Thursday, April 3, 2008

Fun at the Airport

What a great way to begins our trip! Once making it in to the airport, having checked in and made our way through security. We grabbed some lunch and then...found out that our flight was delayed for almost two hours. By the time we would have arrived in Chicago our connecting flight would have already departed. Off back through the airport to the ticket counter.

Such a mess, off one airline an onto another. So back through airport security - this time we are all flagged for that extra special thorough search. It seems that since we changed our flight plans and airlines it keys up some sort of "red flag" that required the "extra" attention. I hope that the return is much less eventful.

Right now, we are scheduled to depart at 4:09 for Charlotte (instead of O'Hare), so there is about an hour left to wait...cross your fingers for us that this flight isn't delayed. We'll already be almost three hours late getting into Nashville as it is.

We made it in about 9:30 p.m. central time. The hotel is fabulous. I can only image at this point what it looks like during the daylight hours. There are fountains, gardens, a canal and much more just inside the complex. I'm not into exploring this evening, but I'm sure that there will be many photos to take during the next few days.

Speaking of photos, here are a couple of my room. All nice and comfy.













Email & Newsletter Gleanings:

California Highway Patrol vs. USMC

Top this for a speeding ticket:::::::::

Two California Highway Patrol Officers were conducting speeding enforcement on I-15, just north of the Marine Corps Air Station at Miramar. One of the officers was using a hand held radar device to check speeding vehicles approaching the crest of a hill.

The officers were suddenly surprised when the radar gun began reading 300 miles per hour. The officer attempted to reset the radar gun, but it would not reset and then turned off.

Just then a deafening roar over the treetops revealed that the radar had in fact locked on to a USMCF/A-18 Hornet which was engaged in a low flying exercise near the location.

Back at the CHP Headquarters the Patrol Captain fired off a complaint to the USMC Base Commander.

The reply came back in true USMC style: Thank you for your letter. We can now complete the file on this incident.

You may be interested to know that the tactical computer in the Hornet had detected the presence of, and subsequently locked on to, your hostile radar equipment and automatically sent a jamming signal back to it, which is why it shut down.

Furthermore, an Air-to-Ground missile aboard the fully armed aircraft had also automatically locked on to your equipment location.

Fortunately, the Marine Pilot flying the Hornet recognized the situation for what it was, quickly responded to the missile system alert status and was able to override the automated defense system before the missile was launched to destroy the hostile radar position.

The pilot also suggests you cover your mouths when cussing at them, since the video systems on these jets are very high tech. Sergeant Johnson, the officer holding the radar gun, should get his dentist to check his left rear molar. It appears the filling is loose. Also, the snap is broken on his holster.

Thank you for your concern. Semper Fi.

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