BWI to Sun 'n Fun

I have been waiting for this day for a year now! It's time to begin the trip to Sun 'n Fun.

Today is about shifting my sleeping pattern from Graveyard operations to normal waking hours. So, after finishing my shift at 8am this morning, I set out to the Baltimore Airport in the pouring rain. With Paul (my rollaboard) in tow and a carry-on bag with my laptop inside, I arrived at BWI at 1pm.

Inside the BWI Terminal, I asked the ladies at the Maryland Welcome Center for some touristy ideas of things to do. I almost had to reassure them that I wasn't a juvenile runaway and they kept trying to hook me up with a hotel when I told them my flight was tomorrow. My stubborn resistance paid off and I hopped on the light rail to make my way to Baltimore's Inner Harbour.

My all day light rail ticket was a mere $3.50. First stop was Convention Center. There I exited the train with Paul and my Green tote bag in tow, and stepped onto Pratt Street.

I found a place called Cafe 100 on my walk. In the spirit of adventure, and hunger, I checked it out. Upon stepping inside, I didn't find an intimate ten table eatery, I found stairs- and lots of them! The cafe turned out to be on the third floor. I dragged my baggage wearily up the stairs with me. Then I saw the spacious uninviting buffet style cafe. One look at the buffet brought back memories of my uneaten leftover Chinese food. I wasn't in the mood to pay for the same stuff over again. I returned to Pratt Street, walked a couple more blocks, and found a mall called the Galleria.

Once again, this building was multi-level, but it was equipped with escalators. I went direct to Payless Shoes and bought my white sneakers. I haven't had white sneakers in years. All of my jobs lately have required black shoes of some kind.

Across the street from the Galleria was Harbour Point. A few quick minutes of browsing revealed nothing interesting, and once again, there were stairs. Moving on...

At last, I saw M & S Grill and decided that's where I would have lunch. They searched for a table that had access to an outlet so I could charge my phone. My $3 OJ, dispaced by a half glass of unwanted ice, was drank in seconds. I came to get just some crab soup, but upon seeing Idahoan Rainbow Trout on the menu, my appetite changed. It's been years since I ate the last Rainbow Trout I had caught. This one turned out boneless. I missed fishing through the bones for the fish's flaky flesh.

Stepping out a different door, I came face to face with the Harbour and heavier rain. Against my better judgment, I determined that now was the time to buy an umbrella. The Outfitters store appeared to be a promising place to buy an umbrella, but no. It turned out I was in another mall environment. I saw a small store called Harbour Gifts. They had an umbrella for $6. I was grateful it wasn't $30. I calculated that if the $6 umbrella lasts me the next 6 blocks to the light rail, then I got my money's worth. Bottom line: I expected the umbrella to: 1. Knock me upside the head a few times, and 2. Get blown out of shape by the wind.

I still had time to explore, so I took the light rail to the Timonium Station, hoping to see the sights... I ended up sleeping. As I promised to the volunteers at the Maryland Welcome Center, I returned to the airport at 7pm.

Halfway down the terminal, I found a moderately occupied set of seats. I squeezed my way to the back middle seat and fell asleep until 11pm. I missed the window to get through security. The checkpoint was closed.

I scored a seat on the second level that had an adjacent outlet, and parked my stuff there. Around 1am I noticed my friend Elliott was still tweeting, so I asked him if I could call him- I was having such a fun time and needed to share it. I enjoyed a nice conversation with him, and learned more about Alaska Air's current promotions and more in the works.

After drinking my Red Bull, I was ready to redo my awful packing job.

While waiting for my plane in the morning, I saw several pilots walk passed me. I greeted them with a "Hello" or "Good morning, sir". Out of this, I observed more of a response from saying "Good morning sir".

When Richard, the Gate Agent appeared on scene, I asked him if he could help me get my picture taken with the crew, if they would oblige. He said he'd do better than that- that he'd get me a visit to the cockpit! I felt like a kid at Christmas! I was on fire.

I noticed a uniformed non-revving crew member from another airline waiting for my flight. Carefully, I greeted her, making sure she wouldn't mind being bothered by a troublesome pax. She engaged me in a conversation about her company and her trip. She was familiar with Sun 'n Fun, so we talked about that for a while. I felt like I was tweeting live. The plane wasn't full and I found a seat adjacent to Judy. She had settled down with her book, so I didn't bother her. But later on in the flight once drinks were passed out, I got to talk to her once more. Such a nice lady!

Upon landing in TPA, I mentioned to the flight attendant about my wish, and Richard's promise, for a visit to the cockpit. The Captain had left, so I sat in his seat and exchanged a few words with Noel, the First Officer and had my picture taken with him. Such an awesome experience!

I met Lynda in the terminal an hour later. We went down to Baja Fresh, and both had a tostada salad. Another hour later, Jo came in. We all gathered by the cabs and decided to take the cab all the way into Lakeland, rather than just to the Greyhound station, all for $30 each. I'd say the price was right!

I want to thank all my friends on Twitter who actively paid attention to my trip as I tweeted. It was a pleasure sharing and trying to keep you engaged.

Please Let the CanJet Crew Go Unharmed

My thoughts and prayers are with the CanJet crew who are being held hostage in Jamaica. May those negotiating with the hostage taker be skillful bringing this frightening experience to a peaceful end. May the man with the gun see the error of his behavior and peaceably surrender.

These pilots and flight attendants are my friends- I consider all flight and cabin crew members my friends.

My friends, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

I can't get enough of this! Thank you, Paul Bonhomme!

My Little Pony Birthday Party

Over the last six years, I have instituted a tradition of giving my daughter My Little Ponies for her birthday and Christmas. Now that she is seven, she is beginning to understand their collectible status and can differentiate between the real and the counterfeit. When I went to Sacramento for her birthday, we gathered all 26 of her My Little Ponies. They were all due for their annual hair-brushing. I decided to make an event of it and suggested we have a birthday party for her Ponies, since she got most of them on her birthday. Soon every stuffed animal was on the floor, invited as guests to the My Little Ponies' birthday party, and only half of them got their hair brushed. The Free Hot Air Balloon Rides never happened.

Tweet-Up at SMF

I love Twitter and apparently so do many of the folks I follow and who follow me. I feel especially lucky to have connected with men and women in aviation, folks who get excited about contrails like I do, folks who believe spending a day at an aviation museum and an airport is having a fulfilling day.

While I was in California for Veronika's birthday, I had arranged to Tweet-Up with four new friends. Elliott flew down to Sacramento from Seattle. He is @AlaskaAir, the customer service/social media representative for Alaska Airlines. He loves meeting people, and was one of the earliest birds on the Twitter scene. As for me, if Captain Sullenberger and First Officer Skiles hadn't have landed their US Airways A320 in the Hudson River the 16th of January of this year, I still would not have the foggiest idea what Twitter is. I understand why so many people I talk to on an average day don't know Twitter or what a tweet is, but that makes the interaction I have with my Twitter Crew all the more magical.

In addition to Elliott, a husband and wife duo drove down from Reno. The husband currently flies Oriental routes for a US legacy carrier, and the wife is the director of the National Aviation Heritage Invitational, an annual competition held in Reno, Nevada that attracts beautifully restored vintage aircraft from abroad.

My friends from Reno offered to pick me up in Elk Grove on their way in to Sacramento, which was a way out of the way for them to go especially after the lengthy and windy mountain highway through the Sierras. As a token of gratitude, I gave them a bottle of Merlot. Upon presenting it, they presented me with a bottle of Two Buck Chuck, with the Swift club's label attached.

The logistics worked out perfectly, for we arrived at the museum within a minute of Elliott's arrival. It was quite a meeting, it felt more like a reunion to me, for we knew a lot about each other and talked about Twitter memories.

Inside the museum, my eyes were drawn to a sky blue Pitts hanging from the ceiling. While I've been in airline limbo,waiting for an airline to come swoop me off of the ground, and turn me into a Cabin Queen, the Pitts represented the aerobatic arena of aviation that I was feeling attracted to. It baffles me that I think I can grasp the proper responses an aircraft requires in all kinds of attitudes when I haven't even flown straight and level for a full hour, not to mention I need A LOT more practice taxiing, and haven't performed a single takeoff or landing alone. All I can hope is someday that all this book knowledge will translate into skill.

My favorite display was the C-47 that we were actually able to enter. I got to sit up in the cockpit, and @atp4tr explained some of it's features. @elliottp and I took pictures of each other sitting in the cabin.

For lunch, we went to Sacramento Executive Airport and ate at the restaurant there. @Captain_Ron flew in to have lunch with us. After lunch, we parted. @elliottp drove me to the skating arena where Veronika's birthday party was being held. It was definitely too loud to hold any kind of conversation. After a little while, Elliott left to go meet some other friends.

What a fabulous day!

My Take On Self-Actualization: Part One

Discovering the Dream

In 2006 I re-discovered aviation, thanks to an acquaintance who was offered the First Officer's seat in SkyWest Airlines' Embraer Brasilia 120. I say re-discovered because during the only six years of my childhood spent living with my parents, my dad was an airplane spotter- a real aviation enthusiast, before access to airport terminals was eliminated to the non-flying public. I still have a lingering memory of watching planes at the gates of LAX and LGB's terminals.

Looking back, my dad's mission in life appeared to be to teach me everything he knew about aviation. His scanner was on 24-7. I knew the difference between Boeing and McDonnell-Douglas. The Beechcraft Bonanza was my favorite airplane because it had a V-tail, and for some reason, All the Piper Native American names for their aircraft intrigued me. At six years old, I was reading the schedules of commercial airlines, loaded with numbers and acronyms which were beginning to make sense to me. All this came to a premature end when I became a ward of the court as a first grader.

The SkyWest F/O faded out of my life, but a taste for the non-glamorous life of a flight attendant had seized me. My ties to the home state of that regional airline and the fact that it had 15 (at the time) possible flight attendant domiciles, one being at SMF, where I had family I hadn't really learned to identify with, made it the top airline on my list. Unfortunately, I wasn't the top candidate in the recruiter's eyes. I guess she didn't see the wingbuds beneath my interview suit.

I had wingbuds ready to emerge and soil conditions were right, so to speak. While reading Flying Magazine, an amazingly designed advertisement for Lakeland, Florida's Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, caught my eye.

Living the Dream

The Sun 'n Fun Fly-In was like the sun and water to my budding wings. I realized that I didn't have to be a flight attendant to be able to fly. I went to the first volunteer meeting for the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, where I met a couple, each wearing a sweater with a seaplane depicted upon it, and said "Go jump in a Lake". I asked, "Is a Lake a type of plane?" From the context, that's how it appeared, and it turned out the appearance wasn't deceiving at all.

Their answer to my next question FLOORED me! "Where are you from?" I asked. They could have said, "Winterhaven", where they were spending the winter, but of all things they said, "St. George, Utah". NO WAY! That is SkyWest Airlines' headquarters! I came to learn that they had two pilot son's and a daughter-in-law who was a flight attendant for SkyWest on leave! He was a retired TWA Captain, and she was a retired teacher. After their meeting, they took me out to their plane and told me about their flying adventures. One day, for each of the next two consecutive months, I attended the volunteer coordination meetings and gradually fell in love with General Aviation.

Wings to the Dream

Looking back, having now volunteered at two Sun 'n Fun Fly-In's and interviewed with half a dozen airlines, I have much to look forward to. No Sun 'n Fun theme will ever represent self-actualization as the theme for my first year, "Living the Dream". It is a mantra for nearly every aviator I've met. They know what it means: It means they've got the wings that would have helped them reach higher and realize their potential. My dad gave me my wing buds, which were long neglected as life took me other places, but once they're planted, they'll let you know when it is time to harvest your destiny.

My Reading List For February 2009

I've decided to read a book or two a month.

A few friends abroad have impressed me with an idea of doing an aviation-related book exchange. It will be fun to participate.

I have listed the books I want to read this month below one is about General Aviation Air Races in the P-51 Mustang . The other is about a flight attendant's experiences on the job.

You can buy your own online, or join my book club!



Galloping on Wings with the P-51 Mustang: Diary of an Air Race Pilot

By Howie Keefe












Flying by the Seat of My Pants: Flight Attendant Adventures on a Wing and a Prayer

By Marsha Marks

Flight Crew Appreciation Day 16 Jan 2009

It has been a while since I sponsored a Pilot Appreciation Day, but in light of the amazing flight crew of US Airways 1549, I felt that now would be an appropriate time to rally my friends in having a Flight Crew Appreciation Day.

If you are flight crew, I want honor you for the hard work and training you perform and endure in the name of Aviation Safety. To the many of you who just completed Recurrent Training, keep up the good work. You are good at your job. I saw evidence of excellent performance of emergency evacuation training demonstrated today in the frigid waters of the Hudson River- "Release seatbelts, get out! Come this way! Get out! Go, go...!" training wasn't in vain. Happy Flight Crew Appreciation Day tomorrow.

If you have flight crew friends, be sure to thank them and appreciate them on this Flight Crew Appreciation Day.

Thank you for your friendship and support,

Julie Vessigault

Flight Attendants 1, Disruptive Pax 0

Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 12:48pm

Passenger jailed in flight disturbanceWoman charged with interfering with the crew and resisting arrest.

By Steve Lyttleslyttle@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Tuesday, Nov. 04, 2008

A New York woman has been jailed in Charlotte, charged after she allegedly slapped a crew member on the buttocks, pulled the hair of a blind passenger and caused other problems Saturday on a flight from Puerto Rico to Chicago.Maria Esther Castillo, 45, of Oswego, N.Y., was arrested by federal authorities and charged with interfering with the operations of a flight crew.Authorities say the flight crew was forced to use duct tape on Castillo to keep her restrained until the jet landed. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police then charged her with resisting arrest after airport police boarded the plane.Castillo made an initial court appearance Monday and faces a detention hearing Thursday.According to affidavits filed in federal court in Charlotte, passengers and the crew said Castillo's behavior became loud and disruptive about 90 minutes into the flight. According to FBI agent Peter Carricato, Castillo began using profanity at others on the plane and was “invading the personal space of other passengers by touching and jabbing them.”A passenger sitting across from Castillo told police that the suspect hit her in the arm, despite her efforts to ignore the woman.Authorities also said that at one point in the flight, Castillo fell forward, over a blind passenger in front of her and began pulling the woman's hair. She also is accused with slapping the flight attendant on the rear end and throwing a wet cloth across the plane.“This behavior continued intermittently, with short periods of calm, followed by loud outbursts,” Carricato said.Finally, Carricato said, the flight crew used duct tape to keep Castillo restrained in her seat.Carricato said the suspect became quiet when the pilot announced that the flight would be landing in Charlotte to get rid of a disruptive passenger. But, he said, Castillo grew angry again when airport police boarded the plane.One passenger told authorities that Castillo had been drinking at the airport bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, before the flight took off. She also had one drink on the flight, authorities said, but the crew refused her request for additional alcohol drinks

September 24, 2008

September 24, 2008 will mark one year of going without a flying lesson. I hoped that would never be the case, but I am still looking forward to building more flying time in the cockpit of a Cessna 172.

This Is Basically My Facebook History August 2008

Pah, lost a couple weeks!

August 6
3:53am Julie is has been awake since 3am, and just helped Matthew take his stuff to the car for his business trip.

August 7
2:17am Julie sees a light at the end of the financial tunnel. Funny, it's 2am, she should be sleeping...

August 8
8:03pm Julie is watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

August 11
7:36pm Julie is going to dinner with Matthew. It looks like she will be going to California tomorrow after all.

August 12
10:44pm Julie isn't going to California...

August 13
4:23pm Julie put a Snap Tite 1:72 model of an A-10 Thunderbolt II together. Fun Stuff!
7:32pm Julie put a Snap Tite 1:72 model of an A-10 Thunderbolt II together. Now she's gluing some parts of her Corsair. Funstuff!
10:23pm Julie is playing electronic Monopoly with Matthew.

August 14
7:54am Julie likes Snap Tite model airplanes better...
9:36am Julie is watching Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag and fighting with the model glue she's using on her Corsair.

August 15
7:36am Julie is building her Piper Cherokee model. Thanks Brenda!
12:48pm Julie must be insane!!!
1:06pm Julie wants to work on A-10's- The Real A-10's...
2:43pm Julie is tired.
3:09pm Julie is bored.
3:12pm Julie is trying the new Facebook.
5:49pm Julie is going out to dinner with Matthew for their 4 month anniversary.

August 16
11:19pm Julie is kind of wishing she could hang out with the young single adults but she's past the age limit. Still it would be fun to find someone local to hang out with.

August 17
8:24am Julie is going somewhere pretty cool today...
6:51pm Julie really had no idea of what the really cool place and event was- let's just say I was in the midst of A-10s and C-130s at Martin State Airport!!!!!
10:49pm Julie 's 10 year background history information is giving her a headache. Can anyone help????????????????????

August 18
10:22am Julie 's 10 year background history information is giving her a headache. Can anyone help????????????????????

August 19
11:26am Julie wishes she had someone to drill her on flight attendant questions, I did okay talking to the Delta recruiter on the phone, but I could do better.
5:18pm Julie has less than 24 hours to be ready for her United Express interview. That includes doing something to my hair...

August 20
4:56am Julie is getting ready to leave for her flight attendant interview.
5:37am Julie feels like a flight attendant. What a good feeling.
9:14pm Julie wants to be a flight attendant.
9:17pm Julie had no idea that Deal or No Deal has never given away the $1,000,000 case!


August 22
10:17am Julie is wondering, is she going to St. Louis..............?
8:38pm Julie is permanently removing 2 words from her vocabulary.
8:55pm Julie is temporarily removing 2 words from her vocabulary.
11:27pm Julie is missing Matthew while he's gone for 3 days and temporarily removing 2 words from her vocabulary.

August 23
9:41am Julie is unfilled in her current job but hopelessly stuck in a vicious cycle of dead end jobs.
7:19pm Julie is sad and needs a friend. I hate being over 30.
8:08pm Julie is sad and hurting, needs a friend and a better job, is missing Matthew...Did she mention she feels lonely?
8:15pm Julie's heart is broken, she is sad and hurting, needs a friend and a better job, or hope, for a better one, and is waiting for her man to come home tomorrow.
11:52pm Julie's heart goes out to the friends and colleagues of the victims of the Southern Utah plane crash.

August 24
9:51am Julie is happy today is a new day. Go forward with hope and determination for success!

August 25
9:32pm Julie thinks it would be awesome to be the flight attendant on Koshka Blagburn's flight.
10:13pm Julie wishes she could leave her previous status up, but to her friends in Morgan County, she shares their shock and has them in her thoughts.

August 26
9:34am Julie doesn't know what to think: Two is two too many...
9:57pm Julie ...needs...some...thing...to...dr...ink.....

August 27
9:41pm Julie is going to ACY tomorrow with Matthew!!!!!!!!!

August 28
3:16am Julie is going to ACY (Atlantic City) with Matthew, did I mention that we're leaving at 3:30am?
11:15pm Julie collected over a hundred beautiful seashells by Atlantic City's picturesque seashore.

August 29
7:24pm Julie is going to help chaperone the CAP Staff Training meeting at the Air Park overnight. :).

August 30
1:40pm Julie enjoyed chaperoning the Cadet Staff Training weekend.

August 31
9:02am Julie likes Alabama's song, 40 Hour Week. Now she's off to another 8 hour day behind the counter, ringin' up the sale.

My Flight Attendant Interview Record

My Flight Attendant Interview Record

October 27, 2006--

SkyWest Airlines- MCO

April 21, 2007--

SkyWest Airlines- MCO

Mesa Airlines- MCO

AirTran- MCO

Atlantic Southeast Airlines- MCO

February 14, 2008--

SkyWest Airlines- MCO

August 19, 2008

Delta- Telephone Interview

Mesa- Submitted Application

August 20, 2008

United Express (Trans States)- IAD

This Is Basically My Facebook History June and July 2008

I am sad I lost 2 months of Status Update. Well, here I go again:

June 24
6:26pm Julie's 7 hour Taco Bell shift turned into 12 hours including 3 overtime, but she got a free Gordita Crunch when all was said and done.

June 26
12:30pm Julie is going to behave at her Civil Air Patrol meeting tonight!

June 27
1:15pm Julie is very grateful for Matthew!

June 28
6:26am Julie is looking for a better job. Any ideas?

June 30
7:33pm Julie is seriously thinking about being a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines!

July 1
3:57pm Julie is seriously thinking about being a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines and JetBlue.

July 2
5:44pm Julie is in Germantown in case anyone wants to know! ;).

July 5
11:07am Julie has been to the fireworks at the Washington monument and then washed the Vietnam Wall and visited the Air and Space Museum with Lt. Cauthen and the CAP cadets.
6:52pm Julie is going to an O's game tomorrow with many of her friends in the Germantown area!

July 6
6:53am Julie is going to an O's game with many of her friends in the Germantown area!
4:17pm Julie is just got back from a Baltimore O's game with Matthew, Mike, Colin and Jeff.
5:52pm Julie's thoughts and prayers are with the employees of USA Jet Airlines.

July 8
5:44pm Julie admits she is slightly jealous that Matthew was a passenger in a plane that ran out of fuel while it was still in the air. She is very glad he's ok though.
7:01pm Julie can't believe it's almost been a year since the first Pilot Appreciation Day.

July 9
3:16am Julie is going to Frederick Airport and hopefully dropping by to visit AOPA headquarters which is on the other side from the Glider Academy activities.

July 11
3:34pm Julie was promoted to 2nd Lt in Civil Air Patrol last night! What an awesome organization!

July 12
4:38am Julie is grateful for Matthew.

July 13
6:30pm Julie needs a hug.

July 14
1:09am Julie doesn't really want to go to work this morning...
1:55pm Julie had a pretty good day at work after all. And she wants a different cell phone.

July 15
10:31am Julie is doing laundry, making twenty trips to the recycling bins, and cleaning her desk space! :).
1:58pm Julie made it to the CU to late and it was closed. Now she is going to work on Civil Air Patrol Administrative stuff.
6:56pm Julie is tired.
7:51pm Julie wants to have a Girl's Night Out. Well... first she needs some girl friends that live nearby...

July 16
6:36am Julie needs a new hairbrush!
2:49pm Julie attached her butter bars to her Civil Air Patrol BDU's.
2:55pm Julie is about to give Matthew a Radio Controlled helicopter.
3:41pm Julie just downloaded Stories from Eden's Garden!
5:07pm Julie gave Matthew a Radio Controlled Helicopter.

July 19
3:50pm Julie 's dream is on life support. :)

July 21
8:12pm Julie is excited about the coupon for a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich that Matthew just gave her.

July 22
1:16am Julie is flirting with overtime, so she's been given today and tomorrow off! I love my flexible schedule!

July 23, 2008
8:55am Julie dropped her phone and broke the screen so she can't read text messages or what she types for her status.

What Happens Before You Go to Vote on an Aviation Safety Bill

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 5:43pm

Flight Carrying Former GOP Candidate Makes Emergency Landing

POSTED: 8:25 pm EDT July 22, 2008
UPDATED: 10:23 pm EDT July 22, 2008

NEW ORLEANS -- A Washington-bound flight carrying former presidential candidate Ron Paul and six other members of Congress made an emergency landing in New Orleans after a loss in cabin pressure.The seven congressmen, all from Texas, were trying to get back in time for a Tuesday night vote on an aviation safety bill when the flight landed without incident, a spokesman for one of the representatives said. No injuries were reported among the 128 crew and passengers.FAA spokeswoman Lynn Tierney said Flight 458 from Houston initiated a rapid descent to bring the plane to an altitude below where adding oxygen was necessary and was given priority to land at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.Trevor Kincaid, a spokesman for passenger and Rep. Nick Lampson, said his boss told him "there was absolutely no panic on the plane." Lampson told Kincaid the plane's oxygen masks dropped down."Continental Airline's personnel and staff were exceptional; executing what seemed to me a textbook performance in emergency procedure. I was very impressed," Lampson said in a release.Airline spokeswoman Julie King said the airline was working to get customers from Flight 458 from Houston to Washington, D.C. on other flights.A spokesman for Rep. Nick Lampson said the members of Congress on board were Lampson, Paul, Ted Poe, John Carter, Solomon P. Ortiz, Ciro Rodriguez, and Henry Cuellar. All are from Texas.News4's spoke to several Congressmen aboard the flight, who said the incident was little more than an inconvenience.Texas Congressman John Carter, speaking from Chicago late Tuesday, said it happened as the in-flight movie was about to begin."The oxygen masks came down," he said. That was the first sign for many that anything was amiss.The 737 made a hasty descent to a level where oxygen and cabin pressurization were no longer needed.Lampson, who sits on the committee that oversees FAA and other aspects of civil aviation, said he was impressed with the way the crew handled the situation.But he said he was troubled by the lack of information given to passengers aboard the flight.The congressmen caught another flight and were expected to land at Reagan National Airport by midnight.

Anything Can Happen at Any Time

Today as I worked in the toll plaza, my mind was allowed to wander. Aware of the recent tragic crash of a DC-9 in The Congo, I thought back to my self-led "emergency training" which consisted of the independent study of several major airliner crashes in the past 32 years. A flight attendant on an Embraer 120 for ASA was involved in one of these particular crashes, and her name is permanently etched in my mind as one of my personal heroes. When I am a flight attendant and am ever faced with a similar situation, I know in the end I will give much credit to Robin Fech and her example of how she maintained a relative calm and made sure each passenger was properly briefed on bracing and evacuation procedures while securing the cabin, all in under 10 minutes.To be continued..

This Is Basically My Facebook History April 2008

April 1
1:42am Julie Sang karaoke at the Rising Star at CityWalk!
4:28am Julie has her fingers crossed for Jennifer today!
4:30pm Julie was going to watch the airplanes at OIA after work but since a suspicious man and his baggage were detained, she thinks now may not be such a good time.
5:40pm Julie is going to luxuriate in a nice warm bubble bath.
9:20pm Julie is excited that it's April and that Sun 'n Fun is one week away!!!

April 2
9:27am Julie is going to work.
11:06am Julie forgot how much she loves Dharma and Greg. And she wonders why men and women pair up.
1:30pm Julie really doesn't want to impress anyone today.
7:48pm Julie is at CityWalk.
8:56pm Julie has a hot body.

April 3
12:00am Julie is having the time of her life with her new friends from Long Island at Rising Star!
2:02am Julie is at Wal Mart, but I'm not going to fold myself into a suitcase.
1:32pm Julie needs a Miracle Drug to help her forget this day ever happened.
5:46pm Julie made a chart of all of Trans States Airlines' destinations and which code share partner serves each city!
9:00pm Julie is pondering over the grim reality of high fuel costs and their impact on the airline industry after hearing the news that ATA has shut down.

April 4
9:36pm Julie is hitting up CityWalk.

April 5
8:48pm Julie is packing for the Sun'n Fun Fly-in! She can't wait to meet up with Jennifer!
1:45am Julie danced with the Wasted at Margaritaville and had a blast!!!!!!!

April 6
9:55pm Julie is writing notes. Please read and/or comment on any of them.
9:51am Julie is going to work.
7:02am Julie is frustrated.

April 7
1:06am Julie has to stay awake until 4:30am, walk to bus stop, catch 5am bus, sleep on bus, then sleep in break room til 9am, then work til 5pm. Then Sun'n Fun for a week!
6:14am Julie is EXTREMELY AFRAID of being ambushed by a gator as she walks the rain-soaked dirt road in near pitch blackness, and she's done packing for Sun 'n Fun.
9:32pm Julie is spending the night in Lake Lowery with the Stebbins' at their cabin.

April 8
7:31am Julie IS AT SUN'N FUN ! ! ! ! ! !
12:02pm Julie has set up her tent/museum, registered sea plane pilots, and is now in heaven!

April 10
6:38am Julie is riding a SeaBee to the Splash In! She hopes Her friends going to the Fly In will call her!

April 11
3:00pm Julie has carved a propeller, watched the Thunderbirds, and is hoping to meet Patty Wagstaff.

April 12
3:02pm Julie is watching the airshow from under Corky Fornoff's wing.... Yippee!
3:20pm Julie is watching the airshow and eating pudding from under Corky Fornof's wing.... YIPPEE!
9:09pm Julie would make a great wife for a pilot. Any takers?

April 13
5:00pm Julie should have ran when she saw the smoke...
8:44pm Julie would much rather read SkyWest's Annual Report than unpack from Sun 'n Fun.
10:06pm Julie prays everybody else will have a safe return home from Sun 'n Fun, and her heart goes out to the loved ones and friends of those who didn't make it....

April 14
2:08pm Julie is feeling a lot more rational now.

April 15
6:50am Julie is wowed that the major airline mergers are beginning.
7:12pm Julie is sad to hear Rose's supervisor passed away. :,(.
9:22pm Julie has fallen in love once more with a voice from her childhood. John Denver lives in her heart.

April 16
8:56am Julie is on her way to work.
10:55am Julie is at work.
6:39pm Julie is done with work for the day.
8:33pm Julie is home from work and eating an overflowing bowl of buttered linguine noodles.
9:29pm Julie is watching The Terminal. LOL!

April 17
8:38am Julie wants to know if anyone wants to go to CityWalk with her tonight.
6:44pm Julie likes getting poked.
8:59pm Julie is going to CityWalk tonight.

April 18
1:10am Julie is chillin at Margaritaville.
12:16pm Julie is at work.
7:52pm Julie is hanging out with her friends'....................photos.

April 19
8:26am Julie is going to her last day of work at Universal Studios.
8:37am Julie is going to her last day of work at Universal Studios.
10:04am Julie doesn't like bus connections on the weekend. Good thing she left for work an hour before she really needed to...
2:45pm Julie is wondering how people can be so rude and not feel ashamed.
7:06pm Julie IS MORTIFIED! It was her last day working at Universal Studios and she literally went out with a bang. How embarrassing!

April 20
4:57am Julie is invigorated and soon to be tired! ;)
9:09pm Julie enjoys simultaneously interacting with Facebook friends online and over the phone.
11:52pm Julie just watched a raccoon help itself to the cat food on her front porch for ten minutes.

April 21
8:03am Julie is going to a job interview.
6:09pm Julie is going to her Civil Air Patrol meeting.
11:19pm Julie is watching a lizard explore her bedroom. Yesterday it was a raccoon on the front porch, today a lizard. Please no giant spiders tomorrow!

April 22
5:38pm Julie is riding the bus.
10:27pm Julie needs more minutes on her phone!

April 23, 2008
9:17am Julie Going to get groceries with Kellie.
12:20pm Julie is having lunch with Kellie at Long John Silver's.
8:11pm Julie as trying to access Facebook with her phone with her cell phone withu a bruised quarters me her phone screen broken.

Won't Someone Hurry Up And Invent Gator Radar!!!! >a¤¤a=z

It's Gator Mating Season and I am finding myself walking within a mile of several bodies of water, often in very-poorly-lit-after-sunset-circumstances. Gators wander from pond to pond in search of a mate and are often very hungry in the process. I really don't want to end up being random gator's meal. Won't someone hurry up and invent Gator Radar- something that can detect Gator hormones, Gator tooth enamel, or a patch of leathery Gator skin larger than one square foot and within 300 yards of me. >a¤¤a=z

In One Week I Will Be Sleeping in a Tent in the Shadow of a Lake Amphibian!

I am so excited for the Sun'n Fun Fly-In! This will be my 2nd year volunteering, but my first year camping there the entire week. I only have 2-4 hours of duty each day in the evening, so I will be able to experience all the sights, sounds, smells, textures and tastes of this week long air show and its exhibits. I can't wait to see Patty Wagstaff perform her aerobatics. I can't wait to meet new friends, renew acquaintances and share my passion for aviation with others who hold a similar reverence of Flight!

This Is Basically My Facebook History March 2008

March 1, 2008
12:09am Julie is planning a 7 day round trip to Sacramento via Charlotte Norfolk NYC and Chicago on the Greyhound bus next week!

March 2, 2008
12:05pm Julie is running errands before she hops on a Greyhound bus at 6.
3:12pm Julie is now free to travel across the country! ORL-JAX-SAV-COLUMBIA-CLT!
6:37pm Julie is on the bus!
8:58pm Julie is in Jacksonville!
10:36pm Julie is leaving Jacksonville after having met a sweet elderly woman who was once a flight attendant for Pan Am. On to Brunswick, GA!
11:31pm Julie is in Brunswick, GA after having crossed a bridge from a place called Jerkyll Island.

March 3
11:43pm Julie is leaving Brunswick, GA and Jerkyll Island- on to Savannah, GA!
1:03am Julie is in Savannah, GA charging her phone. =).
1:47am Julie is leaving Savannah, GA. Next stop, Columbia, SC!
4:28am Julie is in Columbia, South Carolina!
5:04am Julie is leaving Columbia, next stop Charlotte!
6:51am Julie is in Charlotte, NC!
7:41am Julie was born again at the Charlotte, NC Greyhound bus station (seriously).
7:47am Julie is leaving Charlotte to accompany Betty Fox to Winston-Salem. =) Yeah! the sun is up in North Carolina!
8:55am Julie is passing through Concord, NC.
9:11am Julie is passing through Lexington, NC. Piedmont Triad Airport=hmm...? Cool! There's a town called Welcome coming up! Wish I had a good map. Love NC!
9:30am Julie is in Winston-Salem.
10:04am Julie is walking up and down the streets of downtown Winston-Salem. Just bought a granola bar at Chelsee's Coffee Shop.
11:04am Julie is paying a visit to the Smith-Reynolds Airport in Winston-Salem.
12:56pm Julie is returning to Charlotte,.
2:57pm Julie is back in Charlotte.
3:14pm Julie is going to explore Charlotte on foot for an hour and a half.
5:18pm Julie is sad to leave the beautiful Queen City called Charlotte, but excited for tomorrow's adventure in Norfolk, VA!
5:29pm Julie is tied up in traffic at Johnson and Graham in Charlotte.
5:56pm Julie is passing through Concord and Salisbury for the third time today.
6:32pm Julie is greeting Winston-Salem once more- this time at dusk.
7:33pm Julie is leaving Winston-Salem and cruising toward Greensboro, NC!
7:47pm Julie was in and out of High Point, NC.
8:14pm Julie is in Greensboro, NC!
8:34pm Julie is leaving Greensboro, and cruising toward Raleigh, NC!
9:30pm Julie is in Durham first, then Raleigh.
11:03pm Julie was seconds away from losing her whole entire trip blog. Now she's experienced her first scheduling delay. All it means is she's sleeping in the terminal tonight. Part of the adventure!

March 4
3:06am Julie is on the -40 degrees party bus to Richmond. She already misses Charlotte and will not miss Raleigh anytime soon.
6:05am Julie is in Richmond, VA and looking forward to her daylight journey across Virginia to Norfolk!
7:23am Julie is leaving Richmond via Robin Hood Road. On to NORFOLK!
8:08am Julie is in historic Williamsburg- 8 miles from Jamestown.
8:21am Julie is saying goodbye to Williamsburg- I'll definitely come back! Norfolk, VA bound!
9:13am Julie is in and out of Hampton.
9:27am Julie HAS ARRIVED IN NORFOLK!!!!!
10:45am Julie is doing the walking tour of Norfolk!
1:08pm Julie using a computer at the Norfolk Library while the wind subsides.
2:24pm Julie is going back outside to play Norfolk, Virginia tourist!
6:45pm Julie 's feet are tired, not to mention her eyes. This Tourist is going to rest for her next leg begins at 10:30pm.
10:32pm Julie is SOOOOO enjoying her trip! She's just about to leave Norfolk- so much to do. I'll definitely be back!
11:33pm Julie is crossing the Chesepeake Bay

March 5
6:14am Julie is in Newark, NJ.
6:38am Julie is going through the Lincoln Tunnel.
8:11am Julie has been in NYC exactly an hour and has finally emerged from the signal-less underground and is now eating a hamlette from Burger King’s Dollar menu.
8:13am Julie has been in NYC exactly 75 minutes and is now going to walk 15 blocks to Central Park.
8:49am Julie is at Central Park.
9:49am Julie is seeking shelter from the rain so she can let her hands thaw out.
2:35pm Julie has enjoyed her discovery tour of NYC- visiting Trump Tower and enjoying the fabulous food and people at Serendipity 3!
4:15pm Julie has left New York City and now she agrees with the saying I love NYC.
4:25pm She's also leaving Newark now. On to Pennsylvania!
5:45pm Julie is in Pennsylvania!
11:39pm Julie is in Pittsburgh!

March 6
1:14am Julie is leaving Pittsburgh- Chicago bound!
1:54am Julie is in Ohio!
3:29am Julie is in Cleveland!
4:20am Julie is leaving Cleveland.
7:15am Julie is in Indiana.
4:20pm Julie had a good time in Chicago. Now she's going to hop on a bus to Milwaukee tonight and then to Lexington tomorrow. She took the Blue Line to O’Hare and rode the Terminal Shuttle around a couple times. 
4:40pm Julie is excited that she saw Lake Michigan and O'Hare today, although there's not much a sightseer can see there, except from the airport train. =).
5:58pm Julie should be boarding the bus to Milwaukee soon.
8:16pm Julie is on her bus to Milwaukee that is 2 h 15 minutes late, making her 3 hour layover there 45 minutes, if the bus back to Chicago is on time! ♥travel!
8:52pm Julie is grateful for TCAS ACARS and is now reading more about it on her way to Milwaukee.
9:13pm Julie really would like to have seen her journey from Chicago to Milwaukee in the daylight as scheduled....
10:04pm Julie IS IN MILWAUKEE !!! She has now been to all of SkyWest's hub cities! And Trans States!
11:31pm Julie is saying goodbye to Milwaukee. Though the stay was short and dark, she enjoyed. That clock tower above Rockwell Automation is something else too!

March 7
1:23am Julie is back in Chicago with a three hour layover here before going to Cincinnati, OH. Three hours = charged battery and stomach full of Campbell's Tomato Soup!
4:47am Julie is leaving Chicago and is now Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY bound!
8:02am Julie is in Indianapolis!
8:35am Julie got snowed on a little as she walked around on the streets of downtown Indianapolis.
9:00am Julie met Brian.
10:16am Julie is leaving Indianapolis for Cincinnati, OH.
12:04pm Julie made it to Cincinnati despite the SN and FZRA.
12:42pm Julie is sliding down the streets of Cincinnati. Where's the fun in a road trip without weather uncertainty and drama?
1:12pm Julie is sitting in a Greyhound on the shoulder of a snowy highway with a driver who said he didn't want to make this trip in the first place and not for safety reasons.
1:56pm Julie is on a replacement bus and actually moving toward Lexington, KY.
3:09pm Julie is in Lexington, KY! You can definitely tell this is a horse city!
3:33pm Julie is taking Lexington's city bus to the Blue Grass Airport.
4:59pm Julie is sad because the museum that has the Com-Air memorial at the Blue Grass Airport is closed.
7:13pm Julie is not getting out of Lexington tonight because of the weather.
8:15pm Julie is in Lexington tonight.
9:21pm Julie is spending the night at a Lexington motel near the Greyhound station.

March 8
10:14am Julie is going to walk to the WalMart a few blocks away to get a beanie and gloves!
10:55am Julie saw Lexington through snow covered glasses.
4:50pm Julie hates depending on others!!! There's a reason she took this trip solo. I know the secret to life! SOLO IS BEST!
6:14pm Julie is back in her motel room in Lexington and expecting to catch a bus back to Orlando tomorrow. She just finished watching the last 15 min of Date Movie.
8:04pm Julie is chipping away at a sand object for a hidden treasure, thanks to Walmart 88 cent toys!
9:16pm Julie thinks Brian and his bald head is very sexy!

March 9
8:46am Julie is amused. I'm 31 years old and this woman referred to me as "this little girl" haha!
11:52am Julie is finally inside the Greyhound terminal after being stuck in Lexington for 2 days.
1:44pm Julie is on the bus!!!!!!!
1:46pm Julie is on the bus to Knoxville, TN!!!!!!!
2:43pm Julie is in and out of Berea, KY.
3:54pm Julie is in London, KY.
4:44pm Julie is in Tennessee.
5:36pm Julie is in Knoxville, TN.
6:53pm Julie leaving Knoxville.
8:58pm Julie is in Chattanooga, TN.
11:05pm Julie is in Atlanta.
11:47pm Julie might leave Atlanta tonight.

March 10
12:15am Julie is impressed. Despite the Atlanta chaos, Greyhound provided a second coach when the first one filled up!
8:41am Julie is in Orlando, back home!

March 11
12:19am Julie feels hopelessly socially inadequate.
3:32am Julie feels refreshed.
9:07am Julie is going to work refreshed.
3:22pm Julie still has a wooden thumb! She has her first day of training in wheelchair rental today. I guess they wanted to take advantage of her fresh off vacation status.
3:42pm Julie falls in love with the Bare Naked Ladies every time she hears one of their songs!
7:02pm Julie had a good day at work.
7:47pm Julie hopes she can get home before she gets rained on. Too late!
8:34pm Julie is wondering have I done any good in the world today?

March 12
2:58pm Julie is cleaning her room.
5:22pm Julie is donating 40 lbs of flying books and magazines to the CAP cadets.
6:12pm Julie weighs 40 lbs lighter.
6:22pm Julie walking to Panda Express.
11:16pm Julie wants to go back to New York City.

March 13
9:12am Julie spent the night at Elissa's after watching August Rush.
2:01pm Julie is appreciating the warm temperatures of Orlando, FL.
2:23pm Julie has decided to take a walk at Lake Eola Park.
4:01pm Julie recommends Lake Eola Park to anyone visiting Orlando in the next 8 months.
5:55pm Julie is at home. Now she's going to eat Honey Nut Cheerios and Dove Chocolate while listening to U2 and her Serendipity CD's.
10:53pm Julie is addicted to Sudoku.

March 14
10:29am Julie wants to know where her cereal bowl walked off to!!!
10:46am Julie doesn't mind her roommates using her cereal bowl, but doesn't appreciate spending 20 minutes going on a wild, albeit successful, goose chase for it.
11:07am Julie is spending the night at work, so she's bringing Paul along.
12:12pm Julie wonders why she cares about aviation....
12:43pm Julie is at work.
1:31pm Julie doesn't get a paycheck today like everybody else because she went on a fifteen state Greyhound bus tour.
9:33pm Julie is standing in a river of flowing cars facing upstream in the rain! .

March 15
6:32pm Julie 's bus was just dwarfed by a 747 on approach 300 feet above her head.

March 16
1:11am Julie hopes her headache will go away before she clocks in at 4:30 am.
6:12am Julie is already hating today.
9:55am Julie says today is Random Sayings Day. Say random things such as "There's partially beaten flour in Los Angeles" to random people.
2:14pm Julie is waiting for her knight in a shiny aluminum tube make himself known to her...
6:20pm Julie wants her gift of perspective and insight BACK!
6:34pm Julie may have lost her keys. .
9:32pm Julie is trying not to cry.
9:58pm Julie is enjoying her Facebook friends!
11:44pm Julie is going to bed.

March 17
5:58am Julie didn't lose her keys after all. Paul was hiding them.
12:15pm Julie is wearing yellow (work uniform) in a sea of green. Happy St Patrick’s Day everybody!
7:57pm Julie swears her nose is Dr. Jerkyll by day and Mr. Hyde by night... No offense meant to my Hyde friends, or anyone with Hyde friends!

March 18
9:04am Julie is feeling ambitious today as she walks to the bus stop.
10:32am Julie is working go wheelchair rental today.
6:53pm Julie is going on the Sterling Casino cruise ship tomorrow- free food and entertainment for non-gamblers!
9:15pm Julie enjoys talking on the phone with Brian the EMT from Ohio!

March 19
8:07am Julie is taking a shuttle to Port Canaveral and then enjoying a free cruise for about five hours.
9:06am Julie is going on a day cruise!

March 20
8:30am Julie wants to trade her bed for a couch- NOT THE KIND that unfolds into a bed though!
2:00pm Julie has begun to read Stick and Rudder.
3:06pm Julie wants to hear about her airline pilot and flight attendant friends' adventures on the job.
7:23pm Julie is satisfied with how the reorganization of her room is proceeding although she has no couch to replace her bed with...

March 21
12:09pm Julie is on her way to work, walking to the bus stop, hand in handle with Paul.
2:13pm Julie is at work.
7:23pm Julie is charging a smile to park at CityWalk.

March 22
3:19pm Julie is sick.
7:27pm Julie is thrilled that she discovered a comfortable nook where she can observe Southwest, Delta, Virgin, Frontier, and AirTran flight operations at MCO!
10:30pm Julie returning to CityWalk, then going to ride the boat to Portofino Bay Hotel, read her Airways magazine, then crash in the breakroom for a 6:30am shift.
11:21pm Julie wants to be nothing but a flight attendant when she grows up... What can she do to realize this dream?

March 23
6:33am Julie is working until 2pm. :(.
9:36pm Julie had fun tonight hanging out with Kelly.
March 24
6:40am Julie is going to work.
6:51am Julie ran to the bus stop...
7:25am Julie is looking for a connection.
12:34pm Julie is floored by her allergies. :~/.
6:01pm Julie PISSED OFF!

March 25
9:58am Julie is numb.
10:53am Julie might be spending the week volunteering at the Sun'n Fun Fly-In if she plays her cards right.

March 26
7:06am Julie is going to Port Canaveral to spend her day off on the Atlantic Ocean. Her goal is to invite five people to Sun 'n Fun.

March 27
6:11am Julie, after having slept at the church, is leaving Florida with no destination, only survival, in mind- after Sun'n Fun, that is....
8:30am Julie is going to try to give her two weeks notice at Universal today.
9:27am Julie has given her two weeks notice.
8:32pm Julie is successfully sorting her stuff.
9:23pm Julie is tired.

March 28
12:01pm Julie is excited for Sun'n Fun!

March 29
2:11am Julie feels better.
3:41pm Julie is a dick- at least according to a disgruntled employee to whom she was trying to explain policy regarding employee badges that scan void. LOL!!!
6:00pm Julie is getting ready to go to Mardi Gras and the Heart concert.
6:25pm Julie says "No, Dog, you don't need to be freakin' out!" copyright Julie Vessigault.
8:15pm Julie 's heart's a rhombus.
9:36pm Julie is at the Heart concert.
11:22pm Julie spending the night at Universal.

March 30
11:14am Julie is meeting a co-worker at SeaWorld today.
1:01pm Julie is at SeaWorld but Kristi isn't coming after all..... .
1:47pm Julie touched sting rays.
3:32pm Julie is wondering if it's normal to cry when watching the Blue Horizons show......
8:02pm Julie 's thoughts are with the employees of Aloha Airlines.

March 31
10:30am Julie is cheering Jennifer on for her pilot interview with Air Wisconsin tomorrow. Go Jennifer!!!!!!!!

I Need Ideas of Sights to see in New York City

Hey friends! I will be in New York City tomorrow morning. For those of you who have been there before, please suggest must see sights. So far I have Central Park, Serendipity Cafe (is there really such a place?) and 5th Avenue. What am I missing?