Sky gypsies adventures

OK I love everyone in my life I do but it is very hard to keep everyone informed of what is going on so I will once again try this blog thing and see what I can do. I am on an adventure, if you think about it your probably always on some kind of adventure... Anyways I am taking a small beautiful PA-12 from Juneau Alaska to Texas. I am very excited for this opportunity and thrilled to be in the midst of it. I left Juneau on the 27th of November and made it to Ketchikan (KTN) shortly after, but wasn't able to make it further south that day as the light doesn't last so long in the winter. So I decided to stay in Ketchikan and see what this small island down had to offer. There is a ferry (2min ride) to get to the mainland and Aero services being the epic people they are had a crew car for the pilots. I was excited. In a new place with wheels and everything to learn. I stayed at the Inn at Creek Side New York, I recommend this place highly very cozy and very nice people there to help you with whatever you need. O'Brian's the next door pub turned out to be a great meeting spot and some delicious burgers. Well the next day was just shitty (excuse my language), but it is a decent phrase to use here. The weather turned awful for the next few days. And I stayed in Ketchikan for a full week. IFR all around the airport and especially south of the airport. North near Juneau was being pounded with snow. I talked to a few of the sea plane operators and they weren't flying south either. Just to give you a slight idea of what was going on the winds out of the inlets were 50 to 60 knots. A high pressure system was being pushed from the inland area to the coast and to make matters worse there was this Low pressure system just off the coast south of me that was just spinning and spinning. Nothing good comes from a Low I've realized and understand a lot better now. So to say the wind was the least of my worries was an understatement. Low visibilities, snow showers and rain showers. Everything that you wouldn't want to flying in seemed to just hover around the west coast of Canada and SouthEast Alaska. Lovely right. I checked on my plane everyday and crossed my fingers at night, but to no avail. I was going no where. I met some new people and made some new friends. Found cheaper accommodation to more of my style. If anyone is in Ketchikan who may need a friendly place to stay or needs some good stories Eagle View hostel is a fantastic place to stay! I had a clean room, towels, kitchen, tv, comfortable couch and a killer view. Life was good waiting out the storm. I was lucky and met some fellow pilots who had flown the route I was hoping to fly to so that was nice to get a better view of what I was getting myself into. I also am blessed to have a few good friends who know a thing or two about weather and have been very helpful as a second ear to make sure I don't get myself into anything I'm not ready for. And I had many a conversations either stressed out or annoyed of my position or just needing a friendly word. After a week I believe my view of flying has changed. Good weather to me means light winds, 2000 to 3000 foot ceiling and your super lucky to get no rain showers. On Wed the 5th of December I had another hole in the weather system before more fronts decided to move down the coast again. I took it and I made it to Prince Rupert Canada. Cleared customs and to the help of friends got 3 jerry cans of gas sent to me via a charter boat. This is literally the only thing I could do to get gas. There is no Avgas in Prince Rupert don't let anyone tell you differently. 3 years they have not had 100LL. Thankfully the plane is rated for mid grade car fuel, so this is what I will use on the next leg. The plane is fueled and ready to fly, just waiting on weather again. Will soon be finding something fun to do in Prince Rupert and looking forward to the challenge. I am no longer land locked! Jamee

Olympic recap

OK SO.... I will have to do a very brief update because I feel as if this blog has been neglected or a while..I'm sorry. But I have lots of new stories to add and more fun pictures.

So fast recap: London Olympics were amazing! Opening ceremony was breath-taking. The energy surrounding the Olympic Stadium was inspirational. I was lucky to share this experience with my father, mother, sister and grandfather.

Throughout the rest of the time we were shepherded around to a few events. Getting on buses and the tube trying to make it from one event to the other in a timely manner. Tennis was held at the Wimbledon stadium, fencing was held at the ExCel, we were thankfully close to the Hyde park, gymnastics was in the north Greenwich area, swimming, basketball, cycling and track and field were in the Olympic park set out near Stafford. So we had a few different places to get to.

My family and I met a lot of amazing people and found a few good new friends. I was also lucky as a few good friends from college were able to participate in the games with me as well. Also seeing as it is a small world I saw a few friends that I have made overseas, and it is always nice to see familiar faces when you are some place new.

All in all seeing the Olympics with my family was amazing! We were able to meet some of the Olympians at the USA house and gain a better perspective of how hard they have to work and realize that they too are just human. There is so much going on in their lives and so much pressure to perform for these games and so many people look up to them. I can't even imagine what they are thinking.

While in London we also got to go to some plays and we got to go to this massive toy store and of course some sight seeing. What was even better was that we had some friends in the country that we got to visit. Very relaxing London country side, especially after the excitement over the games.

London-Olympics

Today is the opening ceremonies and I am so excited!! We are meeting some amazing people from all over the world who have come to see these great games. Shook hands with some olympians and about to be bussed off for the ceremonies tonight. Hope everyone is watching

Scotland

Hi friends and family that still read this blog. I'm excited to tell you that I love Scotland! Wish I had had more time to spend there. Only a week... Anyways I want to show you all where I have been and share a couple of stories from along the way! A MAP! c

We, my sister and I, started in Edinburgh to visit a great friend from my college days. He kindly let us crash with him while we were in Edinburgh and he even played tour guide showing us the city and his life for the past year. Climbing Aurthur's seat gave me a great view of the city, and a great chance to practice taking pictures with the new camera. The city feels more like a town with it's cobble streets and small alley ways. Very cozy. After having a great time and meeting new friends over fish and chips we all got in a car and started a journey North West. First stop was Isle of Skye. OK maybe that wasn't the first "stop" there were so many places to pull over and the country side is so beautiful I feel like I am disrespecting it if we don't pull over and enjoy the view. (I will post some more pictures of the trip a bit later). Beautiful green expansive landscape with rolling hills that makes it seem like it is endless. Bodies of waters, called Lochs surrounded by tall hills or mountains. Just endless beauty. Also driving on the left side of the road... weird, and to add onto that having a manual car just made driving very challenging. Skye was really windy and rained all night long. It also had an eerie mood to it, can't really figure out how to describe it maybe the pictures will do a better job. Next stop was Invernes where we drop off my friend and Char and I nestle into a great hostel near the river. Also get to watch Bat Man the Dark Knight Rises in a very modern looking theater. Onto Cairngorms National park for a walk around the trees. Very quiet and very peaceful. With a couple of bumps along the way we made it to Oban where we jumped on the last ferry to the Island of Mull. This island was small and only had a few roads (which to our surprise were a single lane with many pull offs). Char and I got a delicious dinner from a fish and chips truck and sat out to watch the boats rock in the water. We camped that night to an early start to get to the Island of Iona. Which I was told had green marble! I didn't get to the quarry, but walking around the island was something of a dream, the whole thing seemed out of a movie or some alternate reality. The island was super small and we didn't have our car, we got to walk through fields and see wildflowers everywhere. This was the last of our journey through Scotland as we had to drive back to Edinburgh to return the car and catch a train to London where I sit now. We made friends on the train and shared great stories. Now we are checked into our hotel and settled restoring our energy for the next journey

NEPAL!

Nepal 6-4-12 As soon as we flew in landed and I got in the cab I knew I was going to love this place! It’s green, there are mountains, lots of water and very happy people. A relaxing break from India. But saying that now that I’ve traveled for a bit more after leaving India I really do miss Incredible India. As hot and crazy as it was I loved India! I can’t wait to go back again and explore more. I was easily picked up from the airport and taxied to the hotel I would be staying in. met up with a mutual friend of my cousins and explored Kathmandu. Less trash on the main streets, but apparently very dusty (I don’t think so because I feel like I can breath deep clean air). Have I mentioned that I really like motorbikes? We went to a pool/ apartment building and then moseyed our way back to the hotel. Saying hello of course to my cousin’s good friend Shailendra, whom has hooked me up with a guy who is normally a guide for people passing through Nepal. The group dinner was entertaining as it had a cultural dance and culturally sensitive food. Very touristy, but an experience worth having. I even jumped up at the end and danced a little, once invited. Stayed up late having drinks with some of the group members. A lot of people from Australia travel Asia. A lot of people! Morning Krish and I are off to Pokahara, via plane. This small village is filled with a lot of western people and I think a jumping off point for some smaller treks. There is a lake in between the village and the mountains that have a stupa and many farming houses. Krish and I got a colorful wooden canoe to take to the other side and hike to the stupa. The hike wound around the hills leaving me with breath taking views of the water and town bellow. Once we reached the top my face was red as a tomato. The stupa had large stairs to climb and a beautiful story of Buddha around the center. We got some black tea at the top to relax and take in what we were seeing and back down we went. Whistling all the way down. We had a late dinner in the afternoon and another really late dinner around eleven at night. I got to practice my utensils eating skills. I wasn’t too bad… 7-4-12 I’m going paragliding!! …but the clouds look a little too shabby today. So no go. We try tomorrow and hope it rains today. We met up with a friend of Krish and joined a local bus to get to the end of the lake for a new experience. I got to experience eating some Nepalese bbq with popcorn rice. AND IT FINALLY RAINED!! I was so excited I ran around a little bit to celebrate. This rain meant that it would be clear tomorrow. And so it was beautiful! Plus I haven’t seen rain in a month and I was very happy to feel the coolness that comes with rain. We eat dinner with the friends group and drinks afterwards.

8-4-12 PARAGLIDING today! No ifs, whats, or nos about it. I am leaving today from Pokahara so this is my last chance to go paragliding. I wake up really early and look outside to be amazed by the blue blue sky that meets my gaze. I’m going flying today. We were like a kite. Strapped to someone who knew what he was doing we took off in a run straight off a cliff and tugged backwards I tried to continue running forward and off my feet no longer touched the ground and the air was breezing past my face. I was sitting on air. Such an amazing feeling. Weightless with the birds. Circling to gain height we followed the lead of the birds as we climbed higher and higher in the sky. Passing over the tops of ridges. I couldn’t stop taking pictures. I finally put my camera away because I knew no picture could capture this and just enjoyed the peacefulness of gliding in the air everything at my feet. Quietness, stillness, everything was beautiful. A feeling of peacefulness passed through me, knowing I had accomplished what I had come here to do and gratitude to my cousin for putting the idea and contacts into my hands. I know I will come back to this place. Have to make it back to Kathmandu today. The only way left to get there now is to take a local bus. The tourist bus, which is a lot safer and less hazardous left before paragliding. Life’s an adventure right. Just have to have confidence you will make it to the other side. Everyone thus far has given us strange looks and funny comments when we told them we were taking the tourist bus, my friend even said he wouldn’t do it for anyone else. So yes this will be an adventure! Very small space, bumpy and loud. Thankfully the gods were on our side for we didn’t loose a wheel or break down at all. We made lots of stops to try and shove as many people as we could into the small van. Anytime we stopped people, or kids would walk around the van offering cucumbers, waters, chips, anything and everything hoping someone is hunger. 8 hours later we were in Kathmandu. See not so bad just like driving up to Tahoe and back in one day.

9-4-12 OK so I have a chance to fly around Everest this morning, but I have to get up super early! Totally ok with anything that gets me in a small plane to fly around the tallest mountain in the world. We get a map as we take off to see the different peaks leading up to Everest. We even get to walk into the pilots cockpit to see the pilots view. Seeing this mountain range is spiritual. Its grand nature demands attention. White capped mountains stand and face this world strong with no compromising. I wish to be like these mountains someday. Strong and magnificent. And back to the hotel to collect my things say goodbye to my new friend and go back to the international section of the airport to fly away. Beijing here I come. I sat next to the coolest people on my flight from Changdu to Beijing. These guys are from Argentina traveling the world to the most spiritual places. I talked to this guy the entire flight and the people behind us got made because we were talking too loudly. I told them when they come to California, to see Shasta, I would be more than happy to fly them there. I hope I get to see these guys again. They have such a beautiful perspective of life. The world has a life force a spirit that connects the entire world into one being. These guys are traveling the world to places they have researched and understood to be powerful spiritual places for the world’s existence. The simplest way for me to describe what these guys are doing will not do them justice, but I will try. They are the face, they are trying to show the world, what is happening spiritually to the youth and what we believe. I can explain better in person please ask me, I’ll tell you all about it. This year is special, the energy in the earth is shifting changing to be something new. Please feel free to check out their blog www.harwitum.org (it’s in Spanish so you may need a translator). But they touched a part of my faith that I’ve been needed someone to explain and help fill in the gaps. Ok so in Beijing at 11:30 at night there is a massive line to get a taxi. I stand in it and get to the taxi driver and he waves me off telling me he doesn’t understand English. I end up following a guy who says he knows where I need to go and off we go down a creepy stairwell and into a car park where his private car is there and off we go to my hotel…stop outside and he rips me off with the price about 4 times as much. Too tired and frustrated to fight it. Try and barging, but my stuff is in the back and I don’t want him to drive away with it so in the hotel I go. Wait for a dude to show up to give me my key and get to my room. My room is huge! And clean with a big shower, with a door on it and a very very comfortable bed. Fluffy white duve and blinds that are electronically controlled. This will be a very different experience to traveling then what I have been doing for the past month. I pass out into blissful sleep. In the darkness, in silence.

Pune

Pune 4-4-12 Today is what I would call a pamper day. We both got massages. I got an ayurvedic massage to experience one while I’m still in India. So much oil, but totally worth every cent I spent on it. My hair still has oil in it the day after. Next we spent a lot of time relaxing at the side of a pool. Basking the raise of India. Have I mentioned yet that it is frickin hot! The cold water feels wonderful. And makes the mind at rest as we let the day go by catching up on all the experiences we have had to this point in our lives. Dinner was at Hard Rock Café, can we say that today is a great pamper day. We relaxed we ate a burger! Craziness. Pamper day was a success. Night time was a chance to experience India’s night life at a ladies night just outside where we are staying. And ladies get free drinks. We danced the night away! There was an audience surrounding us by the end, just watching…so awkward. But hey it’s India. On the plane to Pune I was sitting next to two really cool kids around my age. One is an engineer and the other is going to be flying for Indigo soon. I invited them to come dancing with us tonight. They were a lot of fun to have around. They were just as wild and crazy as me. And I don’t think I mentioned what a crazy coincidence it was to meet another women pilot in India on the same day. Makes me very excited to go back to the states and start some major flying again. Commercial here I come! Pune 5-4-12 Today I will call a lazy day. Catch up on this blog thing and learn a new skill. We slept in and are on a new hunt for a Shari (traditional Indian wear). But no luck today we will try tomorrow. This heat is pretty ridiculous. We did accomplish to make an Indian masala chia! Which was fantastic just in case you are curious. We bought some milk and added a lot of different spices and had a crazy good time mixing everything up. Fully satisfied with the taste we made another batch and are cooling it for some nice cold chai later tomorrow. There is live music at a restaurant we will be checking out tonight. The music plus the heat reminds me of summer days back at home when all I have to do is enjoy the atmosphere. Tonight we will be sleeping with our new invention. It is so hot here we take cold showers before we go to bed. We also realized that if we drape the damp towels (put in refrigerator for a couple of minutes) over our bodies as we are falling asleep we feel much cooler. Much more satisfying feeling while falling asleep.

Pune

Pune 2-4-12 Pune is much different then what I’ve been seeing. This might be my perspective now that life is going a little slower. This place has more western people living and working here. The people that are selling you things are not jumping down your through to make a sale and there are a lot more industrial buildings. A lot of car companies and NGO’s come here for work. It is so nice to see Virginia though! I’m glad I had the chance to travel around India and see a bit more of the culture, but I’m really happy I get to stay with Virginia in her apartment and make food and go out and just relax. I’ve done a lot of shopping too… Food here is much more expensive (obviously it depends on where you go to eat, but there are just so many more westernized places). Today was shopping and going out to eat and getting a huge meal! I’ve realized people here don’t bargain as much…So I am apparently good at this even though I know I’m not. Pune 3-4-12 We made some eggs with some delicious sun dried tomato sauce. Add some yogurt and peanut butter and we have breakfast. And we go out shopping a for a couple extra nick nacks I have failed to buy as of yet. Pretty relaxing day though. We explored old Pune, went to a castle (that was just make out central) and wandered random streets. There are so many different things in Pune, but everything feels very disorganized and not easy to find the thing you are looking for. So we tried not looking for anything so that we had a better chance at finding it. We had an amazing meal of chicken tikka and palak paneer on the roof and watched the sun set. Oh did I mention we bought a lot of sweets so those will have to be eaten at some point…