Continuing our story...LONG POST ALERT

When I left we had gone to the CBJ game on a Monday (school night) and the Jackets got a point for an OT loss. Tuesday came and now I was not hearing the bad noises from the sump pump. Unfortunately that meant that both pumps were now in fact dead and it was supposed to rain all day Wednesday. We had the discussion about what to do and my wife said let it go until you get back. I said thats probably bad and called the plumber. They could not come until Wednesday afternoon and I would be on my plane to Las Vegas so I asked my father to come over and help my wife not get ripped off by the plumbers.

Its a really good thing I did as both pumps were dead and the sump was filled to within a quarter of an inch of the top and the overflow and flood was minutes away. Once the new pumps were installed they ran for more than 24 hours straight. 18 seconds on and 2 seconds off for more than a day. We were lucky on this. However, luck was definitely NOT on my side that day.....

I had an 8:15 flight to Atlanta so I left at about 6:30 for the airport. I filled the tank with fuel so it would start when I returned. I parked and got on the shuttle and breezed thru security with no wait. We boarded and left the gate on-time. That was the last thing to go as planned all day. We taxied in the Embraer 170 and when we got to the end of the runway I noticed there was another plane parked off to the side. We then joined it as well. It was the earlier flight to ATL. The captain came on the PA and announced that ATL was closed due to weather and to expect a delay. He allowed us to use computers and cell phones which is a bad sign since the doors were closed. We ended up sitting for 48 minutes before taking off. I was not worried as I had about a 2 hour layover in Atlanta before my flight to Las Vegas. What could go wrong? I take this flight all the time and it only takes 1:10 minutes.

My first inclination of trouble was when we started to do donuts in the sky. Air traffic control had us in a hold to get us into a slot. I still had almost an hour though so no big deal. Then we did another, and then another and I started to look at my watch. When we finally started our descent I was concerned as the next flight was probably starting to board. It was no big deal because Delta would not hang me out to dry. hey KNEW I was coming in and it was not my fault. So I enjoyed the last mnutes of my flight sitting in the bulkhead with an empty seat next to me. Once we landed I looked at my watch and prayed we would be in the same terminal as my next flight. According to my boarding pass we were not. I always carry on my stuff whenever possible so if I have to do an OJ Simpson (No, not slash someone's throat. Running thru an airport like he did on the commercials for Hertz) I know my bags will make the flight. We pulled into gate B33 and checking the monitor shoed my next plane was at B3. In other words as far apart as they could be in the same terminal. The board also showed on-time and I had 7 minutes to get there. I started a panic run and quickly ran out of steam. I walked fast for a minute or two before I heard over the PA: Final Boarding call for flight XXXX and then my name. At that point I was still 10 gates away and exhausted. I finally mustered a last run and got there to a line of standby passengers trying to get my seat. It took awhile to get the attention of the ticket guy and then he scanned my pass told the other sorry and closed the door behind me. I ran dow the jetway and entered the plane where the flight attendant gave me a nasty look and closed the door to the Boeing 757-200. I made it to my seat and somehow found overhead space for my bag and climbed over 2 people to the window seat to find this plane did not have the personal video screen in front of me. Bummer. I was exhausted and my mouth was so dry I could hardly swallow. I had to go to the restroom terribly, but I had made my flight. What could go wrong?

So within minutes we taxied out and the Captain came over the PA announcing flight time would be 4 hours and 26 minutes. but that we were going to be on the ground for awhile as we were about 25-30 planes away from taking off. It ended up being 27 and we sat for over an hour slowly creeping forward. By the time we took off I really had to go. I love the takeoff in the 757 as it requires a higher speed as the wings are not the most efficient. Its angle is always greater although it bounces around a lot. Once I felt the plane level off I was up and moving when I heard the ding for the safety belt. Fortunately only one person got in front of me and there was a line of about 10 people waiting to use the lavatory when I got out. The rest of the flight itself was normal although with no video and being able to see only half of the tiny overhead monitor I really did not watch the movie. I listed to my ipod and watched a little video on it. Finally we made our descent into Las Vegas and landed. As we pulled up onto the jetway the door never opened. The captain then came over the PA to announce there had been a security incident in the airport and it had to be emptied and everybody re-screened. It also meant we had to stay on the plane. I just shook my head and read my emails. It was now I was able to find out all about the sump pump being fixed and how lucky we were. Ater 45 minutes we finally began do get off the plane. What could go wrong from here?

Delta is in terminal D and I knew the tram was down so we had only 1 instead of 2. The issue was 25 planes all dumping their loads at the same time and it took more than 1 hour from the time I left the plane until I stepped outside to get a taxi. My shuttle had long since left by more than 2 hours and now I had to pay to get to the hotel. After a $30 cab ride for about 7 miles I arrived at the South Point Casino. Home of the 2009 SCCA National Convention. I waited in a short line to check in and all seemed normal at long last. Besides, what could go wrong?

I tried to check in, but they did not have my name. No big deal as there were 7 of us going to represent the Ohio Valley Region. I gave the name of the person who had made reservations. Over and over they went thru the lists. Nothing. Its as if I did not exist. For more than 30 minutes I tried to figure out where I was supposed to be. The lady finally said I could just get a room, but I would have to pay. No way. She finally said to use the house phone to page the other overhead in the casino. Yeah right. So I left to figure out a plan. I finally decided to see if I could dial a number from my voicemail and call one of the people that had flown direct on Southwest Airlines. Luckily I got thru and help was on the way. It turned out the lady was an idiot and had never checked to see if the others had checked in. Which they had. They already had my room and all I needed to do was pick up the key at the desk. I had finally made it. Exhausted and late but I was there. Wasn't that easy?

Next....

So we returned from the tournament in Detroit and the first thing I heard was a really weird noise coming from my sump pump. I'll get around to that after Vegas I said to myself. I had 2 days and a million things to do. Poppy had her tournament final game at 7:30am at Chiller Easton. Nothing like having to wake up at o dark thirty on a holiday day off. So we went out and watched the CAHA team get handled not only by the other team, but the parents that were working the clock.


Well the game was fun, but decidedly one sided as the other team plays full ice vs. our half ice. Since these games were full ice and this one on Olympic ice it was hard to cover so much open ice. So after the game it was announced that all players were getting tickets to that nights Columbus Blue Jackets game against Dallas. Now I had so much to do with a trip coming on Wednesday morning, but Poppy earned it and I took her and as always she appeared on the Jumbotron with several of her teammates. We had fun. When I got home I heard that noise again.....

Please stay tuned. SO MUCH to tell and its getting late. Several more posts tomorrow.

Catching Up

Wow its been a couple weeks since my last blog update and so much has happened. Rather than write one huge post I'll break it down into several over the next couple days.

On my last post we were in snowy Detroit for a tournament with the North Stars. Well Frudoch did not have his best set of games. He ended the four game tournament with no goals one assist and 10 penalty minutes. For some reason the 2008 version returned and Fru got comfortable in the penalty box. 3 roughing and 2 boarding penalties in addition to having a go and exchanging a few punches AFTER a game had ended with probably 3 or 4 hits that could have been called. He was not alone in trying to knock everybody down as several of his teammates spent time in the box too. Overall they finished 1-3 with the win coming against Easton. The worst was yet to come.

A Familiar site: #10 in the box...

In one of his scrums Frudoch got into it with a kid and that kid found the ultimate way to get even. He put his skate blade across Frudoch's Easton Stealth S17 stick and broke it. Now this is not an ordinary stick. In fact it was a christmas present this year and a source of considerable pride. It also cost $200. Now I'm trying to figure out how to mark the occasion. I'll either mount the broken stick on the wall as-is or I'll take it to a trophy shop and have a piece of it mounted on a plaque. In any case here is the obligatory picture.

Hockeytown

So I'm up in Detroit for a few days for what else? A hockey tournament. While the NHL team from up here went down to our town Columbus and guess what happened. The Jackets beat the RedWings 3-2. Awesome. Except for the fact we could not find any place to watch it up here. Hockeytown my ass. The hotel is nice, but is SOOOOO LOUD. The pool is in an atrium and the rooms overlook it. Nobody could sleep and it showed in this mornings game. A 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh. Its going to take alot more for Frudoch to get a trophy here. Add to that there is no free wifi. $9.99 for 24 hours and no free breakfast. Bummer. WE are across the street from Detroit Metro Airport, but you can't see anything because of the snow. Double bummer. When we get back home I turn around and head out west for the SCCA National Convention so hopefully the weather is nice. Cross your fingers for Frudoch and Poppy who is also playing this weekend for a team called the Blue Chill in the Chiller House Mite Tournament. Go Blue Chill and Go North Stars.

Another Weekend Another Spectacular Goal

Well he did it again. Frudoch had a couple games and scored a couple more goals. The goal in the second game was absolutely amazing. It was a deflection off a hard shot that was exactly as its supposed to go, but rarely does. You've seen the type--In an NHL game. Frudoch was so excited he did a happy dance across the ice. The crowd was roaring. It sealed the win. A win over the Islanders who were playing their last game of the season. To that point in time they had not lost. Now they know what its like. And we got to see the happy dance.


SCOREBOARD

Chilling USAir 1549 Audio Clips

Here is the audio of just after the birdstrikes. You can hear Captain Sullenberger call it in with a slight mistake he calls it 1539 and the ATC calls back 1529. It seems he knew they were going in the river all along. He had hope for a moment to get to a private field in NJ, but could not even make that.

USAir Flight 1549 on the Move Again

I saw these pics of USAir 1549 being moved to its new semi-permanent home in New Jersey. A warehouse where it can be further examined over the next 18 months or so. Oversize load indeed. This is not the type of thing you see everyday. An Airbus A320 being driven down the middle of the street. Reminds me a bit of the scene from the movie Second Sight where Bronson Pinchot takes control of the jet and uses his mind power to drive it down city streets. Ok Maybe not.

Some Cool Airplane Photos I found on the Web.

I found these photos and thought I would share. Unfortunately I did not take any of these. Its about the time of year I start planning for airshow season. Ohio will once again be a good place. Did you know the US Air Force Thunderbirds are supposed to fly in 3 shows within the state this year. Thats AWESOME. Enjoy these.

The F-15 with full burners.

Heritage Flight with F-4, F-22, and F-15. A unique grouping for sure.

The MiG 23

Thats The F/A-18 with San Diego in the background.

Goals Goals and More Goals. A goalie too!

We had another busy hockey weekend and it was fun fun fun. Poppy had 2 games and Frudoch had but 1. But what a game it was. Poppy had a really good game on Saturday with a couple goals and lots of heads up play. Sunday morning she took her stint as goalie again and once again was tough. She let a few through, but her team did a great job of scoring goals and playing defense. In fact one of her teammates who does not like girls told me that she plays goalie really well(for a girl). He also thought she was the best girl goalie around. High praise indeed. we returned a few hours later for Frudoch's game and he got off to a fast start with a couple goals in the first period. He worked hard trying to get that elusive third goal for the rest of the game and came close several times before finally(!) getting that third goal for the hat trick! His game was much more physical and he stayed with it as several team members were not able to play so the shifts were long. Now we have 2 games next weekend for him and a game for poppy before both go to tournaments the following weekend. For the season its about 15 goals. From the same kid that struggled to get one all of last year. Its a good feeling.