Triangle Trip

We all know that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is one of the worst airports in the US (see why in our previous post). LAX’s Terminal 7 belongs to United Airlines (UAL) and it has one of the poorest TSA screening process (maybe the Alaska Airlines terminal 3 is worst). LAX Terminal 7 has the longest lines and the TSA checkpoints don’t have enough room for you to unload your laptop and toiletries before the X-Ray machine.

To avoid the normal UAL security line which normally wraps around 3x, make a left after you entered LAX Terminal 7 and take the elevator to the 3rd floor. There’s a TSA security line right after you exit the elevator which no one knows about. The TSA checkpoint is connected to the short term parking garage that offer quick entry from short term parking. Since most people don’t park in short term at LAX before getting on a flight. Unlike the normal LAX Terminal 7 TSA checkpoint which puts you on one end of the gates (70s), this TSA checkpoint is located in between Terminal 7 and Terminal 8. Upon clearing TSA Security, you will be in between the two terminals where you can take a left for the gates 70 to 79 and make a right for gates 80 to 89 (see map below — the blue line is the TSA security checkpoint). Terminal 8 at LAX is not on any map as it is where UAL has its United Express flights. It could be a long walk if you went through the normal TSA checkpoint and have to get to a gate in the 80s.

I was at LAX yesterday (a Friday night). Both lines were extremely long – they had to shut down the normal line and this secret line I am sharing with you were out to the short term parking lot. How could the WORLD’s US’s 6th busiest airport, the US’s second largest city and fourth busiest airport be opearting this way?  … and to add fuel to this fire, there’s still no (Fly) Clear service at LAX. I have not used my Clear membership for the past two months due to lack of Clear locations.

Following up to my Guide to see New York in a day post, I would like to share some local insight with my readers on how they can see more of the East coast when they are visiting New York City. If you’re staying in NYC for more than a few days, I highly recommend you visit nearby cities like Philadelphia (100 miles away), Boston (200 miles away), and our nation’s capital Washington DC (230 miles away). Instead of spending $300 on a plane ticket, $150 on a round trip Amtrak train ticket, $100 a day on a rental car, or even $75 on a round trip Greyhound bus ticket, vacationers/tourists can take an independently owned and operated bus from New York City’s Chinatown for $10 to $25 one-way to Boston, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

There are a number of bus companies that operate out of NYC’s Chinatown and buses depart from a number locations every hour. Here are a few bus companies with links to their websites: Fung Wah, Apex, and New Century. These buses all operate from NYC’s Chinatown which is located in Downtown Manhattan. All buses drop you off at each destination city’s (Boston, Philadephia and Washington DC) Chinatown — which is also located in the destination city’s downtown. If you’re dropped off at Boston’s Chinatown, you are within walking distances from Fannel Hall. When you’re dropped off at Philadephia’s Chinatown, you are within walking distance from the Liberty Bell. If you’re at DC’s Chinatown, you are minutes away from the White House.

Vacationers can do a day trip to each of the cities by leaving first thing in the morning and returning late in the evening. Detailed schedules are available on the bus companies’ sites. The best part of traveling by bus is you do not need a car at the destination cities. The best way to see Boston, Philly and DC is by foot, especially during this time of year!

I had issues connecting my AT&T VPN client using my Sprint broadband card as my internet service provider. The Sprint connection would drop right after I am connected to the VPN. I searched the AT&T VPN client site and forums but couldn’t find an answer. I also contacted Sprint but their technical support is pathetic.

After trying different configuration settings on the Sprint SmartView client, I finally got the AT&T VPN client to be connected to the Sprint network. This may seem easy to folks with adequate documentation from their IT staff but I was working as a consultant with limited resources. Hence I am sharing my findings with my readers.

Here are step by step instructions to get the AT&T VPN client up and running on your Sprint mobile broadband:

1.  On your SmartView Settings, make sure you have selected: “Use this as my default Wi-Fi management utility”

2.  Go to the “Rules Engine Tab” (see picture below)

3.  Under:  “Use only specified device” –> SELECT: Mobile (this is optional if you have a more user friendly WIFI management utility)

4.  Under:   “When Automatically Switching Technologies” –> SELECT: “Keep Previous Connection Open”

5.  Under:  “Connection Maintenance” –> SELECT:  “Maintain established connection regardless of other network availability”