Sojourner - Traveling with the “Canman”

Lago Maggiore  Back in Italia for my second annual guitar workshop in the Dolomites.  Spent the first few days visiting with friends living around Lago Maggiore in Arona and Venegono.   Arona is the perfect spot to dine Italian and enjoy a mountain lake view.  There was a new restaurant just sound of Arona centro, on a boat. Really a great place to hang out with my good friend Matteo. The food and outdoors never disappoint. Well, almost never. My friend Miriam treated me to supposedly great pizza at a restaurant near the east bank of Lago di Commabio. Honestly, I like Blaze Pizza better than the pizza in Italy.   Tuesday morning, I began my six-hour drive east on the autostrada to Pipistrel Aircraft manufacturing company, located in Gorizia (near the Slovenian border northeast of Venice), to give a talk to their flight testers.  Two hours out from my destination, it happened. I stopped at an Autogrill for a "pitstop."  When I stood up from th...

Velle dei Templi- Agrigento, Sicily 17 fantastical days in Italia, where a 2500-mile odyssey all came together in ad hoc fashion. Hiking up to stay at a rustic stone cabin at the base of Monte Rosa, a meaningful road trip from the Alps to Sicily exploring the mysteries of love, death, history, and love, stumping for SFTE,  enjoying new culinary delights of southern Italia, playing guitar with new acquaintances and deepening relationships old and new Italian friends.  There were challenges; losing my wallet in the mountains, weather, lodging, navigation, mindfulness, taking time to be still, ego, and attachment. But, if emptiness is "going with the flow" and "living in the present" then this trip was not only delightful but a model for growth and enlightenment  I arrived in Milan early on the morning of 1 Nov exhausted having chosen to try "AA Premium Economy" (not worth it) Even with an ambien it was a fitful time. My old friend Francesca was "chomp...

Three weeks of traveling solo, enjoying each phase and event as it happened.  Living in the NOW is the way to go! I so love traveling! This trip started with a 3-day excursion to Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate my grandson’s 4 th birthday.  Then jetting off to Vienna for the annual Society of Flight Test Engineers European symposium.   Upon arrival, I was asked to lead the presentation judging, which is an excellent way to stay focused and expand my knowledge.  The learning never stops!   talk was, “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci in Flight Test ” It was based on the book of the same name.  It appeared to be well received and appreciated, which was somewhat of a relief, having spent the better part of 3 months writing it.  And then three months of labor distilled down to a 22-minute talk.  I hope I can present it again.  More of my thoughts about this amazing SFTE symposium are here . Engaging with new and old colleagues a...