07/06- 4eme semaine/ Fourth week

Une belle etape cette semaine fut sans aucun doute Los Cabos, au Mexique.
Si vous tracez un trait au sud de Los Angeles, vous tombez sur "Baja California", et au bout de cette peninsule, vous trouvererz la ville de Cabo San Lucas, ou Los Cabos, c'est un peu la meme chose car ce sont deux villes cote a cote.
90% des touristes sont Americains, ce qui fait que ca ressemble un peu a Cancun, cote Est du Mexique.
Personellement, je trouve qu'il n'y a pas grand chose a voir ou a faire, car c'est le desert, et la route des Etats-Unis pour arriver la est pres de 17 hrs de route!
Mieux vaut il arriver en avion, ce que ne manque pas de faire nos clients, et c'est donc une destination prisee pour celui qui veut se prelasser dans une piscine d'un hotel luxeux, ou qui veut faire la melasse sur la plage.
Pas mon truc, mais c'est joli, et ma foi, etre pilote de ligne et pourvoir voir ca, ca compense des emplois du temps pas super comme on peut avoir parfois!


Ode to Change... The above picture is Los Cabos, Mexico. My parents and I (Kate) started going to Mexico in the early 1980's. Back then, if you can imagine, the Yucatan was only one or two hotels, wherein the remaining stretch of the peninsula was empty, unspoiled beaches. Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I would dare say. However, this comment is based on the simple fact that the beaches of Mexico are some of the only beaches in the world I have ever seen. But I'm going to go out on a limb and still say that - yes - it is one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Now, the Yucatan is an onslaught of hotels, Club Meds, a pethora of pools and poolside bars, etc. etc. And, frankly, it's boring. When I used to go, Mexico was still Mexico, the food was native, the areas were native. It was still a "foreign" country. One of my most favorite memories is a long time ago, wherein I wanted to visit this little island off the coast of the Yucatan and, wanting the native experience unspoiled by us visitors, I opted for the locals' means of transport, which was a tug which left from a local port o' call. Needless to say, I should have known better when the fee one way was only 5000 pesos. If that failed to grab my attention, perhaps the four or five sunken ships in the port should have given my mind ample fodder to change my mind. But, no, I decided to go for it! Live the adventure! So, off I went. On this tug there were only two other non-locals such as myself. At first, things weren't so bad, as we slowly chuga chuga chuga'd from the port. However, as we began to get into open waters the boat started to list horrendously side to side, nearly tipping, whilst giant waves of water broke over us, nearly drowning us all. (I could secretly only hope it was a bapitsmal to deliver me from my stupidity!) We all started to cling for dear life to whatever we could grab hold to, wishing not to be washed into the sea, and I counted the hours (yes, it was that slow!) until we hit land. Finally...land! Ha! I lived! Mexico, indeed, was a land of adventure. Unfortunately, today, I believe it has been spoiled by newcomers wishing to profit from this poor country, wherein the country is forced to sell herself to tourists to make one of its fews forms of honest dollars. And therein lies numerous landscape changes, and selling of real estate to foreigners, and hotels, hotels, hotels. Ah...progress. And somewhere along the way one can only hope the Mexican people themselves profit by this but I fear not, that it is money only for a few. And all the while this great nation with its great history gets lost. Ah, where is Zorro today! Viva Zapata!

07/06- 3eme semaine/ Third week

Mon nom est Pepito.
Pepito Depinay, pour vous servir.
Je vis avec mes parents, Katherine (maman) et Richard (papa)
Je suis un chien.
Un tres petit chien. Je mange. Je chie. Je mange. Je chie encore. Je dors.
Je n'aime pas aller dehors, parce que tous m'effraie: le vent, les arbres, les insectes, et les objects qui bougent dans le vent ( on doit faire attention a tous de nos jours)
Je suis un gentil , tres gentil Chihuahua. Je leche beaucoup. Je mords mais seulement par gentillesse. Et je vis une vie simple dans un studio au rez de chaussee, une chambre, sans salle de bain, que mes parents ont achetes au Carrefour local, qui dans ce pays se traduit par Walmart. ( j'improvise la salle de bain en utilisant frequement le sol de la cuisine...)
Je suis tres intelligent. Mais je dois avouer que c'est grace a mes chouette parents que je suis ce que je suis aujourd'hui. Je leur dois tout, vous voyez. Et si je dois mourir subitement, je leur laisse mon heritage.
Bon, assez dit pour maintenant. Taper sur le clavier me fait mal aux pates, et je dois faire vite de toute maniere avant qu'ils ne retournent a l'ordinateur.
Adios!


Ola! My name is Pepito.
Pepito Depinay, that is. I live with my parents, Katherine(Mom) and Richard(Dad).
I am a dog. A little, little dog. I eat. I poop. I eat. I sleep.
I do not like to go outside, because everything scares me - wind, trees, insects, and inanimate objects (you cannot be TOO careful).
I am a good, good Chihuahua. I lick, alot. I only play bite. And I mostly live in my little one floor, one bedroom, no bath condo, which my parents just bought me at Walmart (though I improvise the bathroom part by just using the floor of the house).
I am very smart. But, mostly, I must say that it is because of my super, duper intelligent, smart, sophisticated and grandly in shape parents that I am the good boy that I am today.
I owe them everything. Should I die an untimely death, I bequeth them all my worldly belongings. Well, enough said for now. Typing is hurting my paws. Besides, I must hurry while they are away from the computer.
That is all for now. Adios!

07/06- 2eme semaine/2nd week

La meilleure escale de la semaine?
Ce fut sans aucun doute a Aspen, Colorado. C'est une ville qui fut cree au siecle dernier lors de la recherche de l'argent, ainsi nomme a cause des "peupliers tremble" qui surplombe cette petite ville.
C'est maintenant une station de ski pour les gens riches et celebres, tel que Kevin Costner, Goldie Hawn, Michael Douglas et tant d'autres.
C'est aussi la que fut tourne "dumb et Dumber" avec Jim Carrey.
Ville jumelle avec Chamonix en France, ca rappelle d'ailleurs la Savoie ou les Alpes. Meme beaute dans l'air frais des montagnes.
Comme on peut l'imaginer, c'est une destination ou nous allons souvent, et l'ete, c'est sympa, surtout si on a le temps de sortir de l'hotel!

Hello American people. How are you? These are Richard's pictures from his last week in Aspen, Colorado. Must admit, it sure is a pretty state. After living there for many years, that's pretty much all I have to say about Colorado. (I don't pretend to enjoy a people whose average mentality leads them to burn down their own city to celebrate (celebrate, no less) winning some sport event. Insert "stupid" here.) However, what is interesting about Colorado is that, in Summer, as in other places in the US, when flying in and out you get to experience first hand an element of flying and physics called density altitude wherein there are some locations on some days where you can fly in but can't fly out (under certain power and weight conditions). It is one of those invisible forces which have a dramatic impact on the uninformed (or just plain ignorant) pilot. Fascinating, really. We get to experience it here in Arizona, especially when we go during Summer on a mild 118 degree day for a $100 burger in Payson. Essentially, due to density altitude and trees which surround the Payson airport, we cannot go there in Summer. You see, planes require lift for take-off. Under certain heat conditions, the air is so thin that it takes you longer to acquire lift. Coupled with weight (aircraft, fuel, etc) and other restrictions (namely, the high altitude of Payson) and environmental items such as really tall trees around the runway, if we were to attempt take off we would merely acquire a margin of lift, not enough to achieve adequate climb but just enough to plow us dead center into those waiting trees. OOOUUCCH! And such is one of the many millions of things any good pilot must always keep in mind. (FYI, believe it or not some pilots do not have such a honed sense of survival and attempt to take off under severe density altitude conditions. Such a person attempted same in the Grand Canyon area and only proceeded to kill himself.) Fly safe! :)

07/06- 1ere semaine/1st week

L'evenement de cette semaine?
Sans aucun doute le fait que je me suis pose "aux vaches", ce qui veut dire dans le milieu du vol a voile que je n'ai pu rentrer au terrain.Certain d'entre vous savent que j'ai un planeur, et jeudi dernier, les conditions etaient superbes: rues de cumulus, plafond a 11000 pieds, et des pompes dans les 2-3 M/S. Helas, un orage du mauvais cote, long d'une quarantaine de kms (c'est qu'on plaisante pas ici) a fait que je n'ai pu rentrer au terrain, et qu'a l'inverse, j'ai du me derouter sur le terrain de "Buckeye", que vous voyez la en photo.Ce ne fut pas triste, car nous avions ma voiture, qui n'a pas de crochet. C'est donc vendredi qu'il a fallu aller chercher le planeur avec la voiture de madame, enfin bref, on a fait dans les 400 Kms ce jour la a vadrouiller a droite a gauche pour tout rammener dans l'ordre!
Ceux qui connaissent l'Anglais, saurons apprecier la traduction de Kate, elle a plus de verve que moi ce soir, je pars me coucher!

Hi folks! How's it goin'? Well! Let me tell you about our week! ;) Starts out with Richard and I heading out to the new gliderport in Estrella this Thursday July 6th, off the Estrella mountain range. Estrella is quite a bit away, so we never know how the weather will be "down under." We head out. Takes about 2 hours by car. After we get the glider together he heads out. Seems like the perfect day! Great clouds (gliders pilots love that stuff). Big, billowy white stuff wherein he heads up to 11,000ft! All without an engine. Unfortunately, this bit o' billowy white stuff quickly turns into a monsoon and cuts off his return to the airport. As Richard put in, calling me on the radio from 9,000ft - he can't even see the airport. So, he tries to wait it out. But the storm keeps pushing him further out - far past the point of no return. So, because he is my good, intelligent husband, he takes to an alternate site - Buckeye Airport - which you see in the photo. So, I head from Estrella to Buckeye to pick him up. However, the car we have doesn't have the hitch. So...it isn't until the next day with the other car that we can return to retrieve his glider - left all alone in Buckeye to wait out the night!

Pour recompenser un tel effort, nous avons louer un C172, l'air etait si calme, que ca aurait ete dommage de ne pas aller voler avec le soleil se couchant.

L'Arizona, c'est beau, surtout apres les orages, une visibilite proche de 100 kms, et puis ca sent bon les cactus!

Well, hi there again! So, where did we leave off??? Oh, so I drive to Buckeye to go get my sweet love, Richard. There he waits, on this lonely stretch of runway (actually, the tarmac, but who wants to get technical??). It's a very pretty airport. A good one for practice for us newbies, because it's non-towered. Well, so the next day, good ol' Friday July 7th, we head off in the wee hours of the AM to now drive back to Estrella, get the trailer, then drive back to Buckeye, get the glider, and then drive back to Estrella, to dump the glider (figuratively, not literally - though, at times, it did occur to us to do some literal figuring). Anyhoo, needless to say, things never seem to go as easy as they seem they should. Long story short... About 300+ miles later we got the glider back to Estrella, not without some bumps, bruises, and sun burns to boot.

Afterward, to award us for our long hard days of work, we decided to do one of our very favorite things and take a ride around the Northwest valley. Turned out to be a pretty, pretty night, with lots of distant clouds through which the long day's sun set behind, illuminating them in a brillant glow which seemed to reach right into our hands. (See the last two pictures of our trip). Needless to say, I look a bit tired and sick - too much fast food these last few days. Due to my fast-food instilled illness, Richard had to assume command. Regardless, however, it was a sweet flight. God bless Cessna (Piper no good!). :) :)

06/06- 4eme semaine- Fourth week

Cette semaine, j'etais au boulot. L'etape sympa a ete a Kelowna en Colombie Brittanique, Canada. Un endroit ou on trouve des Pins , des vignes , et une multitude de lacs et rivieres. Un coin sympa ou nous retournerons bien en vacances!

This week, I was at work. An interesting layover was in Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada. A place where you find pine trees, vineyards, and a multitude of lakes and rivers. A great area where we wouldn't mind going on vacation - we hope! :)