Travel Tips

Never forget where you come from. Used to drive past this everyday on my way to work. Looks even better at night turned slightly to the right so you can see downtown LA. Love being away from home but it's good to have your roots in the ground somewhere. I guess you could compare it to other places but for me it is unique.

This is what Petra looks like sans a few tourists. I maanaged to wake up and head it when the place opened. I froze my ass off in the morning here but was able to see some great things. I climbed up to the top of this hill via some stone stairs and as I was sitting there a herder was running flock up the hill. He smiled at me and I realized how lucky I was to be there. Could have been sitting at my desk working on a memo but instead I was half a world away in this place. It's moments like this where you sit down relax and start to take in everything around you...I'll never forget them.

If you head East from San Fran or NE from LA you will hit Mammoth and June Lake (s). I took this up on June lake prior to starting to hit the road seriously like I have now. California has many great things to see and this is one of them. I have been up here trout fishin and shootin (target only).
It's a few hour drive from LA and a great way to escape the madness of the city. Turn off the tv, grab a book, beer and a fishing pole and your set.
Every time I look at this pic it makes me want to go back.

Crappy pic huh..well it was my first trip on my own outside of the US. It was a short weekender while I was working in Amsterdam for the summer.
I guess I got a bit of a twitch sittin up here. I live near a place called Malaga Cove except the geeks where I live try and pronounce it differently.
I flew in here at night with no place to stay and caught the city bus from the airport into town to look for a place to stay ....with no map it was a blast and I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to find a place on the street to rest my head...I guess this is where I really started to feel free if that makes any sense.

This picture would have been awsome had it not been a cloudy day. Eons ago this scene would have looked much different also as it was a busy city..Had it not been what it was the world would probably be a much different place. I sat up here near the old fort thinking "Hey I made it"
Syria is one place I would like to revisit some time as there is so much to see. Right now I am happy to be able to remember this

Ok, why am I sitting here looking at a stupid wing????? Well, I now adays I'm lucky just to get a window seat. I took this from a first class seat on a 747-200. While I may get a business class seat once in a blue moon now it will never again be in a generic as they call them 747-200. I took this on my way back from Narita heading home to LA. Riding on a plane when I am not sitting between two line backers with a 4 yr old in front reclining his seat into my knees is kinda fun for me if you can believe that. Boats and trains are great but planes get you there a tad bit faster.

Not a great pic but a great city below. Lebanon or Beirut has probably been thru the meat grinder more times than that McDonalds hamburger you just threw down your gut. This city or country will probably get the admiration that it deserves since too many people would just as well see it crumble to the ground. It would be a shame if that happens but it is not the only place in a geopolitical tug of war between nations.

One of the best trips I have ever made in terms of views is flying up to Anchorage in the jumpseat of one of my companies planes. The view from the front of a 747 freighter as you decend into Anchorage is one I will never forget. As you decend down over the snow capped mountians you almost forget that you have 6-700,000 pound airplane behind you. Thanks to the TSA/FAA rides like this for me are hard to come by so I feel lucky to have experienced the few that I have.