Writing by the fire at my ski condo in the mountains of Utah.

Worked over the Christmas holidays (2010) on my book The Journey Never Ends about my metaphysical experiences and, judging by the title, the Journey of writing this book WILL NEVER END!  While most of the writing is done, I was “led” to include some simple illustrations to help describe my point of views while exploring “other” realities.

Now I have access to some of the best illustrators in the business that work on my children’s books, but it seemed life was about to take a turn in a direction I wasn’t expecting.  I realized I needed to scratch out some basic drawings anyway for an artist to get the feel of what I wanted so, no big deal as I had done this for All of Life is a School. Well, after including some them in a few early chapters for my friends to read, they all insisted that I NEEDED TO DO THEM!  I got comments like, “They’re a reflection of your energy!”  “They’re precious . . . they’re so . . . you!”

“What . . . you’re kidding . . . I can’t draw!”  They weren’t.  I hadn’t drawn anything beyond a stick figure since third grade!  But after being reminded my whole Fantasy of Flight concept is about pushing your boundaries and realizing the untapped potential within, I found I didn’t have much of an argument.  I figured I needed to do some basic drawings anyway, in case I ended up using a “real” artist, so I began to scratch out where I felt the book needed them during the next editing pass.

Oh my God . . . I had no idea where this was all headed.  By the time I got to the end the book there were . . . Are you ready for this? . . . Over a THOUSAND drawings!  So, in case you’ve been wondering why the book isn’t finished . . . this is my excuse!

My best ice cream cone!

I continue to work on them when I get the chance.  The problem is . . . by the time I got to the end of the book with my first pass, my drawings began to improve and now I feel the need to go back and redo many of them.  They’re still pretty simple, and I’m not going to give Rembrandt or Michaelangelo a run for their money anytime soon . . . but it has been a fun yet frustrating experience.

Pretty basic, but do the job!

Simple, yet capture all that I need to get across!

With the addition of all the drawings embedded in the text, the book is now over 1500 pages!  I will have to deal the publishing issue when I get it all done.  We’ll see.  Like life . . . I have no idea where this is all headed, or when it will finally get finished.  All I can do is follow the energies and do the best I can.  I’ve finally realized it’s not my timetable and things, like Fantasy of Flight and this book, have to manifest in their own time.

Kermit

We were recently was visited by Dawn Holland, the granddaughter of Lowell Bayles, who was the famous Golden Age pilot that won the Thompson Trophy Race in 1931 in the Gee Bee Zee.

Presentation of Dawn’s artwork

Dawn never got to meet her grandfather who, unfortunately, he was killed later that year trying to break the world speed record in the same airplane with a more powerful engine.  Dawn came out and presented me with a painting she did herself of the aircraft in honor of keeping the spirit of her grandfather alive.

Our reproduction of the Gee Bee Zee

I acquired a very faithful reproduction of the aircraft, which is on display at Fantasy of Flight.

Kermit

Life has been keeping me busy and I apologize for not keeping up with my blog.  I realized I’m over a year behind!

Following will be an update of all the exciting things I’ve been to and all the exciting things in my life.

Kermit

Over the three day weekend after Thanksgiving we celebrated having been open for 15 years!

Our initial Grand Opening Gala was on on Veterans Day, November 11, 1995 and included a “thousand of my closest friends.”  People still talk about our amazing opening party where everyone dressed up in WWII Period Formal Dress or Black Tie.  We laid out the red carpet with searchlights, guard gates and re-enactors, Paparazzi photographers when you arrived to valet your car, a champagne reception, tour of the immersion environments, flight-themed laser light show, my welcoming speech, night aerobatics with pyro coming off the wings, fireworks, USO style Big Band, amazing food and drink, an air raid siren with simulated bombing and strafing, a French Cafe with decadent desserts, and then a Rock & Roll Band until the wee hours!  We opened to the public several weekends later after we recouperated.

To help celebrate our 15-year Anniversary we flew 15 different airplanes over the weekend, flying five different airplanes per day.  We also had many things themed around the “15th” for our guests and drew a raffle ticket for a great prize every time I flew one of the planes.  One group from the United Kingdom got in free, got a free lunch, AND won one of the raffle ticket prizes!  I told them they needed to buy a lotto ticket as well!

While I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplised so far in 15 years, which I now see as laying the foundation for our future.  I’m even more excited about the next 15, which will be the implementation of our future and a fun, creative and exciting time.  Starting in 2011, we will hit the ground running to revamp our existing product and facility even more.  We plan to re-theme all the old exhibits, add new ones, as well as add new tours and shows.

I thought it would be fun to share with you the 15 different airplanes I flew over the three days and in their order –

Friday #1 – Piper L-4

Friday #2 – Norde Stampe

Friday #3 – Stinson Tri-Motor

Friday #4 – Grumman TBM

Friday #5 – Grumman Wildcat

Saturday #1 – Bucker Bestmann

Saturday #2 – Polikarpov Po-2

Saturday #3 – Ford Tri-Motor

Saturday #4 – North American AT-6D

Saturday # 5 – North American P-51C

Sunday #1 – Fiesler Storch

Sunday #2 – Avro Cadet

Sunday #3 – Travelair 4000

Sunday #4 – Grumman Duck

Sunday #5 – North American P-51D with Aircraft Department celebrating with Champagne!

With Legoland opening at the old Cypress Gardens site next fall, we hope to ride on the coat tails of their marketing efforts to bring more tourists to Polk County.  Other happenings in the works that will help our long-term success will be the widening of our intersection at Interstate 4, Exit 44, as well as the initial construction of a High Speed Rail and stop down the center of the I-4 corridor.  Orlando to Tampa was THE #1 location for government support of a High Speed Rail System in the United States and the stars are beginning to line up for Orlampa!

We are all having fun developing Fantasy of Flight into something that does not yet exist.  Our future product is all about pushing our boundaries and reaching beyond ourselves and to get to where we need to go, we will all need to do it ourselves in spades!  In the end though, it’s not about getting to the destination . . . but the process and experience of getting there!  And while I would love to have it all done tomorrow, I realize it’s not my timetable and it will happen in its own time.  Not a problem for me as I’m doing what I love . . . and love what I’m doing!

Keep an eye on us and visit us from time to time . . . we’re going to do great things!

Kermit

Checking my body fat percentage on our new Stayhealthy Kiosk

Several months ago I went in for my annual physical and noticed my blood pressure and chloresterol had started to rise.  I had been watching it for several years while trying to change it with supplements but they didn’t seem to be helping.  Having just been honored as a gymnast, and once in great shape, I was NOT about to go on medication!

I’ve been involved for many years as an investor in a company called Stayhealthy that builds body composition testing equipment.  You can check out the website and products at www.stayhealthy.com.  One of the neat things the company does is to let people put their own logo’s on the equipment, as in the case with our Fantasy of Flight kiosk shown.  Stayhealthy kiosks have been in use by Lifestyles Gyms, the US Government, major Universities and Shopping Malls.

I recently purchased the latest Stayhealthy kiosk for use at Fantasy of Flight.  It is currently set up in our employee break room but we soon plan to have it available for our customers in the Fantasy of Flight entrance area.

Not only does the kiosk check for color blindness, breathing rate, and blood pressure, it is also a scale and weighs you.  And while all that’s nice,  its main function is to check body composition.  It not only tells you your body fat %, but your lean muscle mass %, as well as your hydration %, and graphs it over time on a very inexpensive membership website.

Using the equipment while on a diet gives you accurate information in real time which is also useful later for maintaining a long-term lifestyle.  Body Composition Monitors (currently the BC-3) can purchased  for around $300 and are the most accurate on the market.  If you’re with a diet company, they usually supply them while you’re on their programs.  While other companies make body composition equipment, ours is used by the professional diet companies.  Stayhealthy has done lots of research over the years with major Universities and is at the cutting edge of the technology.

One of the things Stayhealthy has done, that no one else has, is come up with a method to replace the inaccurate and outdated BMI (body mass index) charts you see in the doctors office that use height and weight.  Watch for our new Stayhealthy index in the future!

When the CEO of Stayhealthy told me he had lost 35 pounds since last January using our equipment, I signed up for the program!  I thought, what a great way to check out my investment AND get healthy in the process!  Boy was I in for a shock!  I really got an education about the obesity problem we have in the United States.  It’s not really about weight, which most major diets focus on, but body fat!  It is not uncommon to be on the diet while beginning to exercise and notice no weight loss.  That would normally be very frustrating but what’s cool is that with the equipment, you watch your body fat going down while your lean muscle mass is going up!

Once I got into the diet, I WANTED to work out!  It was so cool to watch my body change before my eyes and I got excited about the whole process!  There was plenty to eat and it completely changed the perception of what I now consume.  I can’t believe how much crap there is out there.  It’s sad really but once you educate yourself, you can easily stay healthy.

I thought I might lose ten pounds, maybe fifteen, with the hopes it would help my blood pressure.  I began the diet at 196 lbs. and eventually dropped to a low of 165!  That was about 25 pounds of body fat with my body fat percentage dropping from 24.5% to 12.8% in two months!  I’m now off the diet and have maintained below 170 lbs. and 14% body fat!  This included Thanksgiving and I am well within the healthy range.  My blood pressure dropped from my doctor office visit of 144/90 to an average of below 120/80 with readings as low as 101/63!  My Hydration went from 75% to over 80%!  The really cool part is that you basically retrain your body how to metabolize what you eat by rebooting your pancreas and I’m beginning to eat stuff in moderation that I used to and my body just burns it up!

And I just missed my chance to run for Governor of California! (FYI – I’m wearing tucked in gym shorts)

While the diet I went on is not directly part of the Stayhealthy company, it is one of several companies that use and swear by our equipment.  You can check out the diet I used at www.livewellus.com.  Having dropped 25 lbs. I now feel like I’m dancing through life like a butterfly!  I can’t believe how much unhealthy fat I had on me, mainly in my body cavity.  And while I may not jump back on the high bar anytime soon, I now at least look as good as I did in my twenties!

It was probably the best health decision I ever made and I feel and look great!  The only down side is I hate to shop . . . and now I need to go out and buy some new clothes!

Kermit

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