Lightning

[AiRdAncE]

My sincere condolences, David. My thoughts are with you and with his family.

[101-douxx]

My condolences to the family in this terrible time!

[Ka-Bar03]

Nice Pics of the Midway. We were in SD the last week of April, our schedule was tight, so we couldn't make the ship. Next trip out there, it's top of the list.

We have done the Intrepid tour in NYC several times and it's great!

[lightning]

Mike, St?phane, Kim, Rich, everyone, thank you all for being here for me in this time of need and sadness.  The sense of community within ViperPit is so strong, and I am so fortunate to have you all as friends.  Hopefully one day if I am fortunate I will get the chance to meet each of you in person.

[lightning]

We were in SD the last week of April, our schedule was tight, so we couldn't make the ship.

Really?  Those pics were taken the weekend of April 21!  Missed ya by a week!

[lightning]

Well, I'm back from Montreal and getting back to work on the pit.  

I finally got to meet Stephane and Leo, along with a whole slew of other Viper enthusiasts, and all in all, I had a great time.  

Thanks a million, guys, for making the time to meet up w/me.  It meant a lot to me!  Stephane, if anyone got photos, can you send 'em to me?  I was having too much fun and forgot to drag back some photos for memories...plus I was distracted by the bachelorette party singers that stopped by

Too bad the fun couldn't continue forever -- seems like my luck ran out bigtime on the way home.

Had a nightmare trip back to Phoenix including a 3-hour wait at the border, idling with an empty fuel tank.  Nearly got attacked by two other drivers (they were pissed we didn't wait in the idiot-line at the border with 'em).  Next, we had a 2-hour unplanned trip across the entire state of Vermont [whoops, wrong border crossing!], followed by an emergency room visit for Krista, followed by getting pulled over by a cop for nothing (for *yielding* the right of way to him!)  Got to our hotel finally, and nearly became the "victim" of an intentional vehicular assault by some crazy bitch in the hotel parking lot , then watched in shock and amusement while 6 cops attempted to search the entire hotel grounds for some unknown suspect in an unrelated event...

After all that, we got stranded at the airport in Burlington and got stuck on standby for the entire day, got searched 13 times (not kidding!) by airport security, and somehow, made it back in one piece.  At least I had a good view of the Green Mountain Boys/Vermont Air National Guard hangar and got to see a lot of Viper touch-and-go's out the window from the Burlington terminal.

Lightning

[AiRdAncE]

Well, I'm back from Montreal and getting back to work on the pit.  

I finally got to meet Stephane and Leo, along with a whole slew of other Viper enthusiasts, and all in all, I had a great time.  

Thanks a million, guys, for making the time to meet up w/me.  It meant a lot to me!  Stephane, if anyone got photos, can you send 'em to me?  I was having too much fun and forgot to drag back some photos for memories...plus I was distracted by the bachelorette party singers that stopped by

Too bad the fun couldn't continue forever -- seems like my luck ran out bigtime on the way home.

Had a nightmare trip back to Phoenix including a 3-hour wait at the border, idling with an empty fuel tank.  Nearly got attacked by two other drivers (they were pissed we didn't wait in the idiot-line at the border with 'em).  Next, we had a 2-hour unplanned trip across the entire state of Vermont [whoops, wrong border crossing!], followed by an emergency room visit for Krista, followed by getting pulled over by a cop for nothing (for *yielding* the right of way to him!)  Got to our hotel finally, and nearly became the "victim" of an intentional vehicular assault by some crazy biatch in the hotel parking lot , then watched in shock and amusement while 6 cops attempted to search the entire hotel grounds for some unknown suspect in an unrelated event...

After all that, we got stranded at the airport in Burlington and got stuck on standby for the entire day, got searched 13 times (not kidding!) by airport security, and somehow, made it back in one piece.  At least I had a good view of the Green Mountain Boys/Vermont Air National Guard hangar and got to see a lot of Viper touch-and-go's out the window from the Burlington terminal.

Dude !

Sounds like you had heaps of fun !!



Sjeez... really... how can one person attract so much bad luck ?!

[lightning]

Sjeez... really... how can one person attract so much bad luck ?!

I have no idea, man!  It was like the StayPuff Marshmallow Man scene in Ghostbusters -- we were scared to even think how things could possibly get worse because it kept happening!  

There's more -- my washing machine at home broke while I was gone and filled up the laundry room (which is right next to the 'pit garage) with 3 inches of water...fortunately there was someone at the house at the time to deal w/that situation.

[kdittyr]

Well, sounds like you had an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.  Glad to hear that you made it home safely, though.

[lightning]

Well, sounds like you had an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.  Glad to hear that you made it home safely, though.

Definately a good memory despite all the mishaps.  Next time, we'll fly direct...couldn't this time because my fiancee's Canadian passport had expired, and the current wait time for a new one (including waiting for the new Canadian birth certificate which replaces the old baptismal birth certificates that Quebec used to accept) would have taken too long.  You can still travel across the border by land or by sea till '08 with just a birth certificate, but unless you're an American citizen and have already applied for a US passport, you can't fly across the border...hence the long waits by car, and the clogged border-town airports.

[Gunner]

Definately a good memory despite all the mishaps.  Next time, we'll fly direct...couldn't this time because my fiancee's Canadian passport had expired, and the current wait time for a new one (including waiting for the new Canadian birth certificate which replaces the old baptismal birth certificates that Quebec used to accept) would have taken too long.  You can still travel across the border by land or by sea till '08 with just a birth certificate, but unless you're an American citizen and have already applied for a US passport, you can't fly across the border...hence the long waits by car, and the clogged border-town airports.

Our southern border is so much easier - just have to take a little stroll thru the desert. :wink:
Seriously though...if this is the kind of luck you have, I'm scared sh*tless to meet you now! :wink:   You think it will rub off?...We do need to meet up soon, I have GOT to get over & see all this cool stuff you have acquired!

[lightning]

Our southern border is so much easier - just have to take a little stroll thru the desert. :wink:

No kidding, huh?  Or just float across the Rio Grande on a car tire.  Probably faster too.

Seriously though...if this is the kind of luck you have, I'm scared sh*tless to meet you now! :wink:   You think it will rub off?

You know what, I'm generally a lucky bastard, so maybe this levels the game a little bit...

We do need to meet up soon, I have GOT to get over & see all this cool stuff you have acquired!

Yea we do!

[lightning]

Just found out my older brother's moving to Burlington, VT, and my fiancee's dad is moving back to Quebec, so next time we go, most likely, it'll be through Burlington again.  So much for flying direct  

Speaking of fiancee, we're coming up on 2 years together in a couple days, and she wanted to get me something nice.  Check this out -- she researched my flight helmet and mask, on her own, and found a bunch of artists that quoted her on painting it with my Lightning logo.  By the time she was done researching, she knew all the details about the HGU-55/P, as well as the MBU-12/P, MBU-20/P, and HALP masks.  I am still shocked!  She was not sure I would be happy though...so I found out early.  The biggest problem, as it turns out?  She couldn't smuggle my helmet out of the house without me noticing!  Now *that's* quite a woman, wouldn't you say?

[LeoL]

Now *that's* quite a woman, wouldn't you say?

Sure and in a few years you'll be arguing about who has the most number of kills in Falcon or who's turn it is to use the pit. 

[lightning]

Now *that's* quite a woman, wouldn't you say?

Sure and in a few years you'll be arguing about who has the most number of kills in Falcon or who's turn it is to use the pit. 

You know, those kinda arguments, I could handle   Right now I think I'd have to beg her to get in the pit when it gets to the point where it's flyable.  Then again, she's the one out there helping me paint it in the hot garage on the weekends.  And she's the one excited about the "telephone" (ICP) -- she's getting impatient for that to show up   So I don't know...Girls and their "telephones", you know how that works!