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Virgin on the ridiculous
Rough time for Virgin Atlantic flight VS109
Dahlings, My dear friend Rich has big plans to expand his Virgin Empire where the inaugural flight took place to fly from Atlanta to Manchester.
However, getting back to Atlanta proved to be a bit tricky due to involvement of the Manchester Airport Fire service.
They had one task to do and that was to give a water cannon salute as the plane left to go back. After all, what could go wrong with a water salute?
Well, go wrong it did, as someone pushed the wrong button and sprayed the plane with fire suppressing foam which clogged the engines.
Instead of the 10:35 am departure, the flight was delayed for 5 hours before it was finally cancelled.
Way to go Manchester Airport – What a way to loose your Virginity !
Ciao for Now,
Cleo.
Joking aside, Texas ain’t that bad a place
Jeff Foxworthy quotes on Texas
Just re-forwarding some Jeff Foxworthy sayings I saw today on facebook that made me titter.
The quote about Houston traffic is true where I previously commented about driving around the Galleria area around 10:30 pm. As for hitting a deer, I have hit one once. I also hit a wild pig.
One thing about Texas that outsiders may not know is that each big city – Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso etc all have their own personalities. There is no doubt a common “Don’t mess with Texas” attitude with most people who live here but if you go to Austin, you’d be surprised at how laid back it is where even question if they are even in Texas. Similarly, inner loop (inside 610) Houston is surprisingly cosmopolitan.
After growing up in Europe, the size of Texas is something that continually gets me each time. Drive into Texas from Louisiana on I10 and you’ll see sign that gives distance to El Paso: 857 miles. To put that in perspective, the distance to drive from Munich to Paris is 427 miles.
Spring is the best time to visit Texas : It has been a wet winter and the expectation is the spring will be very colorful. A drive around the Hill Country in the next two months is highly recommended.
Some of the hidden beauty in Texas. (Taken near Luling in March 2014). Copyright Roads-2-Roam
Hogging the trails in Sedona
Making the interweb rounds is a video clip of someone mountain biking near a large drop. I tip my corona to Michal Kollbek who rode the White Line in Sedona. As they’d say in his native polish language, “jesteś szalony draniu” : You’re a crazy bastard !
You’d think that this was the first time this has been done. It isn’t.
Here is another.
While I’ll let others comment further on the bravery or stupidity on such actions, I was more thinking where the heck is it. The scenery looks impressive.
While I cannot make out if the location of the white line rock itself, the background is Red Rock State park in Nevada. Visitors need to note that the park closes early – 5 pm. Since State Parks are pretty religious about policing naughty boys who do not “Stay on marked roads & trails”, this cannot be in the State park.
I was right – Turns out that the ‘white line’ is part of “Hogs” trails. From an AZ Central article on bike trails in Sedona.
Here’s something else I pondered: Mountain bikers are stark, raving lunatics. Why else would they go hurtling along the edges of high cliffs with sheer drop-offs and careening around hairpin curves on a path as skinny as a liposuctioned rattlesnake? Whoever built the Hogs were hard-core adrenaline junkies.
In recent years, a spirit of cooperation has emerged between the U.S. Forest Service and the Sedona mountain-biking community. The Hogs were social trails that had been around for a couple of decades but were technically illegal. Instead of trying to eradicate the pathways, the Forest Service put together a plan to adopt them. Using grant money from PeopleforBikes, a Colorado-based organization, and aided by an army of volunteers — mostly bikers — the trails have been rebuilt and improved, and signs have been installed. It’s a win-win, because these are some spectacular trails.
The easiest way for hikers to reach the Hogs is via the Broken Arrow Trail. I started from the parking area at the end of Morgan Road. Broken Arrow runs parallel to a motorized trail teeming with Pink Jeep tours and off-roaders. It crosses the jeep road and bends left. In less than 200 yards, I reached a ledge at the foot of Battlement Mesa and two new signs a stone’s throw from one another.
The trails themselves are not too long either: 3.1 to 3.7 miles.
USDA site on Coconino National Forest has some details on the Broken Arrow trail. For the less energic, Pink Jeep Tours seems to be a popular way of seeing it.
Sedona is about 45 minutes from Flagstaff and 2.5 hours drive from the Grand Canyon. I’ll keep this in mind next time I am there though I don’t think I’ll be a szalony draniu.
Other links to help you out.
Nut$ and bolt$
Dahlings, it is story that refuses to die. Am I going to tell you a beautiful life story of someone overcomes adversity to prevail against all odds?
Heck no. I intend to talk about “Nutrage” fiasco. Heather Cho is still in jail so what can be new?
From the BBC, the latest is that that flight attendant who initiated it all by not understanding Macademia etiquette , is suing Korean Air Lines.
Ms Kim’s civil lawsuit, filed in New York City, is seeking compensation for damage to her career, reputation and emotional wellbeing.
This will be an interesting case as Ms Kim was not the actual person who was booted off the plane: it was her boss, chief purser Park Chang-Jin. He was the one forced to grovel.
There is a clue here.
They said the airline had not responded to Ms Kim’s attempt to settle her claim privately.
Maybe they will offer some KAL travel vouchers.
Ciao for now,
Cleo.
Cheap flights for 50p? Sing again.
Top of the morning to you. Thought you’d like this in time for St.Patrick’s day by “Fascinating Aïda”.