Warning

Here I am in London, and I just got an Onstar vehicle warning 'alert', telling me that my right rear tire on my pickup only had 33 lbs of air. The pickup is in my garage in America. Maybe we should have that TechKnowledge for our bodies. Unbelievable

London Planetarium

This is London's only Planetarium located in Greenwich Park. It is open to the public for free and it is a fascinating display of time and space. Here's a shot of me with the oldest object in the World, taken by good friend Lora. It is about 4.5 billion years old. This is a meteorite that was found in Namibia Africa and is believed to have landed in prehistoric times. I don't feel old at all when I hang out in this museum.

The Open

On a beautiful sunny day today I took the train 2 hours to the Royal St. George's Golf Club on the South East Coast of England. The 140 th British Open Golf Championship was hosted here this week so I had to go. I might have picked the best day for weather as the wind and rain is always a risk here. I took the bottom photo at the Sandwich Train Station, showing part of the crowds coming in to watch the Open. No cell phones or cameras are ever allowed in these tourneys so I don't have any golfing pics. It wore me out signing autographs for many of the players but that's life. I will watch the final 2 rounds of golf from home, after having an exhausting busy week.

The Deutschland

This German 5 star luxury liner arrived last night here at our dock. This is the largest ship ever known to dock here in the East London Docklands. After 3 hours of expert piloting at high tide the 600 X 70 ft. liner squeezed through the locks with inches to spare. The ship will leave tomorrow but will return for the May 2012 Olympics and will be home to the German Olympic team. We live at the top of the tall building, center of the first and last picture so we keep an eye on the canal traffic. I love this place!

Wing Walking, England

This might just spice up a day when you're real bored. Today I took a 1 1/2 train ride to the Aerodrome in Headcorn, South East of London. In fair weather this small airport hosts many skydivers and they offer wing-walking. This I hadn't done and it was on my bucket list so I checked it off today. This vintage bi-plane is a 1951 Boeing Stearman and it could handle anyone under 12 1/2 stone, (or 175 lbs) on the top wing. It was a 15 minute tour around the beautiful South East farmlands. I was actually quite comfortable during the ride but could have used ear-plugs. I did try a few times to get both feet in the air for the camera man but there was too much wind at 110 mph. I could have stayed up there for an hour if I had some food. Who would ever want to sit in the seat on a nice day when you can hang out like this...What a Blast! You just gotta do it... Click on the photos for the full version.

St Ekaterina

Here is the 197 ft. super luxury Yacht, "St Ekaterina" built in 2008. Since it was tied up at my dock here in London, I had to investigate. Cruising range is 4200 miles, top speed 16 knots, has a 15 member crew and can accommodate 12 passengers with its 6 luxury suites. This yacht is based in the Mediterranean, but can go anywhere as it can be rented be the week. I'm thinking I could impress my mates with a 1 week cruise. Think Again! The St Ekaterina rents for 325,000 pounds per week and has a provision charge of 25 % extra. That's $520,000 US dollars per week, $74,400 per day, $3,100 per hour, or just $516.00 per minute. I wonder how much fun we could have in a minute.

Flying Home

It was a perfect sunny day as I left Wenatchee Washington last Friday. I do hate leaving the Pacific Northwest when summer finally hits. These are aerial photos of the Wenatchee Valley and Seattle as I flew over, without even a cloud blocking the sun. The last is a shot of the Canary Wharf area of London with a red dot where we now live. Even London is now getting the summer heat so I guess the sun followed me back home. After sitting in Seattle for 6 hours, I got on my 9 hour London flight and managed to get seat 53-H, the very back isle seat. Although I got the first drink and meal served, I had 400 people ahead of me when I arrived in London. It took close to an hour waiting in line to clear customs, then a 1 1/2 hour train ride home. A very long trip.