Finally. I've been working on this for weeks. I ordered a 128mb SD card for the GoPro prior to departing England so I could film the two day journey between the UK and Miami. The card saved an hour and 40 minutes of information. After I'm not sure how many hours in iMovie, I got it down to 8n1/2 minutes.
Right in the middle of Covid travel restrictions, wait'll you see how empty these airports are. The Boeing 777 that brought us back had three rows of seats, 19 passengers and about the same number of crew members on board. Other than still being restricted from those first class, heated, reclining, comfortable looking, luxurious leather seats that were empty, by the way, it felt like a private jet.
My passport was extended six months due to lockdown but that expired on July 31st. Most airlines were grounded but all of them continued selling tickets. What they (Virgin, Delta) were doing was booking flights anticipating restrictions to lift but as they remained and caused delay, the airlines issued vouchers leaving customers with a two-year coupon rather than cash and no plane ride. That happened between about March and June. We had a daily eye on British Airways, they hadn't cancelled a flight since leaving the ground five weeks ago. So we booked a flight for August 1st and the thing took off.
After watching the movie over and over (and over and over and over), I'm not even certain it's legal. The more I watch it, the more uncertain. If anyone asks, just tell'em you got it from an anonymous blogger. The music's legal! Both are copyright free electric guitar covers. The original artists are British anyway and a good portion of this was filmed in London.
Kfir Ochaion Pink Floyd - Hey You
David Locke Elton John - Rocket Man
One more thing before you press play. We were pretty nervous about arriving in Miami, all we had was media-fed information. We weren't certain of quarantine regulations so we booked a stay for 14 days in Florida, memorized the address, stuff like that. We weren't prepared for Covid testing upon arrival if required by CDC, we didn't know what to expect. Not only was the line of questioning at the airport less invasive than the line of questioning at the barber shop, the identity screening at US Customs And Border Protection confirmed Pura's identity while masked.
Enjoy!
▶️ 3Speak
Hey, @dandays.
Quite the odyssey. Not surprised it took forever to get out of the UK, though. Or at least that's what it seemed like to me, with all of the subway and buses you took just to get to Heathrow.
Interestingly enough, from what I've read, Florida has one of the more relaxed responses to Covid-19 in the country, so Miami airport being approved probably means Miami itself went to some extra precautions. Who knows. So much information, misinformation and disinformation going around on all levels that it's hard to know what's actually happening.
I guess the point is, you were able to get back to the States in relatively good fashion and now it's on to whatever the future holds.
You guys planning to hang out in one place for a while? Do more flitting around?
Does it sound like I'm jealous?
Well, let's just say I'd love to be doing more of what you've been doing and less of what I've been doing, albeit, not so encumbered by COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr. Albrethsen, how's it goin? Florida did seem a little relaxed, even Uber drivers were hit and miss about masks.
That misinformation thing, I know what you mean. It seems like anymore if there isn't two sides to the story, it doesn't exist.
We've been parked now going on five months and that's about 2 too many. I think there's enough flitting left in us to get back to doing what we were doing before we were doing this. Not sure how much longer they're gonna prevent that though Glen.
Maybe just a tiny bit. Can hardly tell
Our governor is inclined to prevent anything and everything, with the legislature and the state supreme court basically backing her up, so Oregon probably wouldn't be the best place to flit to for the time being. Are you in Tennessee? Seems like a read that a while back. But you say you've overstayed?
Yes'ir Tennessee. I've always loved this state. So when we were abruptly stopped in the middle of travel we said "Tennessee." But the thing is sir..
We saw a lot while we were out there. As Pura says "our minds have been unlocked." We've spent some time weighing out pros and cons and let's just say we're anxious for the gates to reopen.. the pro's one.
All I hear about Oregon is a mess, it's as bad as they say it is huh? How are you and yours? Only 'essential' stores open there like Best Buy and Target?
So, we're currently under a two week freeze that ends tomorrow. Then we'll go a low, medium, high and extreme risk assessment every two weeks to determine where each county is.
Here's what that looks like. Currently 21 counties are pre-assessed as extreme, including the county I live in, and every county I work in.
So, yeah. I don't think that the amount of COVID cases merit the response, but this at least gets away from a one size fits all punishment of businesses regardless of where they're located and what might be going on there.
My wife and I are doing good (though I think I finally got my yearly cold. :) My oldest son and his family, who still live in the area, are good, too, as well as the youngest son and his family, who moved to South Carolina. The approach there has been more measured, relatively speaking, and they seem to be getting through things okay.
re: minds unlocked
Now I'm curious. In what way? It seems to me that by being on the road so long and not staying in one place you already had some idea that hanging around one spot the rest of your life didn't seem to be for you, at least not at present.
And when you say weighing pros and cons, do you mind expanding on that?
Don't have to if you don't want to or have the time. I just find this kind of wandering fascinating. :)
Fuck yeah, I do declare it worth the wait and retract any Chinese Democracy jokes I may have made. Music is on point too. Also, I gotta get me one of those gopro dohickeys.
Don't you know, it's only illegal if you get caught? As far as I know, this is 'found' footage :)
Yooo! Glad you got to see it. They're pretty impressive dohickey's. The sound quality, non blur, and I don't know how many times I dropped it during that recording cuz I had it stuffed behind the strap on the shoulder strap of my backpack, it fell out frequently--can't even tell.
The warranty is impressive too @coloneljethro. It froze on me. Got ahold of a rep, sent me a prepaid box, sent mine back and they shipped me a brand new one in England. All in like a week.
It took a long time to decide on the music. Glad you agree!
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@livinguktaiwan I really appreciate this. Thank you!
That was a lot of walking and types of transportation but kinda worthwhile to collect some unique memories of travelling before returning to Miami. Do you regret coming home or do you prefer travelling the world for years?
Regret. Not that. Disappointed is more like it, we didn't plan on getting made to come back like that. Definitely wasn't in the plan.
Good one @wittywheat. Being parked for 5 months isn't like us at the moment, one day for sure, just not yet (we're learning that now). It's much more fun out there. Put it this way.. we haven't fully unpacked our suitcases yet--just waiting for'em to open the gates.
At least you didn’t have long line to stand in and wait. “Be to the airport 4 hours early...” non sense!! 10 minutes early and you are set.
Sending the GoPro through the scanner,... nice!!!
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't pretty happy about the finish product. Thanks for reposting this back up for me.
I had the GoPro tucked under the strap on my back pack shoulder strap. Hence the however many drops but I'm pretty sure no one noticed it.
!BEER
for you
Thank you!
Very cool montage dude!
Airports start looking more and more like North Korea
Montage, that's it. Thanks for coming over here to check this one out Ed.
Soldier lookin law enforcement, outside the airports they look even more intense--ready to battle.
Great video!!! I can't believe you got away with all those footage inside the airport! It's such an eye opener to see it that way, even though it was a bit shaking. Did you clip your Go Pro in front and did anyone ever challenge you over it?
What's up @livinguktaiwan? Thanks for tuning in. It's pretty shaky, plus add speed to it and it makes it even shakier. I didn't really have it secured well, I was trying more to hide it. I stashed it behind the strap on the shoulder strap of my backpack so all that stuck out was the lens (and they're pretty tiny). Right on my shoulder too so a lot of movement.
But that's what it took I guess, not one person said anything. I don't think anyone noticed. Except for the about 10 times I dropped it cuz it was just resting behind that strap unsecured! Durable little cameras those GoPro's.
As soon as they open these gates and we all get the opportunity to take off again, I'll have a better method of securing it so it's not as shaky.
Trippy! (Pun intended)
Kudos for taking the time to edit down all that video. I still can't believe you were able to get so much footage, but I think it is really interesting to see. Such a weird time we're living in. And there's no telling how "history" will be recorded, so it's pretty cool to see some actual firsthand footage get preserved forever on the blockchain.
Thanks for noticing Plants. Yeah, that's exactly how it went down during that pandemic. Weird huh? Heathrow airport, a big huge international one, empty.
My eyes get all weird when I spend too long editing. For sure, it's here now, I can go reclaim my cloud space.
Psst - So not a fan of being parked
Masks.....
Credit cards, and CD cases at 3 a.m.....DOES NOT COMPUTE.... ARGHHHHH!
CD cases? 3am.. What are doing, scraping ice off your windshield?
MMMM.....you either have bad memory or you weren't the person I've been talking to ....On-e? CA...? lol
That was my failed attempt at being politically
correctnaive.CD cases - Never heard of'em.
Well, i must say, you succeed(ed) very well... at failing.
What an experience, one that I'm not sure I could have endured. After watching the video for just a few minutes I was feeling overwhelmed. Youth is a great thing.
Throughout the entire video, I kept saying to Robin, I can't believe they are letting him get the footage he's recording. I figured you had your GoPro hidden somewhere.
An hour and 40 minutes down to 8 1/2 minutes, that had to take some perseverance.
What an experience to have captured on film and now saved forever. Years from now, I can see you and Pura sitting on your front porch, reminiscing and wondering how the heck you were able to pull this off?
How can the airline industry survive.
Right, they got a good chunk of the first round of $$$$ from the GVT.
Landing in Miami at that particular point in time had to be stressful. What were your intentions, let's see just what condition our immune system is in.😁
Just kidding, both of you looked as though you were on a mission.
Did you have to hit the treadmill for a few weeks before departing on this journey?
Withy Pura setting the pace, I'm surprised you did so well keeping up. I expected to see a lot more footage of Pura looking over her shoulder with a scowl on her masked face, wondering what the heck was your problem.
That whole ordeal had to be exhausting. I'm sure you spent a lot of time catching your breath while locked up for 14 days.
Great job my friend, an experience that you guys will never forget.
I sure am glad you liked this one, thank you.
Yeah, well, I spent a lot of time editing ok!
Speaking of exercised. Oh man. Locked down for seven months and taking away my gym time, I was using rubber bands and just doing push ups and sit ups. Bob, when I got back in the gym here and stepped on the scale, I was down 25 pounds! Wtf?! Like I was back in seventh grade. It's taken me all of 3 months since returning to get my weight back--that was a lot of work.
Miami was a trip dude, everything was/is. And all we had was viable internet sources to prep us. Yeah, American Airlines who own British Air and United, by the way, didn't know that at the time, got that $3M check and suddenly they're in the air. A few months later they're laying off--go figure.
You know.. at the time it seemed like a great idea. Looking back, I'm not sure what I was thinking. The GoPro was pretty concealed. I had it stuffed under the strap of the shoulder strap on my backpack. Hence the extra movement from my shoulder and numerous drops (durable little cameras them GoPro's!) but all that was sticking out was the tiny little lens of the camera. I'm fairly certain no one even noticed it.
Thanks a lot for reblogging this one, Bob. Happy whatever day this is.
Great post, I knew that the camera had to be running while incognito.
That's a load of weight to lose unless you want to. In your situation, with that not being the case, it had to add to your frustration.
Hell, you didn't need to work so hard to put back on those pounds you lost, sitting around eating junk food would have done the trick.
I'm trying to simplify your gig, I've got your back.
That travel looks so convoluted and tiring... I think I'll stay home and hit the Bike/Hiking Trails to satisfy my lust for adventure😎
It's exhausting dude! We give ourselves about 24 hours rest time on travel days, they're draining. Nothing makes my legs as wobbley as the mountain bike though, where we peddlin to sir?
Serenity...
So long as it ain't uphill.
That was sweeeeet. Good choice on the music, even though I think most people have said the same, it's true.
My stomach turned when I saw you pay for those waters....I hate airport prices, it's such a fucking scam that they can charge so much for that shit. I try and bring my own snacks and an empty container to fill up with the free water...cause fuck 'em, that's why,
Good stuff!
It was England, though. Without looking, I'd be surprised if their mark up price is as high as our normal price. Airport prices (here) suck! What a rip off.
Thanks for watching this one @intothewild, I'm glad you liked it. Nice to have it saved here, it's already history so in however many years ahead it'll be cool to look back.
I'm ready to film more man. Open these fucking gates!
I actually spent quite a bit of time searching for the right tracks. Come Sail Away by Styx was in the running for a minute but the electric guitars in both versions I used sounded so similar. I'm glad you agree man. 👍🏿
Thirty spokes are joined in the wheel's hub.
The hole in the middle makes it useful.
Mold clay into a bowl.
The empty space makes it useful.
Cut out doors and windows for the house.
The holes make it useful.
Therefore, the value comes from what is there,
But the use comes from what is not there.
Hey I didn't enjoy reading that so much or anything that I read it three times. Who's the philosophical author?
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Almost forgot, great cover image
Thanks for noticing Sweed!
To see both of those familiar airports so empty is quite incredible and will be a memory to remember the next time you travel! I've had the pleasure of flying British Airways 1st class a few times and it is blissful. They should have upgraded you.
Yeah I'm going with the cleansing of those first class seats was just too stressful at time of Covid--gotta be something like that. Weird, right? The shops, the restaurants, everything was closed.
I'm glad you checked this one out @melinda010100. Thank you.