I love my job benefits!

I've said it before and I will say it again....being able to fly anywhere at anytime is the best employee benefit I have ever had.

This past weekend we headed to Sacramento to spend time with my sister in law Jami, my niece Haley and Jami's girlfriend Kelly.

The flight out was interesting.

About 2 hours in, I was resting with my Bose QC15s pumping in a Smart DJ playlist (I love my Zune HD!) into my ears when I overheard, “If there is a M.D or D.O on board please ring your flight attendant call button or come to row 22.”

I opened my eyes to see two flight attendants briskly walking down the aisle carrying the emergency medical kit and oxygen bottle. Something had happened. A moment later the third flight attendant walked by with the defibrillator. Medical emergency.

I had changed out of my uniform into my “civies” prior to boarding the flight.

As two flight attendants and a Dr worked in the back of the plane, I noticed the front flight attendant had his hands full with First Class. As he walked to the back of the plane I took out my ID and let him know that if he needed any help I was glad to assist (I’m listed as a pilot/crew on the passenger manifest so he knew who I was). Being squeamish I can’t help with the medical emergency, but I can help pick up trash and hand out drinks at the very least. I can also help with “crowd” control as passengers were trying to use the rear lavatory even though it was clear the area was packed. He said he was going to ask if I could help and appreciated my offer. Things were fine at the time, but he would let me know if he needed help.

I laid back and hoped for the best. There was still 90 minutes of flight left. If the seat belt sign came on or we started descending soon I knew it was because of the medical emergency.

Thankfully everything worked out fine. About 30 minutes prior to landing the lead flight attendant came back to my seat and dropped off half a dozen fresh baked cookies. He appreciated my offer to step up and help.

Once we landed medical personnel came on board and rolled the passenger off. They ended up signing a waiver to not be transported after all.

Even though it wasn’t my airline (it was a mainline flight) I’m always here to help another crew if needed.

While is Sacramento we only ate at one "chain" resturant, In-N-Out Burger. The rest of the time we ate at local places which we enjoy.

My niece Haley continues to amaze me....crazy tall for 2 1/2 and ridiculously intelligent. Her reasoning ability is facsinating and scary at the same time.

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So Kelli and I love Man vs. Food. We have visited a few places on the show. While in California we stopped by the San Francisco Creamery Company. On the show the host of the show tried the "Kitchen Sink" challenge.

The Kitchen Sink consists of 3 bananas, 8 scoops of ice cream, 8 toppings, whippped creams, nuts, and cherries. My sister in law Jami thought for SURE she could easily do the challenge...if it weren't for the bananas.

After we arrived she saw a family doing it and decided to simply get a 3 scoop sundae....without bananas. She ate maybe 1/3rd. Kelli, Kelly and I all gave Jami a hard time about it. Thankfully Jami has a great since of humor.

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For dinner we ate at one resturant called Massawas. It was hands down the most interesting place I have ever eaten.

Massawas is an ethiopian style resturant. The food can be served family style meaning all on a huge platter. We met up with Jodi and Chelsea who are also expecting an offspring. Chelsea is just one week ahead of Kelli.

We each ordered a dish. It's served on a gianormous platter of spongy bread. The bread was very interesting. Additionally we were each given a plate of the same bread.

There was no silverware...all hands on deck!

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We each broke a off a piece of bread and dug in. The food was very flavorful. All of us enjoyed it.

For the first time in years I visited a park. Don't judge. Went down a slide for the first time since I was a kid.

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Jami, Kelly and my niece.

Our flight back was very open. Twelve out of sixteen First Class seats were occupied by non-revs....gotta love it!

We are planning on trip to New York in April and maybe a cruise in March. Beyond that....very little travel ahead.