In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
Exciting New Hotel Openings
Columnist Stuart J. Faber takes a look at some exceptional hotel openings to take a look at as soon as travel opens up again.
Flying With Faber - June 2013
A Passage to Istanbul
Istanbul and Bosporus at night. ( Courtesy Minister of Culture & Tourism of Turkey)
By Stuart J. Faber
I have always been intrigued by Istanbul. This city, which exhibits both a European and Asian ambiance (after all, it’s the gateway to Asia Minor), has frequently been a destination where international spies and couriers surreptitiously rendezvous (at least on television and in movies), to exchange their secrets. From 1930s black-and-white films through Benny Hill television comedies, spies have met in smoke-filled bars in Istanbul. These shady characters sit at adjacent tables and pretend not to know one another. One feigns the reading of a newspaper. In one hand, hidden by the newspaper (or so he thinks), is a secret document. In earlier years, it may have been a piece of microfiche. Today, it might be a flash drive – perhaps a bluetooth is all that is required. His compatriot, looking as nonchalant as possible, accepts the transfer of the secret item.
Flying With Faber - September 2012
A Return to Napa
By Stuart J. Faber
In 1943, I resided with my family on the San Francisco Presidio where my father was a medical officer at Letterman General Hospital. Many of the kids from the base spent a few weeks at a summer camp near the town of Napa. It was more a hamlet than a town. As I recall, the village center consisted of a general store and a post office.
The camp was huddled in the hills just above Napa. We slept in tents, played baseball, rode horses, made handicrafts and swam in the lake. By my Wisconsin standards, this lake was little more than a puddle. During the prewar years, I grew up near Milwaukee where an abundance of deep, clear glacial lakes, many of which expanded over hundreds of acres, was within a half hour of our house.
When the camp director asked for a volunteer to ride one of the horses bareback into town each day to pick up the mail, I was the first to raise my hand. I got the job! The 30-minute round trip junket consisted of a ride over a dusty trail. Except for a few trees, some native grass and an occasional dilapidated fence, the ride to town presented a paucity of civilization. As we shuffled up to last ridge, I feared I would have to tow the poor nag. I applied full throttle to the summit, then pointed the horse’s nose downward and we dead-sticked it into town. Napa, settled in 1848 with a saloon, general and a courthouse, soon came into view.
Flying With Faber - April 2012
A Visit to Munich
By Stuart J. Faber
Panoramic view of Munich. (Rudolf Sterflinger)It may sound like profanation for an aviation enthusiast to make this statement, but I love trains. Perhaps this affection is rooted in the delightful memories of my boyhood train trips around the Midwest.
Imagine my enthusiasm when, years after those boyhood adventures and just before embarking on my first trip to Europe in the 1960s, I discovered that a tourist could purchase a Eurail Pass and travel first class from one end of western Europe to the other for 30 days for just $90. Back then, I stopped off in London, acclimated myself to the old world, then set out for Dover and the trip across the English Channel to Calais, France. I hopped on a train, the conductor punched my Eurail Pass and my 30-day journey was officially under way. I spent days in the comfort and warmth of the train, tracing the steps of the WWII forces that had fought their way through sweltering heat, mud,rain, snow and bitter cold from the coast of Normandy to Berlin. In those days, I could merely jump on any train that caught my fancy and ride along to its destination – the identity of some I did not know until I arrived.
Flying With Faber - March 2012
A Visit to Harris Ranch
By Stuart J. Faber
The Harris Ranch Restaurant welcomes guests daily with warm western hospitality for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu is designed around the fresh beef and the fruits and vegetables grown by Harris Ranch. (Paul Mullins/Harris Ranch)Good old-fashioned airport restaurants have become an endangered species. In the past, a bunch of us could pile into our airplanes and, within an hour, rendezvous at a neighborhood airport for a fabulous breakfast – or even a great lunch or dinner.
Some of us have fond memories for the now departed Skytrails Restaurant at Van Nuys, Calif. They served some of the best prime rib in town. On most nights, the ramp in front of Skytrails was packed with airplanes from all over southern California.
In my Wisconsin days, we had a choice of more than a dozen outstanding airport restaurants. The Janesville Airport restaurant was famous for its sticky buns. We would park our aircraft and leap to the restaurant and grab a few gooey, dripping buns as they emerged from the oven.
Flying With Faber - November 2011
A Trip to the Nation’s Salad Bowl
BY Stuart J. Faber
Stuart Faber helping to harvest the broccoli crop.It might seem to those who have read the last few columns of Flying With Faber that I am having an identity crises. In a number of columns, I described trips which were conducted from my airplane. The next column may have included a description of my sailing on a boat – “Sailing With Faber.” Finally, I recounted the story of, “Horse-And-Buggy With Faber;” my epoch of operating a horse and buggy along the trails of Mackinac Island, Mich.
I can’t make up my mind about how to banner this article. So let’s call this, “Gleaning with Faber.” During my recent trip to Monterey and the Salinas Valley in California, I met with a group called “Ag Against Hunger,” a non-profit organization which recognized that even though we live in an area where there is an abundance of food, millions of Americans, and of course folks all over the world, suffer from hunger. From time to time all of us have exclaimed, “I’m famished!” For us, the phrase is really hyperbole. I doubt that any of us has ever really suffered from famine – the word from which famished is derived. When we claim to be “starving,” we are not accurately describing our current level of nutritional sustenance. The truth is that when we use any of these phrases, it means that we haven’t stuffed ourselves for a few hours – and the clock tells us that it’s time to eat again.
Flying With Faber - October 2011
A Trip to Michigan’s Mackinac Island
By Stuart Faber
There are several ways to reach Mackinac Island. The most popular is by boat or ferry. My favorite is to fly over the water at an altitude sufficient to glide to land should that configuration suddenly become mandatory. Swimming is another option - sharks are a rarity in the Great Lakes.
As winter reaches its peak, the 15-mile straits that separate the mainland from the island freeze over. Locals have named the frozen path “The Mackinaw Bridge.” Thousands of snowmobiles and other conveyances make their winter pilgrimages across the bridge. Each year, a few folks disappear. The more seasoned natives with whom I spoke wisely avoid the Mackinaw Bridge.
Flying With Faber - July 2011
Lake Las Vegas - The Other Las Vegas
By Stuart J. Faber
Ravella at Night. (Courtesy Ravella at Lake Las Vegas)For those who want to get away from it all and indulge themselves with luxurious surroundings, great food and exciting casinos, but without the hustle-bustle of the Las Vegas Strip, I strongly recommend Lake Las Vegas in beautiful Henderson, Nevada. Just 17 miles from the Strip, Lake Las Vegas is a stunning waterfront oasis with most of the benefits of the Strip but without the congestion and other inconveniences. Plus, Lake Las Vegas has something even the Strip does not have – Lake Las Vegas. Most important, Henderson Airport is an extra benefit for pilots who dread the flight into Las Vegas International with its high-priced tie-downs and heavy traffic.
Flying With Faber - April 2011
Start Cooking and Protect Your FAA Medical Status
By Stuart Faber
For this issue, Flying with Faber becomes Cooking with Faber. I have spent my life chasing a variety of passions – my favorite, of course, involves being at the controls of any flying machine that will get off the ground. Engaging in the culinary arts would be a close second. Generally, if I am not in an airplane, I am in a kitchen somewhere in the world where I am operating “right seat” or second in command to some great chef who allows me, as a food journalist, to steal a few of his or her culinary secrets.
Whenever I am home, I spend a significant amount of time in my kitchen which is equipped with more gadgets than the cockpit of my airplane. I am a strident devotee to cooking from scratch with the exclusive use of the freshest and best ingredients I can find. I shun such things as farm raised fish, packaged vegetables (or, for the most part, packaged food of any kind), inferior cuts of meat or store-bought pie crusts. I don’t own a microwave. On those rare moments when I will indulge myself in a slice of bread (my “drug of choice”), I will gather my flour, yeast, instant-read thermometer and bake a loaf of artisan sourdough.
Flying With Faber - February 2011
Our Annual Excursion to the San Francisco Bay Area
By Stuart J. Faber
For almost two decades, we have been making an annual New Year’s excursion to the Bay Area. I am not certain why this tradition has endured, but each year, a few days prior to the holiday, I automatically begin preparations for this pilgrimage.
This year, we stopped at Half Moon Bay along the way. I wanted to take a look at the Three-Zero Café.
Great airport restaurants are disappearing with alarming speed. There was a time when the best breakfast in town was served at airport cafes. That’s still the case at the Three-Zero Café, (650/728-1411). The joint was packed when we arrived, and this was during a weekday morning. The café is housed in an ancient airport building, which sits along Runway 12/30. Huge portions of delicious traditional breakfast items are served every morning.
Half Moon Bay Airport (KHAF) is located just north of town along Highway 1. At an elevation of 66 feet above sea level, the field has the one runway, 12/30 which is 5000 feet long. Several GPS approaches are available. The FBO is San Mateo County, 650/573-3701.
Flying With Faber - January 2011
Adventures In Morocco
I Can’t Stop Traveling
By Stuart Faber
No person has described travel with more eloquence than Mark Twain. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
As far back as I can remember, I’ve had the travel bug. In my lifetime, I’ve visited every state in America and, at this count, 97 foreign countries. Soon I hope to pass the 100 mark. Countless times, I am asked the question, “Which country (or state) is your favorite?” In the past, I struggled to provide a meaningful and accurate response. It was a challenge because different destinations appeal to me for different reasons. Thus, my new answer is: “All of the places I have visited are my favorites.” The statement is true. Without exception, I have never been to a place that did not enrich my life.
Flying With Faber - December
A Revisit To San Diego
By Stuart J. Faber
A few months ago, I traveled to San Diego County, more specifically to McClellan-Palomar Airport (KCRQ) in Carlsbad. My mission was to attend the Loft Aero flight school and obtain a type rating in a Citation 500. I spent about a week in the environs, so I decided that in my spare time (of which there was less than I originally thought), I would visit a few new hotels and restaurants as well as a few old ones.
With each visit to San Diego, I grow more attached. The city and the suburbs are vibrant and energetic. The hotels, restaurants, attractions as well as the population appear to have developed a heightened level of sophistication but without the loss of what I view as a heartland semblance of unpretentiousness. Most of the folks I encountered were extremely hospitable and down to earth. Without exception, service in the hotels and restaurants was outstanding. San Diego, a big town with a big heart combined with an American small town feel, is growing up while remaining youthful.
Flying With Faber - October 2010
The Secret Is Out: Traverse City Is On the Map Of Favorite Destinations
By Stuart J. Faber
Traverse City: One of America’s most beautiful skylines. (Traverse City Convention & Visitors Bureau www.traversecity.com)Lake Michigan, which separates Michigan and Wisconsin, pierces the rolling farm and forestland like a corpulent finger. The lake commences its northward journey just south of the Wisconsin-Illinois border on the west and just south of the Michigan-Indiana border on the east. The Lake meanders almost due north, and then makes a slight turn to the east close to where it eventually joins Lake Huron. Between these two Great Lakes is a narrow strait of water that separates Michigan’s Upper Peninsula from Lower Michigan.
About 75 miles south of the straits, another aqueous appendage, this one much smaller, flows from the main lake and travels south toward Traverse City. This body, called Grand Traverse Bay, splits into yet two more phalanges at Old Mission Point. Each continues to the south. One is called East Traverse Grand Bay, the other, West Traverse Grand Bay.
Flying With Faber August 2010
Tasting the High Life
By Stuart J. Faber
Over the years, I’ve criss-crossed the country more times than I can remember. Most of my articles are generated from these excursions. Generally, I spend an adequate amount of time in one destination to gather sufficient material to overflow my allotted space in In Flight USA. However, there are a number of stops where I may just overnight, or drive into town for the afternoon to explore a restaurant I’ve heard about. I tuck these memories away so that I can occasionally share these wonderful experiences.
The reader might notice that several of the restaurants featured herein are operated by hotels. The impression still exists that hotel food consists of little more than cafeteria-quality, old fashioned dishes. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today, hotels have the resources to invest heavily in hiring the most talented chefs, to purchase the best ingredients and create superior quality, innovative cuisine. Most hotel operators have learned to keep their prices the same or lower than those of free-standing restaurants. Several examples are included in this article.
A Visit With the Blue Angels
The Blue Angels fly in front of the Golden Gate Bridge. (Sagar Pathak)By Stuart J. Faber
Everyone, including me, loves the Blue Angels. Through the years, I have attended a number of their spectacular performances. My enthusiasm increases with every new airshow I see. Recently, a few journalists and I were gathered around the Hyatt at Fisherman’s Wharf where most of the Blue Angels pilots were billeted and hanging out.
While enjoying a buffet lunch of sandwiches, tapas and sweets at Knuckles Bar and Grill at the Hyatt, we were thrilled to meet up with two of the Blue Angel officers for a preflight get-together. Marine Captain Tyson Dunkelberger is an information officer with the Blue Angels. Navy pilot Lt. Ben Walborn flies aircraft number seven and is one of the narrators and advance men for the 35 airshows the group performs each year. Ben is a 29-year-old pilot who began his flight training in a T-34 and transitioned to jets via the T-45. He completed his flight training in the F-18 Hornet, then did a tour in Japan before he joined the Blue Angels. These two friendly, yet all-business guys shared our culinary largesse while graciously answered all of our questions.
Let's Meet in Scotland
By Stuart J. Faber
Edinburgh Royal Mile (VisitScotland Business Tourism)
Recently, I returned from a voyage to one of my favorite destinations. Later, I will explain why I am so fond of Scotland. What I find curious is that, whenever I return from a trip, one of the first questions I am asked is, “How was the weather?”
Even with locals, weather seems to be a primary topic of discussion. On a warm, sunny day, I was met with: “We selected this weather just for you today.” On a cold or rainy day, “We apologize for the weather.”
As pilots, of course, weather is always a primary component of our decision either to launch or keep the ship in the hangar. As far as travel on land is concerned, weather is of minimal importance to me, with some exceptions. For example, icy roads will keep me off the highways. A rainy day will not keep me indoors, but will prompt me to take along a raincoat.