Friday, September 10, 2010

White Pizza

I've been eating a lot of pizza in New York.  I really like a type called "White Pizza". No tomato sauce. Just cheese. Ricotta cheese I think. Damn tasty.

The Ipad made a great companion while walking around New York City. I had heard that Times Square had free WiFi. My plan was to head to Times Square, grab a seat, get an IP address and relax. Not so easy. There are so many WiFi signals being blasted around Times Square and there are so many WiFi devices...that nothing worked!! There were three free hotspots, Times Square, AT&T and McDonalds. All were so slow they were literally unusable. I ended up tethering to my phone. Problem.... I didn't bring my portable battery and thus couldn't tether for long.

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Getting around though was very easy. Between the big Google Maps on the Ipad and the new Google Walking navigation, I had a pretty easy time.  I did get turned around when trying to head to Tom's Diner (made famous by Seinfeld and the Susan Vega song). I walked around for 20 minutes looking for the "1" train. Gave up...ate some more White Pizza. Then I found it....but took the wrong "1" train....and headed home.

I head home to Dallas today for a 3 day weekend.  I come back Tuesday only to go back to Dallas Wednesday for good...maybe. My company put out another bid for 8 First Officers to come back to New York next month. I am not going to volunteer...but I may be forced to come. Ugh.

Stopped by the New York Apple store. Played with the new Ipods. They were nice. The nano was silly small. The shuffle makes sense to runners. The touch is an amazing value.

Monday, September 6, 2010

They call it work...but it's more like a boring vacation

Been in New York for a week...kinda.

I am supposed to be flying. Haven't yet. Just hanging out in the hotel.

The hotel is nice, but it's RIGHT next to the La Guardia airport. Not a lot around.

Yesterday a Captain I have known for a while and I headed into the city. We bought a $8.25 Metropass that was good for a day. Great value as we traveled a lot. We left the hotel at 1:30PM and got back at 10PM. I saw more yesterday than I had in the past 5+ visits.

First stop was the American Museum of Natural History. Spent a good two hours there before heading to Ground Zero then Staten Island and finally Times Square. I ate Ray's Pizza for dinner...which annoyed Kelli. Years ago we were here with her entire family. She wanted Ray's Pizza. It was her birthday. The rest of the family voted for Olive Garden (I think my sister in law Jami was most vocal about it) thus we all ate at Olive Garden.....in Times Sqaure...in New York. Bleh.

We walked several miles yesterday. I have been averaging 1.5-3 miles a day of walking. More exercise than I have had in a while.

I had home Friday night. Off for the weekend + Monday. I come back Monday night and head home for good Wednesday night.

Miss Kelli and Natali. Don't think I will do this again. It's different. But boring.

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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

West to East

I started Monday morning in Albany, Oregon. Monday Afternoon I (along with my ladies Kelli and Natali!) were in Portland, Oregon. Late Monday night I was home in Euless, Texas. Early Tuesday morning I left for New York city.

Tuesday was a wasted day. Once I arrived I went straight to the hotel, located just outside of the La Guardia Airport.

Today, Wednesday, I transferred to a much nicer hotel...where I am just sitting. I am on a 2 hour call out.

Tomorrow I will likely be on another 2 hour call out. I am off Friday and Saturday. I might try to sneak home Thursday night and come back Saturday night. All depends on that damn hurricane.

Our vacation was very nice. My new daughter didn't mind the 3 hour + flights at all. She did get a little fussy during the trip. I attribute this to the constant pressure changes. She went from 600 feet in Euless, to 7500 feet (estimated) cabin pressure altitude on the flight, to 50 feet elevation in Portland to 200 feet elevation in Albany to 4500 feet elevation in Sunriver to 7200 feet elevation at Crater Lake and then the reverse. That's a lot on a person new to breathing.

I've changed a few dirty diapers. Gotten physically ill at a few. I am sure it will get worse.

The rental we had for 9 days was a Chevy Impala. I was leary of the gas sucking ability, but it did fine averaging 28 MPG over 880 miles. I found an online discount code from flyertalk.com. Total cost out the door $306!!!! That included full insurance. That's a steal for a 9 day rental.

Getting to and from was fine. Turns out Kelli didn't need a real ticket. Better safe than sorry though. Natali had her own seat each way. She is now a non-rever! We saved both of her boarding passes for her logbook.

Speaking of Natali. I am wrapped around her huge hands. It's hard not too be when she is so perfect. So perfect in fact that I am content with getting snipped.

For now....gonna sit back and relax in New York. If I can't get home I will likely explore the city over the weekend. Still getting used to the time zone shift from west to east.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Sick....we're all going to die

One person got sick in the house. A niece. Within hours my father in law was sick. Kelli and I broke out the GermX. Wiped everything down including Natali. Yesterday morning I had a sore throat. Last night I had my last rites read to me. This morning both of my brother in laws are sick and my niece is worse. This is like a bad horror movie; A family goes to a wooded retreat. As days go by more and more are overcome by a mysterious illness. Death house.

Semi looking forward to going to New York on Tuesday. Staying close to the La Guardia airport. I might have time to go home at least once during my 14 days there.

Not sure how we are all getting home yet. Maybe tomorrow...maybe Monday. Worst case scenario is we land at 9:30PM Monday night and I fly out at 6AM Tuesday morning for New York. Quick.

That all assume I survive. Death house I tell you. Death house.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Ipad fever

My nieces have been loving the Ipad this week. I downloaded a Dora the Explorer coloring book ($4.99) and a Dr Seuss Book ($3.99). They kinda took turns. One niece is 3 the other is 4.

Last night my sister in laws girlfriend, Kelly, bought an Ipad for herself and the 3 year old niece Haley. An interesting experience.

Best Buy shows if they have Ipad's in stock. The one up the road in Bend showed to have the base version. By the time she got there they were sold out. After she got back to the house I told her the 3G might be worth the money. Again they showed in stock. She bought one online to pick up in store. When I bought mine it was a 20 minute delay to get the email that it was ready. Kelly waited....and waited....and waited....no email. After 90 minutes she called. She was told it would take a while due to clearing the "credit card fraud" department. Another hour later....nothing. She called again. They had 12 in stock. Whatever.

We drove up there. Waited in line for 15 minutes. We were the only ones in line. Finally I found an employee who got one for us and gave it to the people in the customer service department...the line we were in. Another 10 minutes and we were being helped. When we got to the car....she got an email stating her order was ready too pick up. Nice.

A similar thing happened with the Macbook Pro. I bought mine. Then Kelli bought one. The Jami bought one. Then Peggy bought an Imac. Then Kevin bought one. Ipad fever is spreading.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

No more driving`

I wrongly assumed that once we arrived at the house the long drives would end.

Yesterday we drove to Crater Lake National Park....only 100 miles away, but 2 + hours because of the small towns and winding roads. We climbed ANOTHER 3000 feet to reach over 7000 feet above sea level.

By the time we got there I was tired. I somewhat enjoyed the view and took a few family photos. Then headed back. Today I am hoping to stay within 20 miles of the house.

Natali is eating a lot. Until now she had 2 ounces every 3-4 hours. This morning...it's only 8:40AM and she's already had 10 1/2 ounces! She was on a feeding frenzy this morning between 3-4 AM. Yay?

The Internet here is decent. 1.5Mbps down 1Mb up.

My inlaws are digging our Ipads. Too bad I can't get a commission if they buy them.

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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

F this road

So driving from Albany, Oregon to Sunriver, Oregon was a pain. Both my Google Navigation and TomTom said to take the same initial route.

The route had us turn off the main highway onto a scenic route. Hmm...scenic. Highest speed was 40...average was 15-25. Lots of tight turns and switchbacks. Large drop offs. Tons of twist. No cell coverage. We didn't see a car for a while. Thoughts of breaking down streamed through my head....as did having a head on collision as when cars did come from the opposite direction some were going a bit too fast and were on my side of the road.

I was frustrated. Hated driving so slow. The non-stop turns while climbing up a mountain with my wife and daughter on board was stressful. I was happy to take a break a the top. Kelli changed and fed Natali while I snapped a few photos.

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The rest of the drive was just as crappy. Going back I am going to take the non-scenic route.

The house is very nice. Huge 5 bedroom cabin style home. Very nice. Indoor pool. Nice.