One of the joys and tribulations in our line of work is the travel. Today I am en route to Trinidad once more. I left home at 8:00 am this morning and will arrive tomorrow morning at 5 am. It makes for a very long day. It's a great chance to catch up on some writing, watch a movie or two and hopefully catch a nap somewhere up in the skies. Currently I'm in Newark New Jersey awaiting the final leg of my journey. This airport is rather drab and plain... which makes my mind drift off to what we might do if we were given a shot... travel through here would certainly never be the same!
Grampa train
Ten years ago when we first heard the news of the impending birth of our first grand daughter I was just starting a project I had long dreamed of - the grampa train. I knew then it wouldn't be done in a short time for these kinds of projects can't be hurried. They have to be fit around all the other things in life. And because our lives are very full the train is not quite finished yet. Even so we've shared many great adventures with me pushing the very heavy train on the rails with Phoebe riding in the cab, ringing the bell the whole way. I believe every grampa should have an electric train to share with their grand kids. The one we have just happens to be BIG. Recently, Peter and Hailey came to us with some very exciting news... the next grand daughter will soon be here. It's time to get a little more serious about that train. With the engine named after Phoebe I guess the caboose will bear the name of the next.
Galaxyland, West Edmonton Mall
A little over twenty years ago I travelled to West Edmonton Mall to do a relatively small, thirty day project in the world's largest indoor theme park. Little did I know then how that small job would turn into a massive project which would span the next five years on a full time basis and another five years part time. Our team rapidly grew from just Janis and myself to more than twenty hard working folks in that time as well. By the end we had put an entire new face to the park, transforming it from Fantasyland into Galaxyland. We also worked on many other exciting and challenging projects throughout the mega mall.
