A Wild Week in NY...

that ends with doing tequila shots with Oprah Winfrey!

As most of you know, the Traveling Hillbilly typically does not post about work related travel.   I use this to share my personal adventures.   However, this past week, I went to New York on business with clients and it turned out to be quite an adventure, an adventure worth sharing. 

Getting to New York had its own drama!   Given my first meeting was late Monday afternoon, I opted to fly on Sunday, so I’d have time to get a decent night’s sleep before the long week ahead.  I like most of you, check in online 24 hours in advance.   For the first time ever, I opted to use the mobile check in.   That proved to be a poor choice.   When the taxi didn’t arrive on schedule, I called only to discover they had the wrong address.   Rather than waiting for another taxi, I opted to just drive myself.   I get to the airport, show my boarding pass on the cell to at the base of the escalator and head up to security.  Just as I’m about to get to the front of the line, the TSA guy, tells everyone to go down the hall to the other security room. Given I’m next, I try to stay but they make me move down the hall.   Of course, the line is several people deep there and I’m now at the back of the line!  I finally get to the front of the line, a second time, hand the guy my license and cell phone, but for some reason the bar code on the mobile pass won’t scan!    After several attempts, they send me back downstairs to get a printed pass.   We are now 45 minutes out from the flight departure time, so I can’t print a boarding pass at one of the self-service kiosks.  I have to wait in the “check-in” line.  Luckily it is not too long.   I am informed by the American Airlines agent, that they have had some issues with the mobile boarding passes before (good to know).   She prints my pass and sends me back to security.  I have to wait in line a third time.

Needless to say, by the time I get to the gate it is too late to board.  Luckily there is another flight to NY in an hour so they put me on standby for the next flight.   Well it turns out that every flight from LAX to JFK is oversold. After trying to fly standby for the next three flights, I head over to another terminal and buy a ticket on Virgin America to fly out at 9:30pm.  Not the best way to spend a lovely Sunday afternoon.

However, the week gets better!   We head over to meet with some folks from NBC.  Before our meeting we are given a quick tour of the Today Show set.  I of course have to take the opportunity to sit on the couch!  As we sit in our meeting about 15 minutes later, Matt Lauer walks in and joins the discussion.    Later that afternoon, we arrive in yet another office building for yet another meeting.   As we are walking to the conference room, we are told there is a tiger in the building.   Of course, we all want to see the tiger.  So we are taken down the hall, where walk into another conference room and meet the tiger and his French bulldog pal!   The tiger cub is only about 4 months old, but his paws are huge!  He looks quite cuddly and I can’t believe he doesn’t just eat the bulldog, but they seem to enjoy each other’s company.  One of my clients is brave enough to have a photo taken, the fear clearly comes across.  I opt to skip having my photo taken with the tiger.   A koala bear is one thing, a tiger quite another. 

We have several more meetings and spend every day running across NY from one meeting to the next.   On Thursday, our last night in NY, we have a nice intimate dinner (about 40 guests) with none other than Oprah Winfrey herself.    Unlike a lot of celebrities, she looks exactly like she does on TV.   She just radiates optimism.  She is a true gem.  And who knew she liked Tequila?

Where else could you, sit in a meeting with Matt Lauer, pet a tiger in an office building and do tequila shots with Oprah Winfrey?   The answer my readers, is none other than New York City! 

An Amazing Morning in New York

What better way to play tourist in New York than to stop by the Plaza to watch the Today Show being taped? So despite getting no sleep on the red eye flight out and going all day yesterday, we decided to get up at 6:15am this morning to and take a taxi over to the plaza. Given it's a Friday, there was also a concert on the plaza today. We were treated to a concert by Enrique Iglesias. What energy he brought to the plaza. Women everywhere were screaming and we know of at least one person that passed out! The Traveling Hillbilly has to say he put on a great show. We got to see him, Pit Bull, Meredith, Al, Ann and of course Matt up close. After the show, we headed across the street and went to "The Top of the Rock." While the view is amazing from up there, it was a bit of a hazy day so not as nice as I'm sure it can be. All in all a great start to a Friday morning.

Did I mention it was 85+ Degrees Today?

After an amazing start to the morning, my friend and I decided to head out to Central Park. We started to walk through the park when my friend suggested we rent some bikes. Thinking it was a great idea, I readily agreed. While it wasn't cheap, it was not as expensive as I expected. We hopped on the bikes and began our ride. What a beautiful place Central Park is. Here you are in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by skyscrapers but you don't even notice it. It's such a green, calm and beautiful place you feel like you've truly escaped any hassles of the city. There are trees, green lawns, rocks, lakes and baseball fields. It really is an amazing place. People gather to read, relax, nap, play, work out and sunbathe. Every city needs a park like this. After an hour or so, We stopped for a nice ice cream treat. We sat on the Great Lawn and watched a softball while we ate our ice cream. Unfortunately, after just a few bites, my Good Humor Chocolate Eclair treat, split in half and fell off the stick onto the grass. Bummer! All in all a nice ride, except for the heat! Did I mention it was over 85 degrees today? Maybe an evening ride around the park would have been an even better idea!

Back to New York

It's that time of year again. The Traveling Hillbilly will be spending the week in New York. The weather forecast doesn't look that great, some websites are predicting rain for the first three days of the week. However, The Traveling Hillbilly arrived today to a beautiful, warm and sunny afternoon. Even the Traveling Hillbilly makes the occasional mistake when booking travel. Somehow, I managed to book myself on a 6:50AM flight to JFK! Do you know what time you have to be at LAX to catch a 6:50 am flight? Too early, way too early for a Sunday!

As we all board the plane, we realize it's sweltering, there's no air on the plane. Suddenly a baby starts to cry out. Even worse, it's just two seats back. Boy it's going to be a long flight. The baby cries all the way to JFK, falling asleep once for about 15 minutes but crying the whole rest of the time. The taxi driver turns out to be a lunatic. Drives like a madman, stops for gas, hollers/chats with his buddy in the taxi in the other lane while we're going 55+ miles an hour down the freeway. Please just let me get to the hotel okay.

Now, the Traveling Hillbilly is sitting in the hotel bar, drinking a cocktail and snacking on some baked goat cheese. Suddenly this Sunday is looking up.

The Traveling Hillbilly has a jam packed schedule while in New York, but hopes to squeeze in a little fun. Any recommendations? If so, please share.

Gossip Girl - Could it Really Be True?

I know most of you have probably not watched Gossip Girl, but the first time I saw it I wondered if it could be true. Could there really be a place on "the upper east side" where teenagers drink martini's in swanky hotel bars? Where did they get this idea? Well I felt like I was right in the middle of a Gossip Girl episode last night. I arrived at the "W" Union Square after midnight to check in for the week. The place was hopping. It was just a buzz of activity. I guess this really is the city that never sleeps. So as I'm waiting to check in, a gaggle of 12-13 year old girls comes squealing into the atrium. They are all dressed to the nines, fancy dresses, high heels and make-up! They looked like they were trying to be 20 year olds. After discovering there was a screw up with the reservation (that's a whole other post), I go outside to take a taxi to Le Parker Meridien. While I'm waiting for the taxi, along side all these girls (with their mothers), I overhear part of the conversation. They are complaining about the rain, and what it's going to do to their $80-$100 shoes! I feel like I'm in an alternate universe. Who are these kids? Who are their mothers and fathers that let them dress like this? Are these girls going to grow up thinking the brand name of their shoes, their jeans and who does their hair, are the important things in life? It makes one wonder. The next time the Traveling Hillbilly sees an episode of Gossip Girl, I'll know it's true. There really is a place where teenagers drink martini's at swanky hotel bars! And that place is a long way from where the Traveling Hillbilly's grew up.

The Best Job in The World

Check out the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utx3jAejjSE and then Click here to vote for Traveling Hillbilly! to send in your “write in” vote to Queensland Tourism.

There it was an email from the Traveling Hillbilly’s sister about the Best Job in the World. The Traveling Hillbilly was instantly intrigued. Get paid to live on beautiful Hamilton Island for six months and share the experience with the world via video and blog postings? Spend your days exploring the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. And get paid to do it? It just sounded too good to be true. But alas it was not. It was a real job!

So the Traveling Hillbilly enlisted the help of a few good friends to produce the required video application. After weeks of blood sweat and tears, not to mention countless emails and texts, the video was complete, and with a whole day to spare, before the submission deadline.

Unfortunately, there were thousands of other folks trying to upload their video applications as well. The website just couldn’t handle the volume of submissions and unfortunately many folks, including the Traveling Hillbilly, were not able to successfully upload their videos in time.

The Traveling Hillbilly doesn’t want to give up just yet. So please, check out the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utx3jAejjSE and then Click here to vote for Traveling Hillbilly! to send in your “write in” vote for the Traveling Hillbilly.
Thanks in advance for your support.

Sleeping in the City that Never Sleeps

As a lot of you may know New York is known as the city that never sleeps. Is that because of the energy of the city itself? Is it because of the constant noise, sirens and horn honks that go on all night? Is it because people live in such small places, home is the last place they want to be so they stay out all night? Who knows? I do like New York though. There is just such energy to the city and you can’t help but feel alive just walking down the streets. It is such a fabulous place to visit.

So given all that how is it the Traveling Hillbilly managed to sleep for hours in this great city? I actually slept through the night both nights I was in New York, something the Traveling Hillbilly has not managed to do in months. Given the time difference, I was totally expecting to wake up in the middle of the night and lie awake for hours, only to be miserably tired the next day. However, I found myself well-rested and ready to take on the city. It was unseasonable warm but not hot, so the weather was perfect for walking the streets,

Two nights in a great hotel in So Ho, a little room service, perfect fall weather and this is part of work? What more could the Traveling Hillbilly ask for? Well, maybe another day or two to explore the city.

So for those of you who’ve never been to New York, the Traveling Hillbilly recommends you go and now. New York is a must on anybody’s travel list and fall is such a beautiful time to go. It truly is a great city. Don’t forget to take your walking shoes!