Janna Goes To New York and Pretends to Not Be Totally Lost – Part 6
Though I sadly haven’t had a ton of wi-fi access on this adventure (a product of spending most of my time wandering the streets semi-aimlessly), it’s been a fun experiment in high-tech vacationing.
In lieu of a real map, I just used saved maps on my iPod Touch all week. The lack of a map also aided in my quest to pretend to be a local (I learned to jaywalk, too!). And once I got better at finding places just by their address, I started using Google by text message when I wasn’t around an Internet connection.
I was also able to hide my tourist status at MoMA. Well, I had to, so no one would suspect I had gotten in for free using a friend’s membership card. The museum is very iPhone- and iPod-friendly; when you log into their wi-fi, you can listen to QuickTime files of all their audio descriptions directly on your own headphones. No need for those ridiculous lanyard gadgets that make you look like a German tourist!
Then of course I ended my trip at JetBlue’s JFK Terminal 5. The place clearly is trying to be the airport of the future (even moreso than the places at O’Hare where you stand on the moving walkway and hear the nice voice over the intercom as you pass under a bunch of neon lights and feel like you’re in an episode of The Jetsons). There’s free, open wi-fi everywhere, and plenty of places to plug in and recharge, including tables where you can prop up your laptop. Even the food court is high-tech – you order at a touchscreen from any of the restaurants, then pay on your way out. You can even order from the touchscreen at the laptop stations and have the food delivered to you, which I wish I had done after awkwardly hauling my soup back to my gate in the useless to-go box that wasn’t big enough.
And now I’m being a super geek and watching movies on JetBlue’s satellite TV, and editing blog posts on my iPod while stretched out over the entire row of seats I have to myself. 
