BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE IN NEWARK

Every now and then something nice happens in Newark, NJ (EWR). This is a shot of a beautiful sunrise, with New York City in the foreground. I've seen a few incredible sunrises in Newark, but you still couldn't get me to live up there. I'll stay happily planted in Florida!!

MORE THUNDERSTORM SHOTS

I got quite a few "wow, what incredible shots" of my thunderstorm photos (even got posted on usatoday.com's photo gallery!!), so I decided to post another one . Heading off on a four day trip, so I'll have more pictures in a few days. Enjoy.....and click on the image to make it larger. Menacing, eh?

MONSTER THUNDERSTORM AT SOUTH BEACH

Yesterday I went to Miami South Beach to hang out and hopefully get a few good photos. Here's a shot of a "super cell" thunderstorm heading towards the beach. I was hoping to capture a few good waterspouts but none ever materialized. Boy, mother nature sure can throw a great storm, can't she?

FLYING INTO PANAMA

Flying into Panama City, Panama (PTY), is always an adventure in sightseeing. Here's two photos I took the other day; one of Panama City being drenched upon our arrival, and one of a SMALL sampling of ships awaiting their turn to traverse the Panama Canal. Their must have been a hundred ships waiting for their turn to enter the Miraflores Locks to float down the canal. Pretty neat.

STARTING OFF ON A BAD NOTE......

As we prepared our aircraft for a flight from Detroit (DTW), to Houston (IAH), our flight attendant, Brooke, noticed the yogurt container in her purse decided to "open up and empty out" rendering her purse pretty much worthless. She spent 15 minutes trying to clean it up and then just threw it away. I've learned the hard way that whenever you're going to carry something like that in your bag, always make sure it's in a plastic baggie or another container just in case Murphy's law decides to rear it's ugly head. Yechhhhh!!!! ;-) Also decided to give you a cockpit/birdseye view of the Bahamas on our trip from Panama City, Panama (PTY), to Newark (EWR) the other day. It was incredible. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

MEETING UP WITH VIC MCCOY

It's always nice to rekindle old friendships. I was in Detroit, Michigan (DTW), on my last trip, and was fortunate enough to meet up with one of my old Air Force squadron mates. Victor McCoy was an airman who worked for me during my stint as an executive officer for the 601 TASS in Sembach, Germany, from 1982-1985. I last saw Vic back in 1984. We contacted each other through Classmates.com about a year ago and FINALLY were able to link up. Vic has certainly come a long way from the airman I once knew. He attended law school and became a successful attorney, and now is a judge!!! Way to go Vic. Thanks for the lunch, and it was great seeing you again. Looking forward to our next visit.

JIMMY BENDECK IS GROWING AND GETTING BETTER!!!

My girlfriend's son, Jimmy, is quite the up and coming tennis player. I've watched Jimmy mature over the past few years, and FINALLY he's starting to grow! Maria, his mom, has been worried that her "little boy" was never going to get bigger, but here's the photos to prove that he's indeed gained a few inches over the past couple of years. In the top photo Jimmy is 9 years old, and in the lower photo he's 12. I've also attached a video clip so you can see how good this fine young tennis player is..........at only 12!!! He'll be a US Open champion one day, mark my words! Keep up the great work Jimmy!

FUNKY SHADOW

I'm always intrigued by shadows and how they can make an object look so "different". Here's a shot I took a while back of a Northwest Airlines DC-9 in Detroit. The shadow looks like one of those "caricatures" an artist does at the fair.

THE BIRDS ENJOY ST MAARTEN TOO!!!

While having breakfast in St Maarten, (SXM), we noticed the table next to us had a "winged guest" having something to snack on. Problem was though, was that this breakfast belonged to a little girl who'd just put it on her table and went to get some orange juice. When the little girl returned, she saw the waitress taking her plate away. When she told the little girl to go get another plate, panic almost set it. After she found out a bird had been munching on her french toast, she relinquished and happily went to refill a new plate. Just a normal day on my favorite island, St Maarten!!!

PUSHBACK in SXM

Here's another shot of our push back in St Maarten (SXM). Maria was waiting for her flight and took this great shot of me leaving. Not often someone gets a shot of them self in an airplane. Thanks for the photo Maria!!!

St Maarten!!!!

Well, just finished another trip to my favorite island, St Maarten. Maria, my girlfriend, flew down the day before since our flights were full, so she had the opportunity to take a photo of us landing in SXM . Here's her "shot"..........which is NOT bad by the way!!! ;-) I think she found that taking photos of airplanes moving at 150 miles per hour is a bit more difficult than she thought, but I'm impressed by this shot. I also took one of her with my new camera, and it turned out great too. Only one day off, so it's back to work for another four day trip. I'll post more when I get back.

WASHINGTON DC

Here's a shot I took when we were flying into Washington DC, a couple of weeks ago. It sure is a beautiful city this time of year. Unfortunately, all the hot air in the city makes it a bit "unlivable", if you know what I mean. It's always a scenic flight going into our nations capitol. Too bad it goes by so quickly. Off for a three day trip, so I'll be back on the 12th.

SPANISH RESTAURANT ---- OLE!!!!

I finally took my girlfriend, Maria, to a wonderful Spanish restaurant right around the corner from my condo. I told her we were going to walk to the bank before dinner, so when we popped into the restaurant, she was totally surprised. Every time we'd walked by this place she clamored about how much she wanted to go there. So....after years of "wanting" it finally happened. We had great food, great entertainment, and I even got a nice video clip of our dancers to show you. Hope you like it!

VISITING THE ROSENBAUM's

Went to Kansas City (MCI), on Monday night, and got the pleasure of spending the night with one of my old USAF commanders, Lt Col Allen Rosenbaum, and his wife Diana. Al and Diana spent a few days visiting me in Hollywood about three weeks ago, so it was kind of ironic that I had an overnight in MCI where they live so soon after. We went out for dinner, went to the casino (actually won about $50) and chatted about old times in Germany. Al was the commander of my helicopter unit, the 601 TASS, in Sembach, Germany in the mid 80's. It was a GREAT time of my life, and Germany still remains one of my favorite countries. Thanks for the hospitality and friendship Al and Diana! I've attached a photo of their "baby", a GORGEOUS Corvette Stingray from 1966. This baby is one nice car!!!

TAILS EVERYWHERE

Here's a neat shot I took in Newark (EWR) a months back. I counted 12 Continental planes in the photo. Our ramps sure get busy during the evening push, and this photo gives you an idea of just how busy it really gets. Off for a three day trip tomorrow, so I'll post more photos when I get back.

JIMMY BENDECK!!! SPORTS ILLUSTRATED FOR KIDS!!!

I've been telling everyone about my girlfriends son, Jimmy, who is one of the top junior tennis players in the world. About three weeks ago, Sports Illustrated for Kids, contacted his mom, Maria, and asked if they could feature Jimmy in the May 2009 issue, in an article called, "20 under 20". The article highlights some of the most promising athletes under 20 years of age in the USA. Well, the issue is just about to hit the stands, and you are going to see it now as it will look hot off the press. They are even using one of my photos for the article!!! Who knows, maybe one day my photos will command a nice premium. ;-) Better get them while they're cheap!! Congratulations Jimmy! We are all proud of you! Keep up the great work!

VIEW OF RECESSION FROM THE BEACH

As I was enjoying some time at the beach during my days off, I happened to watch as one of those mega-ships loaded with foreign automobiles came to port in Miami (MIA). All I could think of was that this ship was loaded with JOBS that should be in the USA, NOT in a foreign country. Mind you that I have nothing against foreign cars, but it's gotten to the point that now we're supporting other country's auto industries, while ours goes down the toilet. That is not good, and it doesn't seem to be coming to an end any time soon. Hopefully the ship is returning to its home with AMERICAN automobiles.