Relaxing With My Buddies

Today, we checked out of the Inn at Penn at waited for our ride to the airport. However, the driver was running late so we had to wait a little while. When we arrived at the airport and finished going through security, we took a shuttle bus onto the tarmac to go to a separate building for the regional jets. Like the car, our plane was also delayed for about 30 minutes. The plane itself was very different; it was propeller-driven and the cabin only had two seats per aisle. During the flight, I noticed that the plane was not that high up on comparison to the other airplanes. Throughout the whole trip, I could see the ground which was actually pretty amazing. We landed in Ithaca Tompkins International Airport which looked more like a lodge than an airport. At the baggage claim we committed an act of valor by notifying a staff member of a baggage that went to the wrong airport. After that, we loaded our luggage into our rented Ford Explorer. We ended up having to take two trips from the airport to the Statler Hotel because of the lack of space for the luggage. 

Our weird-looking plane

The hotel was extraordinary! We ended up living the VIP life when each of us ended up with our own rooms. The rooms were magnificent: they each came with a king-sized bed (and in my case, two beds) and a flat-screen TV. After exploring every corner of the room we all headed out to a local store to by laundry detergent and other necessities. We took a little break and headed out to dinner

My magnificent room (with an extra bed)

Just trying to jazz up my sleeping experience

My amazing view from my room (sorry about the glare)

We drove to the restaurant The Heights to have dinner with four students at Cornell (Julie, Beth, Lauren, and Katie) and the admissions officer for the school of engineering at Cornell (Jill Schaffer). I sat next to Julie and Ms. Schaffer. We talked about everything from the admissions process to the best places to eat in Collegetown. Our conversations were very informative and amusing. Everyone was very laid-back and very sociable.

The Entourage

As for the food, there was an abundance of appetizers. For my main course, I had the sirloin steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The food was very delicious and the service was spot-on. I will miss these fancy dinners and this hotel room. Tomorrow, it's off to Orientation!           

My delicious sirloin steak