Sunday, December 30, 2007

ATL-PNS

I (Mary) went down to Pensacola for a couple days after Christmas to visit Jess, Brady & Clint and was shocked to find Brady starting to walk already! It's crazy how quickly he's growing up before our eyes. He's as adorable as ever and is so smart and active! He is all over the place, crawling here, pushing his tractor there - I couldn't keep up ;) I really don't know how Jess keeps up with that guy - he is smokin' fast! He loooves getting a bath - I'm attaching a pic here. I had a really great time catching up with them, and I loved getting to see my little Brady Boy! Can't believe he'll be ONE in just a few months... my oh my how the time flies!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

ATL-BHM

I (Mary) have been having to go back and forth once or twice a month to UAB to help transition the new person into my old position at UAB, and this time I decided to fly it! It was really nice - all I had to do was sit and let someone else do the driving ;) It's a super short flight, we were only in the air 30 minutes, but altogether (security, check-in, etc.) it takes about an hour - still less than half the time it would take to drive. So why not? I squeezed a lot in this trip - worked long days at UAB Thursday Friday; then went to Liz's school's play-off game Friday night (they won and are going to the state championship next weekend!); and on Saturday I got to hang out with the fam, and then I went to Julie's birthday spa-party on Saturday, stayed the night and flew home early Sunday morning, making it just in time for Church! All in all, a great weekend!

Monday, November 12, 2007

ATL-LGA

I (Mary) am happy to report that our 3rd N/R trip was also a success! Julie and I made our early A.M. flight to New York Wednesday morning with no problems and even made it out on an earlier flight than we'd planned Friday night, arriving safe and sound with a camera full of fun times! We packed a ton into our impromptu 3-day trip to the city. Saw Times Square, Broadway, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, Central Park, Empire State Building, Union Square, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Ground Zero, Grand Central and the United Nations! And attended a live taping of the Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza, making our national telelvision debut :) We ate some really great food and met some really nice New Yorkers. We also got to see a few celebrities, which is always fun. All in all, it was a great trip!

Monday, October 29, 2007

BHM-SFO














We went on our first joint-NR trip this weekend to San Francisco and it was wonderful!!! We had good weather, and it's an absolutely beautiful city. We had such a great time and got to see everything we wanted to. Some highlights include the Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars, and the sea lions at Pier 39. We also enjoyed some wonderful seafood and Ghirardelli chocolate! We stayed by the airport, so we took BART into the city and then rode the MUNI's street cars, cable cars and buses to get around downtown. We used only public transportation the whole weekend and it worked out great. We definitely recommend it to others travelling there - no worrying about finding parking or navigating the cramped hilly streets. It was a great trip from start to finish and we look forward to going back. Everyone was super-nice and we even got bumped up to first class on the way home Monday! Very nice... we could definitely get used to that ;) Next stop... New York City! Stay tuned...

Monday, October 22, 2007

ATL-LAX

Well I (Shannon) had my first non-rev experience this past weekend. I booked a flight to L.A. to visit my friend from college and to take in some of California. I flew out on Friday night and headed home Sunday morning. I managed to catch both of the flights I wanted to get on and without much trouble.

To fly on the NRSA list it takes some patience and luck. Even though I didn't have any money tied up in the flight I did get pretty nervous sitting at the terminal hoping that my name made the "cleared" list. It will take a little practice to get more comfortable with how it all works but I think a laid back attitude is the only way to enjoy non-reving. The 20 minutes or so watching all the paying customers get on the plane is what got my heart pumping. It is pretty hard to gauge how many people have actually gotten on or if there will be an empty seat. You can really sike yourself out if you think too much about it in that window of boarding. The best thing to do is probably just watch the standby list with your fingers crossed. I need to work on being calm, it really isn't the end of the world if you miss a flight or get bumped. It is all one big adventure/gamble so even a bad trip could produce a few good stories. Most everyone likes something free and I'm no different. Free flights is pretty sweet even if you don't always make it.

A summary of the weekend trip. Friday, flew in and got something to eat and drink at a local restaurant in Hermosa Beach with Matt and his roomate. Saturday, ate breakfast, picked up an extra surf board and went to Huntington for my second attempt ever at surfing. Got worked over by the ocean but managed to stand up a number of times on the board so it was a good time and better than my last try at surfing. Got some lunch at a place near the beach and then went to check out some local slope soaring at Pt. Fermin (http://www.rudyalicelighthouse.net/CalLts/PtFermin/PtFermin.htm). Unfortunately there was only one guy flying a combat wing there but the site is pretty cool in itself. He told us about some other slope soaring at White Point just a mile away were more people were so we checked that out. Headed back to Redondo Beach (where Matt lives) and stopped at an In and Out Burger to have a burger of all things. Went back Matt's house to rest a little and get ready for one of his friends Birthday party. Went to the birthday party at "The Velvet Lounge", a nice club in L.A. then out to eat at a Korean restaurant. Crashed on Matt's couch then got up to fly home first thing in the morning. It was a fun trip and I hope to do it again.

- Shannon

P. S. Mary and I are planning to go to San Francisco this coming weekend so we'll see if we make it. Fingers crossed.

Monday, September 17, 2007

We love to fly and it shows!

Well, it's official - Shannon has now begun week 3 of his new job, and we're looking forward to taking advantage of the travel benefits offered as a result :) This is our new blog to post all of our travel adventures, so stay tuned!