Hi Sebastian (and the group)!
Hi Patrick, first like the others, I would like to thank you for helping me out tremendously in achieving VUCC on satellites, even though I still haven't contacted a card checker to actually get the award.
Thanks, and also thanks to the others who posted here and sent me directly messages congratulating me on this award.
I'm with you... I could apply for VUCC, but have been putting it off for some time. First it was "I'm over 100 grids confirmed, I'll wait until I reach 125 to apply". Then I decided to wait until I reached 150, 200, 250, and now I think I will wait to reach 300 grids confirmed before applying. No matter when I do that, it will be a fair amount of work to get the cards sorted and then listed on the paperwork - followed by finding a card checker with little or nothing to do on a Saturday. :-)
For me though, the way things are, it looks like I'll be able to work the 49 states, but Hawaii is impossible at this time due to my location in south Florida.
For many east of the Rockies, AO-7 would be - and has been - the only way to get Hawaii via satellite.
One thing that concerns me is what in the world do you plan to do when you retire? I don't know your age, but at this rate, I think you will have seen just about every grid in the states. I think you once told me you knew another language or two, other than Spanish - you might have to learn Chinese so you can retire over there. After all, they have a huge country, and a lot of grids!
Retirement is not on the radar right now. As for visiting all the grids in the US, I think there are a few who are way ahead of me (N5AFV and WI7P, ex-N7SFI, are certainly well out in front there).
Hope to hear you on again, soon.
73!
Patrick WD9EWK/VA7EWK http://www.wd9ewk.net/