Sunday, January 15, 2006

A Day of Extremes

When I left New York yesterday morning at 7:30 am, it was warm and rainy. I didn't even wear a coat when completing my "walkaround" (kicking the tires etc.) of my beloved B-757. We were flying Song flight 2041 to Aruba. I hadn't flown a 757 in almost 2 years and couldn't wait to fly what I consider, the "sport" model of my category. Smaller (and cooler looking) than the B-767ER we fly to Europe, it's a fun airplane to fly.

It took a little over 4 hours to get to Aruba, where it was partly cloudy and 82 degrees. It is a small island and a non-radar environment where we tell the controller our location and he clears us accordingly. We called the island in sight and were told to descend into the pattern at 1500 feet. He then cleared us for a visual approach to runway 11, which brings us in over the resort end of the island. I had a great landing, remembering to pull the power at 30 feet instead of 10, and keeping the nose from dropping.

I wish I could say we went and sipped margaritas on the beach, but instead went through security and customs (preclearing to the states, which is nice) and back to the airplane. Because the flight time round trip is longer than 8 hours, we carry 2 pilots for each leg, and I was done for the day. Since I commute back home through Boston, I went over to another gate and hopped on an American Airlines flight to Boston. Luckily the Captain agreed to give me a ride so plopped down in an open seat in first class. What a deal! I couldn't take a picture while I was flying in, so I took these on departure:


This picture has most of the island in it. Aruba is smaller than I expected!


(Not much happening on this end of the island... )

So I made it to Boston ahead of the winter storm. The front was passing over Providence RI as we flew over and it was rainy in Boston. I ran over to the Delta terminal and caught the employee bus to my car. After nearly 2 hours of miserable driving, I was almost home. The rain had turned to snow at this point, so I was happy to be home!

The wind was howling and the temperature had dropped dramatically. Around 11:00 pm we heard a loud crack! A large pine tree had fallen in our driveway and it fell the only way it could without doing damage. It fell at an angle between the house and the barn and only scraped the barn a bit as it fell. If it had fallen backwards, it would have taken out power lines so we were very lucky! Here are some pictures I took this morning:


Here's the tree trunk that snapped!

This tree fell across my husband's normal parking spot. Fortunately he puts his truck in the garage in the winter.

(The boys were out playing in the snow as I shoveled and cleared branches)


What a day!

6:30 am -- rainy, 45 degrees
12:30 pm -- sunny, 82 degrees
9:30 pm -- snowy, windy, 20 degrees

15 Comments:

Blogger mal said...

we do live in amazing times *G*

my elder sib flies for FedEx. One night I picked him up on a layover and asked if he wanted to stop somewhere for dinner and a beer. He told me that he can not go into a bar unless he is wearing a North West uniform. I guess the moral is if you want to drink margaritas on your next trip then borrow a NWA uniform

Mon Jan 16, 11:07:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger mal said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Mon Jan 16, 11:09:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger Colleen said...

drink lots of vitamin C...all that temp change and hectic schedule leaves a door open for colds.

and i want snow!

but to be fair, i just want to look at it...not actually be IN it.

Mon Jan 16, 12:31:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Notsocranky Yankee said...

Mallory:
Thanks for the tip! I might also try an America West uniform as a backup...

Colleen:
Atlanta is only allowed one snowstorm a year and it must all melt by noon. Hope you get it soon!

Mon Jan 16, 03:58:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Jessica said...

What an amazing contrast from the coast of Aruba to a pine falling in a snowstorm.

Can I ask how you first got interested in flying?

Mon Jan 16, 05:10:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Notsocranky Yankee said...

Jessica:

I have always wanted to fly. My mother said I announced in 7th grade "I am not going to college, I'm going to fly airplanes."

I had never been in an airplane at the time.

Of course I later found out that college was still necessary in this profession so I have a civil engineering degree. I flew in the Air Force where I saw the world and met my husband.

I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

Mon Jan 16, 06:36:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Notsocranky Yankee said...

The airplane model in my blog profile is a Lockheed C-141B, the first airplane I flew in the AF after pilot training. It has the tail number of the plane I flew on my first trip. My squadron patch and name are carved in the base -- we used to get these made in the Philippines before Mt. Pinutubo blew and Clark Air Base was closed.

Mon Jan 16, 06:47:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger mal said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Mon Jan 16, 08:45:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

What a trip! Do you still love flying as much as you used to?

I just booked a flight this weekend for the kids and me. We're going to West Palm Beach to visit my mother. She had all these USAir miles piled up, and was complaining about not being able to use them, so I suggested she blow them all by flying us down for the weekend. And she did!

Sometimes all ya gotta do is ask...

Yeharr

Tue Jan 17, 05:17:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Notsocranky Yankee said...

I still love to fly. I guess that's one reason I like the category I'm flying in now because we fly 757's and 767's, which fly a little differently. It keeps it interesting. Could you tell I was excited about flying that 757 the other day?

Have a blast in Florida! Do your kids like airplanes? Bring a camera and go take pix of them in the cockpit before takeoff. I think they'll like it.

Tue Jan 17, 06:31:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

Will they let me? Who would I ask?

Tue Jan 17, 10:16:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Notsocranky Yankee said...

Ask a flight attendant as you are getting on the airplane if you and the kids can see the cockpit. Then when you get up there, ask the pilots if you can take a picture of your kids there. I would be shocked if they didn't let you. We get young visitors a lot and I always ask the parent if they have a camera. Half the time they say it's packed away in a bag somewhere so that's why I say you should keep it handy...

Have fun!

Wed Jan 18, 06:15:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger Balloon Pirate said...

So this is another one of those "all ya gotta do is ask" things, isn't it?

Should have seen it coming.

Thanks for the tip!

Yeharr

Wed Jan 18, 09:27:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger Saur♥Kraut said...

ewwwwww, snow! I love the pics of Aruba, though! Now THAT is where I want to hang my hat.

Wed Jan 18, 01:04:00 PM GMT-5  
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