Journal delcielo's Journal: Entry 3... Clearance on Request, Pink Bunny, The Griz Cafe
"46P, Billard Tower. Taxi into position and hold on runway 18 for IFR release."
What sweet words.
I'm cured (at least for now) of entry 2's flying woes. The minute I called ground and got "46P, Billard Ground. Taxi to runway 18, hold short of 13, wind 150 at 4, altimeter 30.00. Your IFR clearance is on request" I was cured. You're doing the pilot thing at that point.
Almost any moron could plan a flight, especially an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) trip with a GPS on board. But they only let the people who have taken the tests and proven themselves move the airplane around. That's when you start to feel just a little bit better than the rest of the herd.
4 hours later, I made a very smooth landing on runway 30 at Albuquerque. It was so smooth that nobody took notice of it. Those are the best. My wife and 2 year-old daughter were blissfully ignorant of the beautiful work I'd just done.
It's not unlike being a sysadmin in that respect. You tend to live in
I did, however, learn when to say "roger" and when to say "affirmative."
Back to ABQ. Vacation was great. ABQ has a really good zoo, and good aquarium, lots of shops, great restaurants, y mucha cultura.
The only problem we had in ABQ was a cranky little girl. She seemed dead set on being pissed off about something at any given time. On Tuesday, we headed out from the hotel to ride the tram up to Sandia Peak. It's a fun ride and I expected us to have a great time. As we pulled out of the hotel parking lot, however, my wife said "You know what we forgot? Pink Bunny."
Immediately from the back; "I want Pink Bunny to go with us." And that started the big blowout. People with kids will understand both sides of this little story. I told her that Pink Bunny would have to wait in the hotel room for us, which really pissed her off. But I stood firm. It's important for her to learn how to deal with things because, in the end, I can't satisfy her day to day. She has to learn to be satisfied; and that comes only from learning to deal with life's little issues... like Pink Bunny staying in the hotel.
Others will understand the viewpoint my wife expressed: that it wasn't that far back to the hotel, and that it would be a simple enough matter to just go back and get it, and stop the crying and complaining.
Still others will say "She's a two year-old. It's a little early to be teaching life's lessons."
Everybody is correct. I chose to stick it out for the reasons I mentioned earlier. And as for her being too young, somebody call me on the morning that she's suddenly prepared to learn life's lessons.
So, the only downer was a cranky baby, which was bad enough that we considered just coming home. But we stuck it out, and things got a little better.
The flight to Alamosa was great. Beautiful mountain scenery along the way. Fun flying. Density altitude was at 8500 feet when we landed. The Piper Comanche 260 kicks ass.
In Alamosa, the Sand Dunes gave me that long-awaited sense of calm and peace that I had so been looking for. Albuquerque was fun; but it wasn't the relaxation I had wanted. The Sand Dunes gave me that. Nobody was using cell phones. Nobody had a pager on. It was beautiful to sit and watch the mountains from the dune tops, and to listen to the wind blowing through the pinon. There was no blinking cursor to demand my input. This was the world. The shell prompt isn't real. It's busywork that we've made for ourselves. Sand brought down from the Sangre de Cristo mountains by waters for thousands of years: that's the world. That's real. There's nothing virtual about that at all.
There was also nothing virtual about the coronary I thought I was going to have hiking to the 700 foot top of the tallest dune. Oy. What the hell was I thinking?
Finally, I had the best steak of my life at the Grizzly Bear Inn Cafe in Alamosa. It was cooked to order, smothered in a red chile sauce, and covered with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes; and served with beans and rice. It was delicious. I'd kill for the recipe for that chile sauce.
The governor of Colorado is eating there this week. He's in town for a rotary club meeting at the Griz. I hope he tries the Steak Ranchero. He may just leave Denver.
But... now we're home. We touched down on runway 31 just about 2:00 on Saturday. What a disappointment. Back to the office. Back to
If I were younger and single, it'd be park ranger time.
Entry 3... Clearance on Request, Pink Bunny, The Griz Cafe More Login
Entry 3... Clearance on Request, Pink Bunny, The Griz Cafe
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