To The Left Coast We Go

We normally drive to Bradley and usually fly Southwest. Not this time. I’ve finally convinced Helaine we can fly nonstop from JFK.

We are going to the Left Coast later this week. It’s a very brief trip, just a few days. My friend Howard’s son is being Bar Mitzvahed in Los Angeles.

We normally drive to Bradley and usually fly Southwest. Not this time. I’ve finally convinced Helaine we can fly nonstop from JFK.

This had better work.

I love you Lt. Eugene M. Bradley International Airport&#185. I know you well. Sorry. Nonstop wins.

Of course the peril of JFK is it might take an hour forty five to get there or six hours!

This was sneaking peeks at Google Maps traffic layer day. The route was clear except for the Van Wyck Expressway in South Jamaica. A two mile traffic jam was exactly where it used to be when I was a kid!

Growing up we lived in Flushing and my grandparents lived in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. We went nearly every weekend. I’ve been driven down the Van Wyck then west on the Belt Parkway past the airport hundreds of times, though none in the 21st Century.

We fly a JetBlue A320. One free bag apiece. We’ll be fine. It’s been running early most days this past week.

Helaine and I booked window and aisle hoping we’d get the center seat free. Right. That trick never works.

Someone who currently thinks they’ll be jammed in a middle seat from coast-to-coast gets good news upon boarding!

We’ve also got a reservation for parking nearby. That doesn’t look like a problem.

Even with the slightly longer drive to Kennedy we’ll still save time and gain convenience by eliminating a connection. That’s if everything works out. I take full responsibility.

&#185 – I got the airport’s long name from Wikipedia. If the official Bradley International website has it I couldn’t find it. The airport is named after Lt. Eugene M. Bradley.

While piloting in a dogfight training drill, Lt. Bradley’s P-40 crashed on August 21, 1941. Following his funeral in Hartford, Lt. Bradley’s remains were interred at San Antonio National Cemetery in Texas.

Following a groundswell of sentiment in favor of naming the Windsor Locks airfield in Lt. Bradley’s honor, the airfield became Army Air Base, Bradley Field, Connecticut on January 20, 1942.

9 thoughts on “To The Left Coast We Go”

  1. Love LA. Was there for two months after the Northridge quake. If it wasn’t so expensive, I would retire on the outskirts. Have a safe trip. I always fly Southwest. Not sure why, just always have.

  2. We flew out of JFK in February to Washington State in order to fly direct. Our flight left very early so we had no traffic woes. Had a parking reservation and the drop off and pickup was awesome. I won’t think twice about flying out of there again.

  3. Couldn’t help but think of Seinfeld as I was reading this: “And then I hit the Van Wyck.” I guess it’s true. Have a good trip!

  4. Amazing all the planning and angst we go through to travel…. grateful it’s not stage coaches or covered wagons these days ….wonder how our great, great grandchildren will manage??? Star Trek anyone???

  5. Just did a non stop from JFK in February. It was our first time. Everything went like clockwork. Reserved parking was great. It was not an early flight-had to be at JFK @ 11:30 am, so no traffic getting to the airport. Once you try it you’ll never want to go back to layovers for 3 hrs changing planes! Direct all the way from now on!!! Good luck…

  6. Terminal 5 (T5) exclusively for JetBlue is amazing at JFK. Sometimes they have live concerts. That alone is worth the schlep to Queens.

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