From Maine to Florida

Happy 4th of July everyone!

I woke up at 8AM, walked over to pull the shade in my room expecting to see the big bright sun, and instead saw plenty of rain. The whole Northeast was under an unusual stagnant cold front last week which I'll summarize as being more like a monsoon than the typical summer weather. However there was a twinkle in my eye as in less than 5 hours we would be in sunny south Florida, only if it was for just an hour.

Here's a glance at the current weather today in Portland Maine:

06008KT 1SM RA BR OVC004 18/17 A2983.

This translates to winds from 60 degrees blowing at 8 knots, with 1 statue mile of visibility, rain, mist, and a cloud ceiling hovering at 400 feet above the airport. The temperature was 18 degrees Celcius (64 degrees F) a dewpoint of 17 degrees, and a barometric pressure of 29.83 inches of mercury. Notice the temperature/dewpoint spread. When the two are close together, it usually means cloudy or foggy weather. If the temperature and dewpoint were both at 18, then this place might be fogged-in or have a cloud ceiling that was much closer to the ground. It's already close enough at 400 feet, thus why I mentioned the fog. It's common to see the temperature/dewpoint close together on the California coast in the summer as the low clouds and fog normally hug close the water and beaches.

We arrived at the airport just in time to see JetBlue's latest and greatest E-190. In fact this plane is the newest addition to the fleet. It is so new that it has only seen just a few flights since coming from the factory in Brazil. I like new airplanes because the flight deck is not covered in Munchie Mix or Durrito pieces left from the thousands of pilots who have sat there in the past.

Well, here she is in her new paint sitting in cold, wet and rainy Portland Maine. After our customers and crew disembarked, we all walked down to get her ready for the flight to New York and then on to Fort Myers, Florida. Walking onboard was great because it's like sitting in a tunnel of new car smell. Take a whiff with me. Inhale, and ahhhhhhhh! Below is our #1 inflight crewmember smiling at the sight of a new plane with a spick and span interior.

Allright, it's my turn to conduct the walkaround today, which is fine because I want to show you just how nice a brand-new airplane looks. There are no chips in the paint or even a smudge of grease anywhere. I love it!

Notice the right exhaust cone is blue. It's actually heat-resistant steel turned blue by the extreme heat. Eventually it will lose its blue luster. Enjoy it while you can.

I have never seen hydraulic lines and brakes look so clean in my life. New tires are a bonus too. This is where things get dirty rather quickly. Wait until winter. Blech!

Okay, the best part is looking inside the wheel well, below. On older aircraft, this well is usually so dirty that you would think it is painted black. Here it's perfectly white, or orange-white. When it does get real black in there, some of the more humorous rampers take their finger and write with it, revealing some of the white paint underneath. They write things like "I love JAX" (Jacksonville) or "JFK rules!" I guess it's some kind of turf war they got going on. It's kinda neat to see where the plane has been I guess. Still haven't seen anyone write SFO with their finger yet, but I'm still looking.

What a nice and clean wheel well. We will take it!

Okay, hop onboard and let's take a look at the Fort Myers weather:

00000KT 10SM CLR 34/24 A2982

Translation: Calm wind, clear skies, 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees F) a dewpoint of 24 degrees and a barometric pressure of 29.82 inches of mercury. Notice here the temperature/dewpoint spread is not as close as it currently is in Portland. Therefore it is a little drier and clearer here, but is still pretty humid though since the dewpoint is hovering around 24 degrees Celsius. In Phoenix, Arizona, the temperature may also be around 34 degrees Celcius (93 degrees F) but the dewpoint would be way down to probably around zero or even less, thus indicating it is bone-dry.

So we make a quick trip down to JFK where it is still raining. Then it's on to sunny Florida in search of some heat. Below is a picture of our nifty new parking system at Terminal 5 in New York. Just keep taxiing until the caption reads STOP. I would advise stopping then.

After about an hour, we were off for sunny and warm Fort Myers, Florida. We climbed up to 36,000 feet and settled in for a two hour flight. There was some weather around eastern Georgia but conveniently our route took us to the west of all the buildups.

Eventually we entered northern Florida and flew just to the west of Orlando and started our descent to the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW). The landing was uneventful and to my surprise my parents met us at the gate! I got to spend about 30 minutes with them and they even brought us some deli sandwiches! How great are they? I let my mom and dad sit in captain's seat and I think my father felt right at home once again. Then with yummy sandwiches in hand, we said our goodbyes and got ready for the flight up to JFK. I opened the side window and took this shot at the gate at Fort Myers. It's pretty hot down here, but we will take it!

About thirty minutes later, we pushed back from the gate and made our way to runway 24 where we departed on the CSHEL ONE RNAV departure. This departure is flown using the Flight Management System and takes us virtually right up the middle of the state and eventually over Orlando where we pick up the jet routes over the northeastern part of Florida and into Georgia and beyond.

This departure lends a pretty good view of Fort Myers smaller airport, Page Field (KFMY).

Passing 10,000 feet, here is a good view of the Caloosahatchee River. This is the widest part of the 75-mile long river that extends from Lake Okeechobee to the San Carlos Bay, which is protected by Sanibel Island.

Climbing up to the flight levels, we noticed a few buildups still growing in the late afternoon sun but they were sporadic enough so we could easily deviate around them. Notice the buildup on the left. Does that thing have three anvils? Sure looks like it.

Here is a view of the CSHEL ONE RNAV departure on our map (left), and you can easily see the state of Florida as we make our way north toward Orlando.

As we approached that large buildup to the left, I took another picture as I have never seen three anvils before!

Nightfall quickly came as we approached North Carolina, and a simple deviation to the left of a large buildup gave me the opportunity to take a small video of the lightning it produced. Tops were about 39,000 feet. Enjoy!



The sun finally set just north in Virginia and there's another trip I can log away. See you next time!

Taqueria Rosita, Napa, CA

This burrito above is one of the best I have ever had, period. Must I say more? Well yes I will. One of the greatest (in my opinion) Mexican food taquerias around is located in Napa, CA at Taqueria Rosita. TR serves killer burritos in less than 8 minutes stuffed with shredded chicken, jalapenos, beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, and topped with their awesome red sauce. I methodically order their super chicken deluxe burrito as I have for over six years now. Only once have I ever ordered anything else. Anyway, the best deal about the meal is that for two of these burritos you can walk out only spending ten bucks! However, don't forget to tip your waitress and staff well as they do a great job!

22 Hours in the Rock

Here we are in a very hot Orlando where the temperature outside is currently hovering at 96 degrees. It is so hot in the southeastern United States that all the moisture has literally evaporated into, well thin air. There are virtually no thunderstorms today which is very unusual since most of Florida is always hammered right about now with pounding rain and dangerous lightning. But as we say, "we will take it" and not complain.

We met our aircraft at the international terminal and watched it pull in from San Jose, Cosa Rica. Boy would I like to just turn the plane around and head back there. Perhaps next time I guess. Furthermore, we won't see any of the passengers or crew from this flight as everyone is sent through another door and shuffled into customs. When the plane was clear, we were given permission to walk down the jetway and perform our preflight checks for our flight up to Rochester, NY.

One thing I did notice was some of the old paperwork left on the flight from Costa Rica:

Below is a winds aloft chart for South and North America at 39,000 feet:

With preflight duties complete and about 84 customers, we pushed back and made our way to runway 35L. In five minutes we were airborne and heading north toward the Empire State. To our surprise, a pop-up thunderstorm about 100 miles north of Orlando did manage to squeeze enough moistue into its belly and climb vertical up to about 39,000 feet. This is Florida after all, right? After some deviating to the west, we cleared the only buildup out there and continued on our way north.

Buildup while cruising at 37,000 feet.

As we settled in for our flight I was happy to see virtually no bad weather between us and Rochester. This is very different from last summer where the weather was a lot more extreme. It is still early in the season, but so far my blood pressure has been in check. Good because I only have to do this for 30 more years...

As the sun was falling lower in the west we eventually burned off enough fuel to climb up to 39,000 feet around Virginia. Once level, I reached for the camera as this was going to be a good sunset. Please see below for the good sunset.

A good sunset.

Allright, with the good sunset over we were soon given a descent by Cleveland Center for the Rochester airport, and to my surprise we were able to see lake Ontario and the city lights of Buffalo as we passed abeam Pittsburgh, PA. The lack of humidity made this possible of course. The weather was beautiful tonight as the airport ATIS reported clear skies and calm winds. From our position from the south, we were vectored to runway 4 for a straight-in visual approach. By 9:45 the mains touched down and by 10:15 we were walking off the aircraft. We would not have to show up tomorrow at the airport until almost 8PM.

Now, a full next day in Rochester...

Rochester is located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario and was founded about 175 years ago as a small community on the banks of the Genesee River. In the early years the city was known for flour that was milled on the banks of the river but quickly grew to become a major manufacturing center. Throughout the nineteenth century, products were manufactured here and then loaded onto boats in the Erie Canal to be shipped around the world. Then companies such as Kodak and Xerox rose in the community attracting immigrants to the town. Since then, the heart of Rochester has seemed to have crumbled as prosperity shifted to the local suburbs. However, new construction and the brainpower of the Univeristy of Rochester have helped to fuel a resurgence of money back into the city.

Downtown Rochester.

Genesee River

What do we do now? Since it was a spectacular day, I walked out to the High Falls located very close to the city's downtown. I highly recommend it, as the falls are visible from the pedestrian-only Pont du Rennes bridge in the Browns Race district. Sort of like a very mini Niagra Falls. One day I'll go there.

Genesee River High Falls

Also not too far from our hotel on Main Street is Susan B. Anthony's home located on 17 Madison Street. It's a beautiful red brick house located in Rochester's middle-class Madison-King neighborhood and was home to her for 40 years. It was at this house where Anthony carried out her 50-year campaign for women's voting rights. It was a long fight, and it didn't end until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, 14 years after her death. Anthony was also involved in labor, education and anti-slavery movements.

Okay, that's our quick tour of Rochester so it's time to get dressed (into the uniform that is) and head back to the airport for our 45-minute flight to JFK. Don't think I walked around naked this whole time, as this isn't Berkeley.

One thing I want to point out at the Rochester Airport is a large animated clock named the Clock of Nations that was once kept at Rochester's midtown Plaza Mall for more than 40 years. It has since been moved here where every hour it plays the national anthem of its accociated countries. I think Israel was coming up next on the hour but we would be pushing back from the gate by then. Oh well, next time.

Clock of Nations

Off we go to New York City on a spectacular early evening. As we climbed up to 21,000 feet we got a real good view of the Finger Lakes, below. Well, that's it for our trip to Rochester. See you in a few days as we travel from a wet and cool Maine back down to sunny and hot Florida.

Finger Lakes, NY