Monday, September 18, 2023

Flying a glider in the Alps

 Most of you know I've been in aviation all of my life, my first aircraft to work on was the RF4C in August of 1979 and last was training young airmen in March 2023, that's 44 years. So getting an opportunity to fly a glider was a dream come true, once airborne, he gave me the stick for a 360 degree turn.
















Sunday, September 17, 2023

Geneva and the Alps

 We flew into Geneva and spent 7 nights there, We stayed in a ski village during off season and walked the trails everyday. Our train ride getting there was a uncomfortable experience, we had a "suspicious package" on board, so they stopped the train in the county side (not at a station) everyone had to get off while they checked the package.  Pam met some new friends from Belgium who shared their wine, 4.5 hours later we continued on the train. 





















Normandy Beaches in France

We had three days in Normandy, this was special to me because I had two grandfathers in WWII, one went through the Normandy beach June 8. However everyone in 1944 felt the impact of WWII and paid a cost. We toured three museums, Utah and Omaha beaches, the American cemetery and the German cemetery.  I was proud of seeing the American flag not only flying at the sights, but in individuals homes. This experience doesn't leave a dry eye anywhere!













Our second half of Ireland: Derry (LondonDerry). Portrush and Dublin

 Once we completed Donegal we moved on to Derry.  Derry was our first look at the troubles between Ireland and England.  Everywhere we looked we could see the history of this struggle and how it impacted their life, there's still a fence that divides the two parts of the city. We saw great sights that included the Giant Causeway, the peace bridge and the beautiful coastline. Dublin was a wonderful visit with dancing, pub hopping and a double decker bus. Derry, Portrush, Belfast and Dublin
















Kuala Lumpur (KL), Malaysia, a shining star as compared to Vietnam, but at a price.

We stayed 2 1/2 weeks in KL and it was a step up from Vietnam, however everything was a little more expensive here as compared to Vietnam.  ...