Another trip to JFK Airport

I drove out to Terminal 8 at JFK Airport on Long Island again today to pick up a friend returning from Beijing via Helsinki on Finnair. It's a tad over 43 miles one way, and it took me over two hours to get there. I spent forty-five minutes on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge alone. I was late in picking her up, put not too late because I had allowed myself an hour-and-a-half to get there by the arrival time, and she had to then pass through immigration and customs.

And the drive wasn't too bad. I brought along Beethoven's 9th, and a 3 CD set of Willie Nelson tunes. I was set. I kept the windows rolled up, the AC on, and the music at the highest volume my eardrums could handle. I still had plenty of music left when I rolled into the parking garage at the airport.

I made the roundtrip in my friend's 1999 Toyota Camry LE. I've put a lot of miles on Tercels and 4-Runners, now a Camry. I can fully understand why Toyota sells so many cars. In Alaska where I lived from September, 1995, to September, 2002, a little hatchback Tercel with front-wheel drive was the perfect year-round gofer car, and the 4-Runners were awesome. I used to make the 127 mile run up the Steese Highway to Crabb's Corner in Central from Fairbanks in the dead of winter in a 4-Runner as often as I could squeeze it in, without a doubt about making it. Yup, Toyota is setting quite a high standard ... and now with their hybrid car ... awesome. Check 'em out:

Toyota's website