Been There, Done That - Game - Second Edition

**Migflanker** · 09-Jun-2009, 08:01 PM

Because we have so many members that have joined the Forum since 2006, I thought it might be fun to revive one of the Forum's classic games.
-Been There, Done That-
The rules are simple-

Post a list of memorable things you've seen or done in your travels. If you've done any of the things mentioned in a previous post, note it, and if you can, up the ante with your own exploits.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. C-beams glittering in the dark by the Tannhause Gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain." -- The movie "Blade Runner".

My list (original with a few additions)

I have
--seen an erupting volcano.
--seen the Rosette Stone, - sounds simple enough, but, I had to elbow my way through an entire class of university history students and a grabby professor.
--watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon
--panned for gold
--been drenched and sick, but looked up long enough to see a rainbow over Niagara Falls.
--judged a chili contest.
--sailed over the Prime Meridian while leaving my mark on the rail.
--sat in the cockpit of a P-15 Mustang while a Tuskegee Airman explained the controls.
additions
--counted falling stars in the night sky (outside of Tucson)
--been in a straitjacket ( on the stage in Vegas

)
--stood on the Great Plains and watched a thunderstorm
--met a prince
--went spelunking and wondered why no one ever mentions the bat droppings

Alright, lets hear about your adventures.

**Nick** · 10-Jun-2009, 06:33 AM

-- Jumpseated on a B744F into Sydney whilst taking in the view of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge
-- Spent a night on 6th street in AUS with a complete stranger I met on the plane from DAL
-- Non-revved 12hrs DAL-HOU-ELP-LAX-OAK only to be ditched by said person the next weekend
-- Climbed (naughty) the Pyramids of Giza and sailed the Nile
-- Travelled to Dallas from Australia for one night only (the A380 was a bonus)
-- Purchased cowboy boots in Ft Worth and been ridiculed every casual Friday for wearing them
-- Had my shoe removed and my foot rubbed by some strange strange person at a DART bus transfer center (don't ask, it all happened so fast)
-- Flew into AUS just to sit in the airport, have a few beers and listen to the live music
-- Got half way up the Eiffel Tower only to realise i'm afraid of heights, and would have to wait 2hrs to get back down in front of a gaggle of 14yo American girls singing loudly

I've been quite a few places where I regret not doing things too. Not getting to a honky tonk in Texas, not trying reindeer in Helsinki, not having a mint julep in SDF. Maybe, next time.

Mine aren't as interesting as yours Mig, but I thought i'd help get us started

**spongebue** · 10-Jun-2009, 09:14 AM

I can say that I have

-- Taken a 2800 mile road trip (week and a half) staying at some very nice (but free) hotels
-- Gone to Anchorage to have lunch
-- Driven through more downtown areas of major cities than either of my parents
-- Figured out a nearly foolproof way to bring Cuban cigars into the US from Canada (but, uh, I've never done it before

)
-- Nonrevved with companion to and from HNL, getting on all "Plan A" flights
-- Walked the streets of Toronto into the wee hours after having several beers/gin and tonics
-- Applied to every position I came close to qualifying for at every airline served by MSP, just so I could nonrev at least once.
-- Tried my damndest to come up with something close to your lists

^^^ All before my 21st birthday ^^^

(I'll probably have more to say in 6 months when I return from a few months in Seville)

**Migflanker** · 10-Jun-2009, 12:09 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nick @ Jun 10 2009, 04:33 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

-- Non-revved 12hrs DAL-HOU-ELP-LAX-OAK only to be ditched by said person the next weekend
-- Purchased cowboy boots in Ft Worth and been ridiculed every casual Friday for wearing them

Mine aren't as interesting as yours Mig, but I thought i'd help get us started

[/b]

Au contraire, I find your list very interesting Nick. I see you've learned some valuable lessons, like -
Any trip that requires three stops in Texas, better be a trip home.
and
some people just don't get/understand cowboy boots unless you're also wearing a cowboy hat and sitting on a horse.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (spongebue @ Jun 10 2009, 07:14 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I can say that I have

-- Taken a 2800 mile road trip (week and a half) staying at some very nice (but free) hotels
-- Figured out a nearly foolproof way to bring Cuban cigars into the US from Canada (but, uh, I've never done it before

)[/b]

Another very very interesting list, but I have to ask, is that 2800 mile road trip, in any way connected to the "nearly foolproof" way to bring Cuban cigars into the US? Because I got to tell you, those customs folks never give up.

**spongebue** · 10-Jun-2009, 06:58 PM

Actually, no, that trip was from Minneapolis to Dallas and New Orleans and back. And it's not giving up if they don't even know (or expect) that it's there

**Jumper** · 14-Jun-2009, 11:42 AM

If it's not just limited to non-rev travels (alas, I am still a newbie there!) some of the cool things I've done.

Was at Live Aid, Wembly.

Been snuck into a Paul Young's after party.

Sat in the cockpit of a WWII training Cessna Crane.

Ridden in an Avro Lancaster while she taxied

Made a side trip to DTW to have lunch with a freind (from SEA via MSP on and overnight to YWG)

'Done Lunch' in NYC

Spent a 'weekend' in Vegas and didn't gamble a penny.

Saw the Mormon Tabernacle Wax Museum on a 'lunch' trip.

Met Mark Hammil, spent a few hours with Carrie Fisher - ties into:

On a Thursday, Got a DAT, OA tickets and made in in and out of SFO for SUNDAY. THAT one will be hard to beat!

**Migflanker** · 14-Jun-2009, 12:42 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumper @ Jun 14 2009, 09:42 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Saw the Mormon Tabernacle Wax Museum on a 'lunch' trip.[/b]

I didn't even know there was a Mormon Tabernacle Wax Museum, what could possibly be in there? Think I'd like to hear the rest of the story on this one.

So Jumper you made it out of SFO on a Sunday, but (and I'm upping the ante here) how long was the delay?
Our plan B for our upcoming trip to San Francisco is, if the delays are running over an hour, just cxl and drive up. ZOOM-ZOOM!

Edited to add- Almost forgot, I went to a concert after party once, that's where I met - a prince

**Jumper** · 15-Jun-2009, 12:18 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Migflanker @ Jun 14 2009, 01:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

I didn't even know there was a Mormon Tabernacle Wax Museum, what could possibly be in there? Think I'd like to hear the rest of the story on this one.

So Jumper you made it out of SFO on a Sunday, but (and I'm upping the ante here) how long was the delay?
Our plan B for our upcoming trip to San Francisco is, if the delays are running over an hour, just cxl and drive up. ZOOM-ZOOM![/b]

It was a trip! Lots of life sized scenes from "Mormon History" and bible stories (the Tale of the good samaritan guy had a speaker in his hat! I'll have to get batteries for the camera and upload them) - just plain... Creepy!!

We were delayed about an hour out of SFO - got really lucky though!

**mrs767er** · 15-Jun-2009, 03:40 PM

mmmmm...some things will NOT be mentioned here, however:
I had the pleasure of dining with Bob and Delores Hope, Buck Owens, Pearl Bailey, Wayne Newton as the date of a world-famous baseball catcher.
I've jumped off a moving circus train (maybe a few miles/hour) while wearing a sundress, high heels in hand and had to hike back to my car (which WAS parked next to the train...)
"Dated" the entire national futebol team for dinner and a movie (apparently group dates are popular) while in Rio.
Got to take the closed original entrance shaft in the Great Pyramid with the help of the official guards, who didn't get any baksheesh in return, since they copped a feel helping me get over the padlocked barrier.
All of this occurred in the stages of my revenue travel in the 70's, 80's and 90's--prior to meeting my husband (I SWEAR!!)
I do believe I shall tell no other tales.

**29palms** · 15-Jun-2009, 03:50 PM

Things I done

Joined the Marine Corps at a young age, learned radios, drove all kinds of equipment like the MIA1 Abrahams, Hummers, Landing Track Vehicles, fired M-16 rifles and learned to break them down and clean them like no tomorrow. Marched an awful lot with heavy packs, lived in the bush, performed amphibian operations in caribbean and East Coast of usa. Was on a Navy Ship the USS HARLEN COUNTY LST 1196 performing amphib operations off of North Carolina, Florida and Bermuda.

Joined with the Maritime Prepositioning Ships on board vessels prepositioned in Diego Garcia, the Atlantic and Guam/Saipan

Went through Suez Canal three times, as Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, was in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Gulf war, saw oil fields burning and a bombed out shot out city of Kuwait.

Sailed across the Atlantic, sailed across the Pacific, the East China Sea, the Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, was in Team Spirit excercises in Korea.

Was in Honduras performing excercises with the MPS program, won the lotto there for 120 lempiras on number 17, got juiced up with the Garifanos on the coast of Honduras, was boarded on a bus by Honduran forces inspecting peoples belongings and IDENTIFICATION cards because I learned later that 11 Air Force personnel in SOTO CANO airbase got ambushed and shot up by snipers belonging to a pro-Cuban/Nicaraguan group. Morazanist Patriotic Front (MPL) I believe they were called.

Sailed across the Mediteranean Sea all the way across to the Suez Canal from the Straits of Gibraltar, saw Tangier off the ship.

Got hit by a ship coming into Manila Bay, put a hole on the side of the ship, watched Filipinos patch it up wearing only sandals and no hardhats, lifted the plate using only ropes.

Zonked out in Manila Bay launch boat taking us in and got towed in by another functional launch boat.

Set foot on Iwo Jima's 50th anniversary overlooking Mount Suribachi in 95.

Stood on ground zero in Nagasaki, Japan

Got kicked out of Rapscallions in Moorehead City NC for getting roudy

Saw some magnificent bullfights in Rota Spain.

Shot some weapons with the Filipino Quezon City police on my last visit there.

Lived on Saipan for 7 years, climbed suicide cliff, visited various battle sites in the area, where Lee Marvin got shot in the butt in DEATH VALLEY Saipan.

Visited suicide cliff on Tinian.

Visited the first Hard Rock Cafe in London.

Visited various Hard Rock Cafe's throughout the world and the USA.

Visited various old SPANISH FORTS in the Caribbean and Central America, Texas, Philippines and Guam.

Saw the Atomic bomb pits in Tinian.

Saw Mount Reneir, Mount McKinley, various volcanos in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Indonesia.

Was a member of the American Legion on Guam.

I saw Horaido Island where the movie Japanese movie series Shogun apparantly took place.

Climbed a piece of the Great Wall of China. (Can't climb it all, its more than 2000 miles long.)

Saw the rice paddies in Bali, viewed BARONG volcano having Indonesian cuisine, and watched Bali dancers.

Took a bus from Pasay Manila to BAGIUO, a six hour bus ride up the mountains of central Luzon stopping in various places along the way.

Bowled in Bagiuo with one of those MANUAL LOADING pins. Yes, we threw the ball and the Filipino there loading up the pins by hand in the back. All I saw was assholes and elbows and bare feet.

I saw KHOBAR TOWERS in DAHARAN back during Desert Storm before terrorist blew it up a few years later.

I walked the streets of LEGIAN street where later, terrorist blew that place up killing 200 Australians.

I walked the streets of the forbidden city in Beijing where once, the streets ran with blood.

I walked in earthquake ridden MANAGUA where they quit building in the down town area and expanded the living quarters south of present down town area where 4 faults lay.

I rode in Lake Nicaragua where pirates attacked the city of Granada from after coming in from the Atlantic, riding down the San Juan River, on to Lake Managua and on to Granada.

I crossed the Panama Canal by ship, also by train on the Panama Canal Railway.

So you want to talk celebrities? I saw OMAR TORRIJOS get off a helicopter in CONTADORA ISLAND back in the 1970's, he was later killed in 1981 in a helicopter accident.

I saw Roberto Duran during some military SMOKERS they had in Balboa Gymnasium. Smokers means BOXING MATCHES. Duran came as an honorary guest.

I saw Bob Hope in Diego Garcia in 1987 during his Christmas tour.

I saw George Foreman in Sao Paulo Brazil at the Hyatt Hotel and later at the airport.

I saw Jimmy Carter in Panama giving a speech one time at Fort Clayton.

I saw Chuck Negron when he came to Saipan and performed at the HYATT. (THREE DOG NIGHT)

Former Prez George Bush Senior was in a plane I flew on coming back from Albuquerque, my wife saw him, I didn't and thank God.

I was in Korea, Pohan when 22 Marines went down by chopper not far from us killing all on hand in 1989.

I personally knew ZEKE MOWATT from FSU later made it in the big leagues with the NY GIANTS. I saw him too make a superbowl TD against I think it was DENVER. Good for you ZEKE.

And that reminds me. I got ripped off bad one time on Saipan when I was snorkeling at the GROTTO. When I came back to get in my car, I had noticed that some stupid #$@!@$#$%# ER #@$% jerk off stold my bag with towell, wallet, keys and sneakers. If I ever catch that #@$%$ and I don't care if its been some 15 years ago, but my memory is still fresh about it and I'll break his muther#@$#!!!##@ paws with a baseball bat.

Went to the crown of the Statue of Liberty twice. Once around 1972 and again but not the crown this time in 2008.

Went to the Empire State Building. Twice, once in 1972, then again in 2008.

Climbed Bunker Hill Monument, saw Old Ironside and in Baltimore, saw USS Constellation.

Went up the Washington Monument, saw the U.S. Mint, saw Fords Theatre.

Saw Kangaroos in Australia and also the Kuala bear live.

Saw the real SMOKEY THE BEAR in WASHINGTON DC ZOO back in early 1970's, also the two Pandas that China gave us.

Chewed tobacco in Spokanne and all I got was this louzy tee shirt. (No, I never been to Spokanne Washington.)

Yea, I hit Niagra Falls, Toronto saw the Hockey Hall of Fame. Saw Cooperstown for Baseball Hall of Fame.

I just don't got the time to be here doing this you know........besides, you probably think I'm a liar like most people I mention these things to, so I don't mention them much.

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