And We're Off!

Day 1

We got away this morning right on time even after a night full of assorted events… and actually getting packed, finally.

Mark took us to the airport and we certainly appreciate the lift. The flight to IAD was on time and it was a pleasant trip. It was our first time aboard an Embraer 170 and I have to say… my expectations were exceeded. Midway through the flight, the FA came to me and said, “Brainrot says, ‘Hi… and your itinerary will need to be reworked because we’re delaying ya.’"Turned out we got to Dulles well ahead of schedule. Thanks to all involved for the speedy handling.

The move from the arrival to departure gate went well. There was plenty of time. We were all a little tired plus Lachlan had gotten zero sleep the night before after having attended a birthday party. Pushed back on time but were delayed a bit due to weather in the DC area. I had sent a note to the flight deck saying why we were on board and got a nice mention about it in the Captain's in-flight announcement.. Also, our neighbor (a United CAPT) has gotten in touch with the purser and had told her what we were up to. I was not able to pay for any drinks on the flight and the cabin crew also gave us a bottle of bubbly to celebrate. Thanks, Tom!

This trip was as good as any transatlantic flt I’ve ever been on. The B777 is a very nice and comfortable airplane. Lachlan had good naps all the way, Zeb god some "z" time, too. Susan and I got the usual... about an hour (if that) of fitful sleep.We arrived in Paris at 0644. Immigration was smooth and relatively fast considering that there were 270 showing up at the same time. Customs pointed us to the door.

We opted to take the bus into town then a cab to the hotel. At this point I will mention that the fewer bags concept was a bad choice. The number is a good idea but only when combined with less stuff overall. What we have is 2 bags that none of us can easily manage alone. Plus it put us in the excess weght charge zone. It appears that we may be getting some souvenir luggage on this trip. There is also the option to mail stuff home. We shall see.

Traffic into Paris was murder. The bus trip took a long, long time and there didn’t seem to be any means on it of circulatiing air. We finally reached Montparnasse and got out bags lugged up to the Taxi stand. There was a long line of taxis, but no one apparently needed the fare, as they all sat there for a long while... many with no driver in them. We finally did get a cab and had a good ride to the hotel.

The room was not yet ready when we arrived at the hotel (around 10:00am) so we stashed our stuff and hit the streets of Paris. We are a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower so we went there for a quick look.


Walked back toward the hotel while discussing how to kill the next 3-4 hrs. We decided to have a bite to eat then take the Metro to the Louvre, so we got the cultural stuff done early.

Back to the hotel afterward, check in and have shower and the best ever three hour nap. Woke up about 930pm and hit the Tower again. Arrived in time to see it lit then went to have a nutritious meal of crépes, frites and ice cream… stopped at a café on the way back for a night cap, then to bed. Ahh! Paris!

Day 2

Hey Susan Page… you’ve just finished a quarter-century career in service to your government… whaddya gonna do now???

With a few exceptions, Disneyland Paris is very much like the one in Orlando that we are so very used to. Most notable among the differences is the occasional French phrase. Also, it was not at all crowded so there were plenty of opportunities for the boys to make multiple trips on some of the rides. We all had a good time.

We made it back into Paris in time for some more junk food under the Eiffel Tower and for a trip to the top. The weather limited the view somewhat, but it was still a good experience. On the walk back to the hotel, we passed a café where we had stopped for some refreshments the evening before. The waiter that had served then us greeted us as we passed, restated our order from the night before and indicated where we had sat then. You just can’t pass up another stop at a place like that… so we didn’t. This is now my new favorite café in Paris.

Potties

Welcome!!


During my earlier travels to Europe, toilets were not at all standard and the mechanisms they employed were often puzzling. My friend Dan Robbins (with whom I have made several "crossings") and I used to make a game of trying to figure out how to flush the potty.

Back then there were some really bizzare flushing mechanisms ranging from hidden levers to floor pedals to wall fixtures not located particularly close to the loo.

Here is an example of one of the more easily deciphered models:

In more recent times, the water conservation mindset has become more prevalent. However, instead of low flow toilets, most of what I am seeing on this trip consist of the variable flush intensity type, which offer two choices when flushing... usually half or full. It should be easy enough to figure out that they could just as well be named "Number One" and "Number two".

Here are a couple of examples of that type:



As we got to Asia, we encountered a type of potty that none of us had any experience with (but had heard of). Fortunately, the "western style" was also usually, but not always, available.

Sorry for the blurry quality of the first shot... it's not that easy to photograph the interior of a restroom surreptitiously. You get some strange looks when you get caught in the act.

Here is a neat little trick that I have read about but had not seen until now. There is a fly etched into the porcelain which causes a semi-conscious effort on the part of the customer to actually aim. The article I read about it claims that the overall cleaning times (especially of the floor) of such-equipped facilities has been dramatically reduced.

The following shots were taken in the Bangkok airport.

Who says a pit stop has to be strictly business?

(click here to return to where you were in the blog)

The Last Ever Shift

Last Saturday, Susan completed her last ever shift as an air traffic controller. I know from experience that that was a bittersweet moment for her... there are some truly fine people that you meet and work with in this profession and it is difficult to accept that you will not be seeing any of them again on a regular basis. Also there are some that you might never see again at all.

Twenty-five years is a long time to be doing anything and there is a tremendous sense of accomplishment associated with having made it through an ATC career to retirement. She also went the distance without ever having had a "deal".

There is no greater sense of satisfaction for a controller than to have done this job and done it well. One of the unique characteristics of this job is that you can sometimes experience that sense of satisfaction several times per shift... and you can also go several shifts at a time without experiencing it. 

Of all the shifts (6,500+ over 25 years) a controller works during their career, the most satisfying one is that one that comes immediately following all of those that came ahead of it.

Congratulations, Susan!

Figure it Out

Hint: It's tomorrow

Mildred Catharine Page

My father's only sister, Aunt Mil lived in the house where she was born in Norfolk, Virginia, for nearly her entire life. That is not to suggest at all that she was a homebody, though, for that is far from the case. Like her brother, she had an affinity for traveling to new and different places and seeing whatever there was to be seen.

She was a very generous person and was especially so where it concerned her nieces and nephews. Based on her appreciation for travel, Susan and I, several years ago, started a separate category in our savings account devoted exclusively to funding our own travels. Any monetary gifts from Aunt Mil went there as well other apportionments from our own contributions. That system has served us very well and we still use it.

The trip we are about to take was made possible in a very large part by Aunt Mil's generosity. Coupled with her infectious enthusiasm, she has been both enabling and inspirational.

This web log and our journey to see the world are both fondly dedicated to her memory.

Memories

I took a field trip yesterday with the Seventh Grade class and it certainly generated a few memories of its own, in a way that only an event involving teenagers can. During the bus ride, we were talking about our upcoming trip and one of the teachers asked if we and the kids were planning on keeping journals.

I am going to do so by means of the electronic version, represented by this blog, in spite of my disdain for modern technology. (You can visit my previous post on that topic, if you'd like.) 

For the 1963 trip, my parents had given me a journal to write in and keep and, although it was never completed, I have looked back through it several times over the past few years in advance of this trip. My comment to the teacher regarding my looking back through it included the word "embarrassed", based on the plethora of misspelled words and not-so-accurate descriptions of events and places it contains. Here's a look at a bit of it:

(click to enlarge)

By using the "e" word I was essentially making idle commentary regarding my idle thoughts and had not intended to imply that I had no plans for making the same opportunity available for Lachlan and Zeb... on the contrary, it had been in the plan for a while, but had slipped to the far reaches of the back burner. I can see how my comment didn't quite convey that.

Nevertheless, as is often the case with teachers, I promptly received a gentle but firm admonishment from her that a ten-year-old's scribblings are not expected to be perfect and, besides, that is the stuff from which memories are made. OK... those aren't the exact words... maybe they're not even close. But the point was made that I'd better not miss the chance to give the kids an opportunity to keep a journal.

Sooo... the plan has now been relocated from the back burner to front and center and will very likely have been acted upon before the sun sets today.

Thanks for the nudge, Nina! I needed that.

Gettin' Down to the Wire

About three weeks to go...

and there is still plenty to do.

We will pick up the "package" next week from the travel agent which will include all the documents, tickets and other written things which represent the culmination of nearly two years worth of planning, revising and deciding. That is the bulk of what has been completed and leaves us with only the loose ends to take care of. Things like the care of the house and lawn and the mail... and packing.

We have pretty well gone the route with those things as was suggested previously... we only need to finalize them. We have made arrangements for the paying the bills that will come in while we are away in such a fashion that, as soon as we return, we will just go back to the present system... we liked it better that way.

As far as packing goes, that will certainly be the last item we finish and we are still mulling over the best way to do it. We are now considering taking two bags, as opposed to one, since there are not too many stops we will be making where we will all four be in the same room.

I have spent some time in the past few months compiling a list of folks to send update notifications for this blog and the photo website. I will probably send out the preliminary message later today and start getting that pared down to its final form.

Otherwise, it is business as usual around here. This month is understandably busy with school winding down and all the assorted functions related to that. It seems that we have at least one thing (often more) going on every single day from here on. Here's a look at the calendar:

I wouldn't have it any other way!