100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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I am planning meetings in England and Finland.

I continue to figure things out. One of the items "I seem to have regressed on" is that when I was a small child I was exposed to Brazilian music. I remember (clear as day) "Brasil 66" when it was popular. My Grandfather read to me as a child in Latin. Spanish missed the mark.

Brazilian Portuguese speaks to me. It is pretty weird as I am get more advertising in Portuguese on the web as part of my normal experiences. I have finished my Portuguese 101. I start 102 shortly.

I snapped the pic of the geese through the windshield of the plane at the departure threshold of Runway 31 in Winder, Georgia. I am waiting to take off. Looks like I am about 17th for departure!

I had the hardest test of my life (so far) this past week. My "checkride" reached deep. I appreciate the growth it induced. There were a lot of "yes sirs" from me. I did really well in the debrief. He was really working me hard during the ride. My FAA Pilot examiner looked like (and felt) just like Bob Hoover. The best sound bites lingering in my ears are "Don't stall it!" and "C'mon now!" on awkward, but normal training maneuvers. These maneuvers are not what we do with passengers, we do them as practice in the event of less than normal operations.

I am a pilot. I continue to study. I am working on my ratings.



Comments

John McKinney said…
I met Bob Hoover and Chuck Yeager together at Oshkosh back in the mid 70s. Unfortunately, I was too young to understand the significance of that honor. I'll never forget Bob's performances in his yellow P51 and green & white Shrike Commander.
7:36 AM
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100 and Done! (Countries that is...)

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We are back! This last trip brought the total countries visited to 100! It is a crazy milestone. It is difficult, time-consuming and can be (IS) expensive. After I got back from Antarctica in 2007, I started thinking about it. After 2010 I was thinking about it more (as I moved from NY to Georgia) and in 2014 it had become a real goal. Between Angie and I we have been to 109 Countries. We are tied at 100 countries each. We have 9 countries different in our lists. For example, I have been to San Marino. She has not. She has been to Israel. I have not, yet. There has been some fun competition in this area. That's why we had to establish rules. 1.) Must be listed (as a country) with the US State Department 2.) Being in an airport doesn't count. You have to get through immigration somehow and not in a DMZ or a no-mans-land 3.) A passport stamp is not required. I have been to Canada, Paraguay, and Uruguay without getting my passport stamped. There are friendly borders in many places...
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