Good question. I moved away too many years ago to say. But if I’m choosing where to eat and and have beers, we’re headed to Monk’s. And then drinks down at henhouse square.
Kansas City hotel canceled
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Check with PSWC. Email Helen Knerr. Her full name, no spaces, @gmail.com. I heard last night they might still have some rooms available.
Floyd Mayweather, is that you?
Seriously, the thing about Monk's is that while it's awesome and absolutely worth it, getting in is hit-and-miss -- you need a backup plan just in case, and the area is full of crowded crap dive bars. (McGlinchey's is the most famous of these, and reportedly still allows smoking.)
Monk's does have a back bar -- so if the front bar/restaurant look crowded, check the back before leaving.
I haven't been out in that part of town since before the virus, but our usual backup was Black Sheep (17th/Latimer). It claims to be an Irish pub but isn't really, and nobody cares, was a good hangout.
Also nearby is Fado (15th/Locus), the Irish pub chain owned by Guinness.
Don't go to Jose Pistola (15th/Latimer) unless you like food with no flavor except heat. Maybe it's ok for just a drink.
Then there's always Howl at the Moon (15th/Locust). Or maybe a hotel bar.
Have never been, but would probably jump on this for those who like German food. Especially if they have space heaters for the outdoors section. (Decent room inside, but looks like it could double capacity if the outdoors seating is available.)
It's a Stephen Starr restaurant. Those are known for good food but you pay thru the nose for the decor -- except this menu's prices are very reasonable, even for pre-inflation.
Plus beers by the half-liter and liter. Hard to go wrong there.
But: it's probably around a 15 min drive from downtown. Uber is the best bet. Definitely don't drive, only street parking and good luck finding a spot. Can take the Market St subway and then walk a few blocks -- the neighborhood in general is probably OK, but right outside the station is probably a homeless camp, wouldn't want to be there at night unless in a group.
We went to Frankford Hall a few years ago before going to see the Who in concert. It happened to be when PSU lacrosse was playing for the championship (I think, definite playoff) they showed the game on their TV’s. The parking area later at the stadium was a mix of concert goers and lacrosse fans.
Enjoyed our time at Frankford hall. Good food and beer. Wasn’t sure how far away it was.
Enjoyed our time at Frankford hall. Good food and beer. Wasn’t sure how far away it was.
Lucky with my accomodations.
For Olympic Trials, staying in condo near Toftrees, owned by parents of a PSU football player.
For 2026 nationals, if I can get tickets, will stay with sister in Sicklerville, NJ.
For both, will be driving in from Pittsburgh, so will use cash savings on parking, food and drink.
Will be watching this year from home. Took 1/2 day off work both Thursday and Friday.
Retiring end of July, so won’t have to do that anymore.
For Olympic Trials, staying in condo near Toftrees, owned by parents of a PSU football player.
For 2026 nationals, if I can get tickets, will stay with sister in Sicklerville, NJ.
For both, will be driving in from Pittsburgh, so will use cash savings on parking, food and drink.
Will be watching this year from home. Took 1/2 day off work both Thursday and Friday.
Retiring end of July, so won’t have to do that anymore.
It is an Uber-only location. Street parking which means no parking. Public transit is limited to busses, and nobody with other options takes a SEPTA bus.
Tulsa - it was a Choice brand hotel and we received zero help from the hotel. They lied as I took a screenshot of their website listing available rooms for 3x the price I had contracted with them.
Kansas City - this was a Marriott property; they've actually been pretty good and found us another hotel (same price), though not walking distance
Re: Expedia, etc.
I always book direct whether it's flights, rooms, events, etc. Got burned by Expedia once on a big trip (South Pacific), and promised myself never again.
Thanks everyone that's offered help and condolences, haha.
Tired Hands is one of my favorite Philly brewed NEIPA's.
Cheers and safe travels to all.
I'm taking some exception here. I have two children (young adults) that live near the art museum, and I visit them often. Almost every time I'm in the city we take the bus system. It's easy to use and cheap. Ancillary benefit is that if you dress like you're homeless they let you ride for free so some around here may qualify.
But seriously, I ride the buses often and haven't had issues, but if you're concerned than take an uber or a cab, and make sure you know which cab companies are legitimate.Philadelphia, like all cities, is a collection of neighborhoods. You should generally try to avoid the bad neighborhoods and stick to the better ones. For example, Frankford Hall is in the Fishtown neighborhood, which is just called Fishtown. Fishtown is almost fully gentrified which means it will be cleaner (relatively) and safer (much) than those neighborhoods that haven't experienced gentrification.
Fishtown and neighboring Northern Liberties are fully gentrified and have seen significant car jackings. Between that and the extremely limited parking, I wouldn't drive.I'm taking some exception here. I have two children (young adults) that live near the art museum, and I visit them often. Almost every time I'm in the city we take the bus system. It's easy to use and cheap. Ancillary benefit is that if you dress like you're homeless they let you ride for free so some around here may qualify.
Philadelphia, like all cities, is a collection of neighborhoods. You should generally try to avoid the bad neighborhoods and stick to the better ones. For example, Frankford Hall is in the Fishtown neighborhood, which is just called Fishtown. Fishtown is almost fully gentrified which means it will be cleaner (relatively) and safer (much) than those neighborhoods that haven't experienced gentrification.
Agreed that they're reasonably safe to walk around with normal city situational awareness, with some specific exceptions (such as underneath train overpasses).
The busses might be ok depending on specific route. Then again there's often at least one lunatic on board, and they're behind the wheel. (And I'm not talking about their driving.)
Also Dave Barry's joke about public transportation: it takes lots of people very quickly to places nobody wants to go. Philly busses are that except for the speed.
Ok, let's take this up next February/March when people are planning to go to Philadelphia and want some help. I'll take the side of have fun and be cautious while you take the side of be cautious or you won't have fun.
I'm on the side of having fun. Just be aware of what you're getting yourself into.Ok, let's take this up next February/March when people are planning to go to Philadelphia and want some help. I'll take the side of have fun and be cautious while you take the side of be cautious or you won't have fun.
True story. Two friends, both AAs in college in the 70s, were out bar hopping in Philly one night. They were walking back after consuming a sufficient amount of beer and started wrestling with each other on the sidewalk. A patrol car came around the corner and a policeman jumped out with his handgun raised and yelled for them to freeze. They had to explain that they were just college wrestling teammates horsing around with each other and it took about 20 minutes before the police officer was satisfied and let them go.
We graduated the same year. I could hang it up this year, but I'm waiting. If I ever have to go back in office again, I can't. Too feral now.
We all graduated the same year. I guess having a 6 in front of your age makes you think about things if you have that choice. Feral is an apt description for it. I still start work at 6am but now it's with flip flops on. I was in the office yesterday. Couldn't wait to leave but you have to give everyone their time.
Monk's sound very interesting to me, as does a couple others. I may be the only person never to have used Uber or Lyft yet. I guess it's time to learn, and a year's head start.
I would have lost my mind. Frankly I think overbooking anything (hotels/airlines) should be straight illegal. You make all the plans, do all the right things and pay and then you're told you're out of luck? Yeah right. If I make a reservation there better be a goddamn reserved room or seat on a plane for me. Sorry man, this really sucks.
Damn straight, this should be illegal! Also, a casino should not be able to take someone's money, but, ban you from playing if you are able to win (unless you are blatantly doing something that IS cheating). The ability to count cards is NOT cheating.
Extremely easy. Very convenient in cities, decently in suburbs, can be hit or miss in rural areas (but then so can be taxis). Usually far less expensive, and you won't get taken on the extra-long route since there's no meter running. And the cars are usually cleaner than taxis, and have charging ports. (Some drivers will offer water.)
It doesn't really matter which service you use -- in face, many drivers are on both, so pick the one with the better fare/quicker pickup.
The one thing to watch is dynamic pricing. Their fares are much higher during rush hour or events -- plan accordingly. But then it still might be the cheapest option, say a group of 4 splitting the fare vs. taking the subway from the airport (SEPTA charges a premium for the airport).
For that reason, do not use them to/from the arena at nationals -- use the subway. (Uber/Lyft aren't a bad option if you stick around afterward at Xfinity Live or a nearby bar, until after the parking lots and traffic have cleared.)
BTW, depending on how far you are from your airport, Uber/Lyft round trip can be cheaper than the park-and-go shuttle lots -- it is for me (20 min from PHL), even with a corporate discount, if I'm away for more than a weekend.
Hotels, yes. Airlines, absolutely not.
I have a $500 voucher thanks to American Airlines overbooking a flight to Nashville for a business trip. I was willing to work from the airport for 2 hours until the next flight. Have done this several times. Just have to be flexible.
And there are stories of passengers getting vouchers worth thousands of dollars.
I couldn't agree more. This is exactly why I will not gamble at a casino unless I am playing against another person (like a hold em table). I won't wager my money against the house which is designed to win. I'll take my chances against another person, though. I don't know why people give their money to a casino that literally says being good at a game is against the rules.
I think it's great that they will offer these things, but what if you can't get another flight to your destination in time? What if you're flying for a funeral? Or Wedding? Or something that cannot be moved around and once you miss it, then you miss it? What about a vacation flight where you end up losing an entire day of your vacation because they overbooked? I mean, the very least they can do is compensate you for a flight that you paid for and then they cancelled for over booking. And sometimes all the money in the world won't make up for something you could miss because the airline decided to jerk you around.
I couldn't begin to tell you how many flights I've taken in my life. Probably a couple thousand or more. I've never been refused passage if I was there. Ever. I've missed flights. I've had flights cancelled but never refused service. As El Jefe says, deals can be had if they are overbooked, and they try really hard sometimes to give enough of a deal to get those who have to fly on the plane. The secret to nimble travel is to pack light enough that you have no luggage underneath. You can make quick changes to another flight or airline if you don't have bags to retreive.
Hotels are a different story. Go direct.
Yeah, I have lost track of how many times I have flown and I have never been bumped on a flight, thankfully. I am hoping to keep this streak going for the rest of my life!
I'll bet some of you like the 24 hour no cancellation fee that most hotels offer. If every hotel went to a 100% cancellation fee overnight they would probably stop this process. Would that be better? I personally like the freedom to cancel without fee the day before my reservation. Even with such a policy there would still be some cancellations as most hotels wouldn't turn down a VIP or their highest status customers. Could you imagine them turning away someone like Bruce Springsteen?
If the airline is oversold, they announce it at the gate and request volunteers to be bumped. That's a good time to talk with the gate agent if you have a good reason to not be bumped.
Also check the flight status the day before. If no seats remain, it's probably full and possibly oversold -- so get to the airport early.
Likewise if a major storm hits the day before your flight, it will trickle into your flight. Arrive early.
Probably the vast majority of people who get bumped from important flights either don't do these things or are jackasses toward the gate agents.
Damn straight, this should be illegal! Also, a casino should not be able to take someone's money, but, ban you from playing if you are able to win (unless you are blatantly doing something that IS cheating). The ability to count cards is NOT cheating.
I was banned for two days from Hollywood Casino at Penn National and for a week from a casino in Chicago for doing a "minor count" I call it a minor count because I'm not smart enough to estimate and divide by the deck like Rainman. The funny thing is, in both situations, I was only up a couple of grand at a $25 table. Yes, I was probably a little too obvious with my bet increases, but, the pit boss didn't have an answer to my question of "Can't I just notice that there were an unusual amount of low cards that came out of the shoe? It still pisses me off, considering how many bad nights I've had at the casino.
It's funny that my very first commercial flight ever was on a puddle hopper from State College to DC for an interview. Extremely bumpy ride. The plane was going going up and down and side to side at the same time. Nasty. Maybe top 5 all time bumpy rides for me. We aren't 20 minutes into the flight and pilot comes on and says we are landing in Harrisburg. "The plane is broken" he says. Thanks for the info, but when I'm at 10,000 feet, I'd rather not know that. The first and last flight I ever took that had to land early. That's quite a lucky streak, and yes, I'm knocking on wood as I type.
The good part is that this was back in 1985, and when the problem got resolved, we had free bar for the remainder of the short flight. In fact, we were served drinks as we waited for the plane to get fixed. The good ole days. <sigh>
The good old days has nothing to do with racism or sexism. It was about the free flow of hospitality when the need arose. Okay, enough reminiscing. I have to finish payroll by 5.
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Love Blackjack. My parents got me an early digital blackjack player when I was a kid in the 70s. It really honed my skills, but was weird that they gave me a gambling present lol. I've probably only gambled in a casino 4-6 times in my life. The odds are too much against you. I'd rather bet on myself anyway. At least I can control most of that.
A lot of wisdom here. Courtesy in a crisis is extremely undervalued. The person in front of you did not cancel your flight. The gate people are at the bottom of the totem pole but are the only ones with the power to save your backside. Be kind and soothing. They will "find" an alternative, unless it's United, then you're screwed. Kindness never fails otherwise.
United is a special case study. I have observed that United was created by United and for United, and you shalt not get any benefit that isn't derived from their own self interest. I used to fly a lot to Tulsa, and one morning had a 6am flight out of Tulsa. Delays, delays, and more delays. The plane is at the gate so what is the problem? We don't know but the plane has a problem. Flight gets cancelled because of plane issues. As everyone including me is bombarding the gate people, they announce that Gate so and so will be boarding shortly for Denver. That's my gate. The plane is still there. As I stand in line many minutes later, they board my very sound working plane for Denver. Several months later I'm with another manager and the SAME process starts at the same airport for the same 6am flight. I convince him very quickly that this ends badly and before it ever got to the point of cancellation, we had tickets onto another airline (no luggage). Before we boarded our new flight, a hoard of people from the original flight were at the gate desk begging for a ticket because the United flight to Chicago just cancelled because of "mechanical failure". We laughed.
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😆. Reminds me of this travel bit from John Mulaney about Delta (which may frame you for murder if you complain about something).
EDIT: language warning ☺️
Casinos only want you to have bad nights. Have you ever seen a casino cut someone off for losing TOO much?
I flew out of Harrisburg once for a vacation and after 20 minutes we had to turn around because of a plane issue (the landing gear wouldn't go all the way up). We ended up back on the same plane but they told us it might take us a little longer since we had to flight with the landing gear all the way down. We had to sprint through the airport to make our connection.
I'm still traumatized by that movie where the guy cashes it all in, gets an Rv, wife loses it all in Vegas. She thinks everything will be fine, mistakes happen.
After the Phil’s won the WS, my friend (a black fellow) was really loaded and needed to take a wiz while we were driving up Broad Street in South Philly. Bumper to bumper traffic so he hopped out and ran into a bar. I told him no NO! In less than a minute he was escorted out by a bevy of nice Philly citizens. He didn’t piss and he lived to tell about it. (PS: I was born and educated in center city Philly).
User warned.
Most of the city is a crime infested ghetto. Center City is 2 sq miles out of 120.
Chestnut Hill is nice but it has the Republicans to the North and WEst protecting their flanks. The Wissahickon is to the South and the ghettocrats cant swim. Chestnut hill is only fighting a one front war so they can concentrate their troops on the Eastern front.
Manayunk is a cool neighborhood for suburban college kids who just want to party. As soon as they are ready to have kids they move back to the burbs.
I'm taking some exception here. I have two children (young adults) that live near the art museum, and I visit them often. Almost every time I'm in the city we take the bus system. It's easy to use and cheap. Ancillary benefit is that if you dress like you're homeless they let you ride for free so some around here may qualify.
Philadelphia, like all cities, is a collection of neighborhoods. You should generally try to avoid the bad neighborhoods and stick to the better ones. For example, Frankford Hall is in the Fishtown neighborhood, which is just called Fishtown. Fishtown is almost fully gentrified which means it will be cleaner (relatively) and safer (much) than those neighborhoods that haven't experienced gentrification.
Gentrified means the locals destroyed it in the first place.
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