Greece or Kingston, Jamaica).  The space in Premium Economy is perfect for someone of my size, and I passed the flight plugged into the inflight power, cranked up my music, and began journaling my trip thus far.

As with most landings I've experienced in the Boeing 767, this one was feather smooth.  Deplaning was quick, making it a breeze to get through the kilometers of corridors (seriously, have you been through Toronto's Pearson Airport trying to get to Customs?) before hitting Customs and Baggage Claim/Recheck.  Once through, and another round of security screening, I made my way through with a brand new boarding pass (I think I left the original in Customs...*shrugs*), and parked my tired keister at my departure gate.

I still don't know why people give Air Canada such a hard time or have issues with them (I wont go into the Travel Agent side of dealing with them), but every segment I've had thus far on them has been simply exceptional, both on Rouge and the mainline Air Canada flights, and let me tell you, this 40 minute jaunt to Montreal on a mainline Airbus A320 was no exception.  A quick departure and climb up to 31,000 feet (FL310 *grins*), just enough time for a beverage run through the cabin by the ever attentive and efficient crew, and we were on the descent into Montreal's Dorval/Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, arriving just after midnight.

Photo Credit Joe Pries

By the time I deplaned, collected my luggage, it was almost 1AM, and by the time the Hotel Shuttle collected me, got myself check in to my hotel, and into my room, it was well past 2 in the morning.  I was so exhausted I didn't even bother unpacking my CPAP machine, I passed out the instant I hit the pillows.

Thursday, September 20, 2018 - St. Laurent, and Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Quebec, Canada

I woke up incredibly late.  I used to stay in this hotel (the Sheraton Montreal Airport) quite a bit about a decade ago, when I made frequent trips to Montreal, and let me tell you, it's showing it's age.  I used to stay in Sheraton hotels almost exclusively, but in the latter part of the 2000's they stopped being the upstanding hotel brand they used to be, which is understandable as to why their parent company was bought by the Marriott Hotel chain a couple of years back.  But I digress, back to the present.

It took me a good hour or so to drag myself out of bed, and get myself ready for the day.  I was still a little tired, so a shower was definitely in order, I still had that island stank on me.  Yuck.  Once I got myself out the door (and housekeeping eternally pissed at me for shooing them away three times already!) I hightailed it to the airport and caught a cab to the shopping mall in Dollard-des-Ormeaux, where I holed myself up in Jack Astor's for what I had been craving (and one of the reasons I flew to Montreal in the first place), a big plate of a real Quebec delicacy, Poutine.  This is such an awesome dish, it's what comfort food up North is.  French Fries, cheese curds, and brown gravy, and sometimes with chicken, bacon, or smoked meat thrown in.  My plate at Jack Astor's had chicken AND bacon thrown in, and I was in Quebecois heaven while letting my arteries scream.

Poutine.  Worth traversing the continent for!

After the amazing repast and reconnection with Poutine, I hung around the town with several very special friends and family.  After a fantastic dinner, evening drive around the D.D.O (as Dollard-des-Ormeaux is known), we ended up at a great Irish pub and spent hours catching up.  I didn't make it back to the hotel until after 10PM.  This junkie was definitely feeling the jetlag.



Friday, September 21, 2018 - Montreal, Canada - Newark, NJ - San Francisco, CA - and Home

As usually happens the night before catching an early morning flight, I only get about 2 to 3 hours of sleep.  That being said, I was up and ready by 4:15AM, got my stuff together and hauled myself downstairs and on the first shuttle of the day for the airport.  Gave my luggage over to United, pre-cleared Customs and made it to my gate by 5:30, with a bit of time to grab a souvenir or two for Susie, and get some breakfast before boarding.

Photo Credit maarten-sr @ airliners.net

There was only 21 people aboard this flight to Newark, but United has rolled out a new 6-group boarding process, and it was in use on this flight, slowing things down quite a bit.  Once i got my self settled into the tiny Embraer 145, I fell asleep just after pushback, all the way through takeoff, the majority of the flight, and finally woke up during descent into Newark's Liberty Airport, with an AMAZING view of Manhattan and Lady Liberty out my window.  As usual with the 145 landings in Newark, we plunked ourselves down and came to a VERY quick stop to make way for departing traffic behind us.

After unfolding myself from the confines of the Embraer, I caught the shuttle bus from Terminal A, where we had parked, to my old haunt of Terminal C (formerly my beloved Continental's domain).  I could see the Boeing 777 I was about to get on just two gates down from the dropoff.  My layover was far too short, but as usual when in Newark, I see the weirdest things, like a well suited traveler coasting down the concourse on a longboard.  At 8 in the morning.  You can't even get me to remember my name at 8 in the morning let along try to balance my large posterior on one of those things.  More power to him, and I bet he made his flight.  As I said, my layover was far too short, and before I knew it, I was comfortably ensconced in seat 44L of the 22 year old Boeing 777-200 and on my way westward.

Luckily, I was awake for the entirety of the flight, and I have to admit, I am quite pleasantly surprised with United Airlines, at least with this flight (not that my flight from Montreal was bad).  Managed to film the takeoff and climbout from the very cloudy Newark airspace, before I settled back and just enjoyed the ride.  The Boeing 777 is truly a magnificent plane, and I have yet to have a bad flight on one, in all 38 times I've had the pleasure of riding on one.  Shortly after rocketing out of New Jersey, the very attentive crew started the first beverage service and sold food as well.  I had my own drinks with me, so I bought a few munchables to last me the 6 hour flight and I went back to reading and listening to my music, periodically gazing out the window and watching this amazing country pass by underneath.

After what seemed like no time at all, we were cruising over familiar territory.  First the Rocky Mountains, than I could make out that we were hurtling over Central Utah, with Utah Lake (not to be confused with the larger Great Salt Lake further to the North) and the cities of Provo, Spanish Fork, and Payson passing by, all the while beginning a slow descent into the Bay Area.   The approach into San Francisco was beautiful, and unfortunately we didn't have another plane parallel with us on landing (it's on my bucket list), but I did get the landing on film, and as with the Boeing 747, you can't have a bad landing on the 777.  We greased the landing, and pulled off the runway with nary a misplaced hair from braking.  I was shocked there was no ground hold due to lack of gates, as for the last few months, that's all I had been hearing about from my SFO bound and based friends in the airline industry and clients.  I made it a point to be one of the last ones off the plane, and I thanked the crew profusely, turns out a few of them were ex-Continental Airlines folks working their last flight of the day before deadheading back to their base in Houston, Texas.

This layover was quite a bit shorter than the earlier one, and after picking up another souvenir for Susie, I hightailed it to my gate in time for the gate staff to call final boarding!  Hurriedly grabbed my boarding pass and ID, presented both at the gate, then again at the end of the jetway, before stepping foot on the SFO tarmac and power walking the path to my waiting SkyWest Embraer 175.  I was the very last person aboard and I quickly got in my seat and wiped the sweat as we pushed back.  Phew!

The flight went by fairly fast, and again another fantastic ride, with no one in the seat next to me.  Before I knew it, we were landing, and in my haste to deplane, I left my cell phone aboard!  I didn't even realize this until well after I made it home.  I was going to show my family some of the photos and videos I took, and my phone was no where!  So I filed a report with United and hoped they would find it (They did find it, 3 days later, AFTER I had gotten a new phone).

Aside from the phone snafu, this was yet another adventure I had where memories were made, as well as several new friendships, plenty of laughs, and a LOT of job-related learning took place.  Stay tuned for my next adventure and posts, and thank you for your continued support and readership, this not-so little Jetlag Junkie is eternally (and humbly) appreciative!  As always, I do appreciate the feedback and comments!

Photo Credit Dmitriy D. Kuzin @ airliners.net

*All photos the author's except where noted*