Been There, Done That - 4th Edition

Back by popular demand, Been There, Done That


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

We ask you to post a list of memorable/amazing/inspiring/interesting/or just plan crazy things you’ve seen or done in your travels - that memory that just stays with you :cool:

I have
-- hiked (near enough) to an active lava flow and heard the sound of hot lava hitting the ocean water.
-- ate warm beignets at the feet of a General. :rolleyes:
-- seen Upper Yosemite Falls in morning light and Half Dome in clouds
-- seen a London salon advertising “Get a Hollywood Tan” and a Canadian car wash advertise a “Hollywood car wash”.
-- on a bumpy flight over the Sierra Nevadas have a woman grab my arm and almost squeeze the blood out of it.
-- heard a whispered “hello” in the gallery at St Paul’s Cathedral and a shouted “HELLO” at the Grand Canyon.
AND
-- non-revved to Hawaii in July with 4D3’s and all make it and been bumped off the same flight twice out of PHX.
See( http://nonrev.net/general-discussion/19752-nonrevs-dream.html post #7 ) for the rest of the story :cool:

First, my reply from the last round, for the newbies out there...

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

And in the last 2 years...

Stayed in former Norwegian army barracks, followed by a Norwegian family reunion
Walked by the same building 3 times trying to get from point A to B in Istanbul
Drove a Ford Focus on about 100 miles of roadway entirely covered in ice in Wyoming
Learned the hard way that PTY's rainy season earns its name
Got stranded in Denver's airport without even trying to fly
Saw Iron Maiden's Ed Force One Boeing 747
Learned (again, the hard way) that morel mushrooms are supposed to be cooked before eating, otherwise you'll get sick. All while on a ferry in Seattle
Stayed in a cabin heated only by a wood-burning fireplace originally built in 1860
Visited ~800-year-old cliff dwellings
Paddled my kayak from Colorado to New Mexico in under an hour (ok, the launch point was basically at the border)
Skinny dipped in a hot spring with 2 lesbian hippy women
Had friends over for my birthday, in which I surprised everyone by answering the door in my birthday suit (picture for those interested, along with my lovely wife who can tolerate way too much from me: Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet )

Oh, and I haven't done it yet, but next month I'll be officiating a wedding.

I have:

Made it onto an oversold flight (not my own airline) out of HNL at SPRING BREAK with 4 people when we were numbers 36-40 on the standby list
Got into a complete stranger's car in Yakutat, Alaska so we could go over to his house and rent one of his cars (to this day I have no idea what his last name is)
Danced with my husband in the rain in New Zealand
Drove through a snow storm in the high desert of Arizona in April (awesome video of that)
Had high tea at the Grand Floridian wearing a tiara for my birthday
Hiked on a glacier
Ran a race that required me to carry a passport because we crossed the border to Mexico and had to re-enter the US at the end
Flew to SEA for the day so my child could go back to school shopping at Nordstrom's flagship store
Drove down I-95 from NH to FL, across the I-10 FL to CA and up the 5 to the bay area - all in one trip
Accidentally stumbled onto a nude beach while lost

So many more memories than I can possibly put here.

I think there's a story here:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

I have:
Got into a complete stranger's car in Yakutat, Alaska so we could go over to his house and rent one of his cars (to this day I have no .

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here:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

Hiked on a glacier

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and most definitely here::o

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

Accidentally stumbled onto a nude beach while lost

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Migflanker

I think there's a story here:


here:



and most definitely here::o

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Yep! ;)

Oh come on Donna, at least tell us about the car.
Because while I can understand glacier hiking and how one might be so engrossed in 'collecting seashells'http://www.4smileys.com/smileys/icq-...smiley_065.gif that they totally miss nude sunbathers till they trip over them.
I just can’t see you renting a car -no, that’s something you’ll have to explain.:cool:

A few years back we had gone to Juneau to get out of the heat. After a few days, we got a little bored and decided to go somewhere else. After looking at flight loads, the next flight with open seats was to Yakutat (hubby had been there years before) so we said "why not?" and hopped on.

Thing is, we hadn't really made any plans and Yakutat is a VERY small place. Got there and realized we needed to have a car so we asked the csa for a recommendation. She told us that Bob would be coming to pick up a few people that day (did I mention it is a very small town?) and that he had a few cars for rent. When he came in, she pointed him out and my husband spoke to him. He said we should come back to his house and we hopped into his car. Bob drove us around town a bit to see the place my husband had stayed before then to his house - which had just about every type of construction equipment you can think of - and we sat at his kitchen table filling out a surprisingly professional rental agreement. We went outside, picked one of the three cars that were sitting there and drove off.

This car was from the late 80's at best, had no working radio and shook if you went too fast. When it was time to return the car, we realized that not only did we not know his last name, we had absolutely no way to reach him to return the car! We asked the owner of the lodge where we had spent the night and she attempted to reach him (we had simply told her that we rented from Bob and she had his phone number) but he wasn't home. In the end, we followed her advice and parked the car at the airport, unlocked, with the keys inside for him to pick up later.

Bob from Alaska, isn’t his the face on the tail of your airplanes. :cool:

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/k...ridefan/11.jpg

Naw, that is Chester

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MRSDS1DONNA

Naw, that is Chester

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CHESTER?? Who names an Eskimo Chester? May as well be Chauncey...hehehe
Does "I Fly Chester" bespoke a marketing rhythm?

I’m telling you, that’s Bob :cool:

OK here's my list:

-Flew on Cathay Pacific in First Class on a mileage award ticket JFK-HKG-BKK then Thai Airways BKK-NRT in F to nonrev in F back to JFK on AA
-Visited Japan on an unplanned layover and saw the Cherry Blossoms in bloom (came from Thailand and not prepared for the cool spring weather)
-Took an unplanned side trip to MUC without a hotel reservation for the 199th Oktoberfest and made it on the first BA flight from LHR
-Made it home to NY from LAX despite being #100+ on all the oversold flights that day (hopped on a BOS flight that was upgauged to a 767 and nabbed the last seat to NY from there)
-Been on the same flight as Conan O’Brien twice (JFK-LAX) with he and his family in J and I in F
-Visited vineyards in Napa, Mendoza, Marlborough and Tuscany
-Flew an inaugural flight and even got to sit in J (JFK-BUD)
-Swam with sharks and sting rays in French Polynesia

Quote:

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Originally Posted by isppilot

-Made it home to NY from LAX despite being #100+ on all the oversold flights that day (hopped on a BOS flight that was upgauged to a 767 and nabbed the last seat to NY from there)

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And there lies the value of a good Plan B - you make it home.:cool:

Another wine region you might want to visit is Paso Robles (Central Cal), maybe 3/4 hour drive from LA (think Napa without the tour buses:D)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Migflanker

And there lies the value of a good Plan B - you make it home.:cool:

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I actually didn't have a plan b. Was supposed to be a quick weekend trip in March with flights wide open both ways. Unfortunately, storms on the east coast after I left were worse than forecast and led to many cancellations both ways on Saturday. Tried for the first flight back with no luck. Even tried to buy a ticket on OAL but everything was zeroed out. While sitting at a gate figuring out my options, I overheard one of the flight attendants say "Oh, they're giving us a 767". It happened to be BOS. So the wheels started turning and I figured as long as I can get to the east coast, I can Amtrak it home. I got on and even got a window seat. The flight to NY was icing on the cake as I didn't expect to make it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Migflanker

Another wine region you might want to visit is Paso Robles (Central Cal), maybe 3/4 hour drive from LA (think Napa without the tour buses:D)

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It's on my list of vineyards I'd like to visit. Had a really good Paso Robles red wine on AA which put it on the map for me. Think it was Treana.