As we mentioned in the previous post, we went to Dallas, Texas for Christmas this year. We stayed with Allison's parents in Grapevine, as did Allison's brother Patrick and his expecting wife Lydia. The first Watts grandson is due in February.
You'll notice in the pictures, linked to later, that we had our "first" Christmas on Dec. 20th before we left for Dallas. We opened all our presents to each other and those from family and friends mailed to us because we didn't want to tote it all to Dallas.
We left at 4:15AM eastern time on Saturday, Dec. 22nd for the all-day drive on I-20 to Dallas. 13 hours and change later, we arrived in Dallas around 4:30pm central time. See the last post if you're wondering why we drove.
First thing's first. Dinner at Freebird's World Burrito. If you know us, you know that we always try to eat at the places unique to that area, especially our favorites like Freebirds (only in Texas) and In N Out Burger (only in CA, NV, or AZ). So we headed out to the one near the TCU campus in west Ft. Worth.
The next day we went to church at Allison's parents church in Grapevine, the same one where we got married. After that, we spent most of the day at the Gaylord Texan, one of four Gaylord super-mega hotels around the country. They have the place all decked out for Christmas, go figure. There is also a renowned ICE attraction which is a massive ice-sculpture presentation created by some people in Asia. We waited quite a while to get in but when we did, complete with the provided gold jackets, it was worth the wait. But we'll probably never go again as it was a bit expensive. Patrick and Lydia arrived that evening via Southwest Airlines.
Christmas Eve was a lazy day at home. The girls baked stuff and the guys sat around grunting. We all played with our new Nintendo Wii toy, the Wii Zapper. Essentially, it's a piece of plastic shaped like a gun that you attach the controls to. It included the Link's Crossbow Training game which is a target shooting game set in the Zelda world. Fun stuff. That evening we attended the candlelight service at church which featured a bunch of good Christmas songs.
Christmas day morning we, you'll never guess....opened presents! Then it was time for the Watts family gift card exchange. John (Allison's other brother), Michelle his wife and Reganne our niece were on speakerphone from Boise, Idaho during the exchange. We ended up with an REI gift card. Woo hoo! We also talked to Pop and Polly in Dayton as well as my parents later on. The rest of the day was spent at the Dan Patrick's, Allison's mom's cousin. Their 3 teenage boys were ushers at our wedding. We had a big Christmas dinner with family and friends and even played a little Guitar Hero 3 on Xbox. The boys made us feel old already as they were REALLY good at it. I still prefer the real thing myself.
The next morning, I headed out by myself at 5:40am with all the stuff loaded up in the Honda. Allison stayed an extra couple days to go shopping with her mom and hang out with a couple girl friends. She arrived back yesterday evening, the 28th via Delta MD-88. The drive was quite a bit more lonely this time, but I've done most of my long-distance driving that way so at least it wasn't new to me. I stopped in Monroe, Louisiana to exchange some stuff at Target for Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. It was on sale!
In other news, you can officially call me Captain Dave now. I passed my simulator checkride last night, the 28th. Yey! Talk about a weight off my shoulders! What does it all mean? I am now an Airline Transport Pilot (the highest level pilot's license) with a CRJ type rating. What that means is I can act as pilot-in-command (aka PIC aka Captain) of the CL-65 series aircraft that includes the whole family of Canadair business and regional jets as they are the same cockpit with small differences between them. FYI, per the FAA, any aircraft greater than 12,500 pounds gross takeoff weight requires 2 pilots as well as an aircraft-specific type rating for the PIC. Hence, why I got what I got in order to be Captain.
It's nice to get your ATP rating while working at an airline. Why? Because it's FREE!! It's included in your type ride if you don't already have it.
Anyway, click here for our Christmas 2007 pictures. The captions explain what you're looking at. Enjoy!
We hope everyone has a great, safe happy New Year 2008!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
Texas Christmas 2007
We are headed for Dallas tomorrow for that big December holiday. We start out bright and early, as in 3am. Why you crazy people, you ask? Because we are DRIVING. Straight through. 12 hours. That's right.
I won't go into the details, but Delta changed our flight benefits due to the fact that they sold us to Skywest last year. Well, they got worse. So trying to fly standby around the holidays to argueably the hardest domestic destination to fly standby in Delta's system....
You get the idea.
Plus I have my Captain checkride on the 27th and the last thing I want to do is stress myself out about making flights or not in time to get back for that. That on top of the normal stress that the checkride creates in-and-of itself.
It will be fun and we don't have to worry about how much stuff we can bring.
We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
I won't go into the details, but Delta changed our flight benefits due to the fact that they sold us to Skywest last year. Well, they got worse. So trying to fly standby around the holidays to argueably the hardest domestic destination to fly standby in Delta's system....
You get the idea.
Plus I have my Captain checkride on the 27th and the last thing I want to do is stress myself out about making flights or not in time to get back for that. That on top of the normal stress that the checkride creates in-and-of itself.
It will be fun and we don't have to worry about how much stuff we can bring.
We hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
CRJ Sim Pictures
This one is for the AOL users...
Apparently AOL can't handle picture attachments so I'm posting them here instead.
Click here to see a CRJ-200 simulator at Flight Safety Atlanta.
Apparently AOL can't handle picture attachments so I'm posting them here instead.
Click here to see a CRJ-200 simulator at Flight Safety Atlanta.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Costco Cat Christmas
Allison and I were at Costco today for one thing and ended up leaving with 4. Something strange about how that place does that. Anyway, after exchanging her phone with the Verizon dude, our only goal, we wandered about. How can you not, right?
We came across an item made with felines in mind that we had seen before. At the time, we had only had Vincent for about a week or two and weren't even sure if our allergies, etc were going to work out, so we didn't buy it. Today was the first time we'd seen them back in the store since, so we were all over it and Vincent got his present early. I mean, after all, imagine trying to wrap this thing:
So far, it is a hit.
Earlier this week, I got a picture of him sitting in an empty bottled water box in the pantry that reminded me of the first hour we owned him.
This is the 1st picture we ever took about an hour after we got him. And no, it is NOT the same water bottle package he was sitting in last week.
We came across an item made with felines in mind that we had seen before. At the time, we had only had Vincent for about a week or two and weren't even sure if our allergies, etc were going to work out, so we didn't buy it. Today was the first time we'd seen them back in the store since, so we were all over it and Vincent got his present early. I mean, after all, imagine trying to wrap this thing:
So far, it is a hit.
Earlier this week, I got a picture of him sitting in an empty bottled water box in the pantry that reminded me of the first hour we owned him.
This is the 1st picture we ever took about an hour after we got him. And no, it is NOT the same water bottle package he was sitting in last week.
Friday, December 07, 2007
101 Posts!
I suppose it would have been more appropriate to celebrate 100 posts but I didn't notice on the last one so here you go. Also, I haven't posted in a while mostly because I've been spending my time studying while going through Captain upgrade training.
The most notable event since the last post was our Thanksgiving / Pop & Polly's 65th wedding anniversary trip. For those unfamiliar, Pop & Polly (their nicknames) are Allison's grandparents on her mom's side. Anyway, like we have before, Dayton was the destination for dinner at the Officer's Club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The following day was the anniversary celebration at St. Leonard's Church, right next to Pop & Polly's house. Allison's family were all there, including her parents and both her brothers and their families. Since I'm the third person now to blog about the events, I'll link you to said blogs instead of reiterating everything.
John & Michelle's Blog
Patrick & Lydia's Blog
And of course, here are pictures to view. The blogs above have eerily similar photos from slightly different angles.
Had it not been for my Captain upgrade training that started Nov. 20th, Allison and I would have been aboard the Crystal Serenity with my parents and grandma sailing through the Panama Canal. Luckily, the day they went through, I was able to be there virtually through the wonders of technology. Between the webcams aboard the ship and the ones at the canal itself, I have the event pretty well documented. I talked to dad a couple of times throughout the day (he has one of those snazy int'l phones). I had them hold out a towel so I could see them as they went through the Miraflores locks.
Here's a sample:
Before you view the rest, a few things to know about the canal. There are 3 sets of locks. The Gatun locks are on the north side near the Gulf of Mexico. The other two, the single Pedro Miguel lock and the final Miraflores locks are right next to Panama City and the Pacific Ocean. The photo series linked below starts in the morning with the Gatun locks and ends at the Miraflores locks, a whole day ordeal.
Click here to see some more.
There are a bunch.
But you can scroll through them quickly.
Adios!
The most notable event since the last post was our Thanksgiving / Pop & Polly's 65th wedding anniversary trip. For those unfamiliar, Pop & Polly (their nicknames) are Allison's grandparents on her mom's side. Anyway, like we have before, Dayton was the destination for dinner at the Officer's Club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The following day was the anniversary celebration at St. Leonard's Church, right next to Pop & Polly's house. Allison's family were all there, including her parents and both her brothers and their families. Since I'm the third person now to blog about the events, I'll link you to said blogs instead of reiterating everything.
Patrick & Lydia's Blog
And of course, here are pictures to view. The blogs above have eerily similar photos from slightly different angles.
Had it not been for my Captain upgrade training that started Nov. 20th, Allison and I would have been aboard the Crystal Serenity with my parents and grandma sailing through the Panama Canal. Luckily, the day they went through, I was able to be there virtually through the wonders of technology. Between the webcams aboard the ship and the ones at the canal itself, I have the event pretty well documented. I talked to dad a couple of times throughout the day (he has one of those snazy int'l phones). I had them hold out a towel so I could see them as they went through the Miraflores locks.
Before you view the rest, a few things to know about the canal. There are 3 sets of locks. The Gatun locks are on the north side near the Gulf of Mexico. The other two, the single Pedro Miguel lock and the final Miraflores locks are right next to Panama City and the Pacific Ocean. The photo series linked below starts in the morning with the Gatun locks and ends at the Miraflores locks, a whole day ordeal.
Click here to see some more.
There are a bunch.
But you can scroll through them quickly.
Adios!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Gear Bay Overheat
Computers don't always work. Sometimes I imagine the computers in my airplane get the equivalent of the famous Windows "blue screen of death." This is probably the most common problem we run into as pilots. How this affects us can vary. Plus a lot of people ask me either if I ever get scared or if anything ever goes wrong. So I decided to give you an example of a more involved "minor" computer issue that we had to deal with this morning in Mobile.
On the first flight of the day, relative to the airplane, not us, we have to test a bunch of stuff to make sure it's working. Most of the tests simulate malfunctions to the respective computers so we know that if something breaks, the part of the computer that tells us it's broken actually works. Makes sense, right?
This morning, we tested the landing gear bay overheat detection system and it didn't work. So in order to legally fly with people and not delay or cancel the flight just because a computer doesn't want to wake up, we have to alter our normal procedures. Most of the time, this doesn't involve much change.
The gear bay overheat system is mostly there in case of a wheel brake fire. Maybe one of the brakes sticks and heats up too much. Imagine the brake pad on your car sticking at 150mph? Yeah, triple it in size and add 2 more discs per tire. They get hot.
Since we didn't have the overheat detection system, our procedure has us fly with the landing gear down for 10 minutes after takeoff to ensure proper cooling of the brakes, just in case. It's louder than normal relative to the passengers, but that's about it.
Out of 50 people, 1 person noticed.
We got back to Atlanta, maintenance came out, reset some stuff, and it worked fine.
I used this as an example because it's something a passenger might actually notice, due to the unusual amount of noise. 99% of our "problems" don't even require a procedure change and aren't something passengers will even notice.
On the first flight of the day, relative to the airplane, not us, we have to test a bunch of stuff to make sure it's working. Most of the tests simulate malfunctions to the respective computers so we know that if something breaks, the part of the computer that tells us it's broken actually works. Makes sense, right?
This morning, we tested the landing gear bay overheat detection system and it didn't work. So in order to legally fly with people and not delay or cancel the flight just because a computer doesn't want to wake up, we have to alter our normal procedures. Most of the time, this doesn't involve much change.
The gear bay overheat system is mostly there in case of a wheel brake fire. Maybe one of the brakes sticks and heats up too much. Imagine the brake pad on your car sticking at 150mph? Yeah, triple it in size and add 2 more discs per tire. They get hot.
Since we didn't have the overheat detection system, our procedure has us fly with the landing gear down for 10 minutes after takeoff to ensure proper cooling of the brakes, just in case. It's louder than normal relative to the passengers, but that's about it.
Out of 50 people, 1 person noticed.
We got back to Atlanta, maintenance came out, reset some stuff, and it worked fine.
I used this as an example because it's something a passenger might actually notice, due to the unusual amount of noise. 99% of our "problems" don't even require a procedure change and aren't something passengers will even notice.
Monday, October 22, 2007
C3: Cloudland Canyon Camping
Allison and I recently branched out from our original Buckhead Church small group and, with one of the original couples, met 3 new couples to create a new group. One of these couples, Bill and Patty, invited us to go camping with them this past weekend. Seeing as how we have a bunch of new equipment that we've never used, we were all over this.
The campground they chose was Cloudland Canyon State Park which is in the northwest corner of Georgia, just southwest of Chattanooga, TN.
We left around 11am Saturday morning after getting new brakes on Allison's car at Midas. We arrived around 1pm after an exciting drive. Once we exited I-75, it was country roads through small towns, hills, and then mountains. Curvy mountain roads! Weeeee! It reminded me of driving out near Prescott, AZ but with trees and grass.
Patty and Bill brought their 2 dogs, Remi and Ben, who were rearing to go on a hike when we arrived. We all headed down the trail that takes you down into the canyon to one of the waterfalls. Unfortunately, there, uh, was no waterfall. Something about a severe drought in that area I think? ;-) The "hike" was kinda lame though because much of it was on very unnatural wood and metal stairs interspersed with actual dirt trail. Luckily, there are many more real hiking trails that we enjoyed later on.
After hiking the real trails, we made dinner and sat around the campfire talking and getting to know each other better. We settled in around 11pm to ideal camping temperatures. Not too hot, not too cold. I estimate the overnight low was around 50 degrees and about 60 degrees when we woke up around 8am.
As far as the Fall colors go, it was about as good as you can ask for, given the dry conditions and relatively warm temperatures.
Click here to see the photos of our trip.
The campground they chose was Cloudland Canyon State Park which is in the northwest corner of Georgia, just southwest of Chattanooga, TN.
We left around 11am Saturday morning after getting new brakes on Allison's car at Midas. We arrived around 1pm after an exciting drive. Once we exited I-75, it was country roads through small towns, hills, and then mountains. Curvy mountain roads! Weeeee! It reminded me of driving out near Prescott, AZ but with trees and grass.
Patty and Bill brought their 2 dogs, Remi and Ben, who were rearing to go on a hike when we arrived. We all headed down the trail that takes you down into the canyon to one of the waterfalls. Unfortunately, there, uh, was no waterfall. Something about a severe drought in that area I think? ;-) The "hike" was kinda lame though because much of it was on very unnatural wood and metal stairs interspersed with actual dirt trail. Luckily, there are many more real hiking trails that we enjoyed later on.
After hiking the real trails, we made dinner and sat around the campfire talking and getting to know each other better. We settled in around 11pm to ideal camping temperatures. Not too hot, not too cold. I estimate the overnight low was around 50 degrees and about 60 degrees when we woke up around 8am.
As far as the Fall colors go, it was about as good as you can ask for, given the dry conditions and relatively warm temperatures.
Click here to see the photos of our trip.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Blankets Creek
The weather is finally back to where Allison and I can go ride our mountain bikes again. Comfortably. It was too hot over the summer.
We drove up to our favorite trails nearby in Woodstock, GA. It is a dedicated mountain bike trail system built specifically for mountain biking. You can hike on it too, just beware of the crazy riders. It has cool terrain features built in like logs and bumps, etc to challenge you. There is even a "training" area near the parking lot so you can practice before going out on the trail.
We were a little out of practice, endurance-wise, plus it was the first time I've taken the camera, since I have to wear a back pack to carry it along and that gets annoying. So we stopped a lot and took our time.
Below are some pictures and a few video clips. The trail video clips are, uh, interesting as I am trying to ride and hold the camera at the same time. Those of you subject to the Blair Witch camera nausea effect probably shouldn't watch. I rode mostly with one hand but had to balance a few times with the camera hand and it looks like I'm crashing and the camera just shakes violently all over the place. Quality stuff. :-)
__________________________________________________
Photos:
The See Saw. You don't really encounter these on the trail but it's fun and good balance practice.
Allison on one of our breaks.
_________________________________________________
Videos:
Going over the seesaw.
Racing down the bumps.
And here is the Blair Witch-style 1st-person action.
Not for the easily nauseated:
We drove up to our favorite trails nearby in Woodstock, GA. It is a dedicated mountain bike trail system built specifically for mountain biking. You can hike on it too, just beware of the crazy riders. It has cool terrain features built in like logs and bumps, etc to challenge you. There is even a "training" area near the parking lot so you can practice before going out on the trail.
We were a little out of practice, endurance-wise, plus it was the first time I've taken the camera, since I have to wear a back pack to carry it along and that gets annoying. So we stopped a lot and took our time.
Below are some pictures and a few video clips. The trail video clips are, uh, interesting as I am trying to ride and hold the camera at the same time. Those of you subject to the Blair Witch camera nausea effect probably shouldn't watch. I rode mostly with one hand but had to balance a few times with the camera hand and it looks like I'm crashing and the camera just shakes violently all over the place. Quality stuff. :-)
Photos:
The See Saw. You don't really encounter these on the trail but it's fun and good balance practice.
Allison on one of our breaks.
_________________________________________________
Videos:
Going over the seesaw.
Racing down the bumps.
And here is the Blair Witch-style 1st-person action.
Not for the easily nauseated:
Monday, October 08, 2007
Pumpkin Patch '07
I think this is one of the first times I've ever posted something on the SAME DAY the events occur. Incidentally, those events happen to be a Columbus Day trip to the pumpkin patch, followed by a little shopping at the North Georgia Premium Outlets.
We missed out on this last year so, we, uh, didn't want to miss it this year. Allison had the day off, surprisingly. I think most schools are still in on Columbus Day. Anyway, we headed north about 70 miles to the patch. There are probably some closer but the drive is half the fun, especially up north. The pumpkin patch, located in Amicalola, Georgia, is right in the heart of the north Georgia mountains, part of the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountain chain. So the roads are small and curvy and it's really scenic.
We arrived at the patch, part of Burt's Farm. It was busy, but not nearly as much as it probably was over the weekend. They had all sorts of shapes and sizes, plus all the gourds you could want, dried corn and lots of homemade perishables. There was a hay ride but as it was just a ride and not necessary to get to the patch itself and cost $4 a pop, we opted to just enjoy the scenery on our feet.
On a side note, Amicalola Falls State Park is just around the corner from Burt's Farm and is best known as the southern starting point of the great Appalachian Trail. The trail officially starts a few miles north of the park at Springer Mountain. I'd like to do a little bit of it some day, just for a day hike. After all, one of my favorite books is about hiking the Appalachian Trail so it all just makes sense.
Anyway, we brought the camera along and snapped a few photos.
Click here to view them.
Hope everyone is enjoying the transition season!
We missed out on this last year so, we, uh, didn't want to miss it this year. Allison had the day off, surprisingly. I think most schools are still in on Columbus Day. Anyway, we headed north about 70 miles to the patch. There are probably some closer but the drive is half the fun, especially up north. The pumpkin patch, located in Amicalola, Georgia, is right in the heart of the north Georgia mountains, part of the southern portion of the Appalachian Mountain chain. So the roads are small and curvy and it's really scenic.
We arrived at the patch, part of Burt's Farm. It was busy, but not nearly as much as it probably was over the weekend. They had all sorts of shapes and sizes, plus all the gourds you could want, dried corn and lots of homemade perishables. There was a hay ride but as it was just a ride and not necessary to get to the patch itself and cost $4 a pop, we opted to just enjoy the scenery on our feet.
On a side note, Amicalola Falls State Park is just around the corner from Burt's Farm and is best known as the southern starting point of the great Appalachian Trail. The trail officially starts a few miles north of the park at Springer Mountain. I'd like to do a little bit of it some day, just for a day hike. After all, one of my favorite books is about hiking the Appalachian Trail so it all just makes sense.
Anyway, we brought the camera along and snapped a few photos.
Click here to view them.
Hope everyone is enjoying the transition season!
Friday, October 05, 2007
Arizona Partytime
My Grandma celebrated her 90th birthday this year on Sept. 20th, the day before my birthday. Seeing as how 90 is a big milestone, my family had what was probably the largest get-together that I can remember of my dad's side of the family. Big family things are kind of rare for us, mostly because we've always been so spread out across the country. We all joined up at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Tucson on Friday, the 21st.
So who was there? Allison and I, my parents, my sister Ellen, my Aunt Dawn and Uncle Bruce and their 2 sons (my cousins) Mike and Eric. Both of their wives, Megan and Jana, respectively and Mike and Megan's little daughter Audrey, who, of course, was the real center of attention. And of course, my Grandma and her brother, my great Uncle Bud. I know a few of you reading this will say, yeah, so, that's only 14 people, big whoop. :-)
We had a really great time seeing everyone again, or in some cases meeting for the first time. Allison and I arrived Friday at 11am and didn't leave until 7am Sunday morning so we could truly enjoy the time as opposed to our usual run in and out. Not to say we don't usually, it just seemed like a lot more time and more relaxed without the thoughts of running back to the airport right after getting there.
The photos you'll see linked to at the end are pretty self-explanitory, except the last few, which I will expand upon. My cousin Eric, who is currently an intern for Harpoon Brewery in Boston, had to work down at the Tucson Beer Festival on Saturday night. We all figured we'd go, until we found out it was $35 PER PERSON. So we went to the local grocery store and picked up a bunch of different microbrews for everyone to share tastes of, kinda like at the beer fest. During and after our festival, there were several games of Horse and a ping pong "tournament" that Allison "won," at least that's what was decided at the end of the last match. Mike made her a trophy and everything.
So here are the photo links. We didn't take a whole lot since there were several other cameras, namely dad's, active at the festivities. I know he got a bunch of action shots of the intense croquet match I was involved in. Anyway, here you go.
Tuscon Birthday Party Photooooos!
And what blog with photos would be complete without airplane and/or flying? Here's some various ones from August and September.
Flying photos!
Enjoy!
So who was there? Allison and I, my parents, my sister Ellen, my Aunt Dawn and Uncle Bruce and their 2 sons (my cousins) Mike and Eric. Both of their wives, Megan and Jana, respectively and Mike and Megan's little daughter Audrey, who, of course, was the real center of attention. And of course, my Grandma and her brother, my great Uncle Bud. I know a few of you reading this will say, yeah, so, that's only 14 people, big whoop. :-)
We had a really great time seeing everyone again, or in some cases meeting for the first time. Allison and I arrived Friday at 11am and didn't leave until 7am Sunday morning so we could truly enjoy the time as opposed to our usual run in and out. Not to say we don't usually, it just seemed like a lot more time and more relaxed without the thoughts of running back to the airport right after getting there.
The photos you'll see linked to at the end are pretty self-explanitory, except the last few, which I will expand upon. My cousin Eric, who is currently an intern for Harpoon Brewery in Boston, had to work down at the Tucson Beer Festival on Saturday night. We all figured we'd go, until we found out it was $35 PER PERSON. So we went to the local grocery store and picked up a bunch of different microbrews for everyone to share tastes of, kinda like at the beer fest. During and after our festival, there were several games of Horse and a ping pong "tournament" that Allison "won," at least that's what was decided at the end of the last match. Mike made her a trophy and everything.
So here are the photo links. We didn't take a whole lot since there were several other cameras, namely dad's, active at the festivities. I know he got a bunch of action shots of the intense croquet match I was involved in. Anyway, here you go.
Tuscon Birthday Party Photooooos!
And what blog with photos would be complete without airplane and/or flying? Here's some various ones from August and September.
Flying photos!
Enjoy!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Pilot Perspective
I noticed while blogging the last entry that you can insert video to post now. So I'm going to try it. Here is a video I shot this past week while flying back to Atlanta from Fayettville, NC. We were cruising at 22,000 feet, about 500 feet or less above a solid cloud layer. Cool sense of speed that's even better in person. Imagine that. :-) We are traveling at about 450 mph relative to the ground/clouds.
It's 8 megabytes so normally you wouldn't get to see this video unless I happened to be at your house with my camera or a thumb drive in hand. But now I can share ALL of it with you. I have a LOT more flying videos where this came from. Okay, I won't really. But I scared you for a second, right? And yes, the audio/music was just added on the computer. It wasn't playing in the airplane. :-)
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Ontario, the one in California
Before I moved to Arizona and my parents to Los Angeles in 2000, I thought the only Ontario was in Canada. Well, there's one in California. And they have an airport. And it's a lot closer to where Stephanie and her boyfriend Ryan (Stephanie is Allison's cousin in case you may not know) moved to about a month ago than LAX.
So we flew over to visit on Saturday morning.
The two of them picked us up around 10:30am and we headed back to their apartment in Brea, CA. After dropping off our stuff and changing into cooler clothing, Steph and Ryan took us on a tour of the local area. They have a cool park nearby with a big fishing lake, paths and such that is free to use. We also saw Brea's town center of sorts which was kinda like Southlake town center but not as big. Twin movie theaters, shops and restaurants.
We had lunch at one of the restaurants and headed back to the apartment. During all this, I was coordinating with my parents regarding dinner. Steph and Allison really wanted to go to the beach so why not put our feet in Marina del Rey sand? According to Google maps that I just checked, it's 45.1 miles and about 51 minutes from town center to town center. Sounds about right.
Ryan had to work on school stuff so the three of us headed over to the coast. We decided to go to my parents' first for a bathroom stop and bumped into them leaving for their kitchen designer appointment, as they are redoing their kitchen. We said hi, and went our separate ways.
The beach was PACKED, big surprise. We ended up having to cave and pay $10 to park at the beach lot when all our normal techniques were exhausted. Allison and Steph hopped out and got drinks at the Cow's End while I waited to get in the lot and park. Our normal beach routine is to park as close to Washington Ave. (border between Marina del Rey and Venice) and then head south to the other end of MdR beach where the jetty and entrance to the MdR marina is.
I've never seen the beach with more people on it. Normally, it's fairly deserted because it's usually all locals. The tourists opt for Venice or Santa Monica. Not on Labor Day weekend. Anyway, here's some photos from the beach:
Candid shot.
More people than I've ever seen on this beach!
The girls at the end of the MdR jetty.
After the beach, we drove around a little. We saw the Venice canals, which are small canals that run through part of the residential area in Venice. There are these small but steep car bridges that go over the canals. Fun to see and drive over! Then we went through Santa Monica, saw Third Street Promenade and of course, Santa Monica airport. Because even if you aren't a pilot, it's one of the coolest places to see planes land & take off due to the vantage point. Click on "Santa Monica Airport" above to see a picture (first one down on the right side) of the vantage point. Century City, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood sign, just barely visible.
We stayed long enough to see several props and 1 jet land, which was only about 15 minutes. By then it was 6pm and time to head back to my parents' for dinner. Dad made his "famous" BBQ chicken wings, which were excellent. We also had grilled squash, red potatoes and fresh fruit. Dessert was a chocolate angel food cake with double-churn vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm! Nothing like a home-cooked meal from your parents. :-)
During the dinner preparations. No, Allison and Steph aren't mad. They're intently listening.
Mmmm, all done!
After some clean up and conversation, it was time to drive back to Brea. Our flight left at 6:50am the next morning so we'd be back in the ATL at a decent time, 2pm. We got first class BOTH ways, which has never happened to me. It's usually only one way. We're enjoying it while we can because come Dec. 1st, we no longer have FREE travel on Delta mainline, only ASA. I know, you're all crying for us. ;-) This is as a result of Delta selling us over a year ago before bankruptcy and they just now decided how to change our benefits. So we're lucky it didn't happen sooner. It'll still be nearly free, $5 per leg per person PLUS $.01 per mile. So our flight this weekend would have cost $24 per person per leg, or 24 x 4 = $96. Hmmm...$96 vs. free. That stinks.
So we enjoyed the free stuff like movies and games, featured on the former Song 757 airplanes which have screens in the back of the seats. Here's Allison partaking in Insane Aquarium, which you can play here if you like. Click on "Play Web Game."
And in closing, a series of fun photos of Vincent in one of his favorite places, the top of the refrigerator.
Hasta la pasta!
So we flew over to visit on Saturday morning.
The two of them picked us up around 10:30am and we headed back to their apartment in Brea, CA. After dropping off our stuff and changing into cooler clothing, Steph and Ryan took us on a tour of the local area. They have a cool park nearby with a big fishing lake, paths and such that is free to use. We also saw Brea's town center of sorts which was kinda like Southlake town center but not as big. Twin movie theaters, shops and restaurants.
We had lunch at one of the restaurants and headed back to the apartment. During all this, I was coordinating with my parents regarding dinner. Steph and Allison really wanted to go to the beach so why not put our feet in Marina del Rey sand? According to Google maps that I just checked, it's 45.1 miles and about 51 minutes from town center to town center. Sounds about right.
Ryan had to work on school stuff so the three of us headed over to the coast. We decided to go to my parents' first for a bathroom stop and bumped into them leaving for their kitchen designer appointment, as they are redoing their kitchen. We said hi, and went our separate ways.
The beach was PACKED, big surprise. We ended up having to cave and pay $10 to park at the beach lot when all our normal techniques were exhausted. Allison and Steph hopped out and got drinks at the Cow's End while I waited to get in the lot and park. Our normal beach routine is to park as close to Washington Ave. (border between Marina del Rey and Venice) and then head south to the other end of MdR beach where the jetty and entrance to the MdR marina is.
I've never seen the beach with more people on it. Normally, it's fairly deserted because it's usually all locals. The tourists opt for Venice or Santa Monica. Not on Labor Day weekend. Anyway, here's some photos from the beach:
Candid shot.
More people than I've ever seen on this beach!
The girls at the end of the MdR jetty.
After the beach, we drove around a little. We saw the Venice canals, which are small canals that run through part of the residential area in Venice. There are these small but steep car bridges that go over the canals. Fun to see and drive over! Then we went through Santa Monica, saw Third Street Promenade and of course, Santa Monica airport. Because even if you aren't a pilot, it's one of the coolest places to see planes land & take off due to the vantage point. Click on "Santa Monica Airport" above to see a picture (first one down on the right side) of the vantage point. Century City, Beverly Hills and the Hollywood sign, just barely visible.
We stayed long enough to see several props and 1 jet land, which was only about 15 minutes. By then it was 6pm and time to head back to my parents' for dinner. Dad made his "famous" BBQ chicken wings, which were excellent. We also had grilled squash, red potatoes and fresh fruit. Dessert was a chocolate angel food cake with double-churn vanilla ice cream. Mmmmm! Nothing like a home-cooked meal from your parents. :-)
During the dinner preparations. No, Allison and Steph aren't mad. They're intently listening.
Mmmm, all done!
After some clean up and conversation, it was time to drive back to Brea. Our flight left at 6:50am the next morning so we'd be back in the ATL at a decent time, 2pm. We got first class BOTH ways, which has never happened to me. It's usually only one way. We're enjoying it while we can because come Dec. 1st, we no longer have FREE travel on Delta mainline, only ASA. I know, you're all crying for us. ;-) This is as a result of Delta selling us over a year ago before bankruptcy and they just now decided how to change our benefits. So we're lucky it didn't happen sooner. It'll still be nearly free, $5 per leg per person PLUS $.01 per mile. So our flight this weekend would have cost $24 per person per leg, or 24 x 4 = $96. Hmmm...$96 vs. free. That stinks.
So we enjoyed the free stuff like movies and games, featured on the former Song 757 airplanes which have screens in the back of the seats. Here's Allison partaking in Insane Aquarium, which you can play here if you like. Click on "Play Web Game."
And in closing, a series of fun photos of Vincent in one of his favorite places, the top of the refrigerator.
Hasta la pasta!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wii Party Smyrna 2007
Allison and I hosted our very own 2-person Nintendo Wii celebration all afternoon and evening yesterday after church.
Yes, you are correct. We have joined the Wii revolution.
Our quest to Wii ownership started the day before, on Saturday, August 11th in the early afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, it was hooked up and ready to rock.
With our virtual counterpart "Mii's" constructed, we were off on our journey. Now, let me take you back to the beginning of our Wii story.
Our first Wii encounter was last year at our friend Trevor's, nearly right after the thing came out. Very cool, we said. A few months later, our friend Drew found one and we fed our hunger for Wii satisfaction whenever over at his place. Then, at the end of a meal out with Drew and his wife Cindy, Drew presented me with a Maggiano's bag. Inside the bag was his Wii in it's original box and all his games. "Here, you can borrow it for a while."
After about a month, we gave it back.
That was probably 2 months ago.
Last weekend, August 4th, I went to Austin, TX to see Dream Theater with my long-time friend and DT fan, Danny, where he and I originally met. The concert, my 3rd, was beyond incredible. Anyway, I digress. Danny works at Best Buy in Augusta, GA. Our friend Robert, in Austin, knew he was coming and asked if Danny would keep his eye out for a Wii and bring him one, unbeknownst to his girlfriend. So what does Robert's girlfriend do? Buys him a Wii. Did Danny already have one? Of course! Long story short, Danny's sister bought the Augusta Wii from him for herself and Robert just kept the one his girlfriend bought him.
Just after Danny and I arrived in Austin, Allison tried to call me but somehow I missed it. Some time later, I got the message saying she was at Costco and saw a Nintendo Wii bundle for sale and was wondering what I thought. At the time, we weren't actually looking for one for ourselves.
A week later, after deciding it was time we buy one for ourselves, we stopped by Costco on a whim that they might still have them. Yeah right. Toys R Us and Best Buy were also out and our search ended. Yesterday, on the way home from church, I decided, what the heck. We took a detour by the same Toys R Us. I jumped out and went in while Allison circled the lot. No luck. On to Costco. Which is next to a mall. Inside the mall is a Game Stop. Let's try there first since it's closer.
I walk out of the mall, looking for Allison's Honda. You should have seen the look on her face as she raced up to me holding the big bag. Now you know our Wii story.
Totally unrelated, I finally posted a few pictures from the past few months. I've decided to go with the Picasa slideshow since you can see the photos better than on Shutterfly.
Check them out here. Just for fun, I mapped out where all the photos were taken using the google maps feature. Kinda neat. Enjoy.
Yes, you are correct. We have joined the Wii revolution.
Our quest to Wii ownership started the day before, on Saturday, August 11th in the early afternoon. Less than 24 hours later, it was hooked up and ready to rock.
With our virtual counterpart "Mii's" constructed, we were off on our journey. Now, let me take you back to the beginning of our Wii story.
Our first Wii encounter was last year at our friend Trevor's, nearly right after the thing came out. Very cool, we said. A few months later, our friend Drew found one and we fed our hunger for Wii satisfaction whenever over at his place. Then, at the end of a meal out with Drew and his wife Cindy, Drew presented me with a Maggiano's bag. Inside the bag was his Wii in it's original box and all his games. "Here, you can borrow it for a while."
After about a month, we gave it back.
That was probably 2 months ago.
Last weekend, August 4th, I went to Austin, TX to see Dream Theater with my long-time friend and DT fan, Danny, where he and I originally met. The concert, my 3rd, was beyond incredible. Anyway, I digress. Danny works at Best Buy in Augusta, GA. Our friend Robert, in Austin, knew he was coming and asked if Danny would keep his eye out for a Wii and bring him one, unbeknownst to his girlfriend. So what does Robert's girlfriend do? Buys him a Wii. Did Danny already have one? Of course! Long story short, Danny's sister bought the Augusta Wii from him for herself and Robert just kept the one his girlfriend bought him.
Just after Danny and I arrived in Austin, Allison tried to call me but somehow I missed it. Some time later, I got the message saying she was at Costco and saw a Nintendo Wii bundle for sale and was wondering what I thought. At the time, we weren't actually looking for one for ourselves.
A week later, after deciding it was time we buy one for ourselves, we stopped by Costco on a whim that they might still have them. Yeah right. Toys R Us and Best Buy were also out and our search ended. Yesterday, on the way home from church, I decided, what the heck. We took a detour by the same Toys R Us. I jumped out and went in while Allison circled the lot. No luck. On to Costco. Which is next to a mall. Inside the mall is a Game Stop. Let's try there first since it's closer.
I walk out of the mall, looking for Allison's Honda. You should have seen the look on her face as she raced up to me holding the big bag. Now you know our Wii story.
Totally unrelated, I finally posted a few pictures from the past few months. I've decided to go with the Picasa slideshow since you can see the photos better than on Shutterfly.
Check them out here. Just for fun, I mapped out where all the photos were taken using the google maps feature. Kinda neat. Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
A New School Year! (o:
I can't post much about school stuff due to confidentiality, however, I would like to post some pictures of the classroom and my team. This is because many of you guys have been asking to see them. I've got a great class and I'm excited about the new things happening at our school with a new principal and vice principal.
Here are the many images of my room. (o;
This is my team.
Here are the many images of my room. (o;
This is my team.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
What Frog Are You?
Since I will have a classroom theme of frogs I thought I would find out what frog I am. (o;
These colorful toads are very active and fun for beginner pet owners. They enjoy spending their day swimming and singing with other frogs of their species and become more active when not alone. Weird fact: Firebellied toads cannot extend their tongues like other toads or frogs. To feed, they must leap forward and catch their prey with their mouths. After they have grabbed a cricket or worm with their mouth, they usually use their fore-arms to help stuff food the rest of the way in. Then they squish their eyeballs down in their heads to push the food into their throat.
Wow, I hope I don't have to do THAT with my eyeballs!!! hehe
These colorful toads are very active and fun for beginner pet owners. They enjoy spending their day swimming and singing with other frogs of their species and become more active when not alone. Weird fact: Firebellied toads cannot extend their tongues like other toads or frogs. To feed, they must leap forward and catch their prey with their mouths. After they have grabbed a cricket or worm with their mouth, they usually use their fore-arms to help stuff food the rest of the way in. Then they squish their eyeballs down in their heads to push the food into their throat.
Wow, I hope I don't have to do THAT with my eyeballs!!! hehe
Monday, July 16, 2007
New Mustang
Last year, I looked at buying the new Mustang. Yesterday, in the Target auto sales department, I finally caved in.
Here it is out on the lawn. As you can see, I opted for the robot death alarm system and police disguise paint. That will come in handy when I park it down in the inner city.
Here it is out on the lawn. As you can see, I opted for the robot death alarm system and police disguise paint. That will come in handy when I park it down in the inner city.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Chocolate & Buckwheat...
..are the colors of our new living room furniture! Also known as the family room or den. After deciding we were renewing our apartment lease instead of buying property, Allison suggested we start upgrading our current situation and I willingly agreed.
We'd been shopping for a month or so and finally decided on a 3-piece set at Macy's Furniture Showroom last week. We looked at pretty much every store that sold furniture in the major Atlanta area. That's what it felt like, at least.
Our decision was based on 5 things:
1) Price -- 4th of July sale saved us about $600.
2) Quality -- American made, plus a bunch of other things we learned about furniture construction through this process.
3) Colors -- The 2 colors we got were the only ones available immediately. All others were considered custom and would take a minimum 8-10 weeks. Plus we loved the neutral of dark choclate brown and off-white. You'll see in the pictures.
4) Material -- Very soft microfiber that does NOT have that "sticky" feel to it that a lot of microfiber has
5) Style -- By far our favorite amongst all that we looked at. Contempory yet useful.
The best thing about the whole experience...well, two things. Not only was it suprisingly fun, Allison and I have almost identical tastes when it comes to this stuff. So there wasn't much mocked gagging except when I melted into the occasional man-chair with a resounding "Ahhhhhhhhh." You know, those really ugly, overstuffed but super-comfortable chairs that only men like because they're so ugly? Yeah, neither did I until Allison explained it to me. :-)
As far as the rest of the room goes, we ended up with a mock-leather ottoman instead of a coffee table, which, again, is both contempory and useful. It came from a local place called Underpriced Furniture that we found while searching for the Rooms to Go Outlet. They had several people standing on corners with signs that said they had free hot dogs and various other sucker ploys. We made the "Hmmmm" faces to each other and headed over after Rooms to Go was a bust for coffee/end tables. We got to pop a balloon to find out how much money we'd save. Our balloon, the second to last one, was worth 6% off. The salesman said they had some earlier in the day up to as much as 30% but it was probably the only one. :-)
We bought 2 pedestal tables for 50% off from the Bombay Company to use as end tables. They're a little small as far as table surface area but we thought maybe we'd get some custom glass tops made eventually to increase the area when we have more increased area.
The lamps are from TJ Max Home. Those were the easiest decision as we only seriously considered them and a set at Target. They're solid crystal so they're quite hefty.
So you're probably wondering by now, "Are you gonna show me all this stuff or WHAT?!?"
I guess.
Here's a few pictures.
Keep scrolling.
A little more...
Okay....
Last night, July 2nd. Everything but the couches.
Welcome to my furniture showroom!
"This stuff is softer than me! Almost..."
Allison and Vincent modeling American comfort.
Yes, we removed the tags you see in the pictures. I'm not sure if that's the in thing to do since some people seem to think leaving the tag on your clothes is cool these days. We're rebels like that.
We'd been shopping for a month or so and finally decided on a 3-piece set at Macy's Furniture Showroom last week. We looked at pretty much every store that sold furniture in the major Atlanta area. That's what it felt like, at least.
Our decision was based on 5 things:
1) Price -- 4th of July sale saved us about $600.
2) Quality -- American made, plus a bunch of other things we learned about furniture construction through this process.
3) Colors -- The 2 colors we got were the only ones available immediately. All others were considered custom and would take a minimum 8-10 weeks. Plus we loved the neutral of dark choclate brown and off-white. You'll see in the pictures.
4) Material -- Very soft microfiber that does NOT have that "sticky" feel to it that a lot of microfiber has
5) Style -- By far our favorite amongst all that we looked at. Contempory yet useful.
The best thing about the whole experience...well, two things. Not only was it suprisingly fun, Allison and I have almost identical tastes when it comes to this stuff. So there wasn't much mocked gagging except when I melted into the occasional man-chair with a resounding "Ahhhhhhhhh." You know, those really ugly, overstuffed but super-comfortable chairs that only men like because they're so ugly? Yeah, neither did I until Allison explained it to me. :-)
As far as the rest of the room goes, we ended up with a mock-leather ottoman instead of a coffee table, which, again, is both contempory and useful. It came from a local place called Underpriced Furniture that we found while searching for the Rooms to Go Outlet. They had several people standing on corners with signs that said they had free hot dogs and various other sucker ploys. We made the "Hmmmm" faces to each other and headed over after Rooms to Go was a bust for coffee/end tables. We got to pop a balloon to find out how much money we'd save. Our balloon, the second to last one, was worth 6% off. The salesman said they had some earlier in the day up to as much as 30% but it was probably the only one. :-)
We bought 2 pedestal tables for 50% off from the Bombay Company to use as end tables. They're a little small as far as table surface area but we thought maybe we'd get some custom glass tops made eventually to increase the area when we have more increased area.
The lamps are from TJ Max Home. Those were the easiest decision as we only seriously considered them and a set at Target. They're solid crystal so they're quite hefty.
So you're probably wondering by now, "Are you gonna show me all this stuff or WHAT?!?"
I guess.
Here's a few pictures.
Keep scrolling.
A little more...
Okay....
Last night, July 2nd. Everything but the couches.
Welcome to my furniture showroom!
"This stuff is softer than me! Almost..."
Allison and Vincent modeling American comfort.
Yes, we removed the tags you see in the pictures. I'm not sure if that's the in thing to do since some people seem to think leaving the tag on your clothes is cool these days. We're rebels like that.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Seattle Wedding
Technically, it was in DuPont but some of you wouldn't have known where that was if I'd put it in the subject line.
My college friend Leslie got hitched to her Army man Matt this past weekend. It was a full Catholic mass ceremony followed by a reception on the Ft. Lewis Military Reservation.
For myself and several others, it was a college reunion of sorts as I saw a few people I hadn't seen since 2003. So that was cool.
One of the hired wedding photographers took this
for us with our camera. Nice framing there buddy.
Plus we got to do some Seattle site-seeing on Sunday. Sally sells sea shells down by the Seattle sea shore.
Allison had never been to Seattle and last time I was there I wasn't even talking yet, so it was all new territory. We went downtown with the newlyweds and our friend Brooke and her boyfriend Kyle. First stop was Pike Place Market which is a big farmer's market. You may have heard about this place before. Some of the vendors sell fresh seafood and throw the fish around to stock the displays and when someone buys a fish. We only saw one fish thrown. No I did not get an action shot of this.
More importantly to some of you, Pike Place is also the home to the first Starbucks Coffee shop. The line was too long but we took a picture.
The original logo is a little different
and a little less P.C. than the current one.
After that, we headed up to the Space Needle via the Seattle Monorail that connects downtown with the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is.
After a while, it was time to head back to get the cars out of the parking garage before they got locked in. Hertz probably would have been upset with us about that. Brooke and Kyle headed home while the 4 of us had one last dinner at a seafood restaurant on the waterfront. Matt and Leslie left for Germany this past Tuesday, 4 days after the wedding. Luckily there seems to be a good support network for all the wives and families stationed there. It'll probably be a long time before we see them again so we really enjoyed our time together.
Allison and I enjoyed ourselves in the airport that night waiting for the red eye. They had 1 seat left on the 10:30pm flight but I elected not to sit in the jumpseat for 5 hours so we waited another hour for the last flight. And got first class!! So needless to say, it worked out nicely. We arrived into the ATL around 7am local time, got home an hour later, and went back to bed until about 1pm. Ahhhh!
Good times.
My college friend Leslie got hitched to her Army man Matt this past weekend. It was a full Catholic mass ceremony followed by a reception on the Ft. Lewis Military Reservation.
For myself and several others, it was a college reunion of sorts as I saw a few people I hadn't seen since 2003. So that was cool.
One of the hired wedding photographers took this
for us with our camera. Nice framing there buddy.
Plus we got to do some Seattle site-seeing on Sunday. Sally sells sea shells down by the Seattle sea shore.
Allison had never been to Seattle and last time I was there I wasn't even talking yet, so it was all new territory. We went downtown with the newlyweds and our friend Brooke and her boyfriend Kyle. First stop was Pike Place Market which is a big farmer's market. You may have heard about this place before. Some of the vendors sell fresh seafood and throw the fish around to stock the displays and when someone buys a fish. We only saw one fish thrown. No I did not get an action shot of this.
More importantly to some of you, Pike Place is also the home to the first Starbucks Coffee shop. The line was too long but we took a picture.
The original logo is a little different
and a little less P.C. than the current one.
After that, we headed up to the Space Needle via the Seattle Monorail that connects downtown with the Seattle Center where the Space Needle is.
After a while, it was time to head back to get the cars out of the parking garage before they got locked in. Hertz probably would have been upset with us about that. Brooke and Kyle headed home while the 4 of us had one last dinner at a seafood restaurant on the waterfront. Matt and Leslie left for Germany this past Tuesday, 4 days after the wedding. Luckily there seems to be a good support network for all the wives and families stationed there. It'll probably be a long time before we see them again so we really enjoyed our time together.
Allison and I enjoyed ourselves in the airport that night waiting for the red eye. They had 1 seat left on the 10:30pm flight but I elected not to sit in the jumpseat for 5 hours so we waited another hour for the last flight. And got first class!! So needless to say, it worked out nicely. We arrived into the ATL around 7am local time, got home an hour later, and went back to bed until about 1pm. Ahhhh!
Good times.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Melanie's Wedding
My high school friend Melanie, who now lives in Atlanta, got married on June 3rd to Danny Frank. Our friend Katy flew in from Dallas and went with me for the all-day event. It was a beautiful wedding filled with Jewish tradition. It was very interesting to see all of the rituals that have such meaning to Melanie and Danny. The wedding had high energy and everyone was very happy.
After the wedding, Katy and I had time to do a little shopping before she went back to Dallas the next morning. It was a quick but fun weekend with old friends. One June wedding down, one to go next weekend.
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