Tom - Seat 2A DTW to ROC

Tom is really looking forward to getting home.  He's been traveling a lot! Recently spent 2 weeks in Vegas for work - that's a lot of time in a place that is sensory overload!  Also some time in Houston - I told him I'd take his place next week when he has to go back so I can visit a friend of mine that's in the hospital there.  Tom's an auditor - I'm sure I can fill in just fine - "I need to look at the files for...blah blah blah...." - okay, so maybe he's better off going himself.

We mutually agree that the parents behind us have no common sense.  They are traveling with their 2 kids - ages 5 and 7 - and have placed them across the aisle -together!  and as kids are - they are a bit rambunctious.  I truly feel sorry for the folks in front of them whose seats are getting kicked.  Note to others, it's best to have a parent next to each child - saves you saying "stop that" a million times :-)

Since this flight is again Detroit to Rochester (just like last week) - I'm wondering if we can see Niagara Falls from the left side of the plane. (last week I was on the right side)  With my new knowledge of how Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are connected by the Niagara River we think we spotted the area where the falls are.  It's a bit cloudy out - so can't be sure - but I'm thinking we did identify Grand Island - this is one time I wish the pilots would say - "off to your left you can see....."

This flight I am finishing a book - "Crush it!" - all about following your passion. In reading I realized my passion is people and places...and of course having fun!  Having Tom as my seatmate this trip renewed my energy for this book.  (he promised he would check out my blog - hence here it is 3am and I am getting him in my book!) Thanks Tom!

Tom and I are both Fisher Alumni (always nice to find a connection) -although he's only 25 - I can tell you he is going to go places!  I love his confidence and presense. 

Good luck Tom on that new job (we'll share some wine!) and safe travels!

Detroit Dan

It's been quite awhile since I've updated my travels.  Believe me - it's not for lack of traveling, or lack of meeting some great people....just lack of putting it all down.   This latest trip from Detroit to Rochester got me going again.

Things happen for a reason, and this time is no exception.  I raced back to Detroit hoping to catch a 5:30 flight out - but didn't make it.  So I was on the 9:30 pm one out and before I could even sit down, my window seatmate - Dan is right behind me.

Fast forward....we're landing in Rochester and as I typically do after having a great conversation - I introduce myself.  (why I wait til the end??? who knows?)  Dan remarks that the pychology of meeting folks on planes could be fascinating - and I mention this "book".  So here I am - finally getting back to writing.

Flying from Detroit to Rochester - seems we go over Canadian airspace.  Watching out the window we talked about the perception from the air and how hard it can be to identify where you are.  Since we were essentially going over Lake Erie it seemed easy to spot the major landmark cities lit up at night.  Spectacular views!  Eventually we felt we were looking at Buffalo - so shouldn't we be able to see Niagara Falls?  Could it be directly under us?  and how do the 2 lakes really connect? 

Image from 1/3/2013 - my visit to Niagara Falls

I've done my homework now - and Lake Erie flows into Lake Ontario via the Niagara River (which is where the falls are). I also learned that there are actually 3 sets of falls - The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are both in the USA, then there are the Canadian "Horseshoe" Falls in Canada. (although about 1/3 of the Canadian falls lies in US territory - hmmm....  Some intersting facts - the American Falls volume of water is 150,000 US gallons per second.  Canadian falls - 600,000 US gallons per second - WOW - that's a lot!

Dan, I know your visit to Rochester was short, next time maybe I can show you our great city!

Heading Home for the Holidays - seat 6F

I haven't written much lately - so have a lot of catching up to do. Let me begin with Max.

As he took his seat beside me I asked if he was heading hom for Thanksgiving - his quick smile told it all - he is so happy and excited to be going home. He's a student at RIT with a major in electrical/ mechanical engineering - and since my nephew went there for civil engineering - I know how much work it is. This time for Max - he's heading home after all the work is done - so he can relax and enjoy his family and friends - how wonderful!!

More later...

Austin from Boston

I love sitting next to the younger generation. This time - my flight from Boston finds me sitting next to Austin. It's SuperBowl weekend - and the Patriots are in it and folks from Boston and really in it! But Austin is actually not from Boston - but moved there this past September when he got a job with a financial firm there. He grew up in Alabama and went to college in Rochester. That's where he's headed to now to be a judge for students trying for a scholarship. He doesn't have too much info yet on the process - just knows it's going to be a long day - but is looking forward to it.

But tonight..he has plans with some friends to head out to the East End. For those of you not from Rochester - this is a great little spot in town with lots of bars and restaurants. "The Happening Place" for the 20's crowd.

Hope Justin has a good time tonight and at the event.

The Emissions Guy

Atlanta to Rochester - I'm the lucky one here - the guy 2 rows back and on the other side is next to a "chatty kathy" - she was loud and non-stop! After a bit my seatmate - Garrett - looks and me and we both roll our eyes. Isn't it facinating what can spark conversation??? Garrett's on his way home after being gone for the week on business. As you may guess from the title here - he works with emissions - you know all the exhausts and wasts from manufacturing (and other stuff). He said that he does from time to time have to climb to the top of those tall stacks to check out the equipment - but most of his work is on the ground - being sure all the monitoring pieces are working correctly. While the job on the road can be long days and he's away from his family - he's happy to have a job - having lost his previous job during the "recession" - good attitude! :-) And in his spare time? He turkey hunts. I never had heard much about this sport - but it fits Garrett well. I learned all about the fun toys that you use to lure the turkeys to your area - small box-like drums and other whistles. He even had some great videos on his phone - wow are those turkeys BIG! He's looking forward to his next trip where one of his clients is going to take him out hunting. Good Luck Garrett!

My Fitness Pal

What a great time to find myself seated next to Thomey. We had both been out in New Mexico for work for the week. He was flying to meet up with his family in Gulfport for his son's lacrosse game. Conversation topics included work, education, flying, and more. The two that stand out the most. Talking about the devastation that still exists in New Orleans 6 years now after Hurricane Katrina hit. The French Quarter and many areas are back in shape - but there are some areas that are like deserted ghost towns. People that had lived there had passed down homes from generation to generation and many were low income. Now the homes are vacant - and it's near impossible to develop since the process of generations passing the homes down without a sale means there may be many "owners" entitled to the property - the little things I never would have considered. Thomey's house had recently been hit with storms. He showed me pictures of a huge uprooted tree in the front yard and buckets catching the water as it came through the roof. While inconvenient (?) - Thomey had a good attitude since there's nothing he could have done to prevent it. But he also knows he's lucky to have everyone safe and will deal with the clean-up. Another topic we touched on inspired the title for this chapter. With my new Smartphone we started talking "apps". Thomey has lost (23 or 43?) pounds - and he was contributing a lot of it to having my fitness pal on his phone. He monitors everything he eats - and it has really raised his level of awareness and making good choices. He explained that at the Atlanta airport he can look around - see all the places to eat - starts to punch in some things that sound good - and most times makes a smart choice using his head and fitness pal instead of his stomach. When I got home that night I downloaded the app - let's see if it helps me too! Thanks Thomey for sharing and being a delightful seatmate.

Mary Beth - A Fellow Gardener

I was working on my computer for an upcoming training and going through pictures of my garden. Mary Beth was beside me and happened to commment on how pretty my garden was. She had relaocated from the east coast to the desert of the southwest and missed all the beautiful flowers we have back east.

One plant which we have and never knew what it was she told me was a lepedeza - she obviously know her stuff.

Here's to happy plants!