Been There, Done That (Third Edition)

Been There, Done That
Inspired by the final monologue from the movie Blade Runner,
we ask you to post a list of memorable/unusual things you’ve seen or done in your travels - we call it
Been There, Done That.

Tears in the Rain,
“I’ve seen things, you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near Tannhauser Gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain. Time to die.”

My list
I have
--hiked ‘near enough’ to an active lava flow.
--seen the sunrise over the Grand Canyon and the sunset over Waimea Canyon.
--judged a chili contest. A last second replacement, which now that I think of it, should of set off warning alarms.
--went spelunking and was up to my boots in bat droppings ( no one ever mentions that in the brochures)
--been in a straitjacket -audience volunteer, Vegas stage; you didn’t think I ……:rolleyes:


--ate deep fried nutria. It was part of a lunch special w/fries and drink, kinda tasted like chicken. It was only later I found out about the orange teeth .
--sat in the cockpit of a P-15 Mustang while a Tuskegee Airman stood by and reminisced
--seen a thunder and lightning storm on the Great plains.
--in the wilds of Maui I defended my family against a ferocious salamander attack with only a flashlight and a glass of water. Actually there wasn’t much of a battle, as when I arrived the kids were jumping around and yelling “get it, get it , get it”, and “Lil Sally” was making a quick exit out the window.
--sang “Hey Jude” on the London Eye. Not the entire song, just the first few lines and skipped right to the end. Everybody joined in.
Na na na, na na, na na na na. Hey Jude
The Beatles-Hey Jude - YouTube

That is quite a list! Here is mine:

I have . . .

- Gotten lost enough to wander onto a nude beach in CA (my sense of direction is not amazing)
- Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
- Seen whales breaching in Maui
- Watched a group of cyclists complete their cross country ride by dropping their bikes and running into the ocean at Cannon Beach, OR
- Been on the Bozo show (okay, as a child but still)
- Flown on the delivery flight on a brand new 737-900ER
- Skied in the Austrian Alps
- Been to Mad Ludwig's castle
- Ran a half marathon in Prescott, AZ (look it up, Whiskey Row Marathon) earlier this year - my first!
- Driven down I-95 NH to FL then across I-10 FL to CA and up I-5 to the bay area (my mother's sense of direction is worse than mine and she didn't want to get lost)
- Had my picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella and Tigger all in the same day
- Watched a float plane take off in the remote town of Yakutat from my front porch
- Seen a bald eagle in the wild - up close

I have
Waterskied on the Persian gulf on Christmas
Parachuted once, used two chutes
Watched a Denver vs San fran football game from the pressbox
Fished in the English channel
Been charged by a moose
Hiked Buckskin Gulch, Wikipedia says it may be the longestslot canyon in the world at 13 miles

Edited to add

Quote:

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Originally Posted by offroader

I have
Parachuted once, used two chutes

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For the rest of the story http://nonrev.net/open-discussion/18...est-story.html

These are fun--Bozo was pretty impressive, DrsD!
I have:
Tasted durian (pooogie)
Slept in isolated open tree house in Africa
Caught 3 piranhas
Swam w/wild pink dolphins in Amazon
1/2 page story in Cincinnati Enquirer for baking bread at 12YO
Dined w/Bob Hope, Wayne Newton, Pearl Bailey and Johnny Bench
Gene Roddenberry was a friend from the 80's and still have his personal letters on Star Trek stationery
Jumped off a moving circus train (high heels in hand)
Found a shoe shop to fix Mott the Hoople Mick Ronson's thigh high white platform boots--he called me when his heel broke. (I worked for a concert promoter)
TNTL Happens when you get old!

You do far more exciting things than I do, Mrs767er! I am totally jealous about the dinner with Bob Hope and the letters from Gene Roddenberry.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by offroader

I have
Waterskied on the Persian gulf on Christmas
Parachuted once, used two chutes
Watched a Denver vs San fran football game from the pressbox
Fished in the English channel
Been charged by a moose
Hiked Buckskin Gulch, Wikipedia says it may be the longest slot canyon in the world at 13 miles

---

Parachuted once with two chutes? This is a story I want to hear.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

That is quite a list! Here is mine:

I have . . .

- Been on the Bozo show (okay, as a child but still)
- Been to Mad Ludwig's castle
- Ran a half marathon in Prescott, AZ (look it up, Whiskey Row Marathon) earlier this year - my first!
- Had my picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella and Tigger all in the same day

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So Donna you had your picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella and Tigger AND visited Mad Ludwig’s Castle - I do see the connection :), in fact I’ve run into a couple of pirates myself.:cool:


And Bozo, as M7 said, IMPRESSIVE. Please tell me you played the “Grand Prize Game“.


Congratulations on the marathon, running in that Arizona heat can’t be easy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by offroader

I have
Parachuted once, used two chutes

---

Offroader, there has to be a story there. Come on!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mrs767er

Jumped off a moving circus train (high heels in hand)

---

M7 the letters from Gene Roddenberry are certainly impressive, but you jumped off a moving circus train carrying high heels - now that piqued my interest. Tell me were clowns involved - clowns they're usually involved:cool:

Ok, my memory is being jogged a little bit here. I have:

Sat in UA's GlobalFirst both overseas legs of a trip (*drool*)
Gone to Alaska and Hawaii for day trips (maybe that's not too special around these parts, but it's sure fun to tell others who aren't in the industry)
Gone around the world (Entire routing being EAU-ORD-IAD-MAD-SVQ/SVQ-PMI/PMI-FRA/FRA-HKG/HKG-SFO-MSP/MSP-ORD-MSN
Landed an Airbus 320 simulator and ridden in a 747 simulator (ok, this was at my workplace, but still pretty awesome!)
Had my picture taken with a sea turtle behind me, a monkey on my head, a parrot in my hands, and a baby tiger I was petting. Not all in one picture.
Flew to COS and back just so I could try flying on a plane I hadn't been on before
Met Mike Tyson in line for security at LAS
Had my carry-on bag (which had my suit in it) go on a different flight than me the day before an interview, only to be unable to find it when I arrived at IAH
Celebrated $8 in winnings in RNO with a $10 prime rib
Proposed to my now-wife during a Norwegian festival in tiny-town, Iowa.
Flew to ORD so I could avoid a 6+ hour drive with the rest of my class
Been unexpectedly stuck overnight somewhere on a REVENUE ticket (never as a nonrev)
Flew to ORY with a cold so bad, I couldn't pop my ears on the flight. Or after the flight. Paris seemed like a really quiet city. But I bought the tickets a couple months prior and had a great deal on them, so I couldn't give that up.
Went to a Spanish birthday party. It lasted all day, with a ton of food and drinks. The kid was turning 11.
Crossed the border into Canada to take advantage of a lower drinking age

Maybe not the same huge flashy things as some of you guys have, but for a guy who turns 26 next week, had to work with school schedules for most of my life, and doesn't generally have much vacation time at work, I think I'm doing ok.

Where do I start. My life has been so lame with little to no travel. It's a complete bore. I just come here and read everyone elses and live in a fantasy. So I HAVEN'T BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT NOR ANYTHING ELSE.

Migflanker--no clowns were involved, nor were any heels harmed in our stunt (two of us jumped) but we did have a dickens of a time finding my car. We enlisted a RR guy to call a taxi to get back to sorta where we thought the car was when we got ON the not-then-moving train. I won't tell you about meeting every circus animal nor the llama spit episode...
MrsDD--I was so goofy when Bob Hope extended his and and introduced himself--I just said, "I know". What a doofus! I have to say Mrs. Hope was very kind to me since I was way out of my element @ 23...
Keep the good stuff coming--such fun. Thank goodness I'm not giving up the "true" confessions!

Life in the Marines is enough to have "Been there done that's" to last a life time. So I could dwell on this subject alone and fill a page....

Fired many weapons including M-16A1 rifle, M1911 45 pistol, 50 caliber machine gun off a turret of an AAV, (Amphibous Assault Vehicle) m-60 machine gun, threw grenades and fired off an grenade launcher.
Was attached to a Tank Unit and even listed as a TANK CREWMAN without ever going through Tank school of the M60A1. Drove the heck out of those tanks and maintained radios in those tanks.
Was a field radio operator with formal training at 29 palms, set up radio antenna's in the desert with a gas mask on. Ran miles upon miles for a long time all around. Got drunk a lot in varioius installations and ports.
Drove Amphibian vehicles off ships and onto ships, into the ocean and onto a beach with ladies in bikinis coming up to us asking questions. Performed Naval operations on board Navy vessels out at sea. Took a shower on a ship...IMAGINE THAT!!! Performed many days being out in the field in maneuvers in places like North Carolina, Florida, Norfolk, California, Okinawa. Got tore apart by sand fleas in Paradise Island. (Parris Island) and was not aloud to swat them off.
Then with the MPS program, shipped to places pretty much around the world. Frequented plenty of drinking events in Diego Garcia, saw a cyclone out at sea in the Indian Ocean, saw beautiful islands of the Chagos Archipelago

I gotta go, but I'm leaving it here. I aint got time for this

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spongebue

Ok, my memory is being jogged a little bit here. I have:

Had my picture taken with a sea turtle behind me, a monkey on my head, a parrot in my hands, and a baby tiger I was petting. Not all in one picture.

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OK Brian I understand the sea turtle behind you, a parrot in your hands and a picture of you petting a tiger cub, but how do you coax a monkey into sitting on your head for a photo, or was that his idea?:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Migflanker

OK Brian I understand the sea turtle behind you, a parrot in your hands and a picture of you petting a tiger cub, but how do you coax a monkey into sitting on your head for a photo, or was that his idea?:)

---

I remember that photo!! One of my faves from nonrev.net

I said I was leaving it here. I just aint got time for this. Like riding on a trash boat to get to shore in Honduras and sleeping in the beach on top of a table by a thatched roofed restaurant/bar....I just aint got time to tell you about Garifanu parties on the black Honduran coast listening to KC and the sunshine band buying up all the beer and getting the natives drunk.....I aint got time to talk about the typhoons we ran from in the Pacific walking on the walls of the ship. (Not really but darn near close to it.) Or the bar in Cape Charles Virginia called the NO NAME. Or shooting up rounds with the Navy Seals enroute to Philippines to train Filipino Marines.

Unfortunately, Mig, I was not in the finale of the Bozo show. I still remember the experience even though I was not quite 8 at the time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by offroader

I have
Waterskied on the Persian gulf on Christmas
Parachuted once, used two chutes
Watched a Denver vs San fran football game from the pressbox
Fished in the English channel
Been charged by a moose
Hiked Buckskin Gulch, Wikipedia says it may be the longestslot canyon in the world at 13 miles

---

Water skied on Persian Gulf? Fished in English Channel? I didn't water ski in the Persian Gulf but I rode in and out of there a few times with mine escorts. Was in Al Jubail, Daharan, Bahrain and fueling up at the UAE. Never fished in the English Channel, but saw the cliffs of dover and saw some hail coming down on deck bouncing around.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

That is quite a list! Here is mine:

I have . . .

- Gotten lost enough to wander onto a nude beach in CA (my sense of direction is not amazing)
- Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
- Seen whales breaching in Maui
- Watched a group of cyclists complete their cross country ride by dropping their bikes and running into the ocean at Cannon Beach, OR
- Been on the Bozo show (okay, as a child but still)
- Flown on the delivery flight on a brand new 737-900ER
- Skied in the Austrian Alps
- Been to Mad Ludwig's castle
- Ran a half marathon in Prescott, AZ (look it up, Whiskey Row Marathon) earlier this year - my first!
- Driven down I-95 NH to FL then across I-10 FL to CA and up I-5 to the bay area (my mother's sense of direction is worse than mine and she didn't want to get lost)
- Had my picture taken with Mickey, Minnie, Cinderella and Tigger all in the same day
- Watched a float plane take off in the remote town of Yakutat from my front porch
- Seen a bald eagle in the wild - up close

---

"Flown on the delivery flight on a brand new 737-900ER".

That's pretty cool. I did that on a B-757 from HNL to GUM in 1997. Smelled like a new car.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by spongebue

Ok, my memory is being jogged a little bit here. I have:

Sat in UA's GlobalFirst both overseas legs of a trip (*drool*)
Gone to Alaska and Hawaii for day trips (maybe that's not too special around these parts, but it's sure fun to tell others who aren't in the industry)
Gone around the world (Entire routing being EAU-ORD-IAD-MAD-SVQ/SVQ-PMI/PMI-FRA/FRA-HKG/HKG-SFO-MSP/MSP-ORD-MSN
Landed an Airbus 320 simulator and ridden in a 747 simulator (ok, this was at my workplace, but still pretty awesome!)
Had my picture taken with a sea turtle behind me, a monkey on my head, a parrot in my hands, and a baby tiger I was petting. Not all in one picture.
Flew to COS and back just so I could try flying on a plane I hadn't been on before
Met Mike Tyson in line for security at LAS
Had my carry-on bag (which had my suit in it) go on a different flight than me the day before an interview, only to be unable to find it when I arrived at IAH
Celebrated $8 in winnings in RNO with a $10 prime rib
Proposed to my now-wife during a Norwegian festival in tiny-town, Iowa.
Flew to ORD so I could avoid a 6+ hour drive with the rest of my class
Been unexpectedly stuck overnight somewhere on a REVENUE ticket (never as a nonrev)
Flew to ORY with a cold so bad, I couldn't pop my ears on the flight. Or after the flight. Paris seemed like a really quiet city. But I bought the tickets a couple months prior and had a great deal on them, so I couldn't give that up.
Went to a Spanish birthday party. It lasted all day, with a ton of food and drinks. The kid was turning 11.
Crossed the border into Canada to take advantage of a lower drinking age

Maybe not the same huge flashy things as some of you guys have, but for a guy who turns 26 next week, had to work with school schedules for most of my life, and doesn't generally have much vacation time at work, I think I'm doing ok.

---

Lets see. You're 26 years old? I'd say you're on a pretty good track. PS. I got your suit here at IAH. heheheheh.......

Back by popular demand...

http://i.imgur.com/QVTiaIb.jpg

This was taken in Gibraltar, a tiny British territory in Spain. Cool tourist spot for a day trip, but don't plan too much time there. At one point, Spain blocked access to Gibraltar by land, so the only way to get there was by sea. They ended up building an airport, but have very little land to do it on. Their solution can be best explained with my avatar. Anyway, the monkey. There are monkeys on top of the rock of Gibraltar, I don't believe anyone really knows how they got there. There's a common phrase that if the monkeys (ok, apes actually) leave Gibraltar, it will make the British disappear. Not that the Spaniards would mind that much. Since this is such a touristy place, the apes know that they can get food if they interact with people (feeding them carries a pretty large fine, but our guide took that risk for us). Pretty much as soon as I got out of the van, one jumped up on me.

Other random "been there, done that" things about Gibraltar alone:

• Saw Africa, but didn't actually set foot on the continent yet. But it was across the Strait of Gibraltar.
• Had a damn good lunch of fish and chips and Guinness. Something about it made my stomach really happy to the point where it was noteworthy.
• Was walking with a (female) friend, and we were looking for a bathroom. Saw some signs directing towards a public bathroom, so we follow that. Ended up being one large bathroom area, and a wall of stalls were separated male/female. Let me clarify this: my friend and I ended up each taking stalls next to each other for whatever reason while doing our business. Slightly awkward.

Ape Ape Hooray!! Thanks for reposting the pic, which is indelibly etched into my brain. How old were you then--20? If weever meet, I'll have to picture w/out your cover...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spongebue

.

http://i.imgur.com/QVTiaIb.jpg

Since this is such a touristy place, the apes know that they can get food if they interact with people (feeding them carries a pretty large fine, but our guide took that risk for us). Pretty much as soon as I got out of the van, one jumped up on me.

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Love that photo.:cool:
Jumped right on your head….....food always works.:cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrs767er

Ape Ape Hooray!! Thanks for reposting the pic, which is indelibly etched into my brain. How old were you then--20? If weever meet, I'll have to picture w/out your cover...

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Pretty darn close - 21. Must have been September-October, as I grew a beard that November (which I still have)

I have a picture of Gibraltar though never set foot on it, passed by it several times. I saw Tangier Morocco, and Atlas Mountains but again didn't set foot on it. Was in Rota Spain.