There are some advantages to flying a reserve schedule every now and then. I prefer the variety and the thought that just maybe I'll get called out to cover a New York trip to Zurich or Brussels. It's rare, but it has happened before.

For April, I didn't fly anywhere I hadn't flown before, and they managed to use me on almost every one of my available days. Having just arrived home from the Miami and San Francisco trip, crew scheduling already needed me for another early morning departure. This time they had me fly down to Miami and deadhead home on the same day.

It was hardly worthy of a full Cockpit Chronicles. I rode home in the coach cabin and slept most of the way. Fortunately, we're required to have at least one day off every 7 days, and crew scheduling decided I could use one.

This meant that I'd have a small stretch of three days in a row before my month would be over. There's always the chance that a three-day trip could pop up if someone called in sick, but I was pretty sure I'd have the last few days off.

My wife gets nervous when I tell her that there's little chance they could use me. Don't worry, I'll be home to take you and the kids to the airport for your trip to Germany, I'm sure! I figured I'd flown too many hours to be legal for another three-day trip. I should have listened to my wife. She knew I'd get the call.

I've whipped out my International Calendar to see what might be left to tell about November before it slips away from Eastern Standard Time in a few hours. What I see is a whole lot of independence days and a slew of other politically geared occasions.

• Nov. 1--Antigua-Barbuda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1980.
• Nov. 3--Dominica gained independence from the UK in 1978. Panama gained Independence from Colombia in 1903 and Micronesia gained independence from the U.S. in 1980.
• Nov. 9--Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953.
• Nov. 11--Poland gained independence in 1918; Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
• Nov. 18--Latvia gained independence from Russia in 1918; Morocco from France in 1956.
• Nov. 25--Suriname gained independence
• Nov. 28--Mauritania gained Independence from France in 1968 and Albania gained Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, Panama gained independence from Spain in 1821 and East Timor gained independence from Portugal in 1975.
• Nov. 30-Barbados gained independence from the U.K. in 1966

Other than these, Tonga has had Constitution Day (Nov. 4); Russia, Revolution Day (Nov. 7); Brazil, Republic Day (Nov. 15); and Vanuatu has had National Unity Day, (Nov. 29)

My favorite happening of the bunch of events that occurred this month, though, is the Surin Elephant Round-Up in Thailand.

It's Friday which means it's time to lean back and reflect on some of this week's goodies. Without delay here they are:

5. New Gadling Writer Bios:
Some of us have been here forever and some are just getting started. Either way check out the new writer bios to get a taste at what makes the writers tick, itch, scratch or where they like to play when they are not blogging for Gadling.

4. Washington's Caribbean Phase:
Are you a history buff in need of a break away from stuffy and dusty library shelves? Why not head off to Barbados to retrace the steps of President George Washington who spent some time there himself. Read this piece to see what exactly it was old George did on the island and learn about the upcoming museum opening celebrations.

3. Bob Marley's Legacy Continues:
Here's one for all Marley fans to unite over and experience a day or two of one love-ness. Jaime points out upcoming Reggae music fests worth looking out for if not attending. Attending is always better in my book.

2. Baseball Travel Guide:
Now that we've covered some history and music trips worth a look, let's move onto sports. If you're into baseball you may wish to use it as an excuse or real good reason to get away from the office for a few days to see the boys in training. Check out this guide on where to go to get fired up on America's favorite past time.

1. Fatpacking: Weight-Loss Backpacking:
If you'd rather be losing weight over watching very in shape ball players do what they do best plan a sports like hiking or fatpacking trip of your own and bring sexy back this spring.

We all know of George Washington as the steadfast, brilliant general who led a nation to independence. He was a fair outdoorsman, sure, doing a little cold water paddling across the Delaware, chopping cherry tree wood to pass the time. But did you know old Georgie kicked it old school down in the islands? Yup, our first President spent several months down in Barbados when he was young to sniff the fresh air, get a sun tan and likely to sip a few tasty Daiquiris (rum being, of course, a key export).

Washington came to Barbados at age 19 with his older half-brother Lawrence (aka: "L Dubya"), who had TB. Larry Washington's doc said that the islands would be good for him, and George figured he'd tag along. George (known in the islands as "Da Wash") spent two months riding his horse around the islands, apparently he caught his first fireworks shows and he hung out a bit with the governor and some generals. He also caught smallpox, and thus became immune to the disease for the rest of his life.

I guess the long and the short of it is that all this now gives history buffs a good reason to head down to the Caribbean. And to do so quickly, because February 22 is Da Wash's birthday, and admission to the new Washington museum will be half-price. They will also have birthday cake and songs may be sung, especially when the rum gets broken out, as you know it will.

I cannot tell a lie, that sounds like a pretty good time.

Hopeful fans of Trinidad & Tobago's Soca Warriors raced over to Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup games and returned without a cup, but with more determination than ever for the next installment in 2010. In the meantime they get to lounge lazily on their sister islands whiling and liming away the day until the next big thing, which for Trinidad is never too long of a wait.

Sports fans can continue to cheer and root for their favorite country team during the 2007 Cricket World Cup games being held for the first time ever all over the Caribbean. Trinidad & Tobago is only one set of islands playing host and Virgin Holidays is offering packages to get you there. The matches are being held in March and April of 2007 and packages are going fast. See Virgin Holidays for more details on getting you to unspoiled West Indian beaches, then visit their partner Cavendish Hospitality to find match tickets. Other islands hosting the games include Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua, Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Kitts. St. Vincent and Guyana will also host games, but it doesn't look as if Virgin Holidays will be offering packages to vaca in these two tropical countries.

Let the games begin, again!

Sit listening to my music collection on party shuffle  for an hour and you'll find I'm all for jarring sound transitions. Follow me closely here. Music is about movement. It's about the flowing, swaying, and gyrating movement of bodies rocking harmoniously on packed dancehall floors in places with little ventilation. Sometimes it's sudden and spur of the moment while others it's calculated. Most of us find music takes away in the comfort of our homes allowing our limbs the freedom to burst out in the most unlikely body gestures and some will set adrift to discover music exotic places. I'm for the later idea.

Here's a few of my own top music picks to help you skip to the islands this summer including concert and festival happenings around the area:

5. Sail to: Portugal's Azores islands, Europe
When: July & August - several music events happening throughout the islands.
Song: Island of Wonder - Nelly Furtado (album: Folklore)

4. Sail to: Barbados, West Indies
When: July & August - for the island's popular five-week Crop Over festival with origins tracing back to the 1780's.
Song: A Girl Like Me - Rihanna (album: A Girl Like Me)

3. Sail to: Oahu, Hawaii
When: August 4-5, 2006 - 13th Annual Hawaiian International Jazz Festival.
Song: Moana Chimes - Jon Brion (album: Punch Drunk Love sdtk)

2. Sail to: Ibiza, Spain
When: July & August - Clubs and clubs galore! Dance in the day or dance at night. If you're a bit on the mellow side, lay out in the sun at Playa de Ses Salines where DJ is sure to be spinning a record or more.
Song: Wake Up With Me - Be Noir (album: Undiscovered Ibiza)

1. Sail to: Jamaica, West Indies
When: August 3-6, 2006 - The world's greatest Reggae festival, Reggae Sunsplash, returns and the roster looks as promising as ever.  What better island to be jammin' on than Jamaica?
Song: Sun is Shining - Bob Marley & the Wailers (album: Kaya)

Every little Caribbean island should have a blog like this one on Barbados. I'd take up the task of exploring and blogging about each myself, if I had the time and money, but for now we can rely on the good old tourism bureaus to point us to over packed tourists spots and people like Linda, who point us in the opposite. Well okay, Linda isn't exactly pointing us to dark, unwelcoming, roads off the beaten track, but she sure does have a good bird's eye view of everything happening on in Barbados. Most recent posts include celebrity gossip bits on Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards, new cell phone regulations, the upcoming jazz festival in addition to several guest house and hotel recommendations. This blog appears to be updated on a regular basis, so it's worth book marking if you plan on spending your next holiday in Barbados.

Our Divester friends are always writing about destinations around the world that are ideal for diving, and usually great places to visit whether you are into scuba or not. Willy Volk posted two items of interest in the past week that I thought might be particularly useful to Gadling readers. First, Willy provides an in-depth description of what to do when diving is not an option in Key West. From fruity drinks to fine dining, neighborhood walks, museum visits and ghost tours too, Willy gives great details about the pubs, restaurants, accommodations and attractions that he and his wife enjoyed on their southern Florida weekend getaway. In another post, Willy points us to a list that may interest those looking to plan vacations in the Caribbean this winter. Child Magazine's Ten Best Caribbean Resorts for Families is a helpful guide to kid-friendly hotels in Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and Bahamas, to name a few.

Talk about a downer. Imagine heading out for ten fun days in the sun and instead you find yourself locked in a basement without food or water. That's what apparently happened to a pair of American tourists from Chicago whose trip to Barbados didn't go quite as nicely as they'd planned.

Jonathan Foley and his wife, Tara Gruber, thought they'd be good to go on their trip to Barbados, and booked via hotels.com. They said they did the research and learned that you don't need passports to go to Barbados. Apparently that is not the case. You see, Barbados changed that law last year. So they got there and were dumped in a basement of an old house while they waited for thing to get sorted out.

I just had lunch with a colleague who was asking me to recommend a good locale for a short winter vacation in a warm, sunny place. With islands on my mind, I returned from lunch to find this great piece in the UK Sunday Times that profiles five Caribbean gems. These tiny islands don't get nearly as much fanfare as places like Aruba, Barbados or Jamaica, but they should not be overlooked when trying to choose the right warm weather escape. I've never even heard of Bequia before (it's part if the Grenadines) but I can vouch that Tobago is a beauty - my brother went there for his honeymoon earlier this year and had an amazing time snorkling, sleeping and sunning. The article includes nice pro/con reviews of each island, accomodation and tour suggestions for January, plus basic travel info to/from the UK. Should be useful to anyone looking to get away this winter.