Airline Wars?

The clip above is an ad currently airing on TV from Southwest Airlines and it shows a slightly disguised AirTran plane. Below is the "unofficial official" response from Airtran. Or al least what their response would be if they aired it. Your move Southwest. Personally the AirTran ad is EXACTLY why I don't fly Southwest unless I have no other choice.

I want to go to Hawaii

Woke up this morning to about 3 inches of snow on the ground.... 2 days ago it was 63 today it 30. Welcome to Ohio! Watching the snow pile up last night got me going on the need to go someplace warm. We've been toying for awhile with going to Hawaii and I'm getting all the planning done. My favorite place to go is Maui and specifically the Kaanapali Beach area. There is nothing better in this world than sitting in the sand under and umbrella at the Hula Grill and eating a ahi sandwich with sprouts while watching the wave roll in about 100 feet away. Its unlike anything else in the word. It makes the hours long wait for a table and the "maui pace" wait worth every second. I've had the pleasure to go to Maui twice and I've said it a million times that if I could retire thats where I would go. I absolutely love the entire island. I could even deal with its socialist medicine and left wing politics. Well at least for a short time.... Last time we went we stayed at the Sheraton Black Rock and while the weather did not cooperate as we had hoped it was still fantastic. This time we may need to pick based on more of a family criteria and while this resort is still great for families there is one a bit down the beach with a pool more suited to the kids. Amazing view or water slide? Hmmm. Of course there is always a different island all together. Oahu and its famous Honolulu beach are nice, but are a total sell out to tourism and face it on the other side of the beachfront hotels is a major city. Who knows where it will be, but sometime in the next 15 months we're headed west. I really need it.

Whirlwind Tour-Columbus to Toronto to Niagara Falls and back to Cbus

Wow what a week. We took the kids up to Toronto for a few hockey games and some brief sightseeing. Frudoch was forced to be a defenseman for all 6 games in the series. 3 in Columbus in February and 3 up in Toronto. He has not been a defenseman for more than 2 years and for him the disappointment was huge. Despite being his father I can easily say he is by far the best player on this team and know that its not just being his biggest fan. For Freddy playing as a defenseman means goal scoring is much more difficult. It bothers me greatly that the coaches played their kids on the top line as forwards yet stuck my son on the 3rd defense line. It also frustrated the parents of his teammates too. I guess they didn't want to win. Harsh comments I know, but Freddy still led the team in shots despite playing the least amount of minutes of any player on any of the 4 teams. Think about that. I can't help it that he is good. Sitting him on the bench so he has to watch while his team struggles is harsh. Thats also what happens when you let "dads' play coach. I have had to go thru this scenario twice now in the last 2 weekends with both kids and frankly it's getting old.

In any case it was my first visit to Toronto and lets say the traffic is indeed legendary. The city is very cool and we enjoyed seeing a few sites including the Hockey Hall of Fame. We also took in a Toronto Marlies AHL game with a thrilling ending over the Abbotsford Heat. We then headed back down the road to Niagara Falls for an "off season" stop. Lets just say the place was pretty dead. Good thing too. $96 for dinner for 4 at IHOP. $130 at Outback Steakhouse. Man its pricey. Saw the falls although at 39 degrees and rainy it was tough. Now back home and trying to catch up on sleep.

All in all it was fun, but it could have been so much better if the hockey portion would have been fair. Poppy and I return in 2 weeks for a huge girls tournament. I can't believe I'm doing it again.

Sully's Last Flight

Yesterday was a weird day for reasons I won't get into. It did however give me ammo for 2 blogs so I will knock this quick one out. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger retired after a 30 year career as a commercial pilot. Just over a year ago nobody knew who he was, but the whole "miracle on the Hudson" thing sort of changed that. Yes he returned to flying a few months back, but for all intents and purposes he could never be the same guy he was before 1549. He will forever be known as the guy that made the one in a million landing and that probably made it difficult to do his day job. Sully never sought out the fame. It just happened and in todays internet age the public could not get enough. I'm sure the millions of cards and letters were fine, but the daily updates of his flights on the internet and he constant handshakes and photos have taken their toll. Especially for a guy who is very quiet. I'm currently reading his book and it paints a picture of a nice family man who was very well trained and just wanted to fly from the time he was young. He's done that and now its time to move on.

Yesterday he took off from Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale International Airport (FLL) for his last flight before retirement, US Airways Flight 1167 to Charlotte North Carolina. Joining him was Jeff Skiles who was also beside him on that fateful day last January. Following the push back from the gate, the flight was given priority taxi clearance on Taxiway Alpha for a westerly departure on runway 27R. At the end of the taxiway, Ft Lauderdale Tower ATC communicated a very nice tribute to Sully before giving him his clearance to line up and hold. In his usual professional voice, the reply to the tribute was “Thank You. Confirm Cactus 1167 cleared to line up and hold.” The take off clearance was equally professionally acknowledged and the Airbus A321 (N181UW) rolled down runway 27R and climbed out into the cloudy South Florida skies. With that takeoff completed he moved on his life. I wish him well.