bahamas Posts

Bahamas Boy Trip TV Commercials – Behind the Scenes!

18 Nov , 2016 No Comments

“We’re going to be famous!”  Those were the enthusiastic words of my two boys upon finding out that the story of our annual Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures was going to be featured in national television commercials.  The journey from being casual guests to Atlantis Resort superstars was quite an exciting ride and hope you enjoy reading all about it.

Each year, I spend a week of fun in the sun with my two little buddies at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.  I recently chronicled the details of our annual tradition in a related blog post titled, Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures.  As a frequent guest at Atlantis, I receive plenty of e-mail promotions from the resort.  One day, an e-mail popped into my inbox which read, “Atlantis is celebrating our 20th Anniversary and we would like you to be a part of it!  Share your story with us and you could be invited back to paradise and featured in an Atlantis TV commercial.”  Memories our boy trips flashed through my mind as I thought to myself, our story would make for a great commercial!  I gathered up some photos from our trips and did nice write-up of why Atlantis holds such a special place in our hearts.  I wishfully pressed the send button and we were officially in the running.

The next day at my office, I was going about my regular business when my cell phone rang with an unrecognized number and the words “Los Angeles, CA” showing on my phone screen.  I thought to myself, that’s the entertainment capital of the world, but could they possibly be calling me already about my submission?  I optimistically answered the phone and I was greeted with an enthusiastic voice from a talent agency representative.  We had a nice chat and she expressed how much they loved our story!  We talked about our experiences at Atlantis and ended the call a few minutes later with the promise they would follow up in the weeks ahead.  About two weeks later, I got another call from the agency and we discussed even more details of our adventures, this time in much greater depth.  She confidently told me that our story was definitely in the running and they’d be in touch as they continued narrowing down the field of submissions from the casting call.  Two days later, an e-mail arrived stating that we’d made the initial round of cuts and to stay tuned… a few days later, another e-mail arrived stating, “Congratulations, You’re a Finalist!”  Wow… was this really happening?  I didn’t want to get too excited, but it was beginning to feel like our story had a real shot at being selected.  Another phone call followed to set up a screen test interview with the producers via Skype.  The boys and I put on nice outfits and we were ready for our big interview.  Sometimes it’s hard for kids to talk to strangers, so I coached them to be very outgoing with their responses and interactions with the interviewer.  The producer (who’s since become an amazing friend!) popped onto the screen and our screen test interview couldn’t have gone any smoother.  She was so nice and conversational with the boys that their responses to her questions flowed very naturally – they completely nailed it!  After the interview, we waited, and waited, and waited… while the boys constantly asked me each day if I’d heard any news.  I was secretly as impatient as they were, eagerly awaiting news about the final selection.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures

10 Nov , 2016 No Comments

Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 1 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 2 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 3 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 4 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 5 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 6 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 7 Bahamas Boy Trip Adventures 8

We’ve just concluded our annual Bahamas Boy Trip Adventure so I thought it would be fun to share the story behind this phenomenal tradition.  Our boy trip consists of a week of fun in the sun with my two little buddies at the Atlantis Resort at Paradise Island in the Bahamas.  I turn off my cell phone and disconnect from my e-mail for a week to dedicate 100% of my time and energy to my boys.  The entire trip from start to finish is all about having fun and building amazing memories together that will last a lifetime!

Way back in 2010, my twin boys were just five years old.  I travel a lot for business and had recently missed out on a weekend of playtime with them.  I was airborne heading home to Orlando thinking about what sort of special treat I could do to make up for our lost time apart.  As I cruised along at 10,000 feet, I looked out the window at the bright sun, then glanced at my airplane’s display – and there it was, a moment of clarity and inspiration as I spotted the Bahamas in the upper left corner of the map.  It was one of those times in life that you know you’ve just stumbled upon something special, even without experiencing it yet.  I landed safely and then formulated my plan for what would become the legendary Bahamas Boy Trip.

CLICK TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico

02 Mar , 2016 7 Comments

Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 1 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 2 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 3 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 4 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 5 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 6 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 7 Flying My Cirrus Aircraft to Puerto Rico 8

When you fly as much as I do traveling throughout the country, it takes a lot to sit back and say “Wow, that was an amazing experience” reflecting on a flight.  This past weekend was one such experience flying from Orlando down to Puerto Rico in my Cirrus SR22 Aircraft, so I thought I’d share a blog post about it along with photos from my journey.

I left Orlando and flew directly to Exuma (MYEF) which took roughly 2 hrs.  The tower services were a bit strange in that they only serve in an “advisory” capacity, basically providing winds and nothing else.  Approaching the island was gorgeous despite some scattered clouds throughout the area.  There’s a 7,000 foot runway with only one turnoff (no taxiways) being about 5,000 feet down, so I’d recommend landing long – the condition of the runway itself was great.  The folks at Odyssey knew I was coming in ahead of time for a quick turn fuel stop ($7/gal) and pulled up the fuel truck as soon as I turned off the engine.  I walked into the FBO, a few minutes later was fueled and cleared customs ($50 fee – never talked to anyone other than the friendly person at the desk).  My expedited customs arrival/departure was due to e-mailing my passport and info ahead of time, didn’t even need to pull out my passport since they already had it.  I was airborne again about 20 minutes after I’d landed, a really quick turn.

Heading Southeast leaving Exuma was some of the prettiest flying I’ve ever done over water and islands.  The Turks and Caicos were especially pretty – that’s actually where I’d planned my fuel stop originally, but they wanted $150 for customs for the stop so I thought I’d save $100 enjoying the view from above.  Once I was South of the Turks and Caicos was where it got a bit more sparse.  You’re still communicating with Miami air traffic control, but there’s no land in sight for a long, long time as you cross hundreds of miles of open water.  Total flight time was around 3.5 hours, passing Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic along the way.  I had a maritime survival equipment onboard including a life raft (thanks to my friend Rich for inspiring that purchase), a marine radio, personal locator beacon (PLB), etc.  Despite being well prepared to take an unexpected cruise, I’m glad all that preparation was for nothing.  Just before reaching San Juan, Puerto Rico, I was switched over to their approach control from Miami.  I landed at Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport (TJIG) which is the executive airport about five miles from the commercial airport (TJSJ).  My landing was smooth as silk and the tower air traffic control services were flawless.  Since I’d stopped in the Bahamas, I was now considered an international flight returning to the US (even though I was in Puerto Rico).  My stop at the US Customs office took all of 2 minutes and was uneventful.  The FBO (Million Air) greeted me at customs, unloaded my bags, and towed the airplane next door to their facility.  Then they pulled up a brand new Mercedes and the line guy drove me about 10 minutes down the road to my hotel.  Amazing service to say the least!

I had several days of successful business conference meetings then it was time to return to Florida.  On my departure from Puerto Rico, I once again passed through Million Air and had another fantastic experience.  Smiling faces who were over-the-top helpful – truly one of the best FBO experiences I’ve ever had anywhere.  My IFR (instrument flight rules) flight plan was filed and I was ready to go.  Here’s when I discovered a quirk compared to some of the other flying I’ve done in the states.  I filed fixes on the airways all the way back to Exuma.  Clearance rejected my flight plan however because they wanted the actual airway listed too.  Funny thing is the airway was a straight line between the two fixes, but I re-filed with the exact same route (this time spelling out the airway) which then made everyone happy.  My flight back to Exuma was equally as beautiful as on the way down.  This time there we no clouds though which made for even better views out the windows of my Cirrus.

It was late in the day as I landed in Exuma just before sunset.  No big deal, or so I thought.  I didn’t realize that when the clock struck 6:00, that meant there were no more departures – even though it was still perfectly clear daylight out.  The FBO attendant told me that I was stuck there for the night, unless I wanted to pay an extra $86 fee for an after hours departure.  So, at about 6:04, I paid my $86 and got my clearance to depart after hours – still with nothing more than a “wind check” advisory for my departure.  The way I figured it, my cost to stay overnight would have far exceeded the $86 so it was a no-brainer to pay it and chock it up to a lesson learned to fly earlier in the day.

I cleared US customs at their brand new customs facility at Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport (FXE).  They customs agents there were fantastic!  They asked if I had any fruits, seeds, nuts, etc… right about that time I pulled out my snack bag I’d packed and realized I had a trail mix called “Fruit and Seed Mix”.  I’d just hit a double home run with my snack choice!  The customs agents were great and it wasn’t an issue as they were still sealed (and discarded) but did make for a good laugh.

On a trip like this the one thing that I’d stress is to make sure you’ve got all your US Customs eAPIS (Electronic Advance Passenger Information System) filings done ahead of time which just makes everything so much easier.  You’ve got to file your outbound US departure to Exuma, your inbound from Exuma to Puerto Rico, then the same in reverse on your return flights.  Between the US, Bahamas and Puerto Rico you’ll be clearing customs four times on the trip and file four eAPIS reports.  I use the FlashPass App on my iPad which makes it quick and easy to do.  It’s good to have the customs numbers for your intended airports handy too so you can give your US Customs Notices of Arrival as necessary.  Also, for anyone wishing to take this trip looking for alternate airports to file as well just in case a diversion becomes necessary – in the Bahamas you’ve got Stella Maris (MYLS) and in San Juan you’ve got Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (TJSJ).  Though it’s worthwhile noting at TJSJ, I was quoted $300-$600 for a ramp fee, but they wouldn’t be able to tell me exactly what it would really cost until I arrived.  Needless to say, I chose to go to the executive airport instead – and made an excellent choice choosing Million Air.  They communicated quickly with me over e-mail ahead of time and knew exactly what to expect in terms of fees and services provided.  If you go there, say hello to Juan the manager for me, really nice guy who runs a first class operation.  There’s also an excellent Cirrus Authorized Service Center on the field (Caribbean Aircraft Maintenance) in case you have any mechanical issues which need to be addressed.

Overall, this is one of those trips that goes down in the books as a truly great experience that reminds me of why I fly a Cirrus.  All the other folks at my conference took airlines down there.  I’m sure several thought I was crazy for flying myself – until I chatted about my adventure and showed them some pictures of my journey… then they wished they’d tagged along with me instead!  This is what living the Cirrus Life is all about, the experiences and joy it adds to our lives!

Feel free to reach out to me if you’re ever thinking of flying down to Puerto Rico and will be happy to chat further about my experience.  Definitely looking forward to taking another trip down there (and beyond) soon!