I had acquired a free ticket through work, to any Finnair destination in Scandinavia. We had originally chosen Oslo and although our tickets were for Oslo, we decided to change to Copenhagen at the last minute. Finnair was more than happy to accept the tickets. I went with a co-worker named Ryan. The journey started out in Indianapolis, early on February 2, 2004. I had worked the night before until 2am so I was tired. We flew American Trans Air flight 102, a 757-200 aircraft, from Indianapolis to New York-LGA and arrived about 10am. We then took the airport bus over to JFK airport where we just sat around until the Finnair flight in the late afternoon. We flew Finnair flight 006, an MD-11 aircraft to Helsinki. The flight was smooth and routine. I was in ... read more

This is a week long blog consolidated to one entry. Why Bonaire? We are often asked that. Lots of people, excluding divers, don't really even know where it is located. It is considered one of the top diving spots in the world. We chose Bonaire because of our love for flamingos. Still, people wondered why Bonaire and not Hawaii or Cancun. My wife and I were married on Saturday May 16, 1998 at 2pm in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Treasure Island Hotel. After the wedding and reception, we left for McCarran International Airport to catch our red eye flight to Fort Lauderdale. We were flying nonrevenue standby for our honeymoon and most people thought that was crazy. We had many back up plans though, so no worries! At around 11pm, we were on an America ... read more

We met up with Jim's family again and they treated us to lunch at a Korean BBQ in Kowloon. I had not eaten Korean before but I loved it!!! After lunch they took me to Kai Tak airport. Jim was staying a few more days but I had to go because I did not have enough time off. I said my thanks and good-byes and went inside the airport. I had wandered around looking in all the shops, while forgetting about the time. I suddenly realized that I only had about 30 minutes until we were departing! I rushed over to the security and passport control. On they way over I saw the Spice Girls and I said hello and ran on. I was so disappointed that I could not stop and get autographs and pictures! ... read more

We met up with more of Jim's family today and they took us all over the area. Jim's family were so kind to me and they were amused when I tried chickens feet and used chopsticks. We had some dimsum lunch at a place near the Choi Hung station, went shopping at Stanley Market and also went to the Peak. I loved the views from up there and we stayed up there until after dark. For dinner, we met up with Jim's uncle again and ate at a restaurant on the ground floor of their apartment. I saw they had jellyfish on the menu and made mention of it. They thought that I was wanting to have it and so they ordered it. I tried it and ended up liking it.... read more

We headed out to LAX again, on board America West flight 2043. I was in coach seat 7A on the 737-300 aircraft. Just as the day before, we went over to the Japan Airlines counter to try for Tokyo again. This time we would be successful. We had an enjoyable flight on board JAL flight 063, a 747-200 to Narita. I was in coach seat 56J. In Tokyo, we just stayed in the airport and awaited our connection to Hong Kong. As an aviation enthusiast, I was very excited to be flying into Kai Tak airport. Our connecting flight was on board Japan Airlines 735, which was a 747-400. I was in coach seat 35K and slept most of the way, just waking for the dinner only. The food on JAL was fantastic! I had a ... read more