St. Louis, MO (USA)

Had sim period (with Jim K.) early. Checked out of Residence Inn Galleria by 1000, got gas at a Shell Station on Old Saint Charles [Street] (1450) and returned my rental car to the Dollar desk at the airport (1500).  Had planned on getting out of St. Louis before 1400. Instead, Jim K and I got stuck (in our aircraft) on the ramp at Lambert, waiting for a thunderstorm in Atlanta to clear. It took almost two hours before we actually took off (1635L). Even though we arrived in Atlanta by 1915, we then had some delays (parking, deplaning, baggage) at Hartsfield. As a result, I didn't retrieve my car from the long term parking lot until 2145.  With the drive to reach home, I wasn't actually in Douglasville until around 2200.  Still, it was a good good trip, overall!

St. Louis, MO (USA)

[Class and/or Simulators at FSI (with Jim K.) - dinner and drinks at John D. McGurks Irish Pub (until 2200L) - staying at Residence Inn Galleria]

St. Louis, MO (USA)

[Class and/or Simulators at FSI (with Jim K.) - staying at Residence Inn Galleria]

St. Louis, MO (USA)

[Class and/or Simulators at FSI (with Jim K.) - staying at Residence Inn Galleria]

St. Louis, MO (USA)

[Recurrent Simulator Training] Woke up at 0400 and drove over to the airport - I parked my car in the long term lot there. Got a seat on an American Airlines flight out of Atlanta (0730) and arrived in Saint Louis at 0800L. Picked up my rental car at the Dollar desk (0815) and drove down to Residence Inn Galleria, hoping to stash my stuff.  They were nice and let me check in early (0840) I even got to have some of the breakfast buffet too! From them, I got directions to Grant's Farm - I wanted to check it out in advance of our family vacation trip this summer... Stopped at an ATM in Webster Groves at 1045. Before I went into the park, saw that a former home of President Grant was open for a visit (that's where the name "Grant's Farm" comes from, I guess). It was interesting to tour this place - we had a good guide. The whole visit reminded me of the tree I saw in Tokyo last summer (see AUG 2002) that Grant planted... The nearby Adventure Park was mostly a wild animal "safari", petting zoo and Clydesdale breeding farm (the kids will like it...). I also found a nice German plaza-looking-place where you can get free samples of A-B products. Throughout the day, the weather was great. Headed back to hotel in the afternoon. Picked up Jim K (my sim partner for the week) at the airport just after dark and went back to the hotel for drinks (happy hour!). Dinner at Ven Ching Restaurant on Brentwood (finished at 2020).

Corpus Christi, TX (USA)

[training flight (ITAC) with Tim H - Atlanta to Little Rock to Corpus Christi to Atlanta]

Colorado Springs, CO (USA)

[checked out of the Hilton Garden Inn (0510L) - returned to Peterson AFB - returned rental car to Enterprise - second day of training with Shawn C. - still working out the issue of aircraft weight calculations at this high altitude - flew from Colorado Springs to Salina, Kansas (executive fuel stop), on to Camp Springs (Andrews AFB), Maryland and (finally) back to NAS Atlanta]

Colorado Springs, CO (USA)

[aircraft commander training flight with Shawn C. - flew from NAS Atlanta to Camp Springs (Andrews AFB), Maryland, and then to Colorado Springs (Peterson AFB), Colorado - got rental car (from Enterprise) and then drove to the Hilton Garden Inn (checked in at 1350L) - Shawn and I next drove up to the Air Force Academy for a short tour - on the way, I bought some gifts for Nicky and the kids (1545L) - dinner near the hotel]

Mayport, FL (USA)

[ITAC training flight with Keith - Atlanta to Mayport to Norfolk to Atlanta]

[Chattanooga, TN (USA)]

[trainer (TAC check) with Jamie - probably Chattanooga - back to Marietta]

[Pensacola, FL (USA)]

[itinerary uncertain - flight with Brady F. - probably Pensacola Regional airport]