"That hasn't happened for the longest time..."
Click.
"Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more than I hoped for"
Turning up the volume on Mr. iPod now reminds me of the beach--he still has some sand on him.
*huuuge grin*
Last weekend was all that I expected and more. Let me warn you--this entry will be long. But filled with tons of pics. I tried to take a lot so that you guys could "come along" with me on the trip. If you enjoy this half as much as I did, you'll be bouncing off the walls.
So first I'll fill in those of you who don't know what I'm talking about. My dad is a pilot that flies the Chairman of the company General Dynamics. He flies mainly the corporate jet known as the Gulfstream. In normal circumstances, he isn't allowed to bring friends or family on his trips. But since his trip to Fort Myers, Florida was over Memorial Day, the company allowed him to bring family members. Out of our family, Chika and I were able to go. (Mom and Ashley were working. Sucks for them.)
On Friday I took the day off from school because the Chairman kept changing the take-off time. Three times to be exact. But I didn't care because I was soo excited to be able to fly on the $40 million dollar Gulfstream V. We went out to the airport early with my dad to set up.
We sat around at the airport for a bit. Which actually wasn't torture. I took a few artistic pics.
You can see Dulles from the window.
I'm guessing the best part of the airport was the free cookies, coffee/tea/hot chocolate, and internet. Whew.
Getting through the private airport security was like this:
(In other words, NOTHING.)
Here's the outside of the airport.
So we went out to where all the airplanes were parked...which one...hmm.
"Heidi, turn around!"
"Whoa."
Climbed into the plane...
(Yes, that is my hair. It was windy.)
They even gave us a little carpet.
I looked out the door and took this random pic.
We got onto the plane and checked everything out before the Chairman and his wife came. I was practically jumping up and down from the excitement.
The main cabin was really cool. Lotsa comfy chairs.
There's room for about 14 people, but we only had four. So plenty of room! Yeaaah.
I got a quick pic of my dad.
The bathroom was pristine. Marble countertops and a shiny metal sink. Too bad I never used it though. Oh well. Eye candy.
One of the most important things on the plane was what I discovered next--the bar. (On the left)
Of course it was equipped with snacks, sodas, etc, but the most important detail...
The alcohol drawer. Haha. My dad was really wondering why the hell I wanted a picture of this. Do not take this pic for granted.
The electronic cabinet wasn't bad. CD player, DVD and VCR, radio, etc.
Throughout the plane were these screens that displayed some geeky info that was pretty much useless with the exception of mild entertainment. (Temp, altitude, speed) Ah, but they also play DVD's. Coolio.
After I got a pic of Chika on the couch...
...I shoved her off and made myself comfy while waiting. (You know I'm kidding.)
So a bit later I checked out the cockpit. My dad started rambling about all kinds of boring stuff. I guess a little was interesting.
I was most interested in actually putting on the headset though.
Hahaha, good times.
Before we took off, my dad locked up all the cargo. Haha, niice.
So finally everyone was onboard the plane and ready to go. Takeoff was a bit bumpy. But I got some good shots before I went turbulence crazy.
At 47,000 feet, we were above all the airliners. Yay for us. More pretty pics.
That second one is pretty artistic you gotta admit. But we won't go into the subject of my artistic pictures. ;P
Landing was fun. Right over the pretty water.
So after the two hour flight we arrived in Ft. Myers. And man was I happy to see that yes, we got a red carpet. It's the small stuff.
Duuude! They pulled our rental cars up to the plane. I'm fucking serious. Best pic.
So awesome.
The airport in Ft. Myers was pretty. All yellow and such.
Chika and I watched some TLC on the flat panel.
Of course in the reclining chairs.
We're such snobs.
So we checked into our hotel, yatta yatta. Ate out at a Mexican place. Pretty good. Later on that night we drove around downtown, then went walking on the beach.
Someone teach my dad how to take pictures.
My foot!
My dad and Chika.
Seriously, the water was so warm. It was all really relaxing. And romantic. Except not.
Saturday we went to the beach. In case you didn't know, it is so hot and humid down there. And the water is hot too. I'm not exaggerating when I say the water is about 87 degrees.
The sand was soft and white, but unfortunately it got into Mr. iPod. He's ok though.
I found this hotel and palm tree to be pretty. Like a lot of stuff. But this deserved it's own pic.
The best part of saturday was renting this sailboat.
I would give you pics of me ON the sailboat, but I couldn't take my camera out with me. Quinn would've gotten really wet. So that's the sailboat.
My feet in the sand. Hmm.
Driving around was pretty fun. Ya never know what you're gonna see.
Too bad I couldn't get a very good pic of this hotel.
Driving...
Okay, that day at the beach I got soo completely burnt it's not even funny. Alrite so maybe a little funny. But later figured it was a second degree burn on my shoulders from the nasty blisters. Believe me, I used sunscreen. I guess it washed off in the water.
That night we went out to a semi-outdoor restaurant.
The sunset was beautiful.
Sunday...first thing we did was go see a movie. I was sick of the sun already. Well kinda. We saw "The Day After Tomorrow." Pretty good movie with the exception of the corny scenes. We forgive. Here's a random bell from that shopping center.
Then we went to this wildlife park. Yah, sounds kinda boring, but it was pretty cool...we saw lotsa...wildlife!
It was all on this boardwalk/bridge thing.
Sun shining through the trees...
These birdies were cute.
I saw some cute green anoles. Exactly like my pet anoles. Haha.
Alligator tracks...hmm...
Hehe there it is. That was pretty cool. I wanted it to eat one of the birds though. Oh well.
That night we ate at "The Bridge."
They had a "dock party" going on. And they really meant DOCK party.
Oh yeah.
Monday was the last day. We basically just packed up and did some last minute shopping. I didn't buy you guys anything. Hahaha. :P
My dad and Ken (other pilot) walked out to the plane.
That big cloud of smoke was from wildfires. Yep. FYI.
On the flight back, I sat in this seat in the cockpit right behind the pilots. It's called a jumpseat. Soo much fun.
Hehe my dad looks bald in that pic. But yea.
Final prep...
...Then we took off. It was an awesome feeling sitting in the cockpit for all of this. And talking to my dad on the headset pretty much capped it off.
The storm you DON'T want to run into.
After takeoff I had to get a pic of Chika using the microwave. There's also a stove but this is easier for now.
Awesome landing pics. Dad didn't do so bad.
So that's it. Best trip ever. Well, Hawai'i was pretty good too. But yeah.
One thing I learned from this trip was that really--money can't buy happiness. Because even though I was so grateful for all of the luxury and stuff, I wasn't completely happy because it would've been so much more fun with some of my good buddies. I missed you guys.
Hope you enjoyed that little show because it took me for-ev-er to complete.
<3 to all.
"Maybe I've been hoping too hard
But I've gone this far
And it's more than I hoped for"
Turning up the volume on Mr. iPod now reminds me of the beach--he still has some sand on him.
*huuuge grin*
Last weekend was all that I expected and more. Let me warn you--this entry will be long. But filled with tons of pics. I tried to take a lot so that you guys could "come along" with me on the trip. If you enjoy this half as much as I did, you'll be bouncing off the walls.
So first I'll fill in those of you who don't know what I'm talking about. My dad is a pilot that flies the Chairman of the company General Dynamics. He flies mainly the corporate jet known as the Gulfstream. In normal circumstances, he isn't allowed to bring friends or family on his trips. But since his trip to Fort Myers, Florida was over Memorial Day, the company allowed him to bring family members. Out of our family, Chika and I were able to go. (Mom and Ashley were working. Sucks for them.)
On Friday I took the day off from school because the Chairman kept changing the take-off time. Three times to be exact. But I didn't care because I was soo excited to be able to fly on the $40 million dollar Gulfstream V. We went out to the airport early with my dad to set up.
We sat around at the airport for a bit. Which actually wasn't torture. I took a few artistic pics.
You can see Dulles from the window.
I'm guessing the best part of the airport was the free cookies, coffee/tea/hot chocolate, and internet. Whew.
Getting through the private airport security was like this:
(In other words, NOTHING.)
Here's the outside of the airport.
So we went out to where all the airplanes were parked...which one...hmm.
"Heidi, turn around!"
"Whoa."
Climbed into the plane...
(Yes, that is my hair. It was windy.)
They even gave us a little carpet.
I looked out the door and took this random pic.
We got onto the plane and checked everything out before the Chairman and his wife came. I was practically jumping up and down from the excitement.
The main cabin was really cool. Lotsa comfy chairs.
There's room for about 14 people, but we only had four. So plenty of room! Yeaaah.
I got a quick pic of my dad.
The bathroom was pristine. Marble countertops and a shiny metal sink. Too bad I never used it though. Oh well. Eye candy.
One of the most important things on the plane was what I discovered next--the bar. (On the left)
Of course it was equipped with snacks, sodas, etc, but the most important detail...
The alcohol drawer. Haha. My dad was really wondering why the hell I wanted a picture of this. Do not take this pic for granted.
The electronic cabinet wasn't bad. CD player, DVD and VCR, radio, etc.
Throughout the plane were these screens that displayed some geeky info that was pretty much useless with the exception of mild entertainment. (Temp, altitude, speed) Ah, but they also play DVD's. Coolio.
After I got a pic of Chika on the couch...
...I shoved her off and made myself comfy while waiting. (You know I'm kidding.)
So a bit later I checked out the cockpit. My dad started rambling about all kinds of boring stuff. I guess a little was interesting.
I was most interested in actually putting on the headset though.
Hahaha, good times.
Before we took off, my dad locked up all the cargo. Haha, niice.
So finally everyone was onboard the plane and ready to go. Takeoff was a bit bumpy. But I got some good shots before I went turbulence crazy.
At 47,000 feet, we were above all the airliners. Yay for us. More pretty pics.
That second one is pretty artistic you gotta admit. But we won't go into the subject of my artistic pictures. ;P
Landing was fun. Right over the pretty water.
So after the two hour flight we arrived in Ft. Myers. And man was I happy to see that yes, we got a red carpet. It's the small stuff.
Duuude! They pulled our rental cars up to the plane. I'm fucking serious. Best pic.
So awesome.
The airport in Ft. Myers was pretty. All yellow and such.
Chika and I watched some TLC on the flat panel.
Of course in the reclining chairs.
We're such snobs.
So we checked into our hotel, yatta yatta. Ate out at a Mexican place. Pretty good. Later on that night we drove around downtown, then went walking on the beach.
Someone teach my dad how to take pictures.
My foot!
My dad and Chika.
Seriously, the water was so warm. It was all really relaxing. And romantic. Except not.
Saturday we went to the beach. In case you didn't know, it is so hot and humid down there. And the water is hot too. I'm not exaggerating when I say the water is about 87 degrees.
The sand was soft and white, but unfortunately it got into Mr. iPod. He's ok though.
I found this hotel and palm tree to be pretty. Like a lot of stuff. But this deserved it's own pic.
The best part of saturday was renting this sailboat.
I would give you pics of me ON the sailboat, but I couldn't take my camera out with me. Quinn would've gotten really wet. So that's the sailboat.
My feet in the sand. Hmm.
Driving around was pretty fun. Ya never know what you're gonna see.
Too bad I couldn't get a very good pic of this hotel.
Driving...
Okay, that day at the beach I got soo completely burnt it's not even funny. Alrite so maybe a little funny. But later figured it was a second degree burn on my shoulders from the nasty blisters. Believe me, I used sunscreen. I guess it washed off in the water.
That night we went out to a semi-outdoor restaurant.
The sunset was beautiful.
Sunday...first thing we did was go see a movie. I was sick of the sun already. Well kinda. We saw "The Day After Tomorrow." Pretty good movie with the exception of the corny scenes. We forgive. Here's a random bell from that shopping center.
Then we went to this wildlife park. Yah, sounds kinda boring, but it was pretty cool...we saw lotsa...wildlife!
It was all on this boardwalk/bridge thing.
Sun shining through the trees...
These birdies were cute.
I saw some cute green anoles. Exactly like my pet anoles. Haha.
Alligator tracks...hmm...
Hehe there it is. That was pretty cool. I wanted it to eat one of the birds though. Oh well.
That night we ate at "The Bridge."
They had a "dock party" going on. And they really meant DOCK party.
Oh yeah.
Monday was the last day. We basically just packed up and did some last minute shopping. I didn't buy you guys anything. Hahaha. :P
My dad and Ken (other pilot) walked out to the plane.
That big cloud of smoke was from wildfires. Yep. FYI.
On the flight back, I sat in this seat in the cockpit right behind the pilots. It's called a jumpseat. Soo much fun.
Hehe my dad looks bald in that pic. But yea.
Final prep...
...Then we took off. It was an awesome feeling sitting in the cockpit for all of this. And talking to my dad on the headset pretty much capped it off.
The storm you DON'T want to run into.
After takeoff I had to get a pic of Chika using the microwave. There's also a stove but this is easier for now.
Awesome landing pics. Dad didn't do so bad.
So that's it. Best trip ever. Well, Hawai'i was pretty good too. But yeah.
One thing I learned from this trip was that really--money can't buy happiness. Because even though I was so grateful for all of the luxury and stuff, I wasn't completely happy because it would've been so much more fun with some of my good buddies. I missed you guys.
Hope you enjoyed that little show because it took me for-ev-er to complete.
<3 to all.