captbrando's log

I just threw most of the pictures from my trip up in the gallery. The main gallery is here, but I also took a TON of pictures of the opera house. I plan on combining a few and making some art for my new office. That gallery is here.

Enjoy!

Last Friday was a big day for us. It was the first time I took up the family in the Cessna 172! I had James sit right seat so that Mama & Garrett could enjoy the back together. Garrett LOVED it. We were worried he would scream at the plane, but after being a little tentative, he walked right up to the plane and hopped into the backseat.

We just stayed local as we didn’t have a ton of time. We flew out to Lake Bridgeport and then came on back. James wanted to do a landing on the big runway at Alliance, but there was too much traffic, so we just did a touch & go on 16R.

Then we got our turn out over Texas Motor Speedway and headed back to the field. The only bummer thing is that the audio in the back seat was not working properly, and they could not hear us. We could hear them though. Mama got bored I think and Garrett almost fell asleep.

I’m going to be checking with my instructor sometime in the next couple of weeks so I can get some time to have him demonstrate spins in the 172, and then do a couple of actual soft field landing/takeoffs. 52F has grass, so hopefully I can do it there.

I was trying to think of all of the pubs I hit in The Rocks, and was having trouble remembering them last night. I wanted to record them here while I was still thinking about it!

• Australian Heritage Hotel – One of the best beer selections
• Observer Hotel
• Mercantile Hotel – Saw live music here twice
• The Lord Nelson’s Brewery Hotel
• Hero of Waterloo – Best decor
• Glenmore Hotel – One of the best rooftop pubs in The Rocks
• Jacksons on George – Open late!
• Orient Hotel – Awesome music, and best memories of the trip

Why are they called Hotels? Glad you asked.

Back in the day, they used to try to be the one stop shop for the sailors that came into town with their pockets lined with cash. Bottom floor is the pub, the ladies were up on the second floor, and accommodations up on the third or higher.

Finally made it back after my much too speedy trip through Australia. Sydney stole my heart and was my favorite by far of the three cities we visited.

Call me a dumb American tourist, I don’t care. The Rocks would be my anchor, or rock if you will, if I lived there.

I’m just plowing through all of the junk my RSS reader picked up while I was gone, and importing my new Aussie music! Going to fly with the family today as well, then OFF TO THE LAKE!

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend away!