skywalkerbeth's VirtualTourist Home Page

My new BMW convertible - I picked her up at the new BMW Welt in Munich. Can anyone guess why I named her Hannah Belle?

Last Saturday I flew with a local pilot/friend to Martha's Vineyard for lunch, and back. We sat on the rooftop deck at the Seafood Shanty (right on the water) and then wandered around Edgartown a tiny bit before heading back to the plane.

On the way up we flew north along the Hudson River (the East River as you may know was closed to small plane traffic due to the accident last year) and I took some pretty nifty shots of the skyscrapers.

On the way home we flew along the south shore of Long Island, which at one point the Class B shelf requires you to fly below 500 feet - so we were at about 300 feet for a little while (with the banner planes!).

Our pit stop on the way up was at a NJ airport which apparently is home to many of these banner planes so we saw them refueling/gearing up for the banner flights.

I took my Mom to Italy - we just got back over Memorial Day weekend! We had a marvelous time. We visited Lake Como, Venice, Florence, Val d'Orcia, and Rome. A trip to Italy leaves me always wanting more...

I joined VT two years ago but am so darn busy I have not been able to update very much. So bear with me as I fill up my pages! It's all in bits and pieces... I just today learned VTML and I think my pages will really brighten up now. So keep on checking in!

I'm a budding pilot (first solo October 21, 2006, see my Leesburg page) and a veteran traveler but there's oh so much more of the world to see. Much of my international travel has been throughout many countries in Europe (roughly 30 trips to Europe - and I just bought my best souvenir ever, a BMW convertible in Munich), with a little in Latin America, and some travel in Vancouver (also Victoria and Tofino on Vancouver Island) as well as New Zealand all of which were breathtaking. Here is a photo of me and a Swiss Bear - this is in Zuoz, Switzerland .

In May 2006 I went back to Italy (and yet again, in May 2007, took my Mom back for a similar trip - we just got home barely two weeks ago). Also in 2006 my family and I visited Albuquerque for the big Balloon Fiesta AND I also built a vacation house in South Carolina. (whew!!)

I've been lucky enough to see various bands overseas on my travels (such as U2, Van Morrison, Squeeze, Elvis Costello, etc.) so I'll get around to posting about that as well.

Here is how you go through customs:

You order a mimosa or bloody mary from the flight attendant. She collects everyone's passport. You relax, drink your drink and continue talking and laughing with your colleagues. About 15 minutes later, she comes back with your passports, all stamped and ready to go. You exit, your luggage is collected for you and taken to the terminal while you amble around and take photos of the pretty mountain scenery.

but doesn't get autograph.

I guess you can't try this at home. unless your home is out in the desert.