There aren't many things I have left on my "to do" list. I have been able to do a lot thanks to my awesome wife. Last week I did something that wasn't on my list until the last minute, landing at the most secure commercial airport in the United States.
I was assigned a silly assignment. I was to deadhead to Chicago on American Airlines then fly a plane to Washington D.C for the night, fly back to Chicago and then deadhead to DFW on American Airlines.
During my initial training on my plane I was trained on the special procedures in place in order to fly into Washington Regan (DCA) airport. I thought for sure the Captain would take the leg into the airport, nope he let me have it.
The process of arriving into the airport was very busy. Lots of work on my part to descend the plane to the right altitude at the right time. The sky was a little hazy, but I was assigned an approach called the "Mt Vernon" visual.
The Washington Regan Airport is small and congested. The "longest" runway is only 6800 feet long, 1/2 the length of the runways at DFW, but plenty enough for my plane. The approach required me to follow the Potomac river for most of the way in. This was really fun. While heading toward the airport the tower offered me the option of swinging out and landing on a different....much shorter runway. The other runway was only 5300 feet long. The shortest runway I have ever landed on at my airline was 6000 feet long. The minimum required is 3900 feet. Hmmm no thanks....I kept the longer one.
My approach was beautiful. The plane kissed the ground right where I wanted to and very nicely. Awesome.
Beyond that, Kelli is doing new things of her own. She flew out to California over the weekend. She nabbed the last seat on a 767 to San Francisco on Thursday. The last seat happened to be a First Class seat on a 767 (a very large plane and a very large seat that will recline to nearly flat). On the way back she used my benefits to ride on U.S. Airways from Sacramento to Phoenix and then picked up an American Airlines flight to DFW. Kelli is getting quite adventurous with her travels. She used my benefits on Southwest and now U.S. Airways to get herself around. She pays a very, very small fee to fly on another airline. The only risk is she is the absolute last person to board. She said U.S. Airways was nearly as easy to "non-rev" on as Southwest.
We are all set to go to Tokyo in October for the Tokyo Autoshow...oh and to see the city. I have a week of vacation blocked off. Should be fun.
I have had a sinus infection for about a week. I went to CareNow...because I needed CareNow, last week. I was given an anti-biotic. I couldn't get a steroid shot because I had to fly the next day. The FAA is very cautious with medications/injections/treatments with pilots. Before I take anything I check the active ingredients against at FAA database.
My T-Mobile G1 phone keeps getting better. I kind new applications weekly that are amazing. I just installed one that I will use when I travel. The application uses GPS to see where I am. I then can search for anything and will not only get locations, but REVIEWS from other users. Finding food on some overnights can be hard, this will make it much easier. I also like the USA Today application for quick news.
I am up to $27K in my slot machine. I have that much in credits. I have put through over $100K and won $113K. Right now it's paying out more than it's taking in. I have won so much mostly because I was playing $25 credits.
In my 32 years of life I have been called for Jury Duty twice. Both within the 3 years. I go again July 9th. There is a free parking lot in Fort Worth that I could use, but there is no security and cars get broken into often. Instead I pay $15 to park next to the Court House.
Good times.
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