Travel notes on my 2022 trip to Charlotte NC
The Charlotte airport (CLT) is surprisingly close to downtown. It seemed very well-run. (Terminal A at Newark, NJ seems to have replaced La Guardia as New York’s "Third-World Airport!") While waiting for my airport rental car to be turned-around and finally issued to me, I checked Lyft, and was offered a trip to downtown Charlotte for less than $20! Once you learn the location of the next meeting, it may be possible to attend easily without renting a car. In past years, I have gone down and back the same day, but that was not safe in a year when I was presenting a Proxy Proposal, and a post-Pandemic year at that.
A startling number of downtown Charlotte garages say "Monthly Only." As happens in NYC, I paid the daily maximum parking charge in less than three hours, $26 at the garage I chose. I was able to easily walk to a Whole Foods for a muffin before the meeting. Because I had a car, I finally got some NC barbecue on Monday, at Noble Smoke. It was very good, and convenient to the airport. It does have a contemporary air, rather than, say, gritty roadside authenticity. Note that you have to check your bag to bring back barbecue sauce!
Most motels north of Charlotte seem to offer a modest evening buffet, with basic steam table food, just enough to make a meal of. There are dozens to choose from, in a vast array of giant industrial parks and corporate offices. Because of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, there are several "highway chain" motels in "uptown Charlotte", like Hilton properties. These are quite walkable to the Westin. I once stayed at one of them, although I needed my car to get to the actual meeting (at TIAA Headquarters) that year. But I went to a lot of Charlotte museums and restaurants on a multi-night stay. Note: Those museums don’t open until 11AM, and are closed on Mondays.
It's no news that travel is not as much fun as it used to be, and is more expensive. I had to wait 40 minutes for a car to get turned around at Avis for me (and not the one I reserved, of course.) My air ticket cost around $300, but at least my planes made the trips, and I got to change my return flight without a change fee. (Of course, the new flight had a higher retail price, which I did pay for.) Because of post-Covid flight-cancellation trends, I chose wide-body aircraft, and avoided La Guardia airport in NYC. In fact, United, which is my usual airline, cancelled 3 flights to LGA on my return-afternoon, and cancelled 3 flights to EWR. My American Airlines flights this year had every seat taken. Summer thunderstorms can be a factor for this trip.
I also chose Avis because it's a big company, and I had a free membership. I was supposed to be able to walk to a stall and take my car without human interaction. No such luck. The Avis subcompact car was also annoying expensive, about $150 a day, with CDW and airport fees. But because they were late delivering it to me, and because the meeting ended so early, I ended up in possession of the car for only 23 hours and 45 minutes. I saved a bundle.
Total 2022 Expenses:
36 hours parking at EWR: $60
3 hours meeting parking: $26
R.T. AA Airfare: $300
One night motel: $115
Car Rental, 23 hours: $160
Meals: $65