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Orlando – An Extraordinary Culinary Destination
By Stuart J. Faber
During my freshman year at the University of Wisconsin, I met a student from Orlando, Fla. Her name was Nina. My attention was drawn to her because I had never met anyone named Nina. Wisconsin, a melting pot for immigrants from Scandinavia and Germany was populated with girls named Mary, Nancy, Susan, or Joyce. I do recall one girl named Nora but not a single Nina.
Nina hailed from a town with which neither my fellow students nor I were familiar. Actually, none of us in the early 1950s had ever heard of Orlando, Fla. Nina soon became a target of warm and friendly teasing-“Nina from Orlando.”
Once populated by Creek and other Native American tribes, this city of modest origin is now one of the largest growing metrotrapolitan areas in America. It boasts more than 62 million visitors each year – the country’s record. The two million square foot convention center is the country’s second largest – exceeded only by Chicago. Disney World, of course, is a world-renowned destination. Orlando International Airport, once a grass strip, then an Army Air Force base, now receives daily flights from as far away as Dubai.
Flying With Faber: New (and Some Old) Discoveries
By Stuart J. Faber
The more I travel, the more travel I crave. The more I fly, the more flying I crave. If this is an addiction, I plead guilty. Rehab is not an option. I recall a trip from the East Coast back to my home base in Burbank, California. I flew my Centurion from Greensboro, North Carolina against some persistent headwinds and touched down at home about a half day after I started. In retrospect, I could have exercised better judgment. Exhausted, I stepped out of my airplane and headed for the couch in the FBOs office. I thought I’d take a nap before driving home. I should have tied down way back at Tucumcari, New Mexico. As I headed toward the office, a friend approached me with his recently acquired Stearman.
“Want to go for a ride,” he asked? A few feet from the FBO, I executed a 180 and climbed into his plane. Only another pilot would understand my decision.
Today, many years later, still an inveterate traveler, I exercise better judgment and hopefully, possess greater wisdom. I won’t get into my airplane unless I’m fully rested and free of recent consumption of geezer-like aches and pains. I avoid countries and neighborhoods where I might end up as a hostage or a crime victim. I’m careful that the food I consume does not contain organisms not listed on the menu.
Flying With Faber - March 2013
Kudsadasi and Ephesus, Turkey - The Pearl of the Aegean Seacoast
By Stuart J. Faber
Each year, it becomes a more daunting challenge to find a spot in the world that is unique and untouched. In today’s corporate-blanketed world, a country 5,000 miles from the United States often looks like its identical twin. Twins are cute, but when a traveler spends his/her time and money and suffers the onslaughts of long lines, over-worked airline personnel and lost luggage, an intriguing pot of gold is expected at the end of the voyage.
Turkish Airlines – A Great Discovery
The comfortable and well-planned seating arrangements onboard Turkish Airlines. (Turkish Airlines)Not only will travelers to Turkey’s west coast find the destination-pot of gold, the journey aboard Turkish Airlines will be as sleek and resplendent as the rainbow. Whether you sign on for Business Class, Comfort Class or Economy, you will experience air travel that you might have thought was extinct.
During my recent excursions to Turkey, I observed and experienced all three cabins. Comfort Class and Economy Class in many respects approached the quality of Business Class of other airlines. Whatever section of the aircraft I was in, the staff was extraordinarily professional, courteous and friendly. Every flight I boarded departed on time and arrived on time. Luggage arrived swiftly. Cabins were sparkling clean. Electronic components worked flawlessly. Cuisine was remarkably delicious.
Flying With Faber - December 2012
Friendly Frankfurt, Germany
By Stuart J. Faber
A view of the beautiful city of Frankfurt at night. (Courtesy Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main)When planning an overseas trip, what do most American tourists look for in their selection of a foreign city? Safety, of course, is of primary importance. Other criteria include cost, ease of getting around, locals who speak English, availability of great hotels, restaurants and shopping, plus culture, museums and indigenous icons with sufficient foreign elements to deliver the unique flavor of the country.
Frankfurt, Germany has all of those elements, plus much more. A major portion of today’s Frankfurt was built after WWII. The result is a modern, hi-rise city that faintly resembles a cross between New York and San Francisco. The hi-rises are smartly designed and tread lightly on their surroundings. The financial district flows seamlessly as it fades into the charming walking districts. Frankfurt is a big, small town with a river running through it.
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 - August 2012
A Visit to Eastern Germany
By Stuart J. Faber
I have taken deliberate steps to entitle this article “Eastern Germany” and avoid the term, “East Germany.” Technically, since 1989, the political-geographic region of East Germany no longer exists.
In 1945, Germany was divided up for occupation by the victors of WWII. The United States, United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union agreed on the division of Germany into occupation zones. Of course, we also relinquished most of Eastern Europe to the USSR, but that is another story. The portion under Soviet control was comprised of the area of the present-day German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thüringen. In the center of this new group of colonies was the city of Berlin, which was itself divided into two cities, East Berlin and West Berlin.
Flying With Faber - July 2012
Laguna Beach: California’s Answer to the French Riviera
By Stuart J. Faber
Downtown Laguna BeachI’ve never been a huge fan of ocean beaches – that is, until I explored the beaches around Laguna. Although I love to swim, I prefer an environment, such as an inland lake, where I am not competing for space with sharks or stingrays. I enjoy running on the beach with my doggies, but lounging on a beach towel with heavy coats of sun block and tanning oil mixed with a layer of sand makes me feel like a hunk of southern fried chicken. Plus, fighting for a space to spread my beach blanket often requires more effort (so I am told), than locating a parking spot at Wal-Mart. That being said, I love the secluded beaches of Laguna and never grow weary of prowling the streets of the charming community of Laguna Beach.
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 - January 2012
A Trip Back to Shanghai
By Stuart J. Faber
American Airlines has embarked on a program to purchase around 400 new aircraft and to install classy new interiors in others. To my disappointment, they have not designated me as the senior test pilot for any of their new inventory. However, I did get to spend a reasonable amount of time with a few of the test pilots and participate in private tours of some of the new aircraft. Occasionally, I have been invited to go along on a test drive.
I’ve been a pilot for more years than I care to admit. But here’s a hint. Just about the time Cessna transitioned the C-120 into a full metal C-140 was the year I took my private ticket ride in a J-3 Cub. Of course, that flight was one of the major thrills of my life. Since then, I’ve experienced many more. Crawling around the cockpit of a new airliner just delivered from the factory is an example. That “new-car” smell is also present in new airplanes. I love to run my hands over the glass surfaces of the avionics panel – a collection of instruments which, when I wrestled with my first NDB, were beyond comprehension. I enjoy exploring the route of a fuel system quite advanced from the J-3’s cork floating on the surface of the fuel in the tank. Attached to the cork is a wire, which extends through the top of the gas cap and is visible to the pilot. As the level of fuel descends, so does the cork. The wire also descends and serves as the gas gauge. When the wire disappears from sight, you are out of fuel.
Friends often ask, “Why has the intensity of my love of flying persisted, indeed increased over these years?” My answer is that I learn something new and face exciting new challenges almost every time I step into an airplane. The day I stop learning how to fly is the day I should quit flying and turn in my scarf and goggles.
My passion for airplanes expands beyond the operation of the controls. Although I will admit to the occasional fantasy of being summoned to the cockpit to assist the captain, I am quite content as a passenger. Recently, a group of us travel and food journalists hopped an AA nonstop flight from Los Angeles to Shanghai. Although it has been just over a year since I was aboard the HL Europa which docked at Shanghai for a few days, I was itching to return. During that earlier trip, I was barely able to get a comprehensive look at the city – so I decided to re-up for a mission to Shanghai. Plus, I wanted to experience American’s First Class and Business Class service. This project would afford me the opportunity to compare it with service offered by some of the foreign carriers who claim superiority.
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 - 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.