Where's Johnny Jet? Nice Times in Nantucket

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Greetings from Massachusetts. This week, we travel from Nice, France to New York, NY and then on to one of America's best summer getaways -- the island of Nantucket. Unfortunately, here in the northern hemisphere, summer is almost officially over but the transition to fall comes as a very special time for travelers. September and October are two of the best times to hit the road as the weather is magnificent, the crowds have dissipated and the prices have dropped. Almost anywhere you go, you'll find these conditions and nowhere more than Nantucket. Okay, you're right ... San Francisco can't be beat during these two months, either.

Nice to Paris

Last week, we left off in the south of France. I had an amazing time there and if it weren't for a family vacation back in the States, I would have extended my trip. The Nice airport (NCE) is a 30-minute drive from Cannes. After checking in for my flight, getting my shopping receipts stamped to get my VAT (Value Added Tax) refund, I made my way through security. I feel like I'm getting to know the Nice airport pretty well since this was my fourth trip to NCE in five weeks. The airport is new and modern but doesn't have a lot of shops or a variety of places to eat. Wireless Internet access is not free so I just wandered the terminal aimlessly admiring its view of the Mediterranean. The airport's glass jet-ways make the usual slow-moving line boarding planes less claustrophobic. I took my seat in the back of the plane next to my two friends. I'm usually an aisle man but I didn't mind being stuck at the window when I had these two pretty women to jump over. Well, flight time to Paris was a quick one hour, so I didn't need to get up and use the loo. Instead, I planted my face on the window so I could marvel at flying over the City of Lights during the day. Seeing the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe made me want to turn my two-hour layover into two days. J'adore Paris.

CDG Airport

Although Charles de Gaulle airport was recently rated as one of the world's worst, by the International Air Transport Association, it's definitely not my least favorite (ahem ... JFK.) Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic and just the fact that I'm in Paris is enough for me to overlook the poor customer service. However, the modern design of the new terminals is inviting. Because a member of the French government was accompanying me, I got access to the Business Class lounge (gosh, I love my job.) The lounge was spacious and had a plethora of free drinks and fattening snacks. To top it off, my ticket was booked with the option for a space-available upgrade. And so, I did the ol' nervous waiting game. When I checked with the agent, she said there were still four empty seats in business class. Yes. Then she said, "Make that three." I silently said to the man above, "Please God, don't let any last-minute business travelers show up. I promise to be a good boy and go to church every Sunday, even if the Yankees are playing the Red Sox." And just when I'd given up hope, my name was called over the PA system, which meant the golden ticket went through. Speaking of golden, the announcement came just as I was using the W/C (water closet) so I had wrap things up pretty quickly before they gave my seat away to some other sucker.

CDG to JFK

Getting upgraded on a transatlantic flight is equivalent to the feeling you get when you hit a homerun or score a goal in soccer or lacrosse. It's a rush; the only difference is that the rush of the upgrade lasts longer ... unless it's playoff season. To get out to the Boeing 747-400 series plane required a long shuttle ride. We could have made it into Paris in the same amount of time. This plane had older seats than the 777 I flew over on and speaking as a connoisseur of business class, they weren't that comfortable, either. And the entertainment devices didn't offer on-demand TV, though they offered a variety of continuously run movies. Service was just okay and I was surprised when I asked the flight attendant for some water after the meal service and she said, "You can help yourself in the galley." Ouch. We were served two meals; the lunch service after takeoff was served from the back of the plane to the front so my first choice appetizer and dessert were both gone by the time they got to me. But who's complaining? Sitting up in "Affaires" made the seven hour flight seem short.

Bank of America

After landing, I made my way out to where I grew up in southern Connecticut. It's just a 42-mile drive and can take anywhere from 45 minutes to two hours depending on traffic. I hung out there for a couple days catching up on the daily grind. While looking over my bank and credit card statements, I noticed that Bank of America was charging me the usual $5 ATM international transaction fee. However, this fee should have been waived since I was careful to use their French partner, BNP bank machines, while I was in France. I called Bank of America, went through their tedious, automated prompts and finally got the representative I spoke to, to reverse them. She apologized but it just pissed me off that they make customers go through these unnecessary steps. You know it's a total racket and that they do this to everyone so they can make a few extra dollars; they're banking on the fact that most people won't catch the error or invest the time to correct it. Shame on B of A.

Nantucket Ferries

When we go to Nantucket, we usually drive four hours (without traffic) up I-95 to Hyannis, then take the fast ferry. There are two ferry companies offering nearly identical service to Nantucket but one is much cheaper than the other. One is Hy-Line Cruises (tel. 800/492-8082; Hy-lineCruises.com). Their year-round fast ferry takes an hour and is $38 one-way for adults; the traditional seasonal slow ferry takes two hours and costs $18.50 one-way. The other company is Steamship Authority (tel. 508/477-8600; steamshipauthority.com) and their ferries take the same amount of time but the prices are considerably less. One-way summertime fares for adults on the high speed boat costs $29.50 and $15 for the slow boat. Rates for cars start at $120.

Flying to Nantucket

Because it was a Friday, my brother Frank said it would be a miserable drive once we got to Cape Cod. The solution for avoiding traffic is to drive three hours to New Bedford and hop on a 25-minute flight to Nantucket -- saving a good three hours. That's when I said, "Whoa, Nelly. My name is Johnny Jet, not Johnny Prop." He didn't laugh. I proceeded to remind him that one of my biggest fears is small planes. I have never felt safe in them and I also lost a dear friend in a plane crash about eight years ago when her father's plane, traveling from Nantucket to Connecticut, crashed. But Frank, with his built-in, older brother noose basically said I had no choice and assured me that it was safe; he does it all the time.

Because it was a beautiful, clear day, I didn't put up much of a stink. Frank, the lucky man that he is, has two houses on the island so he travels to Nantucket all the time. To save thirty percent, he buys discount ticket books from Cape Air (tel. 800/352-0714; FlyCapeAir.com), which come in packets of 10 and are unrestricted and transferable. FYI: Regular one-way fares begin around $65. Nantucket Airlines (tel. 800/635-8787; NantucketAirlines.com), is another small airline that offers service to the island. Both offer hourly flights from Hyannis, Boston, New Bedford and Providence, R.I. in the summertime. The third option is Island Airlines (tel. 800/248-7779; IslandAir.net), which has frequent flights out of Hyannis for $55 one-way. NOTE: Major carriers like Continental, Delta, Jet Blue and USAir, offer summer service to the island and fly regional jets from primary airports like JFK, EWR and PHL.

Cape Fear ... I Mean Air

When we arrived at the sleepy New Bedford airport, I felt like I was in an episode of Wings. The place was quiet as could be and there was a sign at the counter, indicating that the agent was outside servicing the aircraft and would be back shortly. The agent is servicing the aircraft? Gulp. When she finally showed up, she weighed all our bags (including carry-ons) and asked for the weight of each passenger. Although they had a metal detector for security, no one was required to go through it nor did anyone show their ID. It was like flying in the … wait -- I don't remember what those days were like, but I do know it took all the hassle out of flying. We boarded the nine-passenger plane and the cool part is that they allowed my brother's large, smelly dog (one per flight) to sit in the back. Then the captain asked me to sit up front near him since I was one of the biggest guys on the plane and they needed to balance the weight out. After a short safety briefing, we taxied down the runway and were airborne. The flight was smooth and we were treated to great views of the New Bedford harbor and Martha's Vineyard, which we flew right over. You couldn't really talk on the plane because it was so loud; why didn't I bring my Audio-Technica QuietPoint Active noise-canceling headphones? Flight time ended up being an extra 20 minutes because half the island and runway were fogged in, so we had to go the long route. But overall, it was a great experience and thankfully, there were no hairy moments.

Background on Nantucket

Nantucket lies 30 miles off the Massachusetts coast. It's an island, a town and a county -- the only place in the U.S. with the same name for all three. It is 14 miles east to west, 3 1/2 miles north to south. That sounds tiny, but driving around, it sure doesn't feel that way. The name Nantucket is derived from a Native American word meaning "faraway island" or "land far out to sea." The population of Nantucket is 12,000 year-round, but during the summer, it swells to over 55,000. But it's still not crowded, except in the Town Center, as those people enjoy over 82 miles of pristine beaches, almost all of it open to the public. More than 36 percent of the island's land is protected and will never be built on. These areas are open to the public for hiking and bird-watching. When my brother bought his house, he had to pay two percent of the purchase price to The Nantucket Land Bank, the first of its kind in the country, so they can acquire more open space.

Where to Stay

Nantucket has about 1,200 rooms in bed-and-breakfasts, inns and guesthouses. If you go, you shouldn't have a problem finding a place, as long as you book in advance. But here's my advice: Because hotel rooms and restaurants aren't cheap, it's better to rent a house for your stay. There are all kinds of houses available (not just my brother's.) and you can rent by the weekend, week, month or season. There are many Nantucket real estate agents who offer rentals: Denby Real Estate (tel 508/228-2522); Nantucket Real Estate (tel. 800/228-4070; Edith Delker Real Estate (tel. 508/257-9698).

Frank's House

Frank rents both of his houses out most of the year and leaves a few weeks open for himself ... and lucky me. His Cliff Road house is just a seven-minute walk or a two-minute bike ride from the center of town. Weekly rates range from $2000 to $4500 a week, which might seem steep but it sleeps eight to ten people comfortably. His other house is in Madaket and sleeps six people comfortably. Madaket is five miles from Town Center and is where native Nantucketers actually used to have their summer houses ... get this … because it's cooler. Madaket is the perfect place for a family vacation. It's quiet, the unpretentious houses are not right on top of each other and it's on the beach. Warning: The Madaket surf is rough. There are lifeguards, but you really have to watch out for the little ones.

Madaket

We all stayed out in Madaket and my sisters rented the house next door so it was one big party. The big difference between Frank's house on Cliff Road and the one in Madaket is that in Madaket, when you go to sleep with the windows open, you can hear and smell the ocean waves crashing nearby. This house also has an outdoor shower.

Grocery Stores

The best part about renting a house is that you can live like a local by going to the grocery store and cooking at home. The island has two major supermarkets: Grand Union and Stop & Shop. The prices are at least 10% higher than on the mainland. To get some local produce we went to Bartlett's Market, which is on Nantucket's oldest (early 1800s) and largest, family-owned farm. The market offers a wide selection of organic foods and ready-made meals but it's not cheap. I paid $9.12 for three quarters of a pound of antipasto salad and $14 for a small blueberry pie. Come to think of it, Nantucket is more expensive than Europe and I'm not just talking about the prices at this market. For example, a small ice cream in town will set you back $4.20. Now that hurts.

Takeout Clambake

We ate out a few nights. One evening we went for pizza at Pi Pizzeria, where a large cheese pizza is $14. Another night, we were all feeling lazy and didn't feel like cooking or going out so we ordered a takeout clambake from Sayle's Seafood. For $35, you can get a clambake: Nantucket clam chowder, half a pound of steamers, half a pound of mussels, corn on the cob, steamed red potatoes and a 1-1/4 -pound lobster with butter and broth. Sayle's Seafood, 99 Washington St.; tel. 508/228-4599.

Nantucket Town

The one reasonably priced thing on Nantucket is the shuttle service, called NRTA (Nantucket Regional Transit Authority). It operates every 30 minutes from 7am to 11:30pm and it makes stops all around the island. From Madaket, it's about a thirty minute ride into Town Center and costs $2 each way. My friend Natalie and I had the privilege of babysitting my niece and nephew one night and we made the mistake of taking them into town for ice cream. Whoever says sugar doesn't affect kids should take one look at this picture). Besides going for ice cream, we went into town practically every day to go shopping, see the museums (they have an excellent whaling museum) or get a bite to eat.

Breakfast

I love walking around the town center's cobblestone streets and admiring the historic buildings; they give the island such an old-school, New England feeling. There are a zillion places to get breakfast, lunch and dinner for all budgets. One morning, we all ate breakfast at Black Eyed Susan's (508/325-0308), which is known for serving incredible dishes. Natalie had the sourdough French toast with orange, Jack Daniels butter and pecans ($7.95). My sister Georgette had the Portuguese scramble, which came with a side order of black-eyed peas and I had the spicy Thai scramble with Thai curry, broccoli, potatoes and cilantro ($9.50).

Something Natural

In my opinion, the best spot for lunch is a half a mile from Town Center at a house-turned-sandwich-shop called Something Natural. They serve the tastiest breads, sandwiches and cookies around. It's the perfect place to grab food for the beach or to enjoy at one of the outdoor picnic tables spread all around their yard. The sandwiches, which cost between $5 and $8, are huge. Be sure to order just half a sandwich, unless you're starving or sharing. Call ahead if you don't want to wait. Something Natural, 50 Cliff Rd.; tel. 508/228-0504.

More Nantucket Info

I'm not going to go any further because I went into a lot of detail in my previous Nantucket newsletters in 2005 and 2006. And besides, I was on vacation, which hopefully, many of you will be taking too, since summer is almost over.

Johnny Jet has been featured over 1,000 times in major publications, including USA Today, Time, Fortune and The New York Times, and has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNBC, MSNBC, NBC, FOX News Channel, and PBS. JohnnyJet.com has been named "one of the top best money-saving web sites for travel" by Budget Travel Magazine, while the L.A. Times calls it "one of the top 10 essential travel resources on the internet." In the May 2007 issue of Outside Magazine, Johnny Jet was touted for having one of the world's best "dream jobs". Every week Johnny hosts a "travel website of the week" for several radio stations around the country, he writes weekly for Frommers.com and he has written for USAToday, The Boston Herald and Coast Magazine. Sign up today for Johnny Jet's free weekly travel newsletter at www.johnnyjet.com.

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