SUNSET VIEW OF SXM

Sooooo............here's a view from our room in St. Maarten last week. Arnoldo (a front desk manager at the Maho), took care of us and put Maria and I in a great room with a FABULOUS view. I've attached a few other shots so you can get an idea of just how neat being in SXM is. (I've included a shot of Maria on the balcony so her mom and dad can see how great she looks!!!) Now you know why I want to retire there!!! How cool is this????? The sunset speaks for itself. Click on the photos to enlarge them. More tomorrow. ;-)

SORRY ABOUT THAT EVERYONE

Hey everyone, sorry about being out of touch for so long, but I've been on the road and pretty busy over the Thanksgiving day holiday week. Of course I have the privilege of working Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Years......the holiday trifecta............and on top of that I'm getting ready to start moving into a new place...........so hang in there with me and I'll get some new stuff out in a day or so. Thanks for checking in.... karl

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES PIZZA

Well everyone, I just got back for ONE DAY of rest and recuperation, and then head back to work for the next seven days, so here's my "one" new post. On my last trip to St. Maarten, I noticed a menu that had pizzas named for different airlines. First on the list was Continental Airlines pizza. Pretty basic pizza if you ask me. Luckily, my job seems to have a lot of the toppings I need. :-) I want to take a moment to thank everyone for stopping in and reading my blog. I'll try to do better at getting more posts up, but for now it looks like it'll be eight or nine days before I get the opportunity to post again. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

BEAUTIFUL BERMUDA

Bermuda is one of the most beautiful islands we fly to. Unfortunately, we don't have any overnights there, but that's okay since it'd cost a paycheck just to have breakfast. LOL. Well, maybe not an entire paycheck, but yes, it IS quite expensive. The approach and arrival is just gorgeous. They collect rainwater from their roofs and that's what they use for everything. Ahhhh...... the life of an islander. Well, off to work for a few days. I'll post more neat stuff when I get back.

OASIS OF THE SEAS

Well, my computer is finally up and running again after a NASTY virus shut it down and took all my files with it. Luckily I have an INCREDIBLE computer whiz who was able to get it back up and running like new in just two days! Thanks Yoram!! So, here's a shot I took last night of the LARGEST CRUISE ship ever built, the Oasis of the Seas. It's docked here in Ft. Lauderdale for a few days and then off it'll go. I think the ship will be based out of FLL for a while. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to ride in her one day............ Quite a massive ship, isn't it?

BIG WIN!!!

Well, today I was playing one of my favorite slot machine games, Texas Tea, and hit the BIG ONE!!!! WOOOOHOOOO!!!! As you can see from the photos, (snapped quickly since they don't let you take pictures in the casino), I ended up hitting five oil derricks, which gave me the "BIG bonus" round. I selected the biggest winner in the oil derrick selection portion and hit big time there!!! As I was betting $4500 a pull (mom please don't kill me), I ended up being lucky and hit for $435,000!!! Now the bad news.... it was only on my computer, so it was all FAKE money. Rats............ (but wouldn't it be nice to win something like that in REAL life????) :-)

AIR FORCE 2 IN FORT LAUDERDALE

While commuting to work a couple of days ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Air Force 2 (the vice presidents plane as it is called when he's on it) parked in Fort Lauderdale. It was pretty neat, although I'd have rather seen AF 1 (the presidents plane). President John Kennedy was responsible for the paint scheme currently used on the presidential fleet. I have to admit that it really does seem "presidential" doesn't it?

PYRAMIDS IN MEXICO

For the past 12 years, I've been flying into and out of Mexico, and had remembered seeing some Aztec pyramids located SOMEWHERE on our departure route out of Mexico City (MEX). Well....I FINALLY found them again and was able to capture a "fair" shot of them. (My camera was acting up). Soooooo.....here's my ATTEMPT to take a couple of quick photos of these elusive pyramids. I've heard that you can take tours to the pyramids, but unfortunately their wasn't enough time on this trip. Hopefully one day I'll get to go check these out. See why I like my job so much?

GRUMMAN GOOSE AT THE BEACH!!!

The other day while enjoying my time at the beach, a Grumman Goose flew by several times. Here's a nice shot I took of it while it was zipping down the beach. I looked up the registration number on it and it was built in 1940!!! This plane is 69 years old and still going strong!!! Just goes to show you how well built some things in this world are! Too bad they don't make them like this any more.

THE VOMIT COMET.........ZERO G's!!!

While taxiing out of Fort Lauderdale, FL (FLL) the other day, we had two neat sites: Air Force 2 (VP Joe Biden's plane), and a B727 known as the "Vomit Comet". A company called Zero G has a specially fitted B727 that goes out and flies parabolic arcs which creates a "weightlessness" in the aircraft for 20-30 seconds at a time. Here's a shot of the plane. Apparently 33% of the folks have a hard time keeping their lunch down during this flight. Maybe one day I'll be able to save $5,000 to go do this for an hour or so......or maybe not. ;-)

VIEW FROM THE ROOM

Even though Chicago (ORD), isn't one of my favorite overnights, I was able to stock up on some great Fanny May chocolates, and get a room with an incredible view. I'm always amazed at how engineers have figured out the strength and materials required to build such massive buildings without fear of them falling down. I couldn't build a small structure with building blocks when I was a kid without it collapsing before I'd finished it. :-) Here's the view I had from my room. Nice!!!

REALLY EXPENSIVE PARKING!!!!

I just finished flying a four day trip with overnights in Columbus, OH (CMH), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), and Mexico City (MEX). It was a great trip with a lot of good flying. But one thing that stood out in my mind was how expensive parking at our hotel in downtown Chicago was. I've attached a photo to prove my point. Personally, I think it's pretty sad when parking for a day costs almost as much as airfare from Florida to NYC. I guess some people aren't feeling the recession.