SPECIAL PASSENGERS ON MY FLIGHT!!!!

A couple of days ago, (26 February, 2012), I was surprised with two very special passengers on my flight from Newark, NJ, to San Jose, Costa Rica. Soon after we reached our cruising altitude, one of the flight attendants called the cockpit and asked to speak to me. She said a female passenger from Roswell, NM, was on my flight and knew me! When I asked her what the passengers name was, she said "Cecilia"..............and I was stumped! I didn't know any "Cecilia's" at Goddard.............hmmmmmmmmmmmmm???? About half way to San Jose, my first officer and I decided it was time for a bathroom break. He went first, and then came the time for me to meet my "friend". I told the flight attendant to go get this "mystery passenger" so that when I got out of the lav I could see her. I was shocked to see my good friend Serena Blach! Serena and I graduated from high school together, and had gotten together in Seattle, WA, for breakfast a few months earlier! Her and her husband, Jeff, were going on a vacation to Costa Rica for a few weeks. Serena THOUGHT she recognized my voice on the PA, and asked the flight attendants if I was the captain............... Imagine how surprised she was to find out it WAS me! In over 22 years of flying for airlines, this is the FIRST time this has happened to me! What a small world! I hope Serena and Jeff enjoyed the flight with their friend Captain Karl at the helm! I've attached two photos...........the upper of Serena and her husband Jeff, and the other of Serena and I.

ALEX AND ERNESTO FLIP OVER SOUTH BEACH!

While enjoying some rest and relaxation at South Beach in Miami today, I observed two rather athletic young men, Alex and Ernesto, practicing their tumbling skills. I must admit, they were doing things I haven't seen before, and quite a few beach goers were enjoying their little show. I asked them to perform a few maneuvers for me, and here they are! Nice job guys!

LITTLE OWL ON THE PROWL!

This morning as I took my stepdaughter flying, we had an "observer" who kept quite an eye on us. He was only about six inches tall, but sure was interested in any movement we made. This caused his head to immediately turn to check out the "going's on". What an intriguing owl he was!

NIGHT CONTRAIL

During a recent flight to the west coast, I took this photo of a jet making a contrail in front of us. The colors just seemed to "work" for me and I was in awe at the sunset/contrail combination. It's too bad so many people never get to experience the wonderful sights we experience as pilots. I am truly blessed to have such an incredible office!

RETRO IS BEAUTIFUL!

Here's a shot I took a while back of our ONLY B-737 with our 75th Anniversary paint scheme. I hope we keep this livery for a while, but it seems like the few planes that sport our "Continental" livery are disappearing very quickly. Soon, nothing will exist in the Continental livery. I'm glad I was able to fly this airplane, but more importantly for Continental!

CONTRAIL!!!!!!

The other day while flying from Boston, MA, to Newark, NJ, I looked up and saw what looked like a "reverse contrail" in the clouds above us. A contrail is formed from the small amounts of water found in a jet engines exhaust mixing with super cold air. What happened in these photos was actually a jet flying through a thin cloud, but it looked like an invisible contrail . Within a few minutes the cloud had "reattached" itself and the photo opportunity was gone. Good thing I was ready!