The Trip To Telluride - Part One

I have decided that you're really not on vacation unless you leave your computer at home, which is what I decided to do on my weekend jaunt to Dallas and Telluride.  All hell may have broken out abroad but I had absolutely no idea about it.
I was strictly on vacation.
It started early Saturday morning with meeting up with the group of my fellow travellers at the Van Nuys Airport.  I rarely take vacations but having been offered the option of travelling by general aviation rather than commercial, I couldn't say no to this trip.  It's an unbelievable luxury to be able to drive your car right onto the tarmac, unload your bags and then have your car valet parked for you....not to mention avoiding the crowds and the TSA.
So we were off on a quick 2 plus hour flight to Love Field in Dallas for an early afternoon wedding.

Here is the view of the airport with the skyline of Dallas in the distance.
The wedding ceremony was held at the pretty chapel at SMU and the reception was held at a nearby country club.

Out of respect for the bride and groom I didn't take photographs at the actual wedding but I wanted to show you this photo of the flowers at the reception.

The wedding party sat at a V shaped table set with towering glass vases overflowing with white flowers and spot lit for dramatic effect. It was stunning.

The reception went on as receptions do, dinner, speeches, dancing, drinking...
and after a few hours we got the universal signal that it was time to take our leave,
which of course was when the DJ put on "Play That Funky Music White Boy".
Is there some special DJ code that this particular song always has to be played at the most white bread of weddings?

The next morning, after a brunch at the home of the bride's parents, we were off to the airport for the 2 hour flight to Colorado.
Here is the little Cessna Citation that we flew in.

The flight was uneventful, except for the severe turbulence that we hit as we descended over the mountains on our approach to Montrose. For the record, severe turbulence is when you are lifted completely out of your seat and you hit your head on the top of the plane. Thank God it only lasted only couple of minutes.  While I had complete confidence in the competence of the pilots, and while I was fortunate to have been holding a goldendoodle puppy in my lap which kept me calm,  I'd rather not have that particular experience with severe turbulence again.

Once we landed, we piled into our huge SUV and drove up into the mountains. 
It had just snowed the previous night and the storm had passed over
so everything was white and bright.

Here's a view of the mountains from the car. We had the most incredible weather, cold but clear.

Finally, after an hour or so we arrived at our 4 story townhouse in Telluride MountainVillage. 
The house had an amazing view, but being situated at above 10,000 feet altitude was an issue.
I'll post photos of the house tomorrow.

A Week of Wardrobe Challenges and Beladora In Black And White

We've had so many great posts from blogs such as Passage de Perles, Make Do Style and  A Femme d'un Certain Age challenging us to dress with style with a limited wardrobe and now ELLE has featured the Fabiola Beracasa 30 Day wardrobe challenge on ELLE.com
Have the babes at ELLE have been checking out the blogosphere?
I wonder.

Meanwhile I have a wardrobe challenge of my own coming up this weekend as I have a wedding to attend in Dallas on Saturday then Sunday and Monday will be spent in Telluride. So travel clothes, dress-up clothes and ski clothes will all be needed for a 3 day trip.   
It would be easy to pack if I had closet full of clothes from Goresuch, which is one of my favorite online stores. But I don't, so I have no idea at this point what I'm going to wear.

Meanwhile, while perusing the site I found this ELLE TV video


Beladora looks good in black and white!

Oh Oprah - It's Good To Be The Queen

Let me come right out and say it
I don't worship at the Church of Oprah
I don't watch her program, read her magazine or recommended books
or go to her women's event, ever so popular with hollywood and hedgefund wives.

That said, I do admire Oprah
greatly

And, I couldn't be more pleased about her candor



From the Wall Street Journal Wealth Report
Oprah: It’s Great to Have a Private Jet

“It’s great to have a nice home. It’s great to have nice homes! It’s great to have a nice home that just escaped the fire in Santa Barbara,” she told the students. “It’s great to have a private jet. Anyone that tells you that having your own private jet isn’t great is lying to you.”

I love her lack of hypocrisy

The golden nugget here is the jet part. In these times of hair-shirt capitalism and envy politics, the wealthy have been going to great lengths to pretend they don’t enjoy luxury or want nice stuff. If Oprah were like most of the faux-populist rich today, she would have said something like, “I don’t need private jets, in fact I’m happier flying commercial and living in a small house. I like the simple life.” Of course, she would be lying.

I love her honesty

But she didn’t. She told the truth, which is that flying in a private jet is one of the great material perks that money can buy. (Talk to anyone who used to be rich and they will say one thing they really miss is the jet. Apparently Oprah’s ride is a $42 million custom-build Global Express XRS built by Bombardier Aerospace).

Most of all I love the way that she made it to the top all on her own.
And now she owns it
Damn...it's good to be the Queen

Runway to Realway - Pork Served Up On Private Jets

When I think of travel by private jet the image that comes to mind is something like this.
Not this

But travel by private jet at the taxpayer's expense is de rigeur for the Congressional committee leaders who have approval control over the use of government jets.

What is a mere operational cost of $10,000 an hour anyway....
When you are spending 1 Billion Dollars per hour

Republicans and Democrats are equally at fault here.
Whether it is a member of Congress or a CEO recipient of TARP funding
Why can't they fly business class?

Big 3 Bailout or When First Class Isn't Good Enough

From ABCnews.com
Big Three CEOs Flew Private Jets to Plead for Public Funds
Auto Industry Close to Bankruptcy But They Get Pricey Perk

All three CEOs - Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler - exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM's $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone.

"This is a slap in the face of taxpayers," said Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste. "To come to Washington on a corporate jet, and asking for a hand out is outrageous."

Wagoner's private jet trip to Washington cost his ailing company an estimated $20,000 roundtrip. In comparison, seats on Northwest Airlines flight 2364 from Detroit to Washington were going online for $288 coach and $837 first class.

Ford CEO Mulally's corporate jet is a perk included for both he and his wife as part of his employment contract along with a $28 million salary last year. Mulally actually lives in Seattle, not Detroit. The company jet takes him home and back on weekends.

I just thought you might want to know.

Looking For A Bargain?

Well it's official...it's getting tough all over. Even private jets are going on sale!

From Luxist.com

Anyone want to buy some Eclipse 500 very light jets? Now that the DayJet, air taxi operation has folded, their 28 Eclipse 500 planes are looking for a home. DayJet had originally ordered 1,400 of the small jets for their planned network of fights but closed up shop in September citing the current economic crisis and the inability to secure funding as causes. The 28 are now up for sale and are being sold "as is" with DayJet logos and interiors. The DayJet Eclipses had accumulated no more than 450 hours each. There are three different configurations of the jets. Eclipse hasn't disclosed a price for the aircraft but some have estimated that it would be in the $1.5 million range per plane.

So bargain shoppers...here's your chance to get into your own private jet for only about $1.5 million!

Boy, if this trend continues, you might be able to pick up that house in the hills and a big white diamond at bargain prices too...

Around the World in 28 Days

Or..a month of fun!

Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi

Let's just say that 6 months or so ago you saw that all that risky debt that your firm was holding was soon to go under and that as the CEO you would have to serious 'splaining to do to the Board, the SEC, the Press and most worrisome, those pesky pension fund managers that held your stock.

What to do...what to do?

The answer of course is to resign with your fat benefits package that includes tens of millions in severance pay.

Not being one to stay at home and you know...cultivate your own garden...and let's face it, your architects, interior decorators and art consultants have already taken care of your Manhattan penthouse, your country home in upstate NY, your beach house in Bridghampton and your ski in - ski out chalet in Vail...so you decide that it's finally time to take your spouse on that much needed vacation.

Around the world in 28 days.

$1 million vacations

A loose interpretation of Phileas Fogg's famous journey around the world, this remake by The Leading Hotels of the World stars you and a guest traveling east on a private jet from London to New York.

Over the course of 28 days (not 80), you will visit Paris, Dubai, Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Honolulu, San Francisco, and Chicago and stay in some of the world's ultra-lux pads like the Prince's Suite at the Rambagh Palace (pictured) in Jaipur. But the hefty $1 million price tag affords a lot more than fancy sheets. Travelers can take a hot-air balloon ride over the Dubai desert, have cocktails aboard the Taj yacht on the Arabian sea, drive through Udaipur in a vintage car, take a private tour of the Gem Palace in Jaipur, helicopter over Hong Kong and partake in a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in Tokyo.

Happy Trails!

The Gulfstream Grab

The links for Dude, Where's my Recession just keep on coming. Apropos this article the Instapundit has commented on Aviation Week's report on the run on Gulfstream G650 jets.

G650 Customers Wait in Line
Gulfstream's planned output of 83 G650 business jets in the first 2.5 years of production is oversubscribed by a factor of six to seven, says parent company General Dynamics. Gulfstream began accepting $500,000 refundable deposits on the new $58.5 million ultra-long-range jet on April 15, signing time-stamped letters of intent with customers that it is now working through to convert to orders.

Oh, it's so hard to spend $58.5 million these days.

But the big issue is...where are all these new jets going to land on the Westside?

Bloomberg.com has a report on the problem in Santa Monica from increased private jet traffic.

Schwarzenegger's Jet Commute May End as Santa Monica Seeks Ban

Jet landings and takeoffs have increased 14-fold since that agreement, to 18,575 in 2007. Traffic jumped 22 percent the year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when more business flyers began to use private planes to avoid delays caused by new security measures.

Jets stack up on Santa Monica's runway waiting for a break in traffic in the air, including from nearby Los Angeles International Airport. During the movie industry's Academy Awards, jets idle on the runway for hours, spewing fumes into residential streets.

Oh... the problems with private jet travel these days....

Gulfstream G650 - my bags are packed

Fabulous news from Drudge! Gulfstream has just come out with the new G650 which flys at the speed of sound. It's so good to know that the jet set can get to their private enclaves even faster than when they had to suffer trough those long trips on their G3's, G4's and G5's.

Just in case some Charming Gentleman wants to whisk me off to his private compound in Cabo, Mustique or Hawaii, I've picked the perfect travel outfit. Comfortable and Chic...from Saks a Tory Burch cotton tunic over white jeans with a Steven Webster crystal haze ring in turquoise and diamond hoop earrings from Beladora.

Note to Charming Gentleman: my bags are packed...I'm waiting for your call.