I recently returned from visiting Long Beach, California after having board the Catalina Island Express on the last trip. I wanted to see just what Long Beach had to offer for me as well as Esther and Eunice. I was fortunate to have my talented tech friend Barbara Coletta to assist on some photos and pre-recorded interviews for my internet radio show. We also had a fun time as well.
I appreciate a non-stop flight from New York to California, especially on Jet Blue. It seems that they have added snack boxes to their service. For six dollars you can choose one of the varieties, none of which are actual sandwiches but one up on their free cookies, chips, etc. Although I choose to pay the fifty buck fee to sit in the front with extra leg room, it's not that much of a difference when you're short.
I also love that the seats are comfy and have much more leg room than most of the other airlines. The Long Beach terminal is quite small and with tourism being the way it is there and Los Angeles not being that far away, ground had to be broken by Jet Blue CEO Dave Barger for a larger terminal.
While waiting at the gate, we met Capt. Ron Horetski of the Los Angeles Fire Department with his dog, Pearl. We noticed that he was a rescue dog. As it turns out, they were just on television that morning because the ASPCA Search and Rescue dog, Pearl, was honored the day before (November 11th) as the ASPCA's 2010 Dog of the Year at The Annual Humane Awards Luncheon in York City. Pearl, herself was rescued from an animal shelter and Ron adopted her. That makes Pearl a rescue dog that's been rescued.
On board Esther, Eunice and I were invited into the cockpit for photos before takeoff.
Upon landing I took a taxi to Hotel AVIA. Now, originally, Nancy Kozicki was to be joining Barbara. However, their doggie was having a problem and Nancy chose to stay home with her. I bring this up because the hotel was clear that there would be three adults in the room. I checked in before Barbara showed. The room was quite large. There was a king bed and sort of separation between the bed and living room, of which the couch had a pull out bed. There was a robe placed out on the king bed and a second robe in the closet. It wasn't until sleep time that we realized that the other two people were not acknowledged as there were no bed linens or pillows for the sofa bed. Their answer was that we were expected to call down for turn down service. Why would I have to? Did they think that we would not need it and all three of us would sleep in the king bed with one of us not having a robe?
I was supposed to meet with the General Manager Bob Haury for an interview. He left a note saying that he had to leave the premises and would be back at 9 a.m. the next day. Didn't happen. Called at a later date and call not returned.
That evening, Barbara and I went to a La Traviata Restaurant located in the downtown area of Long Beach.
Aside from obviously being an Italian restaurant, they had an opera singer Sheryl Smith and the cuisine was Nouveau Italian. Owner Mario Asab had us do a tasting. Keep in mind that these were not necessarily full portions.
We started with a salad if mixed greens tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, topped with sun dried cranberries, pear tomatoes and feta cheese followed by lobster ravioli that had mascarpone cheese in it. The ravioli was thin the way I prefer.
The next tasting was that of Chilean Sea Bass baked with a miso glaze, topped with tobiko caviar, scallions and a splash of ponzu-soy sauce on a bed of jasmine rice.
Break for a palate cleansing of strawberry sorbet the onto filet mignon, an Angus center cut beef grilled and finished with a green peppercorn and mustard brandy sauce served over sautéed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes. Yes, we had dessert and a shot of limoncello. The real thing imported from Italy using those special lemons grown there.
No comments:
Post a Comment