Trip? I'm already ON my trip!

I just installed the new version of Google Earth (5.0 etc). Besides smoother graphics, a good safe mode and a more user-friendly interface... it is equipped with a decent flight simulator. I kid you not. You can take off from JFK, Moscow, Salzburg, LA... or just find a good viewpoint and start the simulation from there. The F-16 is tricky to pilot because it goes so fast, but the ride in the twin engine is much easier.

My planning for the Bolzano to Cortina d'Ampezzo hike is going really well. A number of locals have given me great information about the weather, mountain conditions and links to find places to stay at night. I've bought two really fantastic maps and a compass, but it's kind of gratuitous because if I stray a kilometer off somehow, I'll hit a small town road. The maps are great for planning a route, though. Another great way to plan a route is to fly an F-16 around the mountains and scout from there... which I did with gusto. Just for future planning purposes, I also piloted through a stretch of the grand canyon and did a pass around Everest, just before going into a stall and crashing into the mountainside.

I hope I have time to practice trombone with all this planning.