PURPLE ORCHID IN SAN JUAN

I really think orchids are one of the most beautiful flowers on earth.  Here's a shot of a beautiful purple orchid that I found at our hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, last week. I wish these things were easier to grow as I'd have a bunch around our pool, but alas, they take a green thumb, and  I'm about as far from a green thumb as they come.  Now, on the other hand, if my brother moves out here, I may be in business.  He can make a dead plant bloom in a week!

USA TODAY WEATHER PHOTO!

Was notified that I had another photo in the USA Today newspaper today!  The shot is of Mt. Baldy in the San Gabriel mountains outside of San Francisco.  It was only a light dusting, but was beautiful to say the least.   Looks like winter is on its way!!!!  Bundle up!

THE TREES ARE CHANGING COLORS NOW

For those of you who've been up in the northeastern part of the USA during the beginning of the fall season, you know how beautiful the color changes in the foliage can be. Here's a photo from my 6th floor hotel room in Pittsburgh last week. When I looked out my window, the gloomy overcast sky was indeed depressing, but this gorgeous tree caught my eye. It's one of the prettier color changes I've seen. Too bad the sun wasn't out or this photo would have been incredible. But, all that being said, I'd rather be at the beach enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the beach. :-)

RAINBOW!!!

Well, I'm finally back home for a few days. My last trip was a long and hectic one, but productive too. Here is a shot of an incredible rainbow that I took during our descent into West Palm Beach (PBI). It had to be one of the brightest, most brilliant rainbows I've ever seen. Everyone in the back of the plane was amazed at its intensity too. Once again, seeing sights like this makes me realize I've chosen the right job! Beautiful, isn't it?

NICE HOTEL ROOM

Every now and then we get some pretty nice hotel rooms. Here's a shot of one from my last trip to LaGuardia, NYC (LGA). It was at the Holiday Inn, LGA. I almost thought I had entered a businessman's residence. ;-) It would certainly be nice if they were ALL like this. Otherwise, a hotel room is just a hotel room. Another good thing about this hotel was its location to the US Open; it was right across the street. Now if I could only afford the tickets to go! Hopefully in a few years, Jimmy, my girlfriends son, will be playing there and get us FREE front row tickets. ;-)

POURING IN MIAMI

This morning I FINALLY got to come home for ONE day. I had to fly into Miami (MIA) since the Ft. Lauderdale (FLL) flight was oversold, and the flight deck jumpseat was taken by a more senior pilot.......RATS!!!! But.........my girlfriend saved the day and came to pick me up. My best friends from Albuquerque, NM (ABQ), Pat and Debbie Mooney, arrived this morning too, so we're all getting together tonight for a little fun in Hollywood. Then back to Newark (EWR), to morrow to start another four day trip. So, I'll be gone AGAIN and my blog will be dark for a few more days. :-( At any rate, here's a shot I got during our landing in Miami this morning. A couple of HUGE thunderstorms were in the area and it started pouring only moments after we landed.

GLASS OFF THE BEACH

One thing that amazes me is how few people can actually read any more. It's evident at the beach every day with many beach goers bringing their bottles of beer and liquor and drinking from them in plain sight. One thing a lot of these beach goers aren't expecting though is to see the Miami Beach police out patrolling for just this such of thing. Here's a shot of one doing his best to keep the beach glass free. And the fines aren't cheap.............$50 per BOTTLE, whether empty or full. At least ONE good thing is coming from this, and that's a glass free environment which is needed when everyone is running around barefooted. Now if they could just get rid of the smoking on the beach..............

CLOUD SHADOW

Here's a view from the cockpit of what we see right before we fly through a cloud. Sometimes it's hard to get a shot like this due to the fact that the camera has nothing to focus on. But.....every now and then I get lucky and a picture like this pops up. That's one of the neat things about being up front..........the view we have. Pretty cool, isn't it?

BEACH PARROTS!!!

While walking down the beach broad walk in Hollywood today, I heard the familiar squawk of a few Quaker parrots up in the trees. I looked up and saw this guy working on his new home. Their was another parrot in the nest behind him giving orders (had to be a female because she wouldn't stop squawking).........ahhhh, to be the man of the house. LOL

SUN SHOWER!!

Well, I finally got back home from being on the road for four days. Went to Puerto Rico, Dallas, and Tampa. Long trip, but I got through it okay.......... ;-) Departing Tampa (TPA) last night, we saw this incredible blast of sunlight coming through the clouds. It was an awesome sight, and looked just like a "sun shower". Too bad their was a nice cell phone tower that decided to show up in the photo. Oh well, I think it's a great shot anyway.

KIDS WITH BRACES

Jimmy and Adriana finally have braces on..........and here's the proof! So now we'll have good looking kids with good looking teeth!!! Guess I was lucky as I've never had to wear braces.

FUN AT THE BEACH TODAY

Well, Maria, myself, Jimmy, Adriana, and a friend of ours from Paris, Isabella, went to the beach today. It was absolutely gorgeous. I just love living in such a wonderful part of the USA. No shoveling snow, no high heating bills, no state income tax, and great weather 99% of the time. Can you blame me for living in such a neat place?

YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR THE BEACH!!!

When Maria and I went to the beach the other day (the day I got the parking ticket .....which has subsequently been "forgiven" so I don't have to pay it!!! Now I can go enjoy Hollywood beach again!!!), I saw this cute photo opportunity. Seems like you're never too old to go to the beach. Sweet!

HOW TO FIND YOUR SPOT AT THE BEACH

How often have you gone to the beach, went for a long walk, and then returned only to look for your "parking spot" where you left all your belongings for the next half hour? Well, it seems this beach goer found the perfect "marking apparatus" for their stuff. Easy to see, easy to carry, one of a kind, and I don't think anyone would walk off with this. Kinda funny, eh???? ;-)

WAVES AT HOBO BEACH

During my last trip, my crew and I took a ride over to Hobo Beach in Aguadilla, PR (BQN). One part of the beach has some incredible waves and compressed air shooting water/waves out 100 feet or so. It's really pretty amazing to watch the waves shoot out so far. In this photo, I'm approximately 50 feet above the water, and you can see how high it's going at this point. Beautiful!!!

NIAGARA FALLS

The other day while flying out of Newark (EWR), to Toronto (YYZ), we had to fly at 10,000 feet to make an on-time departure due to thunderstorms in the area. Even though we didn't see any of the storms, air traffic control let us go at the lower level to get us out. It was a nice little sight seeing trip, and here's a shot of Niagara Falls I was able to take when we flew past Buffalo, NY. One of these days I'm going to have to go look at this beautiful waterfall up close. Incredible, isn't it?

MONSTER AIRBUS 380 IN TORONTO

During my last trip, I finally got to see the world's largest passenger airplane, the Airbus 380. This plane is HUGE as you can see from the planes parked beside it. Only a few airports in the USA are large enough to handle this monster. Of course, an OIL nation is one of the first to be flying this behemoth. I think it'd be hard to fly a plane that takes one to two hours to board as the lavatory's would need to be cleaned before you even left the gate. ;-) , on the ramp in Toronto (YYZ).

I'VE WAITED 51 YEARS FOR THIS!!!

Well, yesterday, August 5th, was my 51st birthday. Yep, I had to wait 51 years for this day to arrive.........and I got to work ALL day long. Hmmmmm, what's wrong with THAT???? :-) Anyways, I had a great birthday and flew with some wonderful crews. On the flight from Aguadilla, Puerto Rico (BQN) to Newark (EWR), one of the flight attendants, Nadia Bravo, brought a brownie with a candle up for me. Was pretty neat! Maria got me a laptop, my mom gave me a GPS, and my sister and brother some well needed $$$, and I also got several texts and calls from friends. Thanks for remembering me everyone!! Here's to another 51 years!!

PRETTY GIRL

I recently got to spend the evening with my mom, sister and brother, in Houston, TX (IAH). My brother lost his job back in January and has been staying with my mom and sister in The Woodlands. When Eddie moved from Dallas to Houston, he brought along his beautiful Himalayan (long haired Siamese), that thinks she's part of the family and part dog. She plays, runs around, and generally "owns" my sisters house. LOL She certainly does entertain everyone and seems to make friends rather quickly. My brother thinks my sister will miss the cat more than him when he moves out. Animals........aren't they wonderful?

Maria

First off, a very happy birthday to my mom, Dorothy, and may you have many more! Thanks for everything you do for us! Today Maria and I went to see her daughter in a play that she's been working on for the past couple of weeks. It was a nice way to spend the morning and I think Adriana was glad to see us. Since I couldn't take any photos of Adriana during the performance, I had to take at least one of Maria AFTER the show. I hope Maria's parents like this shot.........I certainly do. Maria es muy Guapa!!!!