Wiley's World2008-02-07T12:54:32-0800LifeTypeCopyright (c) Jefftag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-07:12Trip to Europe - Day 82008-02-07T12:54:32-08002008-02-07T12:54:32-08002008-02-07T12:54:32-0800Waking up the second day in Norway, we were treated to the bland, tasteless, English-style breakfast we had experienced in Scotland and England. I’m convinced that all the stories you hear ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
Waking up the second day in Norway, we were treated to the bland, tasteless, English-style breakfast we had experienced in Scotland and England. I’m convinced that all the stories you hear about boring, flavorless food overseas is mostly true, at least it was true of the places we visited so far and Norway was no exception. <br /><br />We quickly got back into the swing of working after arriving at the office on Wednesday morning. We got a lot of work done and were able to finish up just a bit early. Our gracious host in Norway had invited us to his home for dinner that evening and we were hoping to get a few minutes to see some of the sights around our hotel before we had to leave for dinner.<br /><br /> There was a very short window of no rain after we arrived at our hotel and I wanted to get out and walk around downtown Bergen and get some photos. I took my time walking around the docks and some of the side streets around the town center and got few photos. The daylight was scarce during the whole time in Norway and there was not much light at all by the time I got around to taking the pictures I wanted to take.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/bergen/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures from Bergen, Norway">View my pictures from Bergen</a><br /><br />We left for our host’s house around 6:00 PM and the cab ride up the hill to his house was quite pleasant. The view of the city below was a remarkable sight from high on the mountain where we were dropped off by the taxi. This was apparently a very nice part of town.<br /><br />Our host and his beautiful wife welcomed us into their home and showed us around. They were in the process of having some construction work done and things were still not quite finished in a few places around the house. We met their lovely and well-behaved children as well. Our host and his wife mostly speak English to each other. Our host speaks Spanish to his kids while his wife speaks Norwegian to the kids. It really is amazing that at any one time there were conversations going on in 3 different languages and the kids had no trouble keeping up. <br /><br />For dinner, they offered us a meal of rice with grilled pork, tomatoes and vegetables and they even accommodated my vegetarian diet by leaving the meat out of my dinner. The dinner they served was, without a doubt, the best food we had the whole trip and restored my faith in the idea that there really was some good food in Norway!<br /><br />After many thanks and hugs from our host’s family we left for our hotel and another night to reflect on our trip so far.
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-06:11Trip to Europe - Day 72008-02-06T10:24:45-08002008-02-06T10:24:45-08002008-02-06T10:24:45-0800Waking up in Norway for the first time, I noticed something that I found quite welcome. The bathroom floor was heated from below with a radiant system. After all the cold weather we had been ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
Waking up in Norway for the first time, I noticed something that I found quite welcome. The bathroom floor was heated from below with a radiant system. After all the cold weather we had been through the last few days it sure was nice to warm up before even hitting the shower. Since this was the first of three days in Bergen, we decided to grab a quick bite to eat and get an early start on our first trip into the offices we were working in for the week. The half-hour cab ride went by quickly but we got our first real views of the area in the light of day. It hadn’t stopped raining all night and it was easy to see why the landscape stayed so green. The lush green of the trees was a welcome sight after all the dull stone buildings of the UK. <br /><br />Arriving at the offices we were to call home for the next few days, we quickly found out the security system in the building was more restrictive than we expected and nearly found ourselves stuck in the elevator with no way out. We finally met our host, settled in and went about the normal introductions. We got a chance to meet some of the people we we’ve never met but talked to on a regular basis as well as catch up with a few familiar folks who have already been to California to visit.<br /><br />Lunch in the office in Bergen was quite an adventure in taste. The cafeteria in the building provided a daily lunch that ranged from pickled herring to bell peppers, always served with fresh bread. There was one caveat, you had to clear your own dishes and fill up the trays for the staff to wash. It was an interesting take and the complete opposite of our synthetic, throw-away culture in America. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best food but it was another experience to take back and share.<br /><br />The rest of the day went smoothly and we shared a taxi with our gracious host back to our hotel to rest before heading out to dinner. Dinner that night was served at a local, somewhat traditional restaurant in downtown Bergen. The restaurant’s name loosely translated to The Harbor Attic…I think. We were joined by the whole team we met earlier in the day. We had some great conversations about Norway and its culture, the high price of everything (by the way, Norway is apparently one of the most expensive places on earth to live and visit) and trying to get our hosts to translate the Norwegian menu into English for us. I had the wolf fish and was pleasantly surprised since it is probably the ugliest fish caught in the waters off Norway, and was not even served in most restaurants until quite recently because it was deemed to be too ugly to be any good. One of my co-workers tried the reindeer, another recent addition to the menu, which he mentioned was quite good and tasted very much like venison. After some good food and a few local beers, it was off to the hotel to get some sleep and prepare for the next day.<br />
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-04:10Trip to Europe - Day 62008-02-04T21:27:41-08002008-02-04T21:27:41-08002008-02-04T21:27:41-0800 February 4, 2008 We got up early on Monday, especially considering how little sleep we got after watching the Super Bowl the night before. This was to be our only day to see some of the sights ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>February 4, 2008</p><p>We got up early on Monday, especially considering how little sleep we got after watching the Super Bowl the night before. This was to be our only day to see some of the sights inside London and our flight to Norway left at 5:30 that afternoon. We checked out of our hotel, checked our bags at the underground station and caught one of the local tour buses to head into town.<br /><br />The upstairs seating in the double-decker tour bus had a great view to see the sights but we soon found ourselves in the daily traffic that plagues a city the size of London. The bus drove up and down the fashion district and by Piccadilly Circus, on its way to the city center. We decided to finally get off the bus so we could take some time to walk around and take some pictures of some of the most popular sights. We stopped at Westminster and snapped some photos of the London Eye, Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey before jumping back on the bus to head to the Tower of London.<br /><br />Once again we hit stop and go traffic and being stuck on the bus proved to be quite frustrating. As we passed the Tower Bridge, we decided to get off and take the underground in order to make up some time. We split up here so because not all of us wanted to see the same things and one of our travel companions had been in London just six months earlier on his honeymoon. He decided he wanted to check out the Hard Rock Café while we decided to check out Buckingham Palace.<br /><br />It felt like a short trip on the underground to get to Buckingham Palace after all the time we spent stuck in traffic on the tour bus. We got out and walked the 4 or 5 blocks to Buckingham Palace and snapped up a few more photos before getting back on the underground and meeting up with our friend for the last ride of the day, an underground trip into Heathrow Airport for our next flight to Norway.<br /><br />Heathrow Airport is quite large but the underground takes you right into the main terminals. We made our way to the terminal and went through security for the third time on this trip. The security checkpoint went quite smoothly for two of us, we got cut off from our friend before he was singled out for a complete search of his carry-on bags and it took him nearly 30 mins to escape and catch up with the both of us. Since we got to the airport quite a bit early, we had an hour or two before we could find out which gate to find our flight. After a few minutes of last minute currency swapping, we decided to do the one thing we never did during our stay in England, we stopped in a pub for some fish and chips. It was one of the best meals we had in all the UK.<br /><br />As time arrived, we boarded our flight to Bergen via a quick layover in Oslo and took a while to say goodbye to the UK since we would not be back through here on our return trip. It was a pretty uneventful flight into Oslo with the exception of some pretty nasty looking food served on the plane. Oslo was a blur of white as we landed, all we could see was snow and lights. We had to get off the plane out on the tarmac trying to avoid the icy patches of snow along the way.<br /><br />The Oslo airport was very modern and very clean. It was later in the evening and there were few people walking around besides the passengers on our flight. I wished I had taken a few pictures because it was the most unusually designed airport I had seen. There were floor to ceiling windows everywhere and lots of metal. The hardwood floors contrasted greatly with all the glass and steel, giving the whole area a bit of an organic touch. We cleared customs here and picked up a second stamp on our passports. After a brief runaround in the terminal we headed out to our last flight of the evening to Bergen.<br /><br />Flying in to Bergen we couldn’t see too much, it was well past 10:00pm and the rain had started before we even landed. The airport in Bergen has a very similar design to the one we left in Oslo. It was nice to walk on hardwood floors after the cold concrete and tile we saw outside of Norway. We grabbed our bags and headed out to find a taxi. It was here that we noticed how spread-out things were compared to the tight streets and high buildings in Scotland and England. It felt a bit like Northern California to me. If Northern California was in Norway and everybody talked a different language!<br /><br />Bergen is situated on the western shore of Norway in the southern part of the country and it is a major sea port for the surrounding area. Our hotel is located in the city center of Bergen and it was a half-hour drive from the airport. The rain was steady the whole ride but it didn’t keep us from seeing some of the beautiful waterways that littered both sides of the highway. <br /><br />Finally arriving at our hotel, we checked in and got a chance to relax and wind down from our hectic day. It was finally time to get some rest and be ready to get some real work done during the rest of the week. </p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-03:9Trip to Europe - Day 52008-02-03T21:20:03-08002008-02-03T21:20:03-08002008-02-03T21:20:03-0800 February 3, 2008 We got up early on Sunday morning to get ready for a long day tour we had planned. We walked a few blocks to Victoria Bus Depot and caught our bus for the day. Our tour guide ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>February 3, 2008</p><p>We got up early on Sunday morning to get ready for a long day tour we had planned. We walked a few blocks to Victoria Bus Depot and caught our bus for the day. Our tour guide was an interesting old Irishman who cracked jokes every few minutes. He was very entertaining and knowledgeable about the places we were to visit that day. He only had one request and that was to be in your seat on the bus on time. Not walking around, not making your way to your seat, but sitting in your seat at the exact time. He was such a nice old fellow that I think everyone on the bus was worried about being late and having him scold us for it.<br /><br />The first stop of the day was Windsor Castle, one of the Royal Family’s residences and the oldest permanently inhabited castle in all of Europe. Much of the castle was closed to visitors but the places that were open were quite extraordinary. The State Apartments, as they are called, were on display with works of art from all over Europe, including originals from Rembrandt, Van Eyk and Vermeer. Apparently there was a devastating fire in the castle about 15 years ago but much of the damage had been repaired and it was not noticeable at all. We spent about 2 hours in Windsor and, after a quick bite to eat, hurried back to the bus to get to our seats on time. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/windsorcastle/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures of Windsor Castle"><br />View my pictures from Windsor Castle</a><br /><br />The next stop was the one I had been looking forward to since we found out we were going to be in London. Stonehenge. I’ve always been fascinated by Stonehenge and also Avebury ever since I first read about them many years ago. The tour guide mentioned something interesting about Stonehenge that I thought was funny. He said that every theory you’ve ever heard about Stonehenge, from alien landing site to ley lines and energy centers to sun/moon worship, is just as valid as any other theory since there is still no definitive answer of why it exists. The only things that are absolutely certain are that it dates back about 5000 years and that it must have been an important site to the people who took so much time and effort to build it. I like that answer. It must have been important to those who made it. <br /><br />The Stonehenge site sits out in the middle of a wide open area. Besides the small airport and a couple of hotels a few miles away, there’s not much around. As you drive up the hill and see the stones for the first time it’s not very impressive but as you get out and walk around, the impression quickly changes and it is quite something to behold in person. Because of its location, Stonehenge gets a lot of wind, there’s nothing around to shield it. Unfortunately, on the day we went the temperature was very low and with the wind chill, it was miserable out on the path around the stones. I can’t remember the last time I was that cold. I only made one pass around the path and I was done. I couldn’t feel my hands, they were so cold I couldn’t make a fist or use my camera. Luckily I stopped in the gift shop to pick up some souvenirs and I bought a pair of fleece gloves. I decided to make one more pass now that I had some gloves to warm my hands and what a difference it made! I stayed out for another 30 mins or so and snapped quite a few pictures of the stones and the surrounding burial mounds. It was an amazing experience and I’m so glad I was able to get a chance to see this huge monument for myself. Visiting Stonehenge is one of those things on my list of things I’ve always wanted to do but have never done. Once again I thought of all the people who had been through this area and seen these huge stones in the last few thousand years and I felt quite small and unimportant. After a few more pictures, we scrambled back to the bus and made it with just seconds to spare.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/stonehenge/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures of Stonehenge">View my pictures from Stonehenge</a><br /><br />It was getting close to lunch time by now and the tour had made arrangements to stop for lunch at a local pub in a small town I think was called West Tisbury. It was a typical looking pub I would have expected to see in any small town in England. Since we had a small meal in Windsor a few hours earlier, we decided not to eat and instead sat in the pub to watch the Newcastle/Middlesboro game and have a pint. There I was, watching a Premier League football match in England while sitting in a pub and having a pint. I guess that means another thing to cross off the list! <br /><br />We talked to the young bartender for a few minutes and found out he comes to California every year to visit friends and relatives. It’s funny what a small world it really is, even when you’re 5000 miles from where you started! After a couple of pints and a Michael Owen goal for Newcastle, we were off to the last destination of the day.<br /><br />The tour guide talked quite a bit about our next stop on the tour, Bath. The Roman baths in the town of Bath have been around for over 1500 years and once again it was humbling to see the handiwork of craftsmen who worked on these sites thousands of years ago. The waters in the baths are reportedly quite therapeutic but it was off limits, for the most part, to the visitors. We were able to take plenty of pictures in the fading daylight. The town of Bath has one of the last bridges in the UK which has occupied buildings on it. We walked around the River Avon and got some pictures of some of the sites around town including the rugby pitch and a small maze. Bath is also home to a couple of my favorite bands, Citizen Fish & Subhumans. It would have really made this trip to have seen them play in their hometown but it looks like I’ll have to save that for next time!<br /><br />The real gem in Bath has to be Bath Abbey. This is a beautiful church with some of the most interesting architecture I had seen so far. The light was fading and I was unable to really get a close-up view of the carved angels climbing up stone ladders on the outside walls. It really was a remarkable place. Since it was Sunday and regular services were performed, we were unable to get inside to take a look. I would highly recommend a trip to Bath to see this building and the Roman baths, it is quite a sight.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/bath/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures from Bath">View my pictures from Bath</a><br /><br />It was a 2 ½ hour trip back to London and I think we were all able to catch a little nap on the way. It was dark by now so there was not much to look at anyway. When we made it back to our hotel, we were pretty exhausted from the last couple of days and we rested for a while before trying to find someplace to watch the Super Bowl. We called around to a few places and even checked with a few pubs in the area around our hotel but we couldn’t find any place to watch the game. We finally decided we would just watch the game in our hotel but the guy working in the lobby told us the hotel didn’t get the right channel to watch the Super Bowl. We were finally prepared to miss the game so we did the next best thing, we had a few pizzas delivered. It took a while to find somewhere that would deliver but 45 mins later we had our pizzas, delivered by scooter no less.<br /><br />While we were finishing off the dinner we ordered, we got a call from the front desk of the hotel. The game was being broadcast on BBC2 and we get that channel in our room. We finally found a place to watch the game and settled in for the kickoff, at nearly midnight! By the end of the first half, we were all dead tired and started to doze off. I woke up right at the end of the game, just in time to see the Giants win and find out that I won our work football pool with the final score! </p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-02:8Trip to Europe - Day 42008-02-02T21:13:13-08002008-02-02T21:13:13-08002008-02-02T21:13:13-0800 February 2, 2008 We started our first real sight seeing days early and headed off in the cold and wet morning toward Edinburgh Castle. On the way we stopped to take a few pictures and noticed ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>February 2, 2008</p><p>We started our first real sight seeing days early and headed off in the cold and wet morning toward Edinburgh Castle. On the way we stopped to take a few pictures and noticed the Sir Walter Scott Monument. It is a tall tower monument with 287 steps inside that you can take to the top. After finally cashing in some of our American Dollars for pounds, we spent a few of them and walked up the monument to the very top. This spiral staircase is not for the claustrophobic, it was very narrow, and winding its way to the top, it got more and more narrow until you had to step sideways, very carefully, up the last few steps to reach the top. It was quite a view from up there and we snapped off a few pictures of the city from above. The way down was a bit easier on the legs but just as tough to maneuver. It was quite a workout on the legs after spending the last couple of days sitting in airplanes, hotels, offices and trains. <br /><br />After the monument we walked up along the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle. The castle sits high above the city overlooking all of Edinburgh. There were some great views of the town from high up on the castle walls but, to me, Edinburgh Castle looks far more interesting from farther away than it does once you get inside the outer walls. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very humbling experience to see a building that is nearly a thousand years old but I wasn’t as impressed with the rest of the castle as I expected to be. My two friends almost got us kicked out of the Memorial for Fallen Scottish Soldiers. They must have missed the “No Cameras Allowed” sign as they proceeded to take a few pictures, causing the security guards to “gently” remind them of the rules. We got another warning from the same guards a few minutes later as we were apparently discussing the no camera policy too loudly. At this point, I think we all felt it was time to move on.<br /><br />After Edinburgh Castle, we walked back down along the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral. This was an awesome old building. We were all impressed with the architecture as well as all the details in the interior of the church. This trip was my first exposure to these very old buildings and I was excited to see as much as I could. It made me wonder how many millions of people had visited this same spot over the last few hundred years.<br /><br />Across from St. Giles Cathedral was one of the local spots we were interested in after reading about the nefarious history of the city during the time of the plague. Mary King’s Close is an underground tour of the old buildings that sit beneath the modern streets of Edinburgh. This hour-long guided tour was supposed to show how people lived in the town hundreds of years ago. It was quite informative but not nearly as creepy as we had expected after reading about it. It was nice to take some time to get warm after walking around town for most of the morning.<br /><br />Next, we headed out to grab some lunch after being underground for nearly an hour. A small pub-style restaurant down the street had some decent food but nothing special. Walking down the street we could see quite a few small restaurants, most were busy since it was a Saturday afternoon. <br /><br />We found the local hop-on hop-off tour bus after lunch. We were hoping to take the bus around to see some of the sites we had missed so far. It was a nice change after so much walking in the morning. The bus passed the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Our Dynamic Earth. We were sorry we missed these and a few others but our time was running low as we had train tickets to London leaving early in the evening. <br /><br />After a brief snafu getting back to the rail station on time, we boarded our train to London, cold and a bit tired after a long day. Leaving behind Edinburgh, I think we all agreed that we would have loved to spend a few more days here and hope to make it back again sometime.</p><p><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/edinburgh/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures from Edinburgh">View my pictures from Edinburgh</a></p><p>The first 3 hours of the train ride to London were quiet and relaxing. I got to catch up on a few chapters of the book I was reading, my tavel companions got to catch up on some rest. Then a very peculiar thing happened. There was a bit of a commotion as one of the passengers sitting behind us was apparently stalking or at least harassing a young Thai woman for most of the trip. She didn’t speak much English and this man kept trying to get her to do things she wasn’t comfortable doing. I didn’t catch all the details but I found out later that he asked to use her cell phone to make a call. He ended up using her phone for more than 30 mins and continued to make, and receive calls on her phone. It wasn’t until he walked away with her phone to the bathroom that other passengers became alarmed at the situation, no doubt fearing that he was doing something nefarious to her phone, and attempted to help her get her phone back. This quickly escalated into an argument and the train security force was dispatched to retrieve the phone and to find out what was the problem. After a few minutes with the security officer, the man returned to find the girl and started an argument with the passengers sitting around her. Needless to say this was a bad idea and many of the passengers, including one of my traveling companions, found themselves in a shouting match with this guy trying to get him to leave. Once again, the security officer came and took the man away only this time he never returned. I guess we found out the hard way that there is never a dull moment when traveling in a foreign country.<br /><br />We arrived in London quite late in the evening and hailed a taxi to get to our hotel. The cab driver was very friendly and he pointed out the landmarks as we passed them on the way to the hotel. It was dark by now and we couldn’t see much but Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park were a few of the places he mentioned. Our hotel was located in a long row of hotels in similar buildings along Belgrave Road. It was nothing fancy by any standard but it was a warm place to sleep for the night and we were thankful for it.</p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-02-01:7Trip to Europe - Day 32008-02-01T21:09:00-08002008-02-01T21:09:00-08002008-02-01T21:09:00-0800 February 1, 2008 Today we had our first business meetings of this trip. We met at a new building in the town of Aberdeen, near the site of the largest man-made quarry in Europe. Nearly all the ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>February 1, 2008</p><p>Today we had our first business meetings of this trip. We met at a new building in the town of Aberdeen, near the site of the largest man-made quarry in Europe. Nearly all the homes in Aberdeen are made from the granite boulders that come from this quarry, so it’s quite large.<br /><br />We spent most of the day meeting with our counterparts and saw some of the innovative processes and tools they use for their daily business. It was a good experience for us to see how others groups in the company work. It started to snow during this time but it never really stayed on the ground and quickly turned to sleet and then rain.<br /><br />In the late afternoon we said our goodbyes and left in a cab for the rail station. Here is where our adventure for the day began. We didn’t get a chance to cash in any dollars for pounds at the airport the previous day so none of us had any local currency. The cab driver stated he didn’t take credit cards but he politely offered to stop at a local bank so we could exchange some currency. The first bank we tried only allowed account holders to do any kind of transaction so we were out of luck. All three of us tried the ATM machine with no luck either. After driving around the city for a while, the cab driver finally decided he would take our American Dollars and change them out later. What a nice guy he was and the first of many helpful cab drivers we had during our entire trip.<br /><br />Once we got to the rail station, the ATM machines still didn’t want to take our money so we still didn’t have any money to buy something to eat or drink. With the snow stopped and the rain coming down, we sat in a pub for an hour or so and waited for our train to leave for Edinburgh.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/aberdeen/show/" target="_blank" title="View my pictures from Aberdeen">View my pictures from Aberdeen</a><br /><br />The train ride to Edinburgh took a couple of hours and was quite pleasant after the rain and snow we encountered earlier in the day. Upon arriving in Edinburgh, we were met with colder temperatures and heavier rain with a few snow flurries as well. Luckily our hotel was only a few blocks from the rail station and after a brisk walk through the streets of old Edinburgh with all our bags, we checked into our hotel to relax for a while.<br /><br />After an hour or so to get settled in, we left for a local Italian restaurant and a nice dinner. It was only a few blocks up the street from our hotel and on the way we noticed a trend in the fashions of the young women. We saw literally dozens of young girls/women dressed in very short dresses/skirts with occasional leggings and little or no jackets or coats. We were somewhat shocked that these people were not freezing in such few clothes since the temperature was pretty low, near freezing or below with the wind chill. We also couldn’t tell if any of these ladies were of the “street walker” variety or if they were just following the fashion of the day in Edinburgh. Either way, it looked cold to me and I was glad I had my jacket for the evening!<br /> </p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-01-31:6Trip to Europe - Days 1 & 22008-01-31T21:01:16-08002008-01-31T21:01:16-08002008-01-31T21:01:16-0800 January 30-31, 2008 The day started off with a bit of a scare. I was hoping so badly that there would be no last minute complications to cause any fear of missing or delaying any leg of the ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>January 30-31, 2008</p><p>The day started off with a bit of a scare. I was hoping so badly that there would be no last minute complications to cause any fear of missing or delaying any leg of the trip. Unfortunately, there were road closures that caused us to re-think our whole schedule and come up with some alternative ways to get to the airport. Fortunately, the weather finally cooperated and we were on our way ahead of schedule. I forgot my laptop power supply at home and was glad that it was only thing I had forgotten.<br /> <br />We arrived at the airport and got our tickets quite quickly. The only real snag was when I was clearing security and forced to throw out a whole new tube of toothpaste that was deemed too big to carry onboard the plane. After that, we made our way to the Business Class Lounge where we spent the remainder of our afternoon. Free drinks and snacks were greatly appreciated.<br /><br />When we finally got to board our plane, we were surprised by the flight attendants pointing us to the upstairs section of the 747. The seats were by far the most comfortable and spacious I have ever seen on a plane, in person or otherwise! Two of us had adjoining seats while the third sat across the aisle from us in the exit row. I cannot describe how nice it was to be able to completely relax, kick back and take off our shoes for the bulk of the 9.5 hour flight from LA to Amsterdam.<br /><br />After leaving LA on Wednesday and arriving in Amsterdam on Thursday afternoon, one of the first things we noticed was how rude the Dutch passengers were getting off our plane and in the Amsterdam airport. Anyway, we were finally able to get up and walk around for a while and get a bite to eat. That’s when we noticed there was not a big selection of food in the airport and what food we found was not very appetizing or good.<br /><br />We waited for a while to clear through security one more time for the flight to Aberdeen. We were one of the last passengers to board, which was nice, since we didn’t have to wait long to get off the ground. This flight was fairly short and quite pleasant after such a long trip to Amsterdam. <br /><br />It was cold when we arrived in Aberdeen and the wind was whipping as well. We cleared customs here for the first time and also got the first stamp of the trip on our passports. After clearing customs, we got a taxi to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wihttp://www.flickr.com/photos/wileysworld/tags/ardoehouse/show/" target="_blank" title="Ardoe House Hotel">Ardoe House</a>, our castle-style hotel, and took an hour or so to clean up and get ready for some dinner. Once again, we found out the food was not nearly as good as we were expecting and I think we were all disappointed by the quality of the food we’ve encountered so far. A short night and off to bed to get ready for our Friday meetings in Aberdeen.</p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2008-01-16:5Trip to Europe2008-01-16T22:37:45-08002008-01-16T22:37:45-08002008-01-16T22:37:45-0800 I've recently found out that I get the opportunity of a lifetime. I get to travel to Europe via Holland, Scotland, England & Norway. The best part of all this is: I don't have to pay ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
On Land
<p>I've recently found out that I get the opportunity of a lifetime. I get to travel to Europe via Holland, Scotland, England & Norway. The best part of all this is: I don't have to pay for it!</p><p>My recent job duties have allowed me to work with a software development company based in Norway. As a way to get better acquainted with their products, I and a couple of co-workers will be visiting their headquarters during my birthday in February.</p><p>I am getting really excited about this opportunity, especially since I've never left the country before and haven't had the chance to use my passport yet.</p><p>I will be posting pictures of my trip when I return.</p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2007-06-25:4First Class Completed2007-06-25T10:05:57-07002007-06-25T10:05:57-07002007-06-25T10:05:57-0700I finished the class with flying colors. I did well on the hands-on part of the exam and I only missed 7 out of 135 questions on the written part. I had a great time out on the water this past ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
Learning
I finished the class with flying colors. I did well on the hands-on part of the exam and I only missed 7 out of 135 questions on the written part. I had a great time out on the water this past month and I learned a lot. Now it's on to the next class, ASA103 - Beginning Coastal Cruising. Hopefully this class will start soon as I am ready to keep going!
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2007-06-15:3Sailing School2007-06-15T19:58:39-07002007-06-15T19:58:39-07002007-06-15T19:58:39-0700 I started a basic sailing class recently in Santa Barbara. It is an American Sailing Association accredited class called, Basic Keelboat Sailing or ASA101 for short. It is the first of 3 classes ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
Learning
<p>I started a basic sailing class recently in Santa Barbara. It is an American Sailing Association accredited class called, Basic Keelboat Sailing or ASA101 for short. It is the first of 3 classes required to get a certificate to allow you to charter a sailboat without the need for a captain (or crew) all over the world.</p><p>So far, it has been great to spend a lot more time out on the water. There is only one other person in my class so we each get more time with the boat than we would if there were the usual 4 students in the class. The instructor is from the Boston area and now living in Santa Barbara. He's really nice guy, very patient and very knowledgable about all aspects of sailing; I'd highly recommend <a href="http://www.sbsail.com/instruction.html" target="_blank" title="Santa Barbara Sailing Center">Santa Barbara Sailing Center</a> to anyone wanting to learn how to sail.</p><p>The first day out we learned how to maneuver the boat under power and cruised up and down Santa Barbara Harbor. There are some HUGE boats there and some famous owners as well. I took a couple of photos with my phone. There were a couple of nice boats still in the harbor:<br /><a id="res_7" href="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/SB-Ketch.jpg"><img src="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/previews/SB-Ketch.jpg" border="0" alt="A beautiful ketch rigged sailboat in SB Harbor" /></a><a id="res_8" href="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/SB-Yacht1.jpg"><img src="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/previews/SB-Yacht1.jpg" border="0" alt="A huge yacht parked in SB Harbor" /></a><a id="res_9" href="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/SB-Yacht2.jpg"><img src="http://www.wileysworld.net/gallery/1/previews/SB-Yacht2.jpg" border="0" alt="Closeup of the huge yacht parked in SB Harbor" /></a> </p><p>There are two more classes left, including the exam. It should be no problem to pass as I am definitely getting the hang of it quickly. I'm looking forward to moving on to the next class. </p>
tag:www.wileysworld.net,2007-05-11:2The Beginning2007-05-11T17:33:44-07002007-05-11T17:33:44-07002007-05-11T17:33:44-0700Now is as good a time as any to start documenting my planned 'journey of a lifetime' for others to see. I hope this can and will inspire others to follow my lead just as I have been ...Jeffhttp://www.wileysworld.net/index.php?blogId=1jeff@wileysworld.net
Pre-Voyage
Now is as good a time as any to start documenting my planned 'journey of a lifetime' for others to see. I hope this can and will inspire others to follow my lead just as I have been inspired by so many others.<br /><br /><strong>My Background</strong>: It started for me when I was a kid. I read a lot of Hemingway and was intrigued by his depictions of Harry Morgan and David Hudson in "To Have and Have Not" and "Islands in the Stream" sparking my interest in a life on the ocean. I read about his own boat, 'Pilar' and I wanted to one day have my own boat to roam the ocean. I put that thought away when I assumed it would cost too much to do such a thing and merrily went on with my life. Many years later, after a recent change in careers and living arrangements, I find myself living near the ocean and the dream has surfaced again after many years of hibernation. This time around my interest is in sailing and cruising in the Pacific Ocean.<br /><br /><strong>My Current Situation</strong>: I have very little sailing experience so far but I have been spending my time learning as much as I can so I will be ready when the time comes to cut loose the dock lines. I have completed the USCG Auxiliary Boating Safety and Beginning & Advanced Coastal Navigation courses. I am learning a lot and soaking up the experience offered to me by the other boaters & sailors I meet.<br /><br /><strong>My Plans</strong>: My current plan is to continue to build up my savings to buy a cruising sailboat sometime in the next two years (2008/2009) and take off for at least a year to see if I really like the lifestyle. I hope to still be cruising the Pacific Ocean side of Mexico, Central & South America when I turn 40 (2011).<br /><br />So there you have it! The plan is in place and I'm slowly working toward making it happen. If you're anything like me, who knows, maybe one day we'll meet in this great big world of ours!