Maybe one day, I could be your pilot. Yeah, right.
I'm so tired right now.
I went to bed at a semi-respectable 10:30pm, intending to wake up at the completely unreasonable 3am. But instead I woke up at 1am and just lay there 'til 3.
At least I made it to the airport with time to spare. When I went through the security line they sent me into one of those scanners that shoots puffs of air all over you and then tests it for traces of shampoo and lotion that are not stored in quart sized ziploc bags. I was smart and put my toiletries in my checked luggage, so they got nothing and I got a green light to put my shoes back on.
The flight was pretty empty and I had a whole row to myself.
I was in San Jose before I knew it.
Robert and I tried out Skype which I must say is pretty cool.
We picked up Kathleen's mom and her husband around noon and grabbed some lunch at Panera.
We then decided to come up with a shopping list for Thanksgiving, and when "canned yams" were mentioned I piped up and said I'd cook a bunch of stuff. So I'm making some yams, brussel sprouts, pumpkin pie, and corn bread. I think I also have to "debone" the turkey. Which is all ok by me.
We headed over to Trader Joe's where we got most of the stuff, but I couldn't find hazelnuts and that cranberry sauce that keeps it's shape when you let it slide out of the can (I don't really love the taste or texture of the stuff, but it's a Thanksgiving must for me for the aesthetic and traditional value).
We swung by Whole Food's next for the fresh turkey that was reserved and waiting for us. They had hazelnuts and the cranberry sauce that I was looking for.
After dropping off the groceries we made our way over to Kathleen's work. Sounds boring, right? Well, it's awesome. She works at NASA Ames where they have the Vertical Motion Simulator (I got to try my hand at landing on the moon, though it was only the visual exercise; not with the full motion of the cab). We also checked out the commercial air simulators, and I got to (try) to land a 777. They stopped the simulator before I crashed though. It was really tricky, and the motion was so good that when you left the simulators I really felt all discombobulated like I'd actually been flying.
The 747 simulator is a class D training module which means it's so good that pilots in training can actually log official flight hours when they fly simulations. All the simulators, including this one, are like a super fancy video games with a very important function and purpose for professional astronaut and pilot types. I didn't get to try out the 747, because my brother Robert hogged it the whole time. He actually did really well and landed and took off twice.
(I couldn't finish this post last night because I was so tired and we got Mexican food when I was in the middle of writing this, so I basically crashed out after dinner.)
Today we're going to go to a beach where we can (hopefully) see elephant seals! Woo!
I went to bed at a semi-respectable 10:30pm, intending to wake up at the completely unreasonable 3am. But instead I woke up at 1am and just lay there 'til 3.
At least I made it to the airport with time to spare. When I went through the security line they sent me into one of those scanners that shoots puffs of air all over you and then tests it for traces of shampoo and lotion that are not stored in quart sized ziploc bags. I was smart and put my toiletries in my checked luggage, so they got nothing and I got a green light to put my shoes back on.
The flight was pretty empty and I had a whole row to myself.
I was in San Jose before I knew it.
Robert and I tried out Skype which I must say is pretty cool.
We picked up Kathleen's mom and her husband around noon and grabbed some lunch at Panera.
We then decided to come up with a shopping list for Thanksgiving, and when "canned yams" were mentioned I piped up and said I'd cook a bunch of stuff. So I'm making some yams, brussel sprouts, pumpkin pie, and corn bread. I think I also have to "debone" the turkey. Which is all ok by me.
We headed over to Trader Joe's where we got most of the stuff, but I couldn't find hazelnuts and that cranberry sauce that keeps it's shape when you let it slide out of the can (I don't really love the taste or texture of the stuff, but it's a Thanksgiving must for me for the aesthetic and traditional value).
We swung by Whole Food's next for the fresh turkey that was reserved and waiting for us. They had hazelnuts and the cranberry sauce that I was looking for.
After dropping off the groceries we made our way over to Kathleen's work. Sounds boring, right? Well, it's awesome. She works at NASA Ames where they have the Vertical Motion Simulator (I got to try my hand at landing on the moon, though it was only the visual exercise; not with the full motion of the cab). We also checked out the commercial air simulators, and I got to (try) to land a 777. They stopped the simulator before I crashed though. It was really tricky, and the motion was so good that when you left the simulators I really felt all discombobulated like I'd actually been flying.
The 747 simulator is a class D training module which means it's so good that pilots in training can actually log official flight hours when they fly simulations. All the simulators, including this one, are like a super fancy video games with a very important function and purpose for professional astronaut and pilot types. I didn't get to try out the 747, because my brother Robert hogged it the whole time. He actually did really well and landed and took off twice.
(I couldn't finish this post last night because I was so tired and we got Mexican food when I was in the middle of writing this, so I basically crashed out after dinner.)
Today we're going to go to a beach where we can (hopefully) see elephant seals! Woo!