Kingman, Arizona
Route 66 sure isn't what it used to be, but Kingman was a nice little town.
Last time in the sky (for a bit)
Sadly, I had to leave the Hokie Flying Club, who I learned how to fly with. I got to fly for the last time (for now) this past Tuesday. I was in Blacksburg to fly, resign from the club and to work.
I got to stay in the Microtel for 2 of the 5 days I was there and here is my lovely bed……….
As far as flying goes, we went up for a “Scenic Review” as it states in my log.
We did notice that the plane’s log book had an unusual entry from the day before… Check it out in a large size to see what I’m talking about.
We finished flying an hour earlier than expected, so I used that time to sneak over to the Tech Bookstore and grab something to help my transition to being a South Carolinian. I got some Hokie “Croakies”.
Sooo, that is that. I’m back in Arlington for now with a move-in date of April 30th!
March 2009 – 12 of 12 – Blacksburg, VA to Greenville, SC
Well, I woke up on an air matress, in a house where the owner’s girlfriend ran the car through the garage the night before… Didn’t get a picture til I got to work though, cause I forgot it was the 12th! I didn’t keep track of exact times the pictures were taken… Not really important I suppose, because I’m making this a “12 on 12″.
Zach and I worked together ALL morning on Project Schedules
Went for a Business lunch in his pimped out KIA
Panera was Delicious. Got the Smokehouse Turkey Panini and a Asian Sesame Chicken Salad
Jared went running in the office in the afternoon
Monkeys and monsters were held captive at my desk for the day, thanks to the previous tenant
Chick-fil-a for dinner on the way out of Christiansburg
Driving my boat full of my bed and many other things (cause I’m moving soon!)
I-74 and I-77 Junction (I chose I-77)
Mountain Dew to the rescue for the 270 mile drive
Driving on I-485 (which apparently not a road, even on google maps right now)
Welcome to South Carolina, wee!
I have made it, time to move in with my dresser and backpack!
Successful day. “12 on 12″. Done.
Don’t forget to check out Brian’s and Mike’s… They probably did theirs too! (or will post tomorrow)
Stump – A New (To Me) Tailgating Game Review
I was introduced to a new tailgating game called stump… it was pretty fun 
| Players | 2+ |
|---|---|
| Age range | Legal drinking age |
| Setup time | 5 minutes |
Equipment:
- 1 Hammer
- 1 Tree stump or flat portion of tree trunk
- 1 2.5″ – 3″ Nail per player
- Beer
It involves flipping a hammer, earning the right to strike nails and keeping your nail as the last one standing!
Check out the offical rules on Wikipedia.
Hokies win, 23-13 over Maryland
So, it’s been awesome being down in Blacksburg the past week. I’ve got to hang out with a lot of friends I haven’t seen in a long time, get re-checked out on the Cessna, and work from the office.
Got to go to the game last night, which rocked. I met up with my Steve and tailgated. Cops were going a little crazy because they gave someones dad a ticket for drinking in public ($25 ticket), and then I heard that during half time they started coming and towing cars out of their yard… The landlord showed up, drunk people were yelling, cops were working things out, tow trucks were messing up cars trying to get them out…
Anyways, the rule was, put your drink in a cup and you will be fine.
Didn’t get a turkey leg this time, but they are delicious.
Steve!
Maroon and Orange on the face, need to go full face/chest next year cause this looks a lil… lame.
We win!
Ahh, life is good.
So, my last day in Blacksburg was yesterday and it was a good day. Busy with a teleconference at work and such, and then saying my “goodbyes” to people. My favorite response to me heading out for this trip was “Dammnnnn” and was appopriately by Chris E, as well as “Don’t get eaten by grizzlies!” from others. It was nice getting good luck wishes (thank you for them!), to chat with people for a few before leaving town, and to reflect on all the friendships I’ve made in Blacksburg.
On the drive back I started reflecting some about life in general. In my mind I pictured the path I was driving on the road as like one of those measuring tapes that retract themselves. (I know, my mind is strange) I was getting pulled closer and closer to home, and farther from my 7 years of Blacksburg college/working life. I looked out the window and saw a pretty sunset, and was just thinking about how thankful I am for life being as good as it is.
I am:
- Healthy
- Finacially stable (til near the end of my trip) but then I will be working again for the same great company when I get back!
- Got a great family
- Got a great girl
- Leaving for one of those trips that people always say they’ll do, but only few follow through with in 8 days
- Got my pilots license in the past two weeks
- A camping trip with TONS of friends this weekend
- The mindset to keep looking forward and up
Just to show off how awesome my momma is… she sent me an e-card today and the note said:
“When you were little you said that homeless people should
just bum a quarter and call their families to come get them
and take them home. I hope your entire life stays cozy.”
just bum a quarter and call their families to come get them
and take them home. I hope your entire life stays cozy.”
I thought that was mighty cute, and it’s nice to know you can bring up a kid to be soo innocent. In any case, life is good and I want to thank everyone who is a part of it and say thanks for all the birthday wishes.
Cheers!
Homeless
So in just under 9 hours I will be this man. My lease ends today and I will officially be a homeless computer programmer. A lovely world it is! He is completely burden free of “cleaning” and “making the bed”. Ahh, what a wonderful life, sleeping on the streets!
Well, not too far from the truth. Graciously crashing with Jared, Kristen, Family and then off on my Handstands Across America adventure I go starting July 24th!
I am looking forward to helping out Kristen with all of her new found furniture and then hopefully will be wrapping up my 7 year stint in Blacksburg. I told myself I had to leave Blacksburg by the time I was 25 so I wouldn’t be a townie for life. I will be leaving on the night of July 14th… and considering my birthday is the 15th, I’d say that is one closely met goal!
Onward to my new home! (your couch and the great outdoors!)
Get Your Move On
The past two weeks have been CRAZY, and the next two will not let up.
Next Two Weeks…
Thursday(3rd):
-Packed my car this morning (soo full)
-Driving up to Arlington after work
-Unpacking/Cleaning Current room at home
Friday(4th):
-Community Parade in the AM with family
-Going to Stafford to hang out with my Cousin April
-Going to Woodbridge(ish) to Jason’s house for the 4th
Saturday(5th):
-Going to Arlington to Drop off my speakers, mixing board, and Kristen’s car.
-Going out in Baltimore to hang out with Shulsky, Martha and Brett
Sunday(6th):
-Going back to Arlington for Afternoon/Dinner
-Driving back to Blacksburg
Monday(7th):
-Full Day of Work
-Pack up final things and move to Jared’s house for storage
-List things on craigslist or email equivalent
Tuesday(8th):
-Full Day of Work
-Maybe some flying??
-Get rid of said “craiglist” items or dump them
Wednesday(9th):
-Full Day of Work
-Dentist Appointment (Cavities filled)
-Clean out trash and final things from the house
-Super Scrubbing of the house
Thursday(10th):
-Lease ends
-Turn in Keys
-Final cleaning?
-Pack Kristen’s stuff into my car
-Softball Game (tourney begins)
-Sleep at Jared’s
Friday(11th):
-Full Day of Work
-Drive to Greenville, SC to visit Kristen/Help move her in
Saturday(12th):
-Go to her storage unit, load all the stuff into her new place
-Get her place somewhat situated
Sunday(13th):
-Drive Back to Blacksburg
-Pack up my stuff that I left at Jared’s into my car
-Crash at Jared’s
Monday(14th):
-LAST DAY IN BLACKSBURG!! (This trip is really happening!)
-Teleconference/Webex presentation
-Drive to Arlington
-Unpack
Tuesday(15th):
-Full day of work (from Arlington)
-IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!
That weekend… Camping in celebration of 1/4 century of Sam
phew.
Revised Plan for XC Solo?
If i go from Blacksburg->Danville->NewRiver->Blacksburg… That is 150.4 ooo I love minimums Might end up doing that instead to make it more straight forward, being my first solo XC and all.
Plan for First XC Solo
I have to plan this flight out and get it approved on Saturday, but I should be flying it for my long solo cross country (Which must have a leg which is at least 50nm and must be 150nm total at least). This flight will have a 64nm flight to Danville and will be 154.6nm total, so just right!
Excited/stressed to plan/hope weather is good.
Blacksburg->Danville->”Blue Ridge Airport”->New River->Blacksburg (154.6nm)
View Larger Map
First Cross-Country Flight to Bluefield
Today was my first cross country flight!
Blacksburg (KBCB) -> Bluefield (KBLF) @ 4500′
Bluefield (KBLF) -> New River (KPSK) @ 5500′
New River (KPSK) -> Blacksburg (KBCB)
So, my first leg got off to a not so great start. We ended up in Princeton, WV which I thought was Bluefield and that got me all turned around, finally we started to loop around the “town” and the airport was off to my right, I was a little confused, but it all makes sense when you look at the GPS track. (We weren’t allowed to use anything but the compass and the map for the flight) Anyways, it was a good day and first Cross Country experience because I learned how important it is to stay on your heading, correct when you can do so, and if you have gone as far as you planned, and you’re not there… something is going awry.
Well, it was odd that on our last short leg we were really low on fuel in our left tank and the right was pretty much full. After we were back in Blacksburg we found out that we’d been flying the whole day without a gas cap on the right wing. I guess it wasn’t put on securely after fueling up the plane. This made sense of the left tank being low (it was the only tank with suction to the tank). In any case, the new guy “Hop” (Last name ‘Hopper’) from LC’s flying service (Blacksburg’s new F.B.O.) helped us search for us and the maintenance guy from Blacksburg (Jim) was finally able to find it on the taxi way down towards where you turn onto the runway. Well, that was a lucky day!
Well, definitely a fun (at times mildly nerve racking) first cross country flight!
Beware of picture theft!
Soo… I stumbled across a picture of myself on my friend Rebecca’s blog, and never even knew it was there! Shammery I say!
Let me out!
Soo, I rode my bike over to the Tee Hangars today to take some more pictures. They turned out pretty well as can be seen below However… I think the gate is activated by weight when a car pulls up to it and I was not heavy enough. So… I broke out of the airport by scaling the fence, and then used my access card to open the gate and rescue my bike and backpack.
Cessna 150 Cockpit
Piper Cherokee HDREver Been to Heritage Park in Blacksburg, Virginia? You should go.
Heritage Park is beautiful. They just finished a new bridge there back in January and you can ride all the way to Pandapas Pond. My goal was to get back to the top of Horse Nettle Trail where I was this past Thursday. I was successful and managed to make it up and down while avoiding the rain. I found it very peaceful to be up there on the trail because when you stopped, you heard absolutely nothing. Ahhhh… So great.
I took my new wide angle lens and went at it! Here are some pictures of Heritage Park before and after I hiked up to the Horse Nettle Trail. I used Photomatrix to create these HDR shots and they turned out pretty decently.
HDR makes everything better
Trail in Heritage Park
Abandoned Building
View From the Gazebo at the Entrance to the Old Farm Trail that leads to Horse Nettle
Stream, Cows, Field, Clouds
Mountain Bikingat Pandapas Pond – Put a Leash on your Dog!
Well, it’s slightly confusing. Best bet is to use a map… and I bought one at East Coasters for $2.50, but you can get it from other places around Blacksburg that are listed on DXHiker.com.
This past Thursday I hit up Pandapas Pond with my Mountain bike to check out what there is to be seen. I did a loop of Poverty Creek -> Snake Root -> Horse Nettle -> Lakespur. It was a nice ride (walk at times).
Poverty Creek Trail
As I was coming up Snake Root, I kept looking for a good place to take a picture, but there were too many trees to ever get a clear shot.
Snake Root Trail
This is the best shot I got, and I treked around a while before deciding to “settle” for it. Today definitely gave the argument for getting a telephoto lens 10 points.
Best Photo I Could Get From Snake Root Trail
Once I got up to Horse Nettle, I found a huge tower that was installed for Cell Phone Service. The last time I was up here (within the last 2 years), it was not there, and it was actually an abandoned house or something. Odd..
The Big Cell Phone Tower
View From the Tower (Standing on top of the gate)
It was getting closer to sunset and was time to get back down to the car. I took one of my favorite roots onto Lakespur so that I’d come out at Pandapas Pond. About 1/2 way down the trail I hear growling and barking coming from behind me, and it freaked me out. I was shaken up at first, then got to a more calm “NO!”, “Go.” This dog had a collar, but it didn’t seem very friendly. I got it to go away, and went down to the pond to get some pictures. However, once down at the pond the dog came out again, but this time with another dog! They both were barking and growling loudly at me as I stood by the water’s edge. I consistently said “NO! Go! (And Waved)” This time he was less reluctant to leave but finally did. I didn’t have my bike with me at this point so I felt a little more vulnerable.
I saw two ladies walk by and asked if they were their dogs. Of course not. A few minutes later a lady emerged from the trail and collected her dogs. What a crappy pet owner. She never appologized, and said the dog was young. I said “did you hear someone in the woods yelling ‘No!’?” and of course she had, but she didn’t really get it. If you have dogs, make sure you have them in sight if they are not on a leash, please.
A Washed out shot of Pandapas Pond
Sunset From the Parking Lot