Tag 1: Welcome to JFK and Jones Beach State Park

New York, here we come! The alarm rings at 5 o'clock, and the taxi arrives at 6 o'clock. We received an email informing us that our flight is delayed by 30 minutes. Great. We arrive at the airport at 6:20 and stand in the endless line at the Singapore Airlines counter.

While we're in line, an employee checks our vaccination certificates, test results, and ESTA applications.

I tried to check us in online yesterday, but only single seats were available. The flight seems to be fully booked, so we give up the online check-in and hope that the airline has placed us well.

Our boarding passes show Row 45, 4 middle seats in the A380. OK, we're used to that. Usually, the airlines always seat us in the middle if there's a 4-seat configuration.

I don't enjoy the security check. Of course, they examine my camera backpack, even though it only contains a power bank, mobile phone, tablet, and a small 360-degree camera... Grrrr..

They perform countless swab tests, and finally, I get everything back and can pack it up again. Hopefully, that's it...!?

The gate is also crowded, so we sit at the neighboring gate and wait. Suddenly, an announcement is made, calling out a few names, and mine is among them.

Alarmed, I obediently go to the gate and ask what they want. A very unfriendly staff member takes my boarding pass and orders me to IMMEDIATELY retrieve my carry-on luggage and jacket - security check! 🙈😱

I feel like a hardened criminal 🤷

I reluctantly retrieve the backpack and am escorted to a secluded area by 2 other staff members. Along with a handful of other travelers, I have to unpack my entire backpack (again), take off my shoes, remove my belt, and undergo another series of swab tests for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, and who knows what else!

PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT FUN!!! 😡😡😡

The employee operating the testing device is slightly friendlier and explains to me, upon my inquiry, that the airline randomly selects and tests a few passengers. I just had bad luck 🙄

Somewhat annoyed, I return to my family at the neighboring gate as boarding begins.

In the aircraft, we are seated in Row 45, just behind Premium Economy. Our middle row is right in front of the wall (kitchen, etc.), which means plenty of legroom. Very good!

The flight finally departs with a 40-minute delay and goes smoothly. The in-flight entertainment is excellent, but due to tiredness, I only manage to watch 2 movies.

The food is somewhat disappointing, as my reserved vegetarian meal is not available. So I have pasta with fish, or rather without the fish 🤷 (the alternative would have been a cup of noodles). But there is a large cup of mango ice cream - delicious!

Later, we are served a tomato-mozzarella ciabatta. Drinks are available throughout the flight, and the service remains unchanged.

We land at 11:20 am local time in New York and then have to stand in line again, this time at immigration 🙈

After 1.5 hours, we finally make it through the waiting barriers. What an organization 🙈 Huge waiting hall with hundreds of people, no social distancing, poor air circulation... great!

Once we're through, we find our suitcases next to baggage carousel no. 7 - we were too slow 🙄

We take the Airtrain from Terminal 4 a few stations to Avis Car Rental and, oh wonder, we have to wait again...

The ladies at the counter seem to be in no hurry, preferring to engage in small talk rather than focus on a speedy rental process. Since a Frenchman cut in line at immigration, my husband is already on edge and has absolutely no patience left to wait 🙄

At 2 pm, it's finally our turn. Next to us, there's an American woman in line who is engrossed in TikTok videos at a volume that allows everyone to participate. As more people try to cut in line from the right, my husband slides into the middle between 2 counters and promptly receives a scolding from the previously bored employee:

'Guy, what are you doing? This is a LINE! You can take the left or the right, but NOT the middle in front of me! Go back to the line!'

Oh man, now he's really irritated and tries to justify himself. Big mistake, because from now on, the lady ignores him and simply assists the people waiting in the other line. This can't be true!

This will be my last Avis booking 😡😡😡

I position myself in the other line to another employee. Let's see if I have more luck 🙄

Eventually, the grumpy lady reluctantly helps us, without saying 'Hello' or anything. She wordlessly hands us the rental car documents, comments with 'E4' (the parking spot for our car), and calls 'Next'.

Pfffff. Unbelievable how rude and unfriendly they are here 😠

We find our booked rental car, a Toyota Sienna Hybrid with fully automatic sliding doors, numerous scratches and scrapes, and a Florida license plate.

Great, so we're disguised as vacationers from Florida. Convenient 😜

Starting the car is a bit tricky, as it seems to automatically start in electric mode. We have no idea how to 'switch' or how long the charge will last!? Our experience with electric cars / hybrids is = zero.... But the car seems to know what it's doing because when we accelerate a bit faster towards the highway, you can hear the car switching from electric to gas. Very interesting - hopefully, this will continue to work. By the way, it feels like every 3rd car is a hybrid!!! I never thought that would be the case in a country where gasoline is so cheap 🤷🏻‍♀️

The next shock comes right after we leave the airport towards Long Island:

Potholes, crumbling roads, trash, debris... it looks like a war zone in Ukraine 😱

Or a third world country...

I can't even imagine that we're currently in the state of NEW YORK. I've been to the USA several times, but mostly on the West Coast, in the Midwest, and Miami. I haven't seen conditions like this before.

We continue driving along the road, somewhat shocked, towards Long Island, where we'll spend the first night. Our goal was to find affordable accommodation before heading to the outlet tomorrow. We don't have any plans for today. The time difference and the short night have taken a toll on us. After about 45 minutes in slow traffic, we reach the Best Western Old Harbor. The room on the 2nd floor is small, run-down, and smells strongly of chlorine. Certainly not a luxury accommodation, but it will do for one night.

Outside, the sun comes out, so we decide to drive to the beach. In just under 20 minutes, we reach Jones Beach State Park and enjoy the huge deserted beach, go for a walk, sit in the sun, and relax. Beautiful!!

At 5:30 p.m., our stomachs growl, and we all struggle with fatigue because our internal clocks are heading towards midnight. Next to the hotel is a TGI Fridays, where we'll have dinner tonight.

By the way, there's no Corona here 🤔

We are the only guests who enter and leave the restaurant wearing masks. The dinner is typically American:

2 x burgers (Beyond Veggie-Cheeseburger), chicken tenders with fries, and Caesar salad.

At 8 p.m., we're in bed and fall asleep quickly because our internal clock is already saying '2 a.m.' Welcome to the USA!