Dreams

places I would love to visit!

spirit35 — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:25:05 -0800

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France (Past and Future)

almost famous — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:18:38 -0800

Hmm... I would LOVE to go to Paris and enjoy the view and taste the pastries.
I know this is completely off topic, but I think my past life had something to do with France.
Whether I was born there or just French, I'm attached to the place. I once took french during
high school and even though I love the language, I almost failed the class (lol). Can you say
BAD teacher?

My thing is that I would just love to spend a full on month in Paris, France. Stay in a 5 star hotel
and enjoy the service. Yeah I got BIG dreams...LOL. Until then I'll do like the rest of you ladies
and just dream about it! ♥

montreal

missdiorluxe — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:34:06 -0800

Anyone been to Montreal? What a cool city! It's a mix of Paris and North American cultures. Lot's to do.

Europe

missdiorluxe — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:16:57 -0800

I would love to go all over Europe- Italy, France, Britain & Monaco top my list.

Travel to Hawaii

paii — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:16:26 -0700

Reno Air Races

paii — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:03:36 -0700

Reno Air Races
Safe day of racing closes dramatic week
SUSAN VOYLES
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 9/17/2007
Fans, racing teams and their families were relieved Sunday that no major incidents occurred on the final day of the National Championship Air Races in Reno.

"We want just a nice, quiet, safe day of racing," said Terry Hellickson, who witnessed one of the three fatal crashes in four days.

Everywhere on the race grounds, flags were flying at half staff in honor of the three dead pilots. Racers flew a commemorative lap at the end of racing, a first for the event.

Race officials expected attendance would surpass the 208,000 of last year.

The week began eerily with the continuing search for record-setting aviator Steve Fossett, who has been missing since takeoff Sept. 3 from a ranch near Yerington and was to have been a judge at the races.

In mid-August, a fault line that crosses the west end of the runway shifted at Reno Stead Airport, forcing airport manager Skip Polak to seal cracks big enough to fit a hand.

Michael Houghton, CEO and president of the races, said those events had nothing to do with the air races. He said the fatal crashes were in separate circumstances and would be studied by aviation safety officials.

Houghton said a safety review committee will meet within three weeks to determine whether operations need to be changed before the races next year.

In 44 years, the event has had 17 fatal crashes during race week and one a month earlier during practice. The three last week were the most for any year and the first in five years.

"It has just been a bad year," Robert "Hoot" Gibson, a former Space Shuttle commander and race pilot since 1998, said. "It has always been dangerous."

Gibson, 60, said it's bad luck to be superstitious about flying but he always says a little a prayer on his way to Reno each time asking for no fatalities.

"It's somewhat self-serving, I admit," he said.

Jonathon Gourley, 33, of Seattle, who started flying a glider when he was 14, flies Jonnie Rocket in the biplane races and is a Federal Express cargo pilot.

"I do think they do a top-notch job to ensure safety," he said.

Hellickson, who owns a 1949 Stinson plane, and his wife. Stephanie, have been coming from Portland, Ore., almost every year for 12 years.

"This is spectacular to watch," he said. "This is the only place where you can watch airplanes like this fly like this."

Not all pilots shun superstition.

Tom Dwelle and his son, Ken, of Auburn, Calif., both T-6 pilots, kiss a plastic toy goat before every race.

Dennis Buehn, of Carson City, keeps a toy cat with suction-cup feet on his side rear window.

"It's for fun," he said and reminds him of his pet cat.

Buehn, racing for 35 years, said he puts his trust in God to keep him safe.

"It's not my will," he said. "It's his will."

Chris Nobles, Tom Dwelle's daughter, is thankful her father, 70, agreed to retire Sunday after racing for two decades.

"The allure of racing is irresistible," she said.

Steve Dari, of Lemon Drive, Calif., died Tuesday while testing his biplane. His engine stalled shortly after take-off. Brad Morehouse, of Afton, Wyo., was killed Thursday when his jet plane was caught in the wake of another jet and crashed, Houghton said.

Videotapes will be replayed to see whether any safety rules were broken when Formula One planes piloted by Gary Hubler, 51, of Caldwell, Idaho, and Jason Somes, 36, of Simi Valley, Calif., collided going around a pylon Friday morning. Hubler's plane clipped Somes' tail. Hubler died immediately but Somes was back at the airport Sunday after hospitalization.

Races were suspended after the Thursday and Friday deaths. Mayor Bob Cashell and airport authority chief Krys Bart visited Houghton on Friday to express their concerns about the weekend. The airport authority owns Reno Stead Airport.

John Zayac, president of the T-6 class, said officials agreed to continue the races in honor of the fallen pilots.

"It's truly a brotherhood," he said. "They would have liked us to continue the race."

Zayac, of Denver, recalled his first race in 2000 when his engine blew three or four times.

"Every (racer) person was in the pit giving us parts," he said. "And I was a first-year rookie."

Zayac said pilots take five to 10 minutes on the ramp to collect their thoughts.

"I count on my crew and my family," he said, with his arms around his three young daughters.

Gibson's daughter, Julie Jamieson, is married to a pilot and said she can't imagine her father playing checkers in his retirement. He has been flying for 45 years, and his parents were aviators.

"Flying has been his whole life," she said. "I always give him a kiss and a big hug" before he takes off. And from the ramp, "he always waves to me."

If you didn't make it this year, consider trying to make it to the 2008 show. It's worth it!

New York City

paii — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 17:15:12 -0700

New York City, New York is one of the world's major global cities, leading the world in almost every category. New York City is the center of global commerce; with numerous international corporations and the most important stock exchanges in the world. It is one of the four major cities (including London, Paris, and Tokyo) that control international finance. New York City New York is a preeminent international political center and home to the United Nations global headquarters.

New York is the leading city for mass media in the United States, and its film industry is second only to Hollywood. New York City events are around every coner. With almost limitless cultural attractions including museums, galleries, sporting arenas, and performance events, New York is a magnet to both tourists and immigrants from around the world.

New York City New York has an area of approximately 321 square miles and consists of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. Each borough contains several neighborhoods that each have their own unique New York style.

When visiting, it's a good idea to purchase a good New York City guide, as a New York City trip offers a number of choices; the places to visit, events to see, and urban life to experience can be overwhelming, especially for the first-time traveler. Major attractions include the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Empire State Building, Central Park, shopping on Fifth Avenue, and Times Square.

Prominent New York City events include professional sports games (with more than one team in each of the four major sports-baseball, basketball, hockey and football-there are no shortage of games in the New York metro area), Broadway theater productions (New York is the center of American theater with 39 large-scale theaters), numerous music, dance, and comedy performances scattered throughout the city. There is never a shortage in New York City events!

One of the best ways to take in the attractions is through one of the many New York City tours. You can view the sites from a double-decker bus, cruise around Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, or see the city from the Staten Island Ferry or even a helicopter. Other New York City points of interest include, but certainly are not limited to, The Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Central Park, and New York City tours are available for these spots as well.

Booking a New York City New York trip, along with New York City tours, is well worth the effort, and a trip of at least a week is recommended---though whirlwind visits covering lots of New York City ground certainly take place!

6/8/07

glittergypsy — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 19:56:04 -0700

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