Random Thoughts...

I was lucky enough to have a bunch of days off in a row - I had originally planned to go with Greg to a jet rally in Mesa, AZ but he decided not to go because of a "plane crash" issue - and I decided to go visit a good friend in California. This good friend is suffering from cancer. The big C. It's nasty. I came in on Friday morning, and she had had a chemo session on Thursday. She had gotten a "new cocktail" and it was hitting her hard. My job was to get her to sit down and do nothing. Fat chance.

This woman has a very busy life, and she's not going to let cancer (her third battle with it) get the best of her. She has multiple businesses that she owns and she essentially has two full-time jobs in addition to her own businesses. On Friday, she was bouncing here and there, doing work in her home office, answering calls, running to the toilet, then answering more calls. She finally settled on the couch.

Cancer is nasty. The treatment is nastier. Her whole body was aching. Her newly shaven head was throbbing. I made a pasta dinner and a salad - she enjoyed them, but then lost both a little while later. On Saturday, she was still aching. I kept her on the sofa most of the day and forced her to relax. We watched movies - "The Little Black Book," "Sister Act," "Eat, Pray, Love" - and tons and tons of detective/crime shows. So many murders...so little time. I am convinced that she's studying up to be a serial killer, and I'm sure she will NEVER get caught.

Today she was feeling a bit better, so we ventured out to a flea market where she sells stuff, and stayed for a little while - it was chilly and starting to rain, and she does not want to get sick. Her immune system is nonexistent right now. Then we spent the rest of the day at the house. She's feeling a lot better today, but dreads her next chemo session tomorrow.

She is very fortunate to have a "surrogate daughter" who practically lives with her - the daughter's mom died a couple years ago from breast cancer, so she knows exactly what to do and loves keeping my friend company. My friend also has a son nearby, but he's tied up so often keeping the businesses running, attending to his own wife/child, and like me, he probably doesn't know what the heck to do. Her other son lives on the east coast, just started a new job, is newly married and is unable to come out on a regular basis. I'm sure it is very tough on him.

What do you do for someone who is so sick? My whole purpose of going was just to keep her company and hang out. I brought magazines, my laptop, and just kind of hung out. I've become a demon on "Words with Friends" on FaceBook. I did tell my friend that I have no clue what to do for her. And she never really did tell me any specifics. I was just THERE.

I'll be leaving in the morning - time to get back to my bills, etc. and get ready for my next trip that leaves on Wednesday. I will be flying Southwest again - last time I checked there were lots of seats available so I should be able to get home just fine.

I've been doing a lot of praying, and requesting other friends to pray for my friend's recovery, too. Why is there cancer in the world? I tried to keep my friend positive and happy, which was a lot easier to do today than it was the first two days of my visit when she was feeling so sick. And these treatments - chemo. Makes one sick to their stomach. And then radiation, what will most likely burn and blister her skin. Really? I guess those treatments are still more beneficial than the alternative...

On to a better topic - I got the reserve schedule for December that I expected. Woo hoo! There were seven of us who dropped down from being lineholders, and for the month of December will be at the mercy of crew scheduling. Oh boy. I did not get all the days off that I requested - I'm in the process of trying to trade days. I get only 11 days off a month while on reserve (this month I have 15 days off), so I need to use them wisely. I did get 12/20 through 12/26 off. That's when Jen and her dog Liza come home, followed by her husband James and his mom Deniece who arrive on 12/23. I'm excited that Jen has chosen to have a tradition of a "Colorado Christmas." And I will be able to fully participate and prepare for it! That makes me very happy.

THE LAST PARAGRAPH WAS CENSORED AND
REMOVED FROM THIS BLOG.

Back Home Again...

I made it through the 4-day trip unscathed (almost). Sometimes it's difficult to bond with a crew - there are so many personalities. Especially when the crew likes to stay up until 3 or 4am while hanging out at the bar! On this trip, I was SO EXHAUSTED the first night - I'm not sure why - so I didn't join the crew downstairs. On the second night, I wanted to get a good night's sleep so that I could be "fresh" to meet up with my good friend, Sheila. But I heard that the B flight attendant went out to a bar, and it was a very uncomfortable situation. What USED to be a crew hangout was now a gangsta' rap bar - he was the only white, and no one would talk to him, call a cab for him, or call the hotel van. I am very glad that I did not venture out with him! Our last night was too short of a layover to do anything - thank goodness.

But it's interesting to watch the dynamics of the team. Let's just say that I did not feel accepted by the Captain - was it because I didn't come down and party until 3am? If it was, then that's just too bad! I don't like hangovers and I could barely stay awake on the plane! I got along fine with the First Officer and the A flight attendant, too. But the B flight attendant was puzzling to me. He was a "glass is bone dry" kind of guy. Someone would make a comment about our company's recent 3Q webcast, and he would just turn the hope and promise upside down and make it into something negative. Those kind of people just drain me. But this time I actually confronted him! It turns out that he has "short-timer's syndrome" - he'll be quitting in June.

On another of my flights, I got high praises from three passengers! Two ladies sitting by a window saw what they thought to be their bags sitting on a belt loader on the ramp. They called me over, I relayed the information on to the gate agent, and supposedly the Captain went downstairs to check things out - but he didn't actually go over to the bags. That would have rested these ladies' fears. But no, he just spoke with a ramper - at no time did they see anyone take a second look at the bags. Really? How much time would that have taken? Instead, I had to calm their fears and tell them that we needed to "trust the system" and "I'm sure everything will be alright." During the flight, I gave them each a customer service card with my name and employee number. I told them that if the bags were not at the baggage carousel to be sure and give customer service my information - I'd explain what I tried to do in Denver. As they, and the woman sitting behind them, got off the plane I was thanked profusely for my attempt to calm their fears. I haven't heard anything, so I am hoping that the system worked and they were reunited with their bags!

I sometimes wonder why other flight attendants don't get these kinds of requests - or is it that they get them and they ignore them. I guess I'm pegged as someone who cares. That could be a good thing, but I realize that it could be a very disruptive thing, too. It makes me feel good to be able to figure things out, to let them know that the airline has the best intentions.

I did get to experience one of the great benefits of this job - I got to visit with a very dear friend of mine on my Atlanta layover. We have been friends since we were 9 years old in the 4th grade - that's about 46 years ago! And the last time I spent any time visiting with her was 16 years ago! Every once in awhile we'd chat via email or talk on the phone, but when we got together we just picked up where we left off! She is a true forever friend.

For December's bid, I actually voluntarily dropped back down to Reserve. Yes...I did it voluntarily. There is no way that I would be able to get Christmas off while holding a line, so I made the hard decision to be abused by Crew Scheduling for a month. Jen, James, Liza and James' Mom, Deniece, will all be coming out to Colorado for Christmas, and I wanted to be here. The line assignments came out yesterday, and sure enough, I got reserve. There were eight of us lineholders who dropped down, and I am #6 from the top. That means that I should have Christmas off, as well as the days surrounding it. I'll look at it this way - I'll have lots of time to read while sitting on that sexy black leather couch! Hopefully, I'll miss all the craziness of the month by being off on the days it'll occur. I feel strongly that this was the right move for me - I want to be with my family.

Ups and Downs (No Pun Intended...)

I'm on the third day of a four-day trip, and I'm ready to be home. I don't think the captain is fond of me - but you know what? I don't really care.

Yesterday, we were boarding our flight from Denver to Atlanta, and I had a bit of a problem with a nasty passenger. This guy had placed a couple straw hats in the overhead bin and then went to the back galley to schmooze with the B flight attendant. I removed the hats and asked the passenger to hold onto them until the roller bags had been loaded into the bins. the guy started getting upset, and told me that there wouldn't be any space left if he waited. He also said he has just taken four flights, and this was the FIRST time someone moved his hats. I apologized and explained that I needed the space, but would be glad to put them up later. That wasn't good enough for him.

During this time, a couple passengers placed smaller bags in the overhead bin, and I told the man that there was some space for his hats. He called me a control freak, and told me that he didn't want me telling him where to put his bags. I asked him to quit being difficult, and he talked back and asked me not to be difficult. I didn't think he was being serious, but then when I told him again to put the hats in the overhead, he started yelling at me and he dropped the f-bomb. That was it. I was done.

I called up front and asked for help. The captain came back, got my story, and took the passenger off the plane. He asked if I'd be okay with the guy back on the plane. I said as long as he behaves himself and apologizes to me.Well....he was interviewed by a bunch of Denver police, the gate agent later told me that he expected trouble from this guy, and then the police let him come back on the plane! Really?

Once he was back on, he didn't say a word to me. No loss. When he went back to the bathroom, he slammed the door going in and slammed it when he came out. He was just obnoxious. But no one would kick him off. It really frustrated me.

Then today, I got to visit with a very close friend of mine who I've known since I've been in the 4th grade - we hadn't seen each other since 1977 - it was definitely a high!

The Search for the Plastic Box

When I returned from Vegas yesterday morning, I turned on my cell phone - no messages. So I headed over to the General Office (GO) to see if I could smooze my way into getting the "plastic box" from Lost & Found. The front desk woman, Deborah, put me in touch with the guru of the Lost & Found, Dennis. Yes, he had the box! Within 5 minutes I had it in my hands - I was so excited that I almost cried!

Before I left the GO, I decided to look inside the box to see the seashell necklace...it wasn't there! Oh no! All kinds of scenarios starting flying through my head - someone stole it, it was never in there in the first place. I was heartbroken. Just as the girl said, there were lots of MAC cosmetics. There was also a bracelet made of plastic beads and a leather strap bracelet.

I called the girl on her cell phone with the good news/bad news and asked her to call me back.

That was yesterday. I haven't heard a word. Does that mean that she found the necklace elsewhere in her luggage/purse and she's too embarrassed to tell me? Or is she too upset that the necklace wasn't in the box?

I may never know. I'll send her stuff to her today...knowing that I tried my hardest.

Good Things Happen to Good People

 Back in September I had an amazing thing happen...I was on my way to see Jen and James to celebrate James' 30th birthday. I had a very large Bed Bath & Beyond bag filled with stuff - a wrapped gift for James, my work sweater, a doggy coat for Liza that I got at a craft fair, a loaf of Jen's favorite bread, several dozen chocolate chip cookies to give to the firemen by Jen's apartment, and an airline blanket sealed in a plastic bag. And guess what I did?

I lost it. I carried it to/from St. Louis, and then all the way to New York City. BUT, I left it in front of the LaGuardia Airport terminal when I loaded my bags onto the hotel van. I realized it on the way to the hotel, and the van driver drove me back to the airport as soon as we got everyone off at the hotel. We literally got back to the hotel within 10-15 minutes of when I left the bag, but it was gone when I got back. I was so sad.

I showed up at Jen & James' apartment the next morning empty-handed...well, I did stop at McDonald's and bought Egg McMuffins for all! But I was so down that I had lost everything. It was all replaceable - but I couldn't believe I'd been that stupid. I kept beating myself up. That was on Saturday.

On Monday evening when I called Greg to say hello, he told me there was a message on our answering machine. It was a woman calling from Connecticut...she told me that she had picked up my bag at LaGuardia, tried to turn it over to security, but they would not accept it. So she took it home with her. Her goal, she said, was to reunite the bag with its owner. I must have left a paper in the bag with my contact information - thank God that I did!

I called her back the next morning and we had a nice chat. She wanted to drive the bag back down to Manhattan, but I didn't want her to go out of her way. Instead, she offered to mail it to Jen & James' apartment - the place it was intended for. And guess what? She did! I later sent her a card with some cash for reimbursement for postage, and I included a few Colorado goodies. It was amazing to know there are still good people.

So now it's my turn to pay back that kindness. Last night, a girl in her late teens/early 20s got on my flight to San Diego. Her eyes were puffy and red, and tears were still streaming down her face. Unfortunately, I was tied up with another passenger who had left her cell phone in the waiting area...but during the flight, I learned that the girl was distraught because she lost a small plastic box. In it was MAC makeup and a necklace made of shells.

The makeup was no big deal to her - but the necklace was very special. Her Dad had passed away only days before, and the necklace was one that her mother had made for her father, and he wore it all through college. Her Mom had just given her the necklace as a remembrance of her Dad.

For some reason, this girl tugged at my heartstrings. I think it was because the loss of her Dad was so fresh, and I still miss my Dad so much. I told her that I would do whatever I could to try and find that box for her.

So this morning, when I had a short layover in Denver, I found one of the gate agents that had worked my flight to San Diego. I told her the story, and she did a little research for me before I left on today's flight to Las Vegas. She found someone who found a small plastic box in the gate area, and that this person turned it over to the Frontier Lost & Found this morning. She included the phone number for that office!

So when I arrived in Vegas, I called the number. But unfortunately, when you call, you're told to send an email or leave a voice message. So I did both - it was after 4pm in Denver when I did, but I'm hoping that tomorrow morning they read/listen to my messages and call my cell phone to tell me that they have the box. Then I'll run home, box it up, and send it to the girl. And, of course, I'll call her to tell her it's on the way.

Please keep your fingers crossed - I'm hoping that it'll all work out. I know how much the momentos I have of my Dad mean to me - I'm hoping to give that shell necklace back to her Daddy's little girl.

Is it Really November?!?

Obviously I'm not doing such a good job of blogging these days...I guess I've been too busy on Facebook playing Words with Friends! I guess I do have a bit of a competitive streak in me after all.

I can't remember when I posted my last entry (and I too lazy to go and look), so bear with me if I repeat myself. I've pretty much had "a line" at work since July - it's truly "a whole new world." I know when and where I'm going ahead of time, I can plan my life around my schedule, I can swap, drop and trade trips - it's awesome! HOWEVER...I'll be voluntarily going back on reserve for December so that I can be home for Christmas. Jen, Liza, James and his Mom will all be coming for the holidays, and it'd be horrible if I wasn't home to share it with them!!! So...in less than a month I'll get to know that sexy black leather couch again, I'll be called in the middle of the night to take an early morning flight to Kalamazoo, MI (no...we don't fly there), and I'll be worked to death because all the senior mamas decided to take the day off. Heaven forbid they work what's on their schedule! I dread it...but I will make the best of it!

I've tried to get at least one long overnight in DCA (Washington DC) and LGA (New York City) each month - it's been fun to have lunch with my high school girlfriends, to visit with my in-laws, and of course, to visit with Jen and her hubby, James, and my granddogger, Liza! I see them most often - at least once or twice a month! It's worked out well!

Twenty-seven years ago TODAY Greg and I walked down the aisle together at St. James Church in Falls Church, VA. I can't believe it's been that long. We've had lots and lots of fun times, some really sad times, we've each grown and changed, but we're still hanging in there!

Something really cool happened on one of  my recent trips (but I can't remember which one...) - I was sitting in the Captain's chair in the flight deck (he was taking a potty break), and a little ways in front of the plane there was a flaming star (meteorite, space junk, whatever) falling and then it burned out. Wow! The First Officer saw it, too! It was SO INCREDIBLE to see. And, of course, when I came out of the flight deck and told the other flight attendants, one of them asked if I'd gotten a picture! Well...

I've been in Vegas a lot recently - first time for fun, and then the last two times on layovers. The second time I was there, I was with a very generous captain. He had been treating us to snacks all during our 4-day trip - McDonald's snack wraps, ice cream, Arby's Cheddar Beef sandwich, breakfast burritos - you name it. When we got to the Hard Rock Casino, we all went our separate ways to play our favorite games. I lost pretty quickly (I had won over $300 the previous week by putting $20 in a penny slot machine), and as the other ladies lost their money we gravitated back to our sugar daddy...oops, I meant captain. We all took turns on his video poker game, and then headed over to a blackjack table where we took over the entire table! The captain gave us each four $5 chips, the dealer gave us tons of helpful hints, and we each won some money! It's fun playing with someone else's money! Soon it was curfew time, and the captain said we could keep our winnings, but we gave him all the chips we had - I think we made him a little bit of money. It was so much fun! What a great crew!

There is such a difference between a good trip and a bad trip, and the crew has a lot to do with that. We don't need to spend 100% of our free time together for it to be good. But we do need to be able to get along and work together. Not too long ago, I flew one leg with a male flight attendant, and he kept calling me a "control freak" - I finally got mad and told him that HE was the control freak and that he needed to quit calling me names! When I mentioned this to another FA, she told me that he is one of the biggest control freaks that she's ever worked with! If I never work with that guy again, it'll be too soon!

I'll try to post more as I go along - I've had some really wonderful experiences with crews that I want to remember, and this is the best way to do that.

Earthquakes and Hurricanes, oh my!

Gosh, it seems like Fairbanks was so long ago! I had my week's vacation after that...I don't remember what I did! During those days, though, I celebrated my birthday! Oh wait, I DO REMEMBER part of what I did! I went to VEGAS! Over 1 1/2 years ago, I purchased tickets to see Celine Dion in Vegas before she ended her summer run. Jen and James met me there and we had a wonderful weekend! It was VERY HOT. And while we were there, it RAINED! And boy, when it rains, IT RAINS. Very heavy, for about 10 minutes or so, and then it was gone. Unfortunately, it causes flash floods in some areas, but nonetheless, the locals all ran outside and were so happy!

While we were in Vegas, some major family drama erupted. Very damaging family drama. I'm feeling destroyed by this. Very nasty things were put into writing that were directed at me and Jen, and it is so very hurtful. But, as usual, we're being told to "turn the other cheek" and just move on. I have no cheeks left (face or butt...well, I WISH I didn't have as large of butt cheeks as I do... but that's a whole 'nother story). Anyway, I am not a believer of "cutting all ties" or "never talking to someone" ever again, but I'm feeling that's what's happening to me. The sad thing is, is that NO ONE will stand up for me. NO ONE. Status quo, unfortunately.

The following weekend, I had a layover in NYC and was able to meet Jen and James for brunch in their city! We went to an "upscale" Mexican restaurant, and it was delicious! After a short visit, it was time for me to go back and hit the skies again. My next night was in SLC, and I did a whole lotta nothing while I was there.

When I got back home on 8/22, I couldn't go to sleep right away. So I stayed downstairs playing on the computer. At approximately 11:45PM I heard a very weird noise and a weird shaking or "rolling." It turns out that there was a 5.3 earthquake centered near Trinidad, CO. Wow! The next morning I did a "walkabout" around the house to see if there was any damage to the house, and I found that our garage floor is now cracked. Lovely. I will have to call the insurance company (yes...we've had earthquake insurance ever since we bought this house).

With the earthquake behind me, we prepared for the hurricane - I was scheduled to fly in/out of DCA and LGA during the hurricane. Hmmmm. I wasn't too thrilled about that. First, however, I had an overnight in DCA. Fortunately, we were a day or two ahead of the storm, so I was able to enjoy a nice visit with Greg's parents and one of my longtime girlfriends, Kathy. It was so good to catch up! We visited for awhile, went out to lunch at the Olive Garden, and then it was time to go back to the hotel to get ready to fly back to Milwaukee and then on to LGA.

We (the crew) were not happy about the pending LGA trip. Mainly because, the city of New York was shutting down the entire MTA (subway and bus) system at noon on Saturday. I was really bummed - I had planned on another brunch with Jen and James, and we were going to meet up with my sister, Nancy and a longtime family friend, Sister Barbara. They were going to be in town to have lunch and see "Jersey Boys" - but everyone's plans got changed. Broadway canceled all its shows for Sat/Sun, Nancy and Sister Barbara canceled their day trip to NYC, and since the MTA was shut down, I had no way to get to see Jen and James. Our return flight was scheduled to leave at 5:49PM on Saturday night, and then the flight got canceled because the City was closing the airport at noon. Fortunately, our company put us on a flight out of NYC at 11:59AM - thank goodness! We had over 20 crew members that were being "evacuated." We were originally scheduled to go to Denver, but we eventually got there via Milwaukee! I had already decided to stay at a friend's condo north of Denver - because I was starting another 3-day trip the next day. So I got to settle in for a quiet evening with a much shorter drive.

I was so glad that this 3-day ended. It started out just fine, and then little-by-little, things started going wrong. The other two flight attendants were "picking" on me. I'm not sure what I did to tick them off, but they thought that having me do all the work was funny. One of the flight attendants fit the stereotype of a flight attendant - she was inseparable from another crew member, and she let passengers know when she thought they were attractive. A little bit of flirting is fine, but practically throwing yourself at someone is a bit harder to take. I even asked her if she wanted me to leave (she was flirting pretty heavily with the passenger in seat 1D, and yes...he was cute, but she was over-the-top), as we were getting ready to take off! Sheesh. Talk about feeling like a third wheel.

Today's trip will be with two of my classmates, so hopefully it will be much better because we'll all work well together. I just wonder who our Captain and First Officer will be. My fingers are crossed.

I am very happy that no one that I know was injured or lost any property due to either the earthquake or the flood. Let's hope that the natural disasters stop for awhile!

The Fun Continues!

On day 2 of our adventure, we called the Discovery III Riverboat to see if they  had any space for us to take the 3 hour riverboat cruise, and they said that they had a few seats, but that it didn't look promising. Not satisfied with that answer, the three of us showed up at the dock and ended up getting complimentary tickets for the tour (a $54 value). Go back to the link in the last post and look at the pictures that I added to my album.

It was a very interesting cruise. We had several times where we stopped in the river and talked with someone on the shore. The first guy was Dave Monson who owns the Trail Breaker Kennel - his wife was Susan Butcher who won the Iditarod 4 times! She passed away 5 years ago this month from cancer. It was fun watching his demo of having a dog sled team pull him in an ATV (with the engine pulled out). They are fast! I also enjoyed watching the dogs hang out on the tops of their doghouses. Our Kodi, a miniature husky, likes to do the same thing!

There was also a float plane that took off and landed, and then took off again alongside the riverboat. We passed many beautiful homes - and these are not summer homes! People up here stay here ALL YEAR. And it can get down to -60 degrees! Yowza!

We also saw a beaver doing his thing, a couple of owls just sitting on a log alongside the river, and then we spent a couple hours at the Chena River Village. At the village they showed us the typical clothing that the Athabascan wear, the different types of animal skins, and they had beautiful gardens to look at, buildings we could go into, and a pen with a bunch of sled dogs - all huskies - where we could lean over the fence and pet the cuties.

It was a fun morning! I spent the rest of the day relaxing, blogging, and taking a nap! We leave here tonight at 9:30PM and will be back in Denver at 5:30AM. Once I'm back, I'll be off work for a week for vacation!

Next adventure? I'm meeting Jen and James in Vegas on Friday, and we're going to see Celine Dion on Saturday night - her second-to-last night in Caesar's Palace!

Fun in Fairbanks!

This is my third time trying to get to Fairbanks, Alaska for a 48 hour layover...and I made it!!! One of the wonderful perks of this job.

We arrived last night at around 9:30PM, but you wouldn't have known it - it was still light out...kind of an early dusk feeling. One of the other flight attendants called ahead to make sure that we were assigned to the cabins at the hotel - they're right near the Chena River. The cabins are so cute!!

Here's a link to my photo album on Facebook - I tried downloading the pictures to this blog, but let's just say that it was a pain in the neck...! https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2342076914086.137627.1314851818&l=119af651e0&type=1.

The captain and first officer brought fishing poles and they've disappeared off the face of the earth. So the flight attendants decided to go out and have fun sightseeing. So this morning we met up after breakfast and started looking for a rental car. What we didn't know is that the Army is holding some sort of exercise this week, and all the small, medium and large cars are all gone...for every rental company. There were some SUVs available as well as some pick-up trucks. We decided on an SUV - we felt it was overkill, but it was either that or sit at the hotel all day.

We started out heading to the North Pole, Alaska. It was really cute. All the stores, restaurants, etc. had candy cane striped poles holding their signs. The street lights were candy canes. The nearby Church was St. Nicholas Catholic Church. We stopped at the Santa Claus House to see what we could spend our hard earned money on, and I'm proud to say that I spent nothing. Yay! I saw a couple ornaments that I liked, but they weren't exactly what I wanted. So we took a few pictures, visited with Santa's reindeer behind the store, and headed on down the road. We were disappointed that Santa wasn't there yet - we had an hour to wait. So we moved on.

Our next stop was at a couple overlooks along the Tanana River on the way to Delta Junction. The scenery was just gorgeous. It was overcast and a bit drizzly, but we still managed to get a few great photos. We were looking for animals along the way, but all we saw was a German Shepherd!

We finally arrived at the Visitor's Center at Delta Junction. There were lots of cool displays, as well as lots of cute gifts. But again I resisted. I found the state bird of Alaska outside of the Visitor's Center - in fact, there were two of them.

It was time for lunch, so we headed back towards Fairbanks and stopped at Rika's Roadhouse in the Big Delta State Historical Park. Rika was a strong woman back in the early days and had a roadhouse that served the men who worked on the Alaska State Highway and worked on the communication systems for the military during WWII. Most of the original buildings are still there, and are now filled with antiques for our enjoyment. There is an operating restaurant that we stopped at, and I had the most incredible crab/corn chowder bisque and strawberry rhubarb pie! Delicious!

Afterwards, we drove down the road a little ways and watched as some men were working on the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline. They were tethered to the pipeline (over the river), and were adding pieces to the pipeline. It was interesting to watch as their co-workers brought a piece of metal from the yard, loaded it onto their speedboat, drove to a spot beneath the pipeline, and the guy tethered to the line lowered a line with a hook on the end. The guys on the boat attached the metal, the worker above pulled up the metal and then attached it to the pipeline. It was also fun to read the threatening signs posted near the pipeline!

As we headed back to Fairbanks, we were disappointed that we hadn't seen any wildlife! Then right outside the fence along Ellison AFB, we saw a moose! Yay!

Once back in Fairbanks, we went to "downtown" to see what it looked like. It wasn't horrible, but I think Anchorage had much nicer shops. We also walked over to Golden Heart Park and looked at the First Unknown Family statue that was erected in 1983. It was very beautiful and honored the first Inuit family. On our way back to the hotel, we dropped off the SUV and now we're without transportation, sort of. The hotel shuttle is supposed to take us wherever we want to go within Fairbanks - so we'll see what happens.

We had thought about going to the infamous Salmon Bake at the Pioneer Park - they have an unlimited buffet of Salmon, Cod and Prime Rib. Had they also had crab legs, I would have gone. But one of my co-workers doesn't eat fish, and I wasn't totally convinced that it was worth the cost...so we decided to eat at the hotel. Instead of having an Alaskan specialty, I ended up with a delicious grilled cheese sandwich!!! It was so good. After dinner, I took a walk around the local area while taking pictures (the sun had FINALLY come out), and then retired to my room.

We should have another full day of fun tomorrow before we have to take the van back to the airport at 9:30PM. It's been a fun visit, and I look forward to coming back again (and reserving a car beforehand!) - it will be a fun time!

This is the Life!

It's Thursday afternoon, and I've spent approximately the last 30 hours relaxing at my cabin in Breckenridge, CO. Nice. Very nice! Normally, I come up alone during the summer (Greg likes to come up in the winter to ski, and I used to come up with Jen until she left for college), but this time I brought two of my Frontier co-workers and one of their husbands.

We've been spending our time eating, drinking, talking, swinging in my hanging chairs, Erik went fishing, and Jenn went hiking. It's been so relaxing!

I fly again on Sunday when I do a turn to Louisville, KY and then spend the night in Chicago. Unfortunately, it's a relatively short layover and it's mostly in the morning on Monday, so I doubt I will get together with anyone. Then later that evening after I'm back in Denver, we'll head Fairbanks, Alaska for 48 hours. Unfortunately, the friend who was supposed to go with me a few weeks ago cannot come this time. So I invited my lovely daughter, Jen. But the day after the trip ends, she and I and her husband are meeting in Las Vegas for a concert. Jen wasn't thrilled about flying cross country twice in two days, so I think she'll pass on this adventure. I've invited a neighbor to join me, but she's already got plans, too. Alas, I will be going alone. One of the other flight attendants is bringing her husband, and maybe I'll be able to tag along with them.

No matter, I will have an absolutely WONDERFUL TIME during my first visit to Fairbanks, Alaska.

My last two trips were really good - I got along well with the crew, everything went well on the flights, the hotels were nice, and the layovers were just right. I'll be putting in about 97 hours this month, which includes a week's vacation during my birthday. The goal for this month is to relax and take it easy!