We are booked to ICELAND! Yay! Yes it’s winter. But Iceland is not as
cold as you think….milder than Eastern Washington in the winter! And we
*adore* cool weather, so this is such an awesome thing for us. And it was a
killer deal. Here’s where we are staying — check-out the the photos link…it looks awesome!
sites.google.com/site/icelandapartmentvacation/
Yay for us!
Enjoying Kyle’s pool in Phoenix
Overlooking Santa Fe square… It’s quite nice out now compared to the
hail earlier.
At Shidoni Foundry and Gallery. Not nice out…was hailing a minute
ago. But a walk amongst $70,000 works of art is worth it….
Up to 10,000 feet!
Not at chicken poop bingo, but at the general raffle. How ’bout that!?!
Seriously. At a bar in Albuquerque. Wherever the chicken poops over
the numbers, depending on the numbers you drew, perhaps nets you a
prize!
Out in the middle of nowhere.
It’s cloudy today and it’s actually chilly with the wind. ABQ is next!
Yep, it’s white sands for sure…
Dunes in White Sands National Monument
In Alamogordo having lunch at Lotaburger…a New Mexico thing
Christopher is glad we were able to stop at!
We are having green chile cheeseburgers and fries!
Candlewood Suites in Roswell….How awesomely weird to have this setup.
Carlsbad Caverns has Seattle weather…always 57 degrees and damp!
The caverns are quite impressive. Thank god for the elevator,
though…it’s 800 feet down.
On the road to Roswell next!
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
On the way to Carlsbad….Tiny little visitor center and that’s it! 
Ahhh…fabulous views in El Paso
“Texas Tea” anyone? It is is brown hot and ugly here. Sorry, El Paso…
We’re only here for one night… Tomorrow is Carlsbad Caverns and beyond..
Greetings from flight level 330
Over Idaho on the way to DFW enjoying WiFi Internet on my laptop from
33,000 feet..first time I’ve had the opportunity. I know this has
been around for a while now, but I’m old and it still gives me a big
WOW factor that I can browse the net from 33,000 feet while traveling
at mach 0.80 on a tiny little netbook at connection speeds I would
have sold my soul to have 10 years ago.
It’s really cool.
New Mexico Road Trip 2011!
So we have decided to visit Christopher’s old ‘hood in April with a road trip around the state…I sooo love planning trips. Half the fun almost!
So here is our tentative thinking…
DAY 1: Seattle – El Paso, TX
Yee-haw, TEXAS! It’s close to some places we want to go and the flights were surprisingly cheap. Albuquerque RT airfare was expensive in comparison. But in any event this worked well for logistics.
DAY 2: El Paso – Carlsbad Caverns Nat’l Park – Roswell
Apparently you go down into the caverns and can have a snack down there. Plus then there’s an elevator back up! On the way to Carlsbad we get to claim another park visit — Guadaloupe Mountains National Park – who knew?! Then into Roswell for some tourist trap stuff and to say we been there. Here’s the map
DAY 3: Roswell – White Sands Nat’l Monument – Las Cruces
From Roswell it looks like we go through some nice high mountains and in to White Sands to look at dunes. Then on to Las Cruces for the night. Christopher can’t stand the wait as there is a deli he MUST re-visit here! Here’s the map
DAY 4: Las Cruces – Albuquerque
We drive on our first Interstate of the trip up to ABQ to hang out with Christopher’s Dad for a few days over Easter. Here’s the map
DAY 6: Santa Fe day trip
Santa Fe seems cool and has lots of southwesty-type stuff. Plus some museums and general tourist type stuff. Here’s the map
DAY 7: Albuquerque – Seattle
Whew! We go home.
Thanks to Christopher who had the camera!
Kona, Big Island, Honolulu. Christopher, Garrett, Amy and Ana
121 Photos
Ana, the hostess with mostness
We love her
Lovely ladies hula. The PIG is next….mmmmmmm.
I guess we must be incredibly entertaining house guests to deserve
this…xoxo Ana!
Brunch!
Ana’s pug Boris is just waiting to give you some sloppy drooly love
On Oahu now…gorgeous weather and water
Did you know coffee is related to the Gardenia?
Southern most spot in any state. They call it…. South Point 
At a black sand beach…see if you can spot the turtle! It is W I N D
Y ! The sand it pelting us in the face…
Volcanoes National Park….cold, rainy, volcanoes….could be
Washington
Kona to Hilo via Kohala coast, Upolu point, Hamakua coast and back via
Waimea. Cessna 182 N5692P 2.2 hours of time logged. Simply awesome.
Here’s the view from our condo in Kona town. Didn’t realize the
powerlines were there… Funny what your mind filters out. The
flowering trees below I believe are Gardenia trees. Whatever they are
they smell awesome!
We’re here! First on the list….a shaved ice. This is a medium!
SFO more rainy than Seattle!
I’ve been blogging for a decade. 10 years already… huh!
While this is certainly an interesting point in a time line, it’s really only an electronic analogue to a diary. I’m sure many people have been keeping diaries for longer. Nonetheless I’m kinda tickled to meet this milestone. I started “blogging” before “blog” was even a noun or a verb; indeed before it was even a popular catchphrase. Indeed I had my first web page back in 1995 (See my “Deep Archive” link above)
That’s a lot of time and bandwidth (timewidth?) dedicated to my own banter. What have I accomplished in that time?
As it turns out quite a bit. I became a true adult (still out for some debate). I had a successful consulting company (official corporation even!) and then transferred clients/closed it after my clients became successful and got gobbled-up by other, bigger corps in what became the dot com bomb. I moved to California and back. I bought a house. Got cats. Sold a house. Bought a condo. Used five different types of blogging software. Stumbled into a great relationship. And generally observed what made me laugh and ranted upon the stuff that irritated.
As I look back at some of my entries it makes me smile and laugh a lot. Also I cringe a lot…was I THAT shrill, really? Or was I THAT stupid, really? But that’s the deliciousness of time and becoming older — the cumulative benefit of your experiences always makes you wiser and wiser.
So what will the next decade have in store? Who knows….That is what is fun, and worth living!
-Garrett
1998:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/1998/
1999:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/1999/2/
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/1999/3/
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/1999/
2000:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2000/1/
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2000/2/
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2000/3/
2002
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2003/1/
2003:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2003/2/
2004:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2004/1/
2005:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2005/1/
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2005/2/
2006:
http://www.gmwnet.com/archive/2006/1/
P.S.: I’m going to attempt to add these old entries to my database. So if you subscribe to the RSS feed you may see a slew of new entries. I’ll be careful to set the date in the posts properly, but I’m unsure if they will appear in the RSS feed because they are “new” entries as far as the database is concerned…
The 25th anniversary paint job Horizon Q400. Nice ride…they had Top
Pot donuts for us this morning
img src=”http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2621/3775967354_8857dd4920_m.jpg”>
Finally got to ride today…pretty nice…signage still needs
improvement though
While in Atlanta I was able to spend time with my fine looking Southern cuzins Beth & Michelle! We had a great time and they took me to areas of Atlanta I would not otherwise have seen or known about:
Having a “FO” (Frosted Orange) and peach pie at Varisty, a drive-in dive and Atlanta tradition.
Had lunch here — was in the little “alternative” district of Atlanta (Little Five Points? — I forget already — They had good beer, though!). Was totally fun.
I like to compare Belligerent Urban Miscreants (B.U.M.s) in different cities, as there is a distinct difference and local flavor in each municipality’s B.U.M. membership.
Atlanta B.U.M.s are not as absolutely direct as in Boston, ala “Welcome to Boston, care for some crack?”
In Atlanta apparently there is a law that you can not directly ask for anything (as in solicitation of money). So the B.U.M.s have gotten pretty crafty down here out of necessity. They’ve become the “helping tour guide.” They strike up the conversation and then ask you if you need directions and point out new bars and city hot spots. They’re pretty clever and engaging. Then they hit you up for a “contribution” for their services.
I never give money to any particular B.U.M. member, but I actually had to break down and do it here in Atlanta after I saw the same guy twice. Last night he gave me some “advice” on a local pub….and I’ll be damned if it actually wasn’t good advice and the pub was really cool. So I gave him a couple dollars when I saw him today; he was appreciative and I felt pretty OK too.
Today I’m touring Atlanta city including The Georgia Aquarium (apparently the largest in the World…who knew!) and CNN. Then just wandering around, seeing what’s up.
Today I drove down to Fort Myers to see my good friends Scott & Paige, whom I’ve known since college, and their adorable kids Pierce (2) & Sloane (6 mo?). Most of you know I hate kids, so this may come as a surprise, but they really are cute. Pierce is talking up a storm and Sloane is the biggest, cutest smiley-girl you’ve ever seen — always a smile (Except when I took away the Tupperware of goldfish crackers from her after she started sucking on it — Ooooh, boy, did I hear protest about that!!)
The Paces are now putting the kids to bed, and I’m downstairs in the kitchen listening to the baby monitors down here — it’s really cute. I found myself singing along “abcdefg, hijklmnop, qrs, tuv, w, x, y and z…”
I’m down here thru Sunday and then I’m off to Atlanta!
Hopefully pictures to come — Pierce looks just like a little Scott!
Another pretty sunset, this time you can also watch the video as the sun drops down below the water and gets applause from the people in the bar below.
I did dip my toe into the Gulf — it was cccccold. Like, freezing! At least I did it.
So writing this report outside from my balcony, sipping an ice-cold beer and observing interesting people. This part of the beach is devine.
So far…
Favorible impressions of Northwest Airlines
(soon to be Delta…sad to see NWA go…). So far — I haven’t flown NWA in decades, but each flight was spot on time and my bag came out only 10 minutes after arrival. First class was nice (when is it not?!) but actually I thought it was a wee bit better than American, my usual carrier. Food was actually good.
During the flight between MSP & TPA I was graced with a delightful traveling companion sitting next to me. She was from Minneapolis and ya, sure, you betcha — honest to goodness. Her mannerisms and accent were straight from Francis McDormand in the movie Fargo, but she looked EXACTLY like Ennis’s wife when she was blonde later-on from Brokeback Mountain (Was that Anne Hathaway?)! She was my age and travelling to a conference in Tampa — we had a great time talking about everything. It was a hoot.
Favorible impressions of Minneapolis Airport (MSP)
I actually haven’t transferred thru the main terminal at MSP before. It is quite large, and I had a hefty hike between gates, but it’s really nice. Massive mall will all shops you could imagine, incredible food choices. Makes me want to plan longer layovers here — with 2-3 hours you would not be bored in MSP. That said my 40 minute transfer was a bit tight, but worked perfectly — one of those magical layovers where just as you get to your next gate they pick up the mic and start announcing the boarding.
Favorible impressions of the Doubletree North Redington Beach, FL.
Slightly older building, sweetheart staff so far. I think I forget about the Doubletree when I travel — this is as nice as any Sheraton or Marriott I’ve been too, and it’s on the beach and was fairly inexpensive. And they asked, for $20, if I wanted a “welcome” package waiting for me in my room of assorted cheeses, crackers, fruit and beverages. I said yes, expecting a saucer of maybe 3 pieces of cheese and two small, green strawberries (but hey, I’m on vacation…) But then I found it and honestly — the thing is huge! All pretty and wrapped in a bow. I will never be able to eat all this cheese and fruit. It was awesome. Oh, and remember that Doubletree’s also give you a warm cookie upon checkin — yum!! Doubletree gets A+ from me so far…
So-so impressions of the beach.
It’s a nice beach for sure, and nice to look at and the Gulf view from my balcony is fantastic — love that! But, as I had thought, I can already tell that beach life is just not one of those things I’m attracted to. Laying in the sun and doing nothing. Just not my thing. And even off-season just before spring break hits there are still way, way too many people. I don’t like people as a rule. I DO like to lay around and do nothing, but not with people I don’t know and sweat dripping down my backside. Not comfortable! For me, relaxing on my balcony in the shade with a breeze reading my books OVERLOOKING the beach — well, that’s quite another thing. Lovin’ that. And the little lizards are cool.
Karate CHOP! All be damned if priceline.com still has it!
I’ve used priceline in the past when being uber cheap was the name of the game. These days I’ve become a little more, well, fussy, and require control of my travel plans — I’m an admitted “mileage whore” so I like to stick with my favorite airline and hotel programs.
So when planning my March vacation this year to FLORIDA, I got all my favorites lined-up in a row and they satisfied me with good, competitive rates….and more miles! I’m totally happy with that.
But then Florida left me with a somewhat new-ish dilemma; Usually I go to cities that have lots of public transportation and there is NO need for a car. Umm, yeah, not so Florida! Seems like you and us in Washington have something in common other than being “corner” states after all! Damn. Must. Rent. Car.
So I look up the rates — they are atrocious. Ridiculous, even. $60 per DAY is the best I can get on Expedia or Travelocity. I have no loyalty to rental car companies — I don’t care which one, as long as it’s major. There has to be something better. I muse to myself “Hey, what would William Shatner do?!?” So I go to priceline.com and put in an equally ridiculous low price for a car, per day.
$14…. [click]
…your offer has been accepted!
No way! Gaddam, that really was the best exciting thing to happen to me in a while. I got goosebumps. I could talk and go on and on about what a complete cahoots the car companies are in, but I was just glad to get a righteous price.
So cheers to the captain, and priceline really does still have it.
From a trip report I posted to airliners.net.
The actual trip to Vegas was nice — very relaxed. I didn’t even bring my laptop!! Although I later was feeling quite detached from the world. Guess I have Internet addiction, but since I can claim that is my career hopefully I can avoid those nasty visits to the therapist LOL!
___________________________
Bottom lines at the top:
–Nice new airplanes, of course.
–Nice staff, not outlandishly cute, but happy & professional
–Exit row reservation of $15 is worth it
–Upgrade to first class $50 worth it…perhaps
–Red is cool, but needs some work. Holds promise
–Will definitely fly again; all-in-all superior to other competitors that I have flown
In brief…my first time on Virgin America as I was trying their product to see what the fuss was all about after a 3 day quickie in Vegas. I usually fly either Alaska (We’re nearly slaves to it in SEA for west coast stuff) or Southwest for short trips like this.
I forgot my camera — 20 lashes with a noodle, I know.
LAS-SFO VX909
Scheduled: 3:35P
Actual: 3:35P
Load: 85-ish%
Reserved an exit row window on this leg. Found the legroom more than some domestic first class cabins I’ve sat in. Definitely worth the $15 for me. Seats are comfy and did not feel “squashed” into them and I’m a pretty big guy. The side wall does start curving into your headroom if a window seat, though. Not enough to make me unhappy for 1.5 hours. Weather was gorgeous all along the coast, so spot on-time departure. Arrived 40-35 minutes early into SFO!
The Red in-flight entertainment is nice, but still seems buggy — slow screen redraws and artifacts. Google maps is slow. TV is good. Music good (obviously as a Virgin product…) Navigation of the screens was a little confusing, but I’m getting old and analog, so perhaps it’s just me. Once the kinks are worked-out and the final features added it will indeed be killer.
Now had a 4 hour layover in SFO, but that was planned — had dinner with some friends which was fabulous. Returned to the airport an hour before departure only to find a gate change to the other side of the SFO Int’l terminal to G83. Quite long walk — not something you want to do when you have no time.
SFO-SEA VX748
Scheduled: 8:45P
Actual: 8:45P
Load: poor (perhaps 33%?)
Got an upgrade to first class on this leg. After cheap Vegas hotel and no gambling I figured i could afford the $50 upgrade luxury to try it out — I AM an airplane lover after all, so it’s research, at least this is my excuse to myself…
First class is really akin to a good International business class. Unbelievable seat pitch — I could not reach-out and touch the seat in front of me without getting out of my seat. Seat comfy. Only annoying thing was there is no place to rest a single drink glass as the arm rests are padded and contain the tray table on one side and the Red screen on other.
We were served a BBQ chicken salad, which I poked thru as I was stuffed from dinner, but it was good and appropriate for the quite late hour. All-in-all for this short flight the $50 wasn’t particularly worth it when I knew from the first flight that $15 extra scores an outstanding seat totally sufficient for 1-3 hour coastal flights.
I later sat in a “normal” coach seat for a few minutes. It did feel more constricted, obviously, but I would not hesitate to sit in one of these either. As good or better than other airlines.
Oh, and we arrived 30 minutes early in SEA as well. Must have been the excellent weather, I’m sure. Vividly shows you, however, how much delay airlines pad into schedules some times (yet still are late…I know, a huge other topic!
Summary:
IMHO this is a superior product compared to the normal airlines I endure when doing quick flights on the west coast. Perhaps not mind-blowingly so, but definitely a noticeable step above the rest. If Virgin America flies to a destination I want to go to I will choose them over anyone else from now on; let’s hope that network of theirs is expanded. I think they have the potential to really take-on a certain airlines if they can hang in there during the tough times and passengers take notice.
________________
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/135267/
