Where are you staying for the rest of your trip? Hotels are *so* expensive- a reliable car service will get you to the airport in time, if you give yourself plenty of time.

Mostly the Chelsea Int. Hostel. I have a few days that I do not have covered yet, given the 2 week max at that hostel.

I am also trying hard to find a housing swap with one of anyone who wants to come to my town for a few weeks and experience the 60's all over.

FYI, Toasties and Bully's in Manhattan will deliver avocado sandwiches. However, Toasties will call you back and tell you they are out of avocados, which lead you to cancel that order. So then you'll order the sandwich from Bully's. However, Toasties will have somehow misunderstood you and bring will you the sandwhich anyway (without avocado). To sum up, you'll have two sandwiches, one with avocado and one without.

bring will you the sandwhich anyway

er, "will bring you"

Anyway, I don't see why it would be difficult to get to JFK in the morning. I guess you want to avoid the subway/LIRR because you'll have luggage? But I don't think it'd be too busy that earlier in the morning. And arranging a car should be pretty easy too.

I have NO experience with NYC. . .I grew up near LA, commuted in it for years and years, but New York seems a different kind of thing. We will have ONLY carryon baggage, and not much of that.

I am just trying to get the nuts and bolts of this trip tightened, so that the randomness that is unavoidable in travel will more likely to be of the fun kind.

You can actually take public transit to JFK- you take the subway to the AirTran. I've never taken it to JFK, but I took it back one day when a flight from LGA got switched to JFK, and it was pretty smooth sailing. Again, you'd have to leave yourself plenty of time in the morning, and it might not be worth the hassle for you, seeing as how early your flight is, but it would be the most cost-effective method.

Last time I went to JFK I took the subway to the air train. Worked out sweet. Took us an hour and a bit (10/15 minutes?) door to door (from east village).

Of course, that's very early when your flight is at 8am.

The last time I went to JFK from Manhattan, I took the LIRR from Penn Station to the AirTran connection at Jamaica Station. It took like 40 minutes.