Galley Gossip: Seattle – it’s all about kids, trains and food!

by Heather Poole on

THE TRIP:

  • DAY 1: New York – Seattle
  • DAY 2: /
  • DAY 3: Seattle – New York

    • As soon as I saw that long Seattle layover on the bid sheet, I knew I had to have it. I can’t even remember the last time I had a whole day anywhere, let alone a layover with enough time to eat, sleep AND shower! This layover, I knew, would be like the good old days when flying was fun, which is why, I’m sure, several of my colleagues laughed when I told them I had bid for it.

    “You’re going to need at least twenty years seniority to hold that!” three different flight attendants informed me.

    Undeterred, and with only fourteen years at the airline, I bid for it anyway. Not only did I hold it, I held the princess position – coach aisle! As soon as bids were finalized I sent out a tweet to announce the big news. Two seconds later someone tweeted back, “Want to meet for breakfast?”

    The invitation came from mommy blogger extraordinaire, Debbie, of Deliciousbaby.com. If you have kids and love to travel, but would rather skip the Disney vacation, do yourself a favor and check out her blog. She makes traveling with kids enjoyable and easy.

    And that’s how the layover began. I met Debbie, as well as two of her three adorable kids, for breakfast at Belle Epicurean, a charming spot known for their freshly baked pastries and buns. As I sat outside waiting for Debbie to arrive, I couldn’t help but notice all the people popping in and out before heading off to work. Not that I was surprised, considering I’d done a little research early that morning and knew the place was going to be great. I also knew exactly what to order – a potato rosemary brioche bun ($3.89). It did not disappoint. Of course the coffee was fantastic, as well. The company, even better!

    Everest, a bright four year-old, has a passion for trains, so he could not hide his excitement when I asked about his favorite thing to do in Seattle. If not for him, I wouldn’t have known about the ride on the rail to Sea-Tac airport starting in December. After Everest told me all about the underground train system, he offered to take me on a little tour…

    After the train tour, we made a quick stop at Daiso, a Japanese dollar store, where I could have spent the entire day just staring at everything inside the store. There was so much to look at! Thank goodness Everest was there to help pick out a few items for my three year-old son, because I was quite overwhelmed. And I had no idea that mini soy sauce bottles could make a good toy. But Everest assured me they would. Guess what, he was right! My son not only loved the tiny squirt bottles, he spent half an hour playing with them – along with everything else that somehow, I don’t know how, ended up in my basket….

  • Bento box (for school lunches)
  • Glow in the dark bracelets
  • Animal / number stickers (for our long flight to Hawaii next week)
  • Kids apron (to protect clothing while cooking and painting)
  • Fire truck spoon and police car fork
  • plastic cups (to make Play-Doh cupcakes)
  • Star cutter (to make pancakes and eggs a little more exciting)

    • Because Everest had to get going to space camp later on in the afternoon, we said our goodbyes and I walked down to Pikes Place Market. You can not visit Seattle without visiting the market and grabbing a cup of clam chowder, which is exactly what I did after wandering around and taking in the hustle and bustle on the waterfront. If you’re looking for something else to do, try jumping on the ferry to Bainbridge Island. I highly recommend the 35 minute scenic ferry ride. Just don’t forget your camera. You’ll want to photograph all that beauty surrounding you.

    In case you can’t tell, travel, for me, is all about finding great places to eat. When I mentioned on Facebook I’d be laying over in Seattle, Flo, a flight attendant on my crew, reminded me that Bob, the singing pilot, had recommended the restaurant Black Bottle a few months ago. We decided to check it out.

    Now Bob isn’t like most pilots, he’s got style. I’m not just talking about his layover outfit. Which is why I knew I wouldn’t end up at a sports bar, like so many pilots do. That said, I was a bit shocked to find that not only does Bob have great taste in food (at affordable prices) he appreciates a cool modern vibe. The food is served family style. Flo and I shared bacon lemon scallops and frizzled kale ($12), roasted vegetables verjus ($9), and fresh arugula, tomato, and pesto flatbread ($8). After that amazing meal, it is I, not just Bob, who highly recommends the Black Bottle next time you’re in Seattle.

    Like all good things, the layover came to an end, and before I knew it we were flying back to New York. I can’t wait to bid for the trip again! Maybe, just maybe, I’ll actually hold it – 20 years seniority or not.

    Black Bottle photo courtesy of Bacon Sandwich

    Galley Gossip: 20 ways to use a maxi pad in flight

    by Heather Poole on

    Before I share the list – 20 ways to use a maxi-pad in flight, I first must explain
    how this post even came to be. I don’t want you to think I spend my time sitting around thinking about maxi pads. Trust me, there’s a method to the madness.

    So there I sat at La Guardia airport in New York inside flight service operations, relaxing in a beat up, reclining chair, not watching the weather channel on the screen in front of me. I’d been sitting there for hours due to the fact it was my turn to serve standby. For those of you who aren’t familiar with airline lingo, standby is a term used when flight attendants on reserve are required to spend three to six hours, depending on the airline, at the airport just sitting around and waiting to be called out to work a flight in case someone doesn’t show up at the last minute. At my airline, this happens once or twice every reserve month.

    On that particular day Sean sat in the recliner beside me. He’d been cracking me up since the moment I’d sat down. Now I’ve written about Sean in the past. In fact, he was the lead flight attendant, the one in charge, in the Galley Gossip post about a child who had gotten lost in first class. At some point our conversation turned serious and Sean shared a story about a medical emergency that forced him to become quite resourceful and do something that impressed me greatly. He used a maxi pad as a bandaid.

    “You’re brilliant, Sean. You really are. I would have never thought of doing something like that,” I said, and that’s when it hit me, “hey, we should make a list of all the different ways we could use a maxi pad in flight!” We didn’t make the list, but we did laugh about it.

    Flash forward three months later. On a flight to Los Angeles, I walked into the galley, looked up, and saw it – a maxi pad shoved between two ceiling panels. It was there to soak up condensation that would otherwise drip on me. Right then and there I knew I had to make the list, and with the help of my crew, flight attendants who never cease to amaze me, we came up with 20 unique ways to use a maxi pad in flight.

    The day after the list was created a passenger on our flight back to New York stepped into the galley, held out a white sleeve, and in a British accent asked, “Do you have anything I can use to get this off of me?” Red lint covered her white cotton blouse. “It’s from the blanket!”

    “I’m sorry,” said one of my coworkers. “There’s nothing we can really do…except give you a few wet paper towels to wipe it off.”

    “But I’ve got somewhere important to be when I get off this flight and I can’t go looking like this!” she exclaimed, shaking both arms at us.

    If we hadn’t made the list the day before, I would have never thought of using a maxi-pad as a lint brush, which means I would have never said, “Well…there is something we can use…” I nodded my head in the direction of the lavatory, smiling mischievously.

    Heather, one of my colleagues, explained to the passenger that a strip of tape on the back of a maxi pad could be used to remove the lint- that is if she didn’t mind patting herself down with it. The passenger just nodded and then disappeared into the lav.

    Two minutes later the passenger spun around in the galley and sang, “It worked! Thank you so very much.”

    20 WAYS TO USE A MAXI-PAD IN FLIGHT…

    1. Headrest
    2. Oven mitts
    3. Light shade
    4. Condensation absorbent.
    5. Towel
    6. Mop
    7. Bag handle
    8. Hair remover
    9. Band aid
    10. Tape
    11. Arm rest
    12. Eye mask
    13. Lint brush
    14. Curtain holder
    15. Shoe insole
    16. Cool compress
    17. Beer koozie
    18. Coffee filter
    19. Post-it note
    20. YOU TELL ME!
    • That’s right, this is your chance to channel your inner flight attendant and come up with an interesting way to use a maxi-pad. Just leave a comment below and I’ll choose the best idea. May the best wanna-be flight attendant win!

      And just when you think you’re done with a post, you go to flickr.com to search for photos to go along with your bizarre post and find this…
      (just had to share!)

      Photos courtesy of (smiling girl) pinkcandylemon, (hair tie back) Hyesterical Bertha, (blister cover) Elizabeth Mcquern

    Gadlinks for Wednesday 8.19.09

    by Brenda Yun on


    Hello from San Bartolo, Peru! The weather here is, well, misty/foggy/cold and the ocean outside my window (though pretty) is less than inviting today. So what have I been reading to pass the time? Here’s a little taste:

    • On the flight to Lima, I watched an episode of “Nature’s Great Events” about the Great Migration and was shocked by the lions’ hunting struggle during the dry season in the Serengeti. Then, reading this sad news that the lions of Kenya may be totally wiped out in 20 years makes travel to the region even more important. [via Reuters]
    • Antarctica may be a cool travel destination, but its precarious state due to climate change and increased travel to the area may force more measures to limit tourism down south — and that’s probably a good thing. [via TreeHugger]
    • This guys is nuts! Daniel Seddiqui intends to take on 50 jobs in the 50 states — all in 50 weeks. It could be interesting cultural study, but that’s a whole lot of traveling and probably a huge waste of time. Nevertheless, check out his interview. [via PeterGreenberg]
    • Talk about leaving your loved one behind when you travel! This video shows us just how important it is to communicate with loved ones while on the road. [via WorldHum]

    ‘Til tomorrow (pray for surf!), have a great evening!

    More Gadlinks HERE.

    Interview with Zane Lamprey from Three Sheets

    by Annie Scott on

    We love the jovial, devil-may-care and knowledge-thirsty attitude of “Three Sheets” host Zane Lamprey, so we jumped at the opportunity to interview him. As the star of one of the most ingenious television concepts ever, comedian Zane travels the globe to learn about the drinking customs of different cultures around the world. And it is really fun to watch.

    “Three Sheets” was almost lost a year ago when Mojo HD went off the air, and on December 18, 2008, the above rally was held in New York City to save the program. Looks like fun, no?

    Zane answered our questions on his way back to LA from a photo/promo shoot he did at FLN headquarters in Knoxville. Read this interview to learn more about that now internationally recognized burp game, the little toy monkey he brings everywhere, and to find out some of the craziest things Zane’s had to drink (hint: dead stuff).

    Gadling: Do you really get drunk? Like, do you ever watch the footage and go “I have no recollection of that?”

    Zane Lamprey: No. If I really drank as much as many people perceive that I do, I would not be the right person for the job. That’s not to say that I fake it, or “call it in,” I just know how to pace myself. It’s probably a good reason why a kid fresh out of college would not be suited for my job. I know I wouldn’t have been!

    G: Tell me about the monkey.

    ZL: He smells like the floor of a dive bar … He was the first rule of the drinking game: “The first person to spot Pleepleus gets to make someone else drink.” I hid him in the very first episode that we shot (Ireland) and he’s made it through four seasons. The name is made up. I wanted something that sounded like a bizarre Greek name. The funny thing is that people who watch the show can pronounce his name. And people who read it, or hear it in conversation, have a hard time pronouncing it or recalling it. It’s pronounced “Pleepleus” … Oh, I guess that doesn’t help.

    G: What’s the craziest thing you’ve had to drink? Have you ever refused anything?

    ZL: Well, I’ve had a lot of alcohol with dead stuff in it. Those were all bad in their own right. So, I’d have to say the worst one was the very first one I had. It’s the first time I’d had booze that tasted like roadkill. It was in Belize at the Maruba Spa. They make something called Viper Rum, which is overproof rum with a dead snake in it. Don’t ask how it tastes. Use your imagination. If you didn’t feel like vomiting, imagine harder …

    G: Is there a clause in your contract about whose fault it is if you drink something that kills you?

    ZL: Okay, that’s a first … No. But I’m going to call my lawyer.

    G: How did the burp-thumb-to-forehead game get started (and does it have a better name than that)?

    ZL: It’s the German sign for “good burp.” In the third episode that we shot, back in March of 2006, we were in Belgium at Delirium Cafe, a bar that holds the world record for most different beers available — at 2,006 beers. I burped, and François, the bartender I was interviewing, made the “good burp” sign. The rest is history. You can see it in the Belgium episode.

    G: What’s your favorite place you’ve been to visit with “Three Sheets”?

    ZL: Every place that we go was chosen because we thought people would like to see us go there. We haven’t really gone anywhere that I wouldn’t want to return to. But, if I had to pick a place to go tomorrow, I’d go to Dubrovnik, Croatia. I left my wallet there.

    G: Who decides where to send you? Anywhere you’d particularly like to go?

    ZL: I give my two cents when the production company asks me, but when I see the list of where we’re going for the season, I’m like “Looks good to me!”

    G: We’re all jealous of you, so what’s the hardest part of your job?

    ZL: Well, no one really wants to know the real answer to that. It would take away the allure of what I do. It’s like pulling the curtain to reveal the wizard. Obviously my job is amazing. Sure, the traveling can be a bitch sometimes, but it’s not really that bad. I go to the left when I enter the plane — think about it — so I’m a little spoiled. The jet lag can turn into getting sick. But the worst part of the job is what I leave behind. I love my crew, Eric, Curtiss Christina, Bert, Mike, and they’re the only reason I haven’t gone crazy on the road. But it can be extremely lonely and frustrating to be away from loved ones.

    G: What else are you working on? What’s next?

    ZL: I always have plenty of balls in the air … Um, that didn’t sound right … I always have plenty of things going on. There are a lot of other projects in the works. As for “what’s next,” it’s the project that gets legs. Only time can tell.

    G: Which has been your favorite episode of Three Sheets and why?

    ZL: Hmm … I like the episodes that I’ve brought my friends and family along on. I brought my mom on a few episodes and that was amazing. Experiences are best enjoyed when they’re shared. My crew and I have seen the world. It’s nice to let someone else in for a change. It also give us a renewed energy. A friend along for the ride gives all of us a little more pep in our step — like when Steve McKenna came to Amsterdam with us. He went to the red light district and became a prostitute for the day. He was very popular with the sailors and made enough money to buy drinks for the rest of the trip. I wish I was kidding.

    Click here to read our previous article on “Three Sheets” and see more videos, and check out Fine Living Network’s “Three Sheets” site for more info about the show. You can follow Zane on Twitter.

    “Electrifying” video from the crater of Guatemala’s Volcan Santiaguito… as it erupts!

    by Aaron Hotfelder on

    At 8,200 feet, Guatemala’s Volcan Santiaguito is not one of the tallest volcanoes in the world, but with eruptions taking place every hour, it is one of the world’s most active. A few days ago, I joined four other people for a challenging two-day hike from the town of Quetzaltenango to witness an eruption first-hand.

    Our group of five set up camp a safe distance from where the eruptions would be taking place, and the volcano was spitting out large amounts of ash, smoke, and gas regularly from the time we arrived. (Here‘s a farther-away version of what we saw from the camp-site.) Not satisfied to observe from a “safe distance,” we asked our guide whether we could climb up next to the crater and wait for an eruption. He gave us his blessing– after some pleading on our part– and he led us on a climb up to the crater.

    The video I shot, seen above, captures pretty well the chaos and absurdity (though not the noxious smell of sulfur) of standing thirty feet from a volcano as it erupts. Be sure to stick around until the 0:55 mark for some fun with static electricity– turn the sound up on your computer for the full effect.

    For another view (with even more cursing!), check out this great Youtube vid.