Showing posts with label around. Show all posts
Showing posts with label around. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Around my garden
Around my garden
It has rained so much in the last few days! We got more than 5" on Friday alone... Im ready for us to get back to a normal weather pattern. So, since weve had a ton of rain and all of our plants are growing a lot right now, I thought Id post some pictures of the yard. These were all taken with my iPhone, so theyre not the best, but I think some are actually pretty good.
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| Rainfall in our area this month... way above normal! source |
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| Our new rose garden that we added earlier this spring |
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| David Austin Heritage |
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| David Austin Abraham Darby and Gertrude Jekyll |
Available link for download
Monday, March 27, 2017
Autumn Around Philly
Autumn Around Philly
Fall makes for such typical blog fodder. Everybody loves it and its just so Instagrammable. The moody hues, the oversized scarves, the hand-warming hot beverages... its disgustingly picturesque. I know it gets played out very quickly so Im going to try to get my "OMG AUTUMN!" posts out of the way early on. With (allegedly) millions flocking to Philly in a few short weeks to say "hello" to Pope Francis when he stops by, I figured Id make a mini list of some of my favorite fall(ish) activities. This is by no means an all-inclusive list so be sure to keep checking back!
For Foodies.
Great food is obviously appreciated any time of the year but when those nights just keep getting chillier, theres nothing like some good ole comfort food. A few of my favorites are V Street, (fancy vegan street food-- the Peruvian Fries are a MUST.) Khyber Pass Pub, (I really miss their vegan sausage sandwich.) Farmicia, (pictured above-- their brunch is heaven-sent.) and Standard Tap. (cocktails on a cozy outdoor patio.) For all you carnivores, Fette Sau is incredibly cozy and always gets rave reviews. (And for those who dont eat meat, the pickles are pretty darn good.)
For coffee connoisseurs. One of my favorite things about fall is being able to take a little walk around the block with a hot coffee in hand. There are so many amazing coffee places in Philly its been really difficult to pick just a few favorites. Elixr has a great atmosphere and is a stones throw away from some of Phillys best shopping. (Also to add to the Philly-centric nature of this list, its co-owned by an Eagle.) Higher Grounds is one of my favorites because its adorable, a few blocks from my house, and pups are allowed in. Its tucked away on an adorable side street in Northern Liberties, not far from other great restaurants. Menagerie is another favorite of mine, conveniently located within a few minutes of the TV station where I work. They have the BEST almond milk cappuccinos. Chhaya is where I had my first cortado and fall in love with it. Its in the bustling East Passyunk neighborhood and a few stores down from a great vintage store and more great shopping. Last but not least, theres Grindcore House. Its a great vegan cafe in South Philly. I love the music they play and the Mate Latte has got to be one of the tastiest things Ive ever had the pleasure of imbibing.
ETA: Ultimo! How could I have possibly forgotten this one? (A kind commenter pointed it out.) Its been voted #1 in AMERICA and its really, really cozy inside. Definitely worth trying, plus the neighborhood is really nice to walk around.
For explorers.
Philadelphia gets a bad reputation for being dirty and kind of smelly but its surrounded by some stunning landscapes. There are a lot of great places to hike that are less than an hour outside of Center City. Tyler State Park is in Bucks County and its where I go to get away from "it all." While Ive never personally played, Ive heard its got one of the best disc golf courses in the county. (If youre into that kinda thing.) Wissahickon is full of beautiful trails and there are a lot of places you can wander outside of those marked trails. I love it because its good for hikers of any level. One of my favorite things to do is climb the rocks over by Devils Pool.
For urban explorers.
No Im not talking about "urbexing," though there are a lot of places to do that here. Im talking about discovering the city on a bicycle, and now that Philly has its own bike share, its easier for guests to do it! The Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk is a great place to start-- you can get easily (and safely) from South Philly to the Art Museum. (Just watch out for pedestrians!) The views are great, especially when you get up to Boathouse Row.
For the cultured.
Philadelphia has a lot of wonderful museums. You all know about the Philadelphia Art Museum but how about The Franklin Institute? (For science nerds.) Or the Mutter Museum? (For you weirdos who appreciate medical anomalies.) Theres also The Barnes Foundation, (lots of Renoir, Cézanne, and the like!) and the Rodin Museum. The museums can be a little pricey but trust me: theyre worth it. Oh, and dont forget that this is the birthplace of America. It wouldnt be a trip to Philly without a little walk around Old City to say "hello" to the Liberty Bell. (I really felt like I had to mention that one.)
For forlorn beach bums.
If youre like me and love the beach, dont be sad that summer is almost over. Early fall is actually one of my favorite times to explore the Jersey Shore. Cape May has some of the most adorable B&Bs and Ocean Citys boardwalk is so pretty when its no overrun by "shoobies." Its quiet in an almost eerie way but so tranquil and inspiring.
For wannabe farmers.
Who doesnt love apple or pumpkin picking? Forget the fact that youre basically paying to do work, going to the farm and picking your own fresh produce can be so much fun. My favorite place to go is Solebury Orchards in New Hope. Its a bit of a drive outside of the city but when youre done picking, you can chow down on some apple cider donuts (or just drink ALL the apple cider like I do) and head over to Peddlers Village. They have a lot of cute shops and an adorable scarecrow contest that runs for pretty much the entire fall season. I also love that Hewn Distillery opened a cocktail bar there.
For those avoiding S.A.D.
The days are getting shorter, the nights are growing longer, your tan is starting to fade and those jeans arent fitting like they used to... Seasonal effective disorder is a very real thing. To combat it, a little bit of exercise works like a charm. (Those endorphins are crucial!) If you live here or even if youre a fitness-crazed she-woman just visiting, a drop-in to a group class or two may be just what the doctor ordered, and we have a lot of them here. Lithe Method is good for those who want a little butt-kicking. (And dont mind overly peppy cheerleaders doing the honor.) Practice yoga offers a donation class, which is great for beginners or those who just need to clear their mind every so often.
Anyone planning on visiting? Or just want to add something to the list? Lets chat in the comments below.
xo,
e.m.
Available link for download
Monday, March 13, 2017
around these parts
around these parts
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Around the World in 80 Jumpseats— Surprise Vid!
Around the World in 80 Jumpseats— Surprise Vid!
#blog #avgeek #airline #aviation
The following is an updated version of an article once slated to be published in Smithsonian Air & Space Magazines "Flights & Fancy" section . . . a couple decades ago . . . .
BUT FIRST
A very short Thank You vid to all you birthday well-wishers!
Direct Link: http://youtu.be/GA3yaQlZM_k
(PS: A special Thank You to my good friend Mark, who I somehow missed in the vid!)
AND NOW...
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 JUMPSEATS
Tired of the daily commute to work? You say you live in Long Beach and the trek to downtown L.A. takes two hours?
You wimp. That’s peanuts to an airline pilot.
The phrase, “commuting to work” takes on a whole new meaning for the Chicago-based pilot whose spouse, kids and lawn mower are way back in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In every airliner cockpit, there is at least one "jump seat."
This seat is required so that FAA inspectors or Check Airman can occasionally fly along with line pilots for regular flight checks.
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| The dreaded B-737 Primary Jumpseat (L)... and the even more dreaded Secondary. |
Apparently, by Federal law, these jumpseats must be designed to be less comfy than a bed of nails. I am convinced they were designed either by sadistic dentists, or line pilots hoping to keep said flight checks to a minimum.
When not in official use, these extra seats—however horrid—have become the commuting pilot’s life blood. As a professional courtesy, airlines regularly tote each other’s pilots to and from work and home with this golden throne. Hey, how else do you think we get to share each other’s company gossip?
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| The A320 Primary jumpseat. |
Fortunately, when the cabin is less than full, the commuter is allowed access to a more sane cabin seat. Yes, even a coach seat is preferable to the cruel chair up front!
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| B-757 Primary Jumpseat...a bit skimpy on the leg room. |
As an airline pilot, I’ve regularly trodden to and from work on that great car pool lane in the sky, logging nearly as many hours in back of the cockpit door as in front of it. As a Phoenix, Arizona native, Ive commuted to and from work in Albuquerque, Denver, and Washington, DC.
But even thats nothing. I recall the Boeing 727 captain for Pan Am (God rest the company’s soul) who used to commute twice a week from Bozeman, Montana . . . to Munich, Germany. Or one of my recent first officers, who commutes from Phoenix, Arizona . . . to Chang Mai, Thailand.
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| A320 first jumpseat (L) and 2nd (center), with Capts seat (R). Still roomier than most... |
When in uniform and sitting in the passenger cabin, I always feel like I’m on stage. At the slightest bump or klunk, white knucklers nervously glance to me with a, “Was that normal?” look. To calm their nerves, I always flash them a reassuring smile. But I’m always tempted to grab the arm rests, bug out my eyes and shout, “What the hell was that!”
My God, they’d panic.
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| Jumpseats may be cramped and uncomfy... |
Pilots are notoriously cheap (yours truly included), and have exploited the jumpseat privilege for leisure travel as well. Like doctors and lawyers, pilots enjoy virtually for free the fruits of their profession. But, before salivating with envy over the perk, remember that there ain’t no such thing as a free inflight lunch. Pilots have either sacrificed years in the military, or in civilian flight schools (or both), and spent tens of thousands of dollars to get that “free” lunch.
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| ...but theyre a helluva window seat! |
Though the jumpseating pilot may be on vacation, tasteful dress and impeccable behavior is still required. If not in uniform, the pilot must often wear suit and tie, or at least "business casual"—and certainly no imbibing, either. White knuckle flyers, always looking for a bad omen, tend to spook upon glimpsing a cockpit crewmember decked in Bermudas, tank top and beachcombers, sipping a Piña Colada and flirting with the flight attendant.
Besides stringent dress codes, jumpseating has evolved other traditions and protocol as well. For instance, after the captain approves the jumpseat request, the traveler must always thank him personally. Once this is done, the jumper is often invited to take a seat in the cabin, if any are available. A jumper who fails to thank the captain may be asked to step outside—at cruise.
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| Off to SFO for lunch! |
Another tradition is—surprise!—common courtesy. The jumpseater is nothing more than a high class hitchhiker**, a freeloader who can be kicked off the train at the slightest sign of ingratitude. Woe to the cocky pilot who, with a condescending sneer, demands a jumpseat ticket from an already overburdened gate agent. Somehow, the paperwork always seems to lose itself in the honeycomb of the podium . . . only to be found a few seconds after the plane has pushed back.
All travelers could learn a lesson here, too: no matter how many connections you’ve missed, how many bags you’ve lost, no matter how many coffees have scalded your privates from a well-timed trounce through turbulence, never, ever piss off a gate agent—your ticket may be "inadvertently misplaced," too!
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| When not in use, a nice place to stow a flight crew rollerboard! |
Contrary to the traveling public, who normally books flights fourteen-plus days in advance and rigidly sticks to the travel agency itinerary, the jumpseating pilot wings it (scuz the pun).
For example, let’s say you’ve just finished a gruelling four day flight schedule that dumps you off (only ten minutes late) in Podunk, New York, and you’ve got to get back to LA for little Julia’s 3rd birthday. As the turbofans wind down, you race through the Airplane Shutdown Checklist, throw your Jepps navigation charts into the flight kit, grab your overnight bag, shout “See-ya!” to the crew with whom you just lived through four days of toil, dash off the flight deck and fly like, well, O. J. through the terminal to the gate for the direct flight from Podunk to LAX.
Of course, it’s gone. Pushing back, in fact, right before your bloodshot eyes and slumping shoulders, having departed exactly on time (you arrived ten minutes late, remember?)
Now comes the game I call, Airline Hopscotch.
You frantically search the nearest Departure screen for the quickest way outta here . . .
You frantically search the nearest Departure screen for the quickest way outta here . . .
"Let’s see in twenty minutes there’s a Delta out of Gate twelve direct to Chicago, and from there I could connect with United to San Francisco, but American goes to Dallas in an hour, and from there I could take USAir to Phoenix then Southwest to LAX. Or else I could . . . .
You get the picture.
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| Yep, even pilots can look like this! |
Anywhere, at anytime, your grand scheme of cross-country connections could be shot down like Canadian geese through an Airbus turbofan. The jumpseat is typically first-come-first-served, so if another pilot makes it ahead of you, it’s time to recalculate. Weather, mechanical problems or even a missing inflight meal could delay you ten, twenty, ninety agonizing minutes or more, and your whole itinerary augers in, flaming. (By the way, it has been scientifically proven that the time of delay on Flight One is inversely proportional to the connection time to Flight Two—the shorter the connect, the longer the delay.)
Okay, so you made it on the United to Chicago. Now you can breathe a sigh of relief and happily sip an orange juice back in coach. But wait! You’ve arrived an hour late and missed the connection to San Francisco.
Now it’s time revise the plan of attack. Time to connect the dots through a few more terminals, cities and airlines. The old joke, “I just flew in, and boy are my arms tired!” rings sadly true when one must suddenly tote armloads of carry-ons from Terminal A to the connection in Terminal E.
Fortunately, todays technology has allowed commuting-pilot types to finally throw away pounds and pounds of airline timetable connection books, and simply use an app or two.
Fortunately, todays technology has allowed commuting-pilot types to finally throw away pounds and pounds of airline timetable connection books, and simply use an app or two.
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| Next Flight app: shedding tons of baggage off the commuting pilot! |
This leads us to another aspect of airline jumpseating: traveling light. This is mandatory. No U Haul-sized checked baggage allowed—you never know if you’ll make it home to LAX, or end up camping out in the concrete jungle of plastic chairs in JFK.
A word of caution for those groundpounders bold enough to entertain the idea of jumpseating illegally.
This year, wannabe-jumpseater Philippe Jernnard was quickly nabbed in the cockpit of an airliner when he posed as a deadheading Air France pilot. He merely wanted to avoid the cramped quarters of Coach and get a free upgrade. Instead, he faces Federal charges.***
Still tempted? Better stop and read Catch Me if You Can, the true story of infamous con man Frank Abignale. In it, Abagnale explains the difficulties of jumpseating when does not know the ritual or the lingo.
Fake airline I.D. in hand, Abagnale posed as a deadheading pilot to travel cross-country on a jumpseat. When asked by a “fellow” pilot, “What equipment you on?,”
Abignale froze. Clueless to the fact that this industry buzzword equipment meant airplane, he replied hopefully, “Uh, General Electric!”
As Abignale and Jernnard both learned, a landlubber posing as a pilot stands out like a ticking Samsonite.***
Heres a scene from the movie, Catch Me if You Can. Sadly, it glosses right over the "What equipment you on?" gig. But its still a hoot!:
direct link: http://youtu.be/Ow8mG8qutkw
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* Story: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/22/17413258-cops-fake-pilot-arrested-on-us-airways-flight-after-struggling-with-jump-seat?lite
**During research, I found a fun blog called, "Jet Hiking," wherein the blogger is attempting to hitchhike to all 50 states . . . . in private planes! Check out: http://jethiking.com/ and http://blog.jethiking.com/
***A word about jumpseat security: Post-9/11, U.S. airlines now have a nationwide electronic verification system. Every jumpseater must be verified via this system before being allowed onto the flight deck. (Jernnard had simply wandered into the cockpit while the door was open during boarding.)
***A word about jumpseat security: Post-9/11, U.S. airlines now have a nationwide electronic verification system. Every jumpseater must be verified via this system before being allowed onto the flight deck. (Jernnard had simply wandered into the cockpit while the door was open during boarding.)
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This weeks subject: "The Future of U.S. Aviation
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