Boeing 757-200HD

 

My ride from Norfolk to Atlanta was a Boeing 757-200HD.

Layout

There is a logic to how airports are laid out, I'm sure. But I have yet to entirely understand it, despite having taught logic to undergraduate students. Hmm. For instance, why this HUGE space dedicated to eateries with a little sculpture something-or-other in the middle? The only advantage I can see is that I certainly got my steps in before the flight. Not nearly as many as I got by walking from my plane to my rental car in Atlanta, but a decent number nonetheless. Or maybe the persons responsible were thinking about future expansion. In any case, it's confusing. So maybe I should have consulted this terminal map BEFORE I arrived? 

 

Flight Crew

 

This photo taken at Norfolk International Airport actually later proved helpful as I was trying to remember where I parked my car, although my original interest was in the flight crew evidently heading off either for a well deserved rest or else heading home.

Parking Garages

 

Well, I'm back, after my brief adventure in Georgia. Actually, though, the fun began in the parking garage at the Norfolk International Airport (ORF) in Norfolk, Virginia. In recent trips, I've taken to photographing where I've parked my car because, anymore, as parking garages have gotten bigger and bigger, I've found it harder and harder to find my car upon my return. 

In this case, the matter was made more difficult by the fact that I'm not yet familiar with ORF, especially since it has expanded over recent years. In fact, as I discovered, it's still in the process of expanding. So I only realized upon my return that there is not just ONE parking garage. There are, in fact, multiple garages! What's more, ALL of them have at least five levels and, guess what, "D" aisles! I happened to have parked in Garage A, nearest the terminal where my plane was parked. But, of course, I went directly to Garage D, which happens to be the farthest from said terminal!

Anyway, my advice to anyone who happens to have accidentally stumbled upon this blog is--if you have a camera--ALWAYS take a picture, because that and other pictures you might take (I had more) may come in particularly handy later. :-) 

Plan C

Time to play catch up, I suppose. Since last I posted, I was aboard a plane scheduled to fly from Richmond, Virginia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I was later scheduled to catch another plane to Hartford, Connecticut. But . . . the plane's brakes "broke", so passengers were forced to look for alternatives. Plan B, according to American Airlines, was to fly me to National Airport in Washington, D.C., later in the afternoon, to be followed by a late night flight leaving Washington at around 10:30 p.m. and not arriving in Hartford until midnight.

No thank you! I wasn't about to spend my Fourth of July holiday sitting around in airports waiting and just hoping that all my connections worked out. So, after speaking personally to the pilot on my original flight--no kidding, he and I had a tête-á-tête of sorts--I opted simply to cancel all my flights, rent a car, and drive to New Jersey. 

Broken!

Ha! No go. Brakes broken. And rebooking would mean spending a whole day meeting connecting flights and long layovers, so I cancelled all these and rented a car instead. Long road trip, but at least I was on my way, if you know what I mean, even with all the traffic in Washington and Baltimore.

RIC

RIC yesterday on what was reportedly the busiest day for flying this year in the United States.

Drive-By

Youth Movement

No Kings protestors are getting younger and younger.

Vote Yes

I think it is important that voters understand the limits this referendum proposal would set for redrawing congressional districts. I’ve added the italicized bits to emphasize what I believe are the sensible limits. Yes, it’s partisan gerrymandering, but only for a limited time and, importantly, in response to the same GOP gerrymandering in other states.

"The proposed amendment would give the General Assembly the authority to redraw one or more of Virginia's congressional districts before 2031 in limited circumstances. In the event that another state redraws its own congressional districts before 2031, without being ordered by a court to do so, the General Assembly would then be able to redraw Virginia's congressional districts. The General Assembly's power to do so would continue until October 31, 2030, and the Virginia Redistricting Commission would reassume the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031.

The proposed district map has been approved by the General Assembly and would take effect only if the constitutional amendment is approved by the voters.

A "yes" vote would allow the General Assembly to redraw Virginia's congressional districts, since other states have done so, in addition to giving effect to the proposed district map in time for the 2026 Congressional elections, and return the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031 to the Virginia Redistricting Commission." -- Virginia Department of Elections

Kool-Aid

 

Yass

Resist, Persist, Fight for Justice

ALT+RIGHT+DEL

Speak Up, Speak Out

No Kings protest in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Organize

Organize: to form into a coherent unity or functioning whole : INTEGRATE.

No Kings III

Just back from the #NoKings protest here in the cradle of our democracy. Lots of energy! Lots of talk about the current referendum, people encouraging people to #VoteYes.

I'm as committed to ending gerrymandering as anyone else, but I will still vote yes in Virginia's referendum. If I were to vote no and Democrats were to lose the midterms, I would forever regret that decision. #NoKings #VirginiaRedistricting

Crim Dell

"The Crim Dell bridge is a wooden bridge on the College of William & Mary’s campus in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, and is considered one of the College's most visually appealing elements. Crim Dell is the pond that the bridge crosses, but the bridge is commonly referred to as Crim Dell." -- Wikipedia

High Knob Wildflowers

High Knob Tower Trail

George Washington National Forest

Observation Deck

Views from inside the High Knob Fire Tower's observation deck.