That is the beautiful city of Louisville in Kentucky you see below. You can detect the distinct way the Ohio River wraps around the city.

I say “beautiful” with a sense of irony. Yesterday, I flew into that city and it was 10deg Fahrenheit! My teeth were clenched as I fought my way to the rental car at the airport.

Ironically, tonight, I am flying over the same city. From inside a pressurized aluminum tube about 35,000 feet above ground, the city looks far more beautiful and hospitable!!!

Did you know that city below is where Muhammad Ali was born. Or that the song “Happy Birthday to You” was born here too (by two kindergarten teachers)?

Note that for us now, at 10 pm at night the temperature is 46 deg F. On this winter night, you would expect temperatures to go down quickly to near freezing. Instead, through the wintry night, our temperatures will actually go up. In fact, in the next four hours it will rise by 15 degrees to a very pleasant 61 deg F!! That is crazy! I assume the cloudy icon (we have been completely overcast) means the heat is not escaping and the wind from SSW means warm humid winds are coming in from Gulf of Mexico. Which would make sense in that we are going to get rains tomorrow morning.

I can’t recollect ever having seen in any winter night before, temperatures go up this dramatically!!!

With all the flight delays (of which I had more than my share this week) and none of the meals like we used to get before, flying can be onerous sometimes. And then something happens here and there – that makes you grateful to have experienced some people’s attitude during your flights.

A couple of years back, I remember a Delta pilot handing out hand written thank you notes on his business card as we settled down in our seats. This week, on my flight back from New York to Atlanta, I got another thank you note – all personalised and hand written. This one was from our very nice flight attendant – Patrick. He had one for each of the folks sitting up front.

I realize that this is not a corporate practice and was more of an individual effort. All the same, nice touch, Delta! Needless to say, very well done, Patrick!!

Extremely nice gentleman. After deliberating on a lot of topics – including the just concluded elections, he got curious when he learnt that Natasha was pursuing journalism. Asked which college and all that. He even had a special message for her without knowing her – “Tell her we need good students like her in the field of journalism”.

If you are ever in the Portland area, do not forget to visit Blakeslee Vineyard – a short 30 minutes drive away. We were there a few days back. Just outside Sherwood, Bill and Sheila built out this winery in the beautiful Chehalem Mountains.
Also do not forget to meet Mary in the tasting room. She was instrumental in having the tasting room established about three years back. She had some great stories of the grapes from the different years. I am not particularly a white wine person but the Chardonnay (was that 2012?) really left a great impression on me. That, and the 2012 Reserve Pinot Noir!!

A cloud covered day (yesterday) in Blakeslee Vineyard – a family (Bill and Sheila Blakeslee) owned vineyard near Sherwood, OR. That is my friend Mark walking downhill to capture a shot of the bright yellow grape vines. Great views. We need to go back on a sunny day…