Barksdale AFB, LA - Go to Superior Bar and Grill (off of Airline HWY) for good food GREAT Margaritas and Spring Break type atmosphere! A decent place to stay is Holiday Inn on North Side. Just got back from lovely Shreveport, and our crew discovered a couple of good places to chow. Ralph and Kucoos serves great food, if a little on the pricey side. The Noble Savage in the heart of downtown is more to the crewdogs liking...good cajun food at a decent price. The music is even pretty good. For late night entertainment, we strongly recommend the Havana (club) its got a nice 70s motif, and on a Sat night wasn't uncomfortably crowded, and the music was a great blend of modern dance and 80s classics. There is even an ATM in the little club next door. If you think of venturing into the strip joint called LEGS for cash, you might as well turn right around and go elsewhere....... withdrawals are EIGHT BUCKS EACH!

New Orleans, LA - A fantastic hotel @4 blocks from Bourbon St. is the Marriott on Canal St.  Great rooms, nice hotel restaurant, valet parking, 2 pools and a gym.  They gave us the gov rate, but we had to hassle them to give it to us on for the weekend and then when our planes broke down, they refused to honor the rate any more... So, make reservations early and try to hash it out with "group reservations".  The last night we stayed at the Sheraton - right across the street.  This hotel was a shade below the Marriott and the rooms were worse. We scammed into the wonderful Hotel Mediterranee (aka Le Midi) place for $99 a night on a weekend, which was $11 over the per diem hotel rate of $88, but worth it. Right on Canal Street, overlooking the French Quarter. Lots of good restaurants, the casino, and all the fun right there. Talk to the nice folks at the airport FBO, especially Gretchen. They set us up well. Holiday Inn in town has rates within allowances and is in the French Quarter.  A GREAT crew dog-friendly restaurant in the French Quarter is Port Orleans - 228 Bourbon Street (504)528-9315 , about 4 blocks from Canal, on the right side.  Great cajun/seafood, good prices - some of the best jambalaya and crawfish ever! Salvo's Seafood- 504-393-7303 (The best and if you just want to gas and go still works - right outside the NAS and duty officer will take you/crew).  I set up a trip and they gave me the GOV rate on Bourbon Street with a balcony at the Royal Sonesta! (504) 586-0300 I had to beg a little but - ask for the manager and she will help you, also it's a good idea to take her a T-shirt. At NAS New Orleans, Good Numbers to hold:
VR 54 (130SQ) Duty officer - 678-3700
Transient Line - x3602
OPS - 3100
Tower - 3879
Enterprise 504-366-9400 ( They will deliver to Base ops and have key drop at duty desk)

~Ramada Plaza, The Inn on Bourbon (504-524-7611) was great!   I really wouldn't say resort, but very nice. They gave us 8 rooms at the government rate on a Sunday night during Mardi Gras kickoff. Located about halfway down Bourbon Street next to Razzoo's night club. A pretty cool club for the younger crowd. A great place to eat is Patout's Cajun Cabin, also on Bourbon. Usually has a live zydeco band, and strong drinks. If you fly into Lakefront Regional, a cab will cost you about 30 bucks to get from the airport to Bourbon street and avoids most of the heinous traffic you encounter if you come in from New Orleans NAS.

MAINE

Bangor International, ME - We had to divert in to here twice to get maintenance. The Maineacs (ANG) are extremely helpful. Met us at the plane with airstairs, U-Drive, and hotel reservations at the Holiday Inn. On the outbound leg they we able to hook us up with canned flight plans since the Coronet Shop is there. Ops stocks a full supply of Maniacs paraphernalia if those stickers aren't enough. You can't get flight lunches but if you stop by the commissary they make really good sandwiches at the deli. The only place we ate was Capt Nick's which has decent seafood.  Customs here is hit or miss - we just got back from 90-days in the SWA  and the customs jackass wanted to crawl up our ass with a microscope. ~The MAINEiacs in Bangor really ROCK! when it comes to service. If they know you are coming, they will go out of their way to take care of you. Before I got off the jet, the bus had arrived, the fuel truck was there, and the bus driver had our hotel keys and a car for us. You can't beat service like that!
The Holiday Inn Odlin Road and the Ramada across the street from it are nice places to stay. Both of them have great bars for the weekend nightlife, but The Ramada has a slightly better crowd. Dinner down at the Sea Dog is great, and Captain Nick's is a decent place to eat, as well. I highly recommend a trip to South Harbor to see the rocky coast and enjoy the area. When lunch comes around, head just slight southeast to Thurston's which has lobsters straight off the boat on their own docks. A simple lunch of a whole 1 1/2 pound lobster boiled and served with a coke and some butter will run you around $12. These guys supply the stock for the lobster place in Bangor, but the prices for them are a bit pricier if you buy them direct. I recommend you head downtown in Bangor and get some lobsters from the local guy. He'll package them up in a cooler and give them to you so they will keep for about 30-48 hours and make the trip home for a lobster dinner with your family. He charged us roughly $7/pound for some awesome large lobsters.

Brunswick NAS, ME -The Q is nice here and better than what you might get in town. The cabs will take you the few miles to downtown and are only $6. Go to Joshua's or Macmillans on a weekend night and its a good time. Talk to the locals about Lobster. There are some seafood company's that deliver to base ops in a hurry, but your best deals will be at the dock from locals. Best months June-October. $4.99/lb approx. ~On base is supposed to be nice, but if you have to stay off base the Parkwood Inn is nice. Just a few minutes from base, and the rooms are quiet and comfortable.

MARYLAND

Andrews AFB, MD - Going to be at the Colony South for a while? Save on the long distance by using 1-800-537-1147 This 1-800 # lets friends/family call YOU at the hotel without charging them for long distance - it automatically connects to their internal switchboard. Get a rental car for easy access to DC - Third Edition and Champions are on 'M street' at Wisconsin Ave Georgetown Station is a block away as well, in Georgetown. Comfort Inn on Malcom Rd. is a hole, lousy service and no food nearby. Bullet-proof glass at the check-in counter is reason enough not to stay here. Days Inn Camp Springs/Andrews AFB has anthrax. There is no place to eat within ~ 2 miles. The TVs have about half the channels they advertise and the rooms are dark and dusty.  If you are going to be more than just the min ground time, I would stay in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia - preferably on King Street near the bars, etc... (Andrews Transpo will refuse to drive you so just take a cab.)  Double Tree, Largo Maryland -FAX (301) 773-0700 has free hot cookies on check-in! Very Very nice rooms.. kinda off the beaten path but a bakery/deli located in the hotel with a small cocktail bar. Very nice staff and good service

~Colony South (800) 537-1147 was terrible. Andrews has been putting crews up in this hotel for years. Usually it is a decent experience. We just spent 3 days there and were treated like crap. After a 24 hour day we got there 15 minutes before final call. Myself and 2 others ordered beers. 15 minutes later, a manager came up behind us and told us we would have to leave and could not take our beers with us. 3 minutes later, he came up behind us and told us to dump the beers out and leave. Now, the next night, in the bar, myself and a crewmember ordered the same meal, a steak. His was 1/2 the size of mine. The waitress booked when he asked her to fix it. After 10 minutes our food (yes, she took mine back also) was brought out. She had also brought out another round of drinks we did not order, which we thought were a comp. for the dinner mistake. They were on the bill later! She removed mine at my insisting. Later, she threw the bill at my flight engineer after wadding it up. We used to get the first small beer free. Now, it's $0.95 and incredibly watered down. The service at this hotel has gone done considerably. Before our departure I called the billeting officer. I explained we had gotten terrible service and that they needed to correct the problem with the contract or perhaps find another place. We also had to pay, it was not a billeting no-pay contract. Obviously, the management of this hotel takes the regular business from the military for granted. The only other place to eat besides the overly priced restaurant and smokey bar is the 7-11 down the hill. Andrews has no "U-Drives" available, so we persisted and they finally provided a bus to take us elsewhere to eat. A historically excellent hotel experience has gone down hill. We were treated like crap, taken advantage of and insulted! I won't bring my crew there again.

~After having taken time to call Andrews Lodging to ensure we were all set up for our RON, we showed up got Non-A's for the hotel and upon arrival at HOLIDAY INN CAMP SPRINGS (just out the gate), were told there were NO reservations made for us. They did have rooms however they were all smoking rooms. We declined, called lodging (loads of excuses and little action). We called the folks at the Waldorf Holiday Inn and they were very happy to have us, both types of rooms available, right beside a Bennigans and Lone Star as well. Not only that, but they gave us the rooms for the same price with no discussion or complaints. Nothing really above and beyond but the place was good, folks were helpful and food was close by - none of that was true of the Camp Springs place - AVOID IT!

NOTE: No PPR required for AMC missions.

MASSACHUSETTS

Minneapolis, MN - Holiday Inn Metrodome is downtown, near the metrodome and right next to the University of Minnesota. About a 15 minute drive from the airport and to the Mall of America. Great bars within 200 feet of Hotel. Go to Sgt Prestons Bar and order a fish-bowl--a fish-bowl full of your favorite alcoholic beverage. Days-Inn Mall of America (612) 854-8400does not cater to the crew dog at all. Made reservations for a crew of 6 and held them all on my credit card. Ended up flying to SC that night and called to cancel all 6 rooms. Instead, the hotel cancelled my room, but not the other 5...ended up with a $500.00 room charge that the hotel said they would NOT reimburse me for, even though the original resrvation was cancelled.

MISSOURI

St. Joe's, MO - Ramada was decent - hot breakfast slips issued at check in, (good breakfast) pool was filthy, I couldn't see the bottom. workout room closed all week. it's probably been closed for a while. Whiskey Creek bar & restaurant attached. Drury Inn  (816-364-4700) offers free hot breakfast bar with room stay.  Nice hotel, but not a resort by any means.  But clean and adequate.  Indoor pool if you do that sort of thing.  Cost is right at Max Lodging Rate. Nice place to stay if going thru Rosecrans/Missouri ANG Base, for AATTC or just RONing. Nice rooms, cable, a chit for three beers every night and a good continental breakfast. 15 minutes from the Guard base, with lots of places to eat nearby.  Stoney Creek is brand new, opened June 2002. Very nice, do everything you can to go there!...Ramada Inn is nearly a health violation these days.  Drury Inn is not bad, but not great either.

St. Louis, MO - For all you C-9 guys who come to Flight Safety-Boeing for the simulator refresher here is some poop you cannot do without. The Embassy Suites (1 800-EMBASSY) at the Landings is a hotel that gives you a suite at the government rate $90 a night, and you can't beat the free hot breakfast and free happy hour. This hotel is GREAT. Nuf said. Beyond that the Landings is the happening place down on the river with restaurants and bars, not to mention the TWA dome and Busch Stadium and the Gateway Arch all within walking distance. You will need a car to get to and from the airport for your sims.

Whiteman AFB, MO - Stay at Billeting! In the Ramada Inn, I discovered water leakage in my bedroom and bathroom (soaked carpet between bed and bathroom wall). No Sprint Cellular coverage in Sedalia, MO. If you have to stay off base, try Applebee's across the street. Better yet, eat at Kehde's BarBQ. Lots of food for the money. Better still, avoid RONing at Whiteman.

MISSISSIPPI

Biloxi, MS - The place to stay is the Beau Rivage. Casino Magic is a HORRIBLE second choice!!!!! If the Beau Rivage is full try the Grand Casino(MGM), there is one in both Biloxi and Gulfport. I recommend Biloxi first even if you land in Gulfport. Boomtown is only a Casino and considered the "LOCALS" casino. The Emerald Palace is new and very, very nice although a bit isolated. The Palace Casino is another smaller casino BUT they just added a good size resort and from what I hear they are VERY nice. Across from the Palace Casino is the dumpiest looking cafe' you have ever seen called The Ole' Biloxi Scooner with the absolute B-E-S-T PoBoys and Seafood Gumbo you can get in Southern Mississippi!!!!! Dining---Ocean Springs is across the bridge at the end of Casino Row and the location of probably the top 3 restaurants on the coast. Aunt Jennies-fried catfish and shrimp, old antebellium home converted with great food. Jermaines- Small but outstanding food, a little dressy. Josalins- again small but great food, little dressy. THE BEST PLACE TO EAT ON THE COAST IS CHAPPY'S IN PASS CHRISTIAN. ~Boomtown Casino is for the locals but the All You Can Eat
Buffet is buy on the Coast. Beau Rivage is the second best Buffet and a bit pricier.
 

Meridian, MS - Microtel Inns(601-553-8100) was real nice. Great location in the NE of Meridian. Right next to the mall and lots of places to eat. La Fiesta Brava has $1 draughts between 4-7 p.m. It is on the back side of the mall. Not any night life or places to watch football games except for Applebees or OCharlies.

Pascagoula, MS - La Font Inn was aDump! Do not let your travel clerk book you at this place. Although the rooms were clean and adequate, some of our crewmembers had to call the front desk to get soap and the proximity to the railroad crossing is UNSAT. The trains run regularly at 0130, 0330, and 0530 and blast their horns as they pass. I highly recommend the Beau Rivage all-you-can-eat seafood buffet @ $14.95. It is well worth the 45 minute drive to Biloxi and whatever wait in line. Crab legs, shrimp, roast beef, etc. as well as cajun/creole style foods in an elegant setting. I'll definitely try to get billeting there on my next trip.

MONTANA

NEBRASKA