More Work on Old Blue

Posted on September 12, 2019 by vanbraman

Old Blue spent some time in the shop this week.

Old Blue, Airport Parking, Anza Parking, SFOWhile heading home from work on Tuesday I was having some trouble when accelerating quikly.

Brakes, Old Blue, Car Trouble, BluesIt seemed at first that it was a problem with a sticking brake and it was found that there were some problems with my brakes. Wednesday was spent fixing the brake problems.

Altamont Crash, Parking on the Altamont, Accident, Commute Nightmare, Altamont, Motorcycle crashToday while heading up the Altamont on the way to work the problem came back. It was very apparent that it was something other than the brakes.

Pontiac G6 GXP, Blue Car, Auto WorkI made it to the top of the Altamont and then exited for the drive back to the shop. As long as I kept a fairly constant speed there were no problems. Since there was little traffic against the commute direction this was easy to maintain. Plus, it was almost all downhill.

Car being Towed - Starter Problems - Car Repair - Tow TruckFortunately, I didn’t have to see my car like this.

The problem ended up being with the engine, but luckily only a spark plug that was not working properly. However, it took them awhile to figure it all out, make the repair and perform a road test. I ended up spending a second day at home waiting for Old Blue to get a new set of spark plugs.

I am starting to think about what my next vehicle will be. However, I have been holding off while the Altamont is being resurfaced as it is often a rough ride. By that time I will be close to 200K so may need to also wait for that milestone 🙂

I am hoping for a light commute tomorrow morning so I can give Old Blue a good road test on the Altamont.

Steven

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Remembering My September 11 Flights

Posted on September 11, 2019 by vanbraman

Many of you know that I was flying back home to SFO on September 11, 2001. It is hard to believe that it has been 18 years since that fateful day.

For a narrative of my experiences you can read my post Remembering September 11.

September 11 itinerary, South Africa, San Francisco, Memories, September 11Here is what my flights were scheduled to be on September 11.

In this post I will show the flights that I actually took during my journey home from South Africa.

September 11, flying, flights, South Africa, HeathrowMy journey began on September 10 at the Cape Town International Airport and I took an overnight flight to Heathrow in London.

Edmonton, September 11, British Airways, Unplanned Landing My flight on September 11 was to have ended at SFO, but instead we landed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The plane was parked on an apron far from the terminal and we were put on a school bus. We were quickly processed and set on to a hotel near the airport.

September 12 flight, 9/11, Canada, travelThe next morning we were taken back to the airport and put back on the plane and sent back to London. British Airways had no ground support at Edmonton and with not knowing when they would be able to fly into the US again wanted their 747 back home.

LHR to SFO, 9/11, travel, September 11After spending two nights in different hotels near Heathrow I was finally able to fly home. I was on the first LHR/SFO flight after flights resumed. It was a long journey home from South Africa.

The maps above are all from Google Maps and do not show probable flight paths. I wanted to show all the flights together, so found another website where I could do that.

Flight paths, great circle map, 9/11 flights

greatcirclemap.com

Here are the four flights on a map created at the Great Circle Map website. Of course the LHR – YEG segment would not have had the conventional flight path, but not too much different.

Overall the total flight length was almost 20,000 miles and took about 40 hours.

I came home to a very different America. The past 18 years have been interesting as the events have both brought people together and driven them apart on different issues.

Lots of memories today.

Steven

Posted in Culture, History, Memories, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments