It -never- looks good when you have to go to the ATL!

But if you do get stuck, try Crew Accomodations, be sure to sound as pittiful as possible, they might have mercy on your soul, and get you into an unused crew room, fo' free!

 

O fer 3 on my attempts.

 

Did you use your sexy voice, Jesse? Always use your sexy voice.

 

Another place where it's always great competing against the government - anyone looked at the Federal Budget subsidies for Amtrak - no wonder we have a $15 TRILLION dollar deficit with no end in sight.

 

Here's my favorite parts of Atlanta, I used to live there. Great weather there I miss it. It totally depends on what you are looking for. If you are young and no kids I can probably be of more help yo you because that was my situation when I lived there. If you have kids I have no idea.

Virginia Highlands (Neighborhood in Atlanta)- My favorite area...Lots restaurants and bars, nice but older homes. Houses are very expensive there, but it is a great location. Close to downtown, 17 minute drive to the airport, close to Buckhead, Grand Park, Decatur. Also close to Piedmont park which has festivals and events and it is just a nice huge park in general. There is some theft and some crazies walking around because of it's proximity to downtown, but I always felt safe walking around by myself even at 2 am.

Buckhead (neighborhood)- High end and ritsy. If you are into posh condos this is the place for you.

Midtown(neighborhood)- This is very urban, also with some high end condos. There are fun areas to hang out, but not many houses and what you find will probably be very expensive. Piedmont park is actually on the edge of midtown, which is right next to the Virginia Highlands

Decatur (City)- Cute little downtown area, some nice areas and some not so nice, but for the most part I think it is a cute little city of its own, with some nice houses, doesn't feel like a suburb. It is only 5 minutes east of the Virginia Highlands.

Inman Park(neighborhood)- Up and coming, but has some nice restaurants and homes and is very convenient to the city and the airport. The downside is some areas nearby are not nice, but it depends on where in Inman park you are. It is also adjacent to the virginia highlands, and where the two meet is nice.

Grant Park(neighborhood)- Up and coming, some nice homes but you are pretty much right next to a very bad area, definitely not for someone with kids.

Vinings (neighborhood)- Nice, less expensive than the highlands. Downside is you are further from the airport. I haven't spent much time there so I can't say more than that, but I know it is a nice area with shopping and restaurants.

Smyrna (Suburb)- Has some nice areas and homes are less expensive. Downside is it has some not-so-nice areas, but not nearly as bad as the areas in Atlanta, so it depends on where you are in Smyrna. Also, it is father away from everything

Peachtree City (City) - Feels suburban, nice homes, and what's cool is there are golf cart paths everywhere. It is about 20 minutes south of the airport. LOTS of pilots live there. Downside is it is sooooo far from everything else

Newnan- Never been there, but close to peachtree city. I hear it is very nice as well, but also is really far away from everything.

Anywhere north of the city of Atlanta you will have to deal with horendous traffic to get to the airport, but if you don't mind traffic I think there are some nice areas up there too, I am less familiar as the traffic was so bad I avoided that direction usually.

 

Not to mention - NO TSA!!!!!

 

Good tip.

Next time.... "Hey Baby..."

 

Well, you probably didn't send them enough Under Boob shots first!

They did it for me a few years back, I was on reserve, based in ATL, and got -rerouted- in ATL, we were supposed to go to RDU or someplace for a layover but because we were running late, they cut us loose, but we had to pick up the rest of our trip 'tomorrow'. So maybe because it was an 'in base layover' type thing, (not sure what qualifies for that, my F/O went home!) but they gave it to me.

I did say, "Hey baby, how You doin'" when she picked up the phone, and as she was looking for a room, I followed that up with, "What are you wearing right now? You want to stop by my room tonight when you...get off?"

You gotta give a little if you want to get a little, and if she's not up to your standards...lower your standards! Or just turn off the lights, I've found they all look alike with the lights off.

 

No obnoxious car commercials blaring in front of you as the train pulls out of the station, either.

 

It's like the subway - just walk on. I haven't been on the Acela, but on the regular, no special anything coach seat on Amtrak you have a nice seat that's got lots of leg room, power outlets at each seat, nice scenery out the window, bring whatever you want to eat or drink, make phone calls, use your iPhone or whatever whenever you want.

Really a nice way to travel. I can see why we lose customers to Amtrak on the DC-NYC and NYC-BOS routes.