8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY December 14-20, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com 831 Sometimes in life, when friends get together and go on a trip, magic happens. Everything just goes right. Earlier this year, when Seaside resident Pam Hampton’s daughter Erin Skilton asked if there were any bucket list items she wanted to do to celebrate her 80th birthday, Hampton floated two options: a stay at the TWA Hotel or a cruise. Skilton didn’t need more than a second to choose: “As soon as she said TWA Hotel, that was it.” In her past life, Hampton, who worked for the City of Seaside for over 20 years before retiring about a dozen years ago, worked for TWA at LAX as a ground hostess, and was later promoted to do the same at TWA’s Ambassador’s Club at the airport. This was in the 1960s. She looked after the travel and hospitality needs of celebrities—Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley are the only two she’ll name, and she demurs when asked for colorful stories that played out in her time at the club. She’s a fiercely loyal former TWA employee, her daughter says, and even now, honors the privacy of those she looked after. The TWA Hotel—which opened in 2019—is a boutique hotel housed in the converted former TWA terminal at JFK Airport in New York. It has fine dining, stylish ’60s-era decor and a cocktail lounge in a converted 1958 Lockheed Martin Constellation that sits outside the hotel on the tarmac. For Hampton, the terminal is special—she did her reservations training there for six weeks, and another six weeks to get trained on ticketing. “It just became a favorite place for me always,” Hampton says. “It was one of the most exciting jobs I’ve ever had.” So Skilton, who for years has been a casting director for Top Chef and is a pro at getting things done, organized the trip and invited family and some of Hampton’s friends. Hampton’s birthday was Oct. 1, and the itinerary was to arrive at the hotel Thursday, Sept. 28 and leave Tuesday, Oct. 3. In preparing for the trip, all the ladies—Hampton and two of her friends, her sister, along with Skilton and her friend—bought all-red TWA stewardess outfits on Amazon. They wore them throughout the weekend, and Hampton’s friend Candace Popper, who lives off Highway 68 near San Benancio Canyon, says they were looked at with wonder and joy by the hotel’s guests and staff. The hotel manager even gave them all TWA pins to add more flourish to their costumes. “You walk around with six gals dressed like stewardesses and doors open up,” Popper explains. Skilton was pleasantly surprised by the attention. “We didn’t really know what an impact it would make wearing those outfits in the lobby,” she says. “There are probably 500 Instagram pictures of my mom.” They had cocktail hours, great dinners and even crashed a wedding. On Sunday, Oct. 1—Hampton’s 80th birthday—they dressed up in regular, fancy clothes and made their way into Manhattan to catch a matinee show of Some Like it Hot. But traffic was shutdown around Broadway at the time, so they had to run to the show, and Hampton’s friends Margie Olsen and Popper helped keep her upright as they hurried to the theater. “We came in super hot to Some Like it Hot,” Skilton says. “Luckily they let you drink wine in the seats now.” Even in the city, their vortex of positive energy turned heads: After the show, while having dinner, an older gentlemen from Australia—Hampton is of the impression he’s in the gold business—came to their table (with his wife), wished Hampton a happy birthday and affixed a 14-karat gold kangaroo pin on her blouse. The same was also true on the flight to New York, when, on an American Airlines flight, Hampton, Popper and Olsen were all wearing TWA sweatshirts and hats, and the flight attendant revealed she was a former TWA employee, too. She gave the three free champagne and snacks. “All of us are well-traveled people, but none of us have experienced anything like [that weekend],” Olsen says. “This was the party of the year, an over the top celebration to honor Pam Hampton.” World Traveled When family and friends rallied for a Seaside resident’s 80th birthday, everyone noticed. By David Schmalz Seaside resident Pam Hampton (sunglasses) with her friends and daughter Erin Skilton (behind her) on the steps leading up to the “Connie” cocktail lounge at the TWA Hotel. “This was the party of the year.” TALeS FrOm THe AreA cODe COURTESY OF CANDACE POPPER
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