CHICAGO

SEPTEMBER 2-4, 2009

After flying a passenger to Chicago to attend the Oprah show, we knew we would have a full day to go explore the city. There happened to be a rescheduled Cubs vs. White Sox day game so we thought we would jump on the train and head down to Wrigley Field.

When we got there the streets were packed. There were plenty of tickets out there to buy but we decided to wait until the game started and the prices dropped. We headed down the main street near the field where there were tons of restaurants and bars. After overcrowded bar after bar we found a great mexican place to grab lunch.

On our way back to the field we found some general admission seats in the bleachers. When we got in we could not find a seat anywhere. Attendance was over 40,000 and it was an absolutely beautiful day out. We finally found some seats at the top where we could stand and lean against the fence and have a great view.

There was so much rivalry in the crowd, I would say 50/50 White Sox and Cubs fans. We saw a fight break out and a lot of taunting. It was nice to see so many energetic, crazy, fanatic fans. The White Sox ended up winning the game.

After the game there were tons of guys in the street making music on buckets. There would be 2-6 guys in a group drawing a crowd to marvel in their talents. Check out the video below (sorry its going the wrong direction and for the idiot at the end). The streets were flooded with people and there were vendors on every corner selling memorabilia.

After the game we headed back on the train and decided to go explore downtown Chicago. We walked to the Navy Pier which had a museum, some restaurants, a ferris wheel, carousel, etc. There were also boats coming in and out of the harbor.

We went in search of the Sears Tower and along the way we got some great views of the city. The architecture is just absolutely breathtaking.

It was cool to see the famous Chicago theater where Steely Dan happened to be playing.

After walking block after block in search of the Sears Tower, we finally found it, except now it is called the Willis Tower. Jerry and I ventured up to the Skyledge which is 103 floors up. There are 360 degree views of the city along with glass floored observation points where you can look down 103 floors to the ground below you.

The views were amazing and when we finally stepped in the ledge it was really scary. You could feel it the glass shake underneath you and when you look down it seems as if you are going to fall. The illusion can mentally freak you out.

What really scared me was when we were at the train station and saw a huge black widow. Chris pretended like he was going to throw it at me and I screamed at the top of my lungs and ran...I hate spiders! Pilots think they are so funny. It made for a good laugh at least.

JERSEY SHORE

JULY 5-10, 2009

While I was stuck in Millville, NJ with no flights, Chris and I were bored out of our minds and decided to explore the Jersey Shore. The beach cities are very victorian and old fashioned with minature golf around every corner. We went to Cape May on our first day and found out that we had to pay to get onto the beach! It was $5 for the day. I was shocked. I have never had to pay to get on any beach in California, let alone my whole life.

("YOU ARE NOW ENTERING THE BOARDWALK OF FAME AND HAPPINESS")

Our second day we went to Wildwood beach because we found out that it is one of the only beaches you don't have to pay to go to. It was also not as nice. They had a boardwalk with a hundred pizzerias, ice cream shops and souvenir stores.

Walking along the boardwalk I was taken back to when I was a child and had a hermit crab. They had so many crabs for sale along the way.

At the end of the boardwalk was an amusement park with arcades, roller coasters and rides. There is definitely something for everyone.

My last day in town I went down to Ocean City to visit a friend from Denver who happened to be at his parents beach house. Ocean City is by far my favorite beach out of the three. It was clean, beautiful and less congested. It was nice to be around my friends family and to have a home cooked meal. I guess if I have to be stuck in Millville at least I have the beach, even if it is the Dirty Jersey Shore.

BOISE

JUNE 17-20, 2009

 

We landed into Boise around 5pm. On Wednesday's throughout summer they have "ALIVE at FIVE" in downtown Boise which consists of music, beer, and entertainment. We decided to check it out. Unfortunately, it had been canceled this week. There were still a lot of people out and we went and had some Mexican food. After dinner we walked around and came across a splash pad in a courtyard. This little girl was one of a few kids running through it. She was just too cute and soon soaking wet.

The next day Mitch joined me on a 7 mile walk along Boise's Greenbelt. It runs along the river and is longer than 20 miles. Along the trail there is a zoo, parks, homes, golf course and driving range, and businesses. 

Many people ride their bikes along this path. 

 

(View of the River)

(Tons of Geese and their young in the park)

On our 3rd Day in Boise I walked along the greenbelt again for 5 miles. Later that afternoon I went to the driving range with Mitch and Jerry. After, we decided to go exploring and check out some huge houses up in the hills. After cruising around we spotted a dirt road that looked like it woul lead us to the top of the mountain. We found the gate and since it wasn't locked and didn't have any trespassing signs, we decided to go through. However, Mitch decided to squeeze through the gate and scratched the right side of our car pretty bad. After contemplating our mission, we went through to quickly find a dead end. We kept on our journey and came across the dam and some beautiful scenery. 

Famished, we stopped and had dinner at ONO Cafe, a hawaiian restaurant. It was amazing and made me feel like I was in Hawaii. After dinner we got a paint pen to try to fix the scratches on the car. Hopefully with a little dirt, they won't even notice. 

(Mitch and Jerry fixing the car) 

Our last day in Boise we headed downtown to have some lunch and kill time before our departure at 7pm. Once again the Farmers Market was going on but was much larger and more crowded than Thursday. They had booths with produce, spices, jams, meats, flowers, desserts, crafts, jewelry, and art. After we walked around we had lunch at Bonefish Grill which was excellent. Finally it was time to get out of Boise! Due to good weather it wasn't too bad, but 5 days was much too long for me! 

ST. MAARTEN

MAY 17, 2009

After flying all day and night and being up for 24 hours, we landed in St. Maarten from Romania. We made our way to the hotel, checked in, and immediately headed for the breakfast buffet on the beach. We were starving, tired and becoming delirious. After we were done stuffing our faces, Chris (pilot) and I headed for the beach for some R&R and of course to work on our tans! There were a ton of fish in the crystal clear water and the water was very warm. 

The runway to the airport of St. Maarten is next to the ocean so you can watch the planes touch down while you are hanging out on the beach. When the planes land sometimes they get low enough that you can touch their wheels. However, when a plane takes off, it can be very dangerous depending on the size of the plane. This sign is posted...  

The jet blast of the plane is known to rip of your clothes, break windows of cars nearby, and push people who try to hold onto the fence into the ocean. Here is some video footage of a plane landing in St. Maarten. I wanted to cut the beginning off, but the women trying to get dressed is just too funny to cut out. 

After hanging out on the beach all day I decided to go visit my 

favorite gift shop. This store gives you free samples of the liquor they have for sale. My favorites are their homemade rum that comes in 

many different flavors and their banana liquor which is amazing on

ice cream. Later that night I ventured over to the bar on the beach for some dinner. They had live reggae music and the best mahi mahi 

burger I have ever had. To put the icing on the cake, we came back to find our boss passed out in the lobby of the hotel, hat on the ground 

and glasses crooked on his face.

(Sorry, I cannot publish that photo as this time) 

SWITZERLAND & ROMANIA

MAY 11-16, 2009

We landed in Geneva, Switzerland after a long red eye flight. We found out we were staying at the Buffalo Grill, which happened to be in France. We were not very excited…and when we got there, we were really disappointed. We were staying in a remodeled barn  that served horrible food. The place was cowboy and Indian themed and probably the worst place I have ever stayed. 

(Buffalo Grill and Hotel)

(Countryside in Switzerland)

While I was there I went on several long walks along the countryside. There were so many bike paths that went all over the country so it made exploring easy. Through the country I came upon some beautiful churches, wineries, cottages, and land. 

(Church in Switzerland)

 In the town we were staying in they deliver mail in this motorcycle. Attached to it is a little cart that holds all the mail. Quite interesting.  

(Border between France and Switzerland)

On my last full day, I ventured into the city of Geneva with a map and walked about 12 miles that day. The city was absolutely beautiful. There was so much history, churches, and great shopping. Unfortunately the city was very expensive. In the Parc de Bastions they had huge chess boards that were surrounded by people playing. The park had a lot of statues and had a feel of Central Park, on a smaller scale. 

(Huge chess boards in the Parc Des Bastions)

(Cathdrial of St. Pierre)

(Jet d'Eau)

(View of the river at dinner.)

After Switzerland we had a quick layover in Romania for about 24 hours. On our way to the hotel, our driver decided to take us through the back streets of town. I thought I was going to die…from his driving. I noticed there were so many stray dogs. Supposedly the city has a very bad dog problem. During the night, the dogs will form packs and attack people walking on the street. I opted to stay in my hotel during my stay. The city was run down and a lot of buildings were under construction, but not getting finished. We ended up staying at one of the nicest hotels in town across from one the largest Palaces in the world. 

WEST COAST EAST COAST

APRIL 10-19

Going back to work was tough this month. Although I only worked for 10 days, I flew from one coast to the other every day, some back to back trips, all waking up when most of my friends were going to bed. I was tired. On Sunday, April 18th, I landed in Phoenix. Mark and I went to a 24 hour fitness at 8:30pm to find out that a club that is suppose to be open 24 hours, actually closed at 9pm. So much for a workout. Returning a car to the airport we were lucky to stumble across Shaq as he was arriving for a flight. We went and said hi, he remembered me from when I flew him last year, and we hugged it out. He's still one of my favorite passengers and basketball players; such a nice guy. 

The next morning there were 4 F-18's at the airport that Mark and I went to check out. They were quite fascinating.

We were taking off out of Phoenix, on our way to Bedford with 13 passengers, when we heard a loud noise and a series of shaking and loud noises that resembled a machine gun. My heart dropped and we found out that we had a left engine failure. We still had a right engine but we had to make a precautionary emergency landing back into Phoenix. Scared, I had to be fully composed and let the passengers know that everything was going to be alright and that we were going to land as a precautionary measure. We made it back on the ground and were able to get our passengers on another plane home. 

Knowing the plane would be down in maintenance for a few days, I asked if I could go home. They said it would be ok and instead of spending all day in Phoenix and flying into LA really late, I opted to drive home instead. The drive was long but gave me a lot of time to reflect on what happened, my life, and the things that matter in life. I am so appreciative of those that I love and the things that I have.  Seven hours later, I finally made it home to my family and friends. I hope I don't have to experience my life flashing before my eyes, again, anytime soon.

PASSENGERS

(Myself, Shaq, Janet)

Being a flight attendant on private jets, often times I get to fly with the rich and famous all over the world. The question I get asked the most are "who have you flown?" I have flown professional athletes, musicians, actors, politicians, princes/princesses, etc. I have created a list on the right hand column of my blog of passengers I have flown that I feel you would find interest in. I will keep this list updated... 

FLYING

March 25, 2009

Leaving El Paso, TX at 5:30am, we were off to Monterrey, CA to pick up some passengers.  As we approached Monterrey we were presented with a blanket of clouds, which obstructed us from landing. We tried 2 approaches, yet still no luck. Fortunately for me, I got an absolutely amazing view that I thought I would share with you.  One thing about flying so often is that I am blessed to see some of the most beautiful things that Mother Nature shares with us. 

Sunrise
Monterrey , CA