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ONE THOUSAND FEET ABOVE CROMWELL, Conn. -- On a picture-perfect Thursday morning, were flying high above TPC River Highlands, site of this weeks Travelers Championship, when my reporters intuition kicks in.Terry Dillard, pilot for the Snoopy 1 Airship -- better known as one of only 22 blimps in the world -- is coolly navigating through the Connecticut sky while discussing how he and the other members of the 15-person crew work year-round, as he spends six-hour shifts hovering over golf courses to produce the camera angles nobody else can get, when I blurt out my next in a long line of questions.So, um, wheres the bathroom in this thing?Were seated in whats referred to as the gondola, the small cockpit structure which sits underneath $80,000 of helium. Dillard is sitting in the pilots station, which is in the front left of the enclosed space, just like the drivers seat of a car.Using foot pedals to determine the speed, which maxes out at about 25 mph, and wheels on each side of his seat which resemble those of a wheelchair in order to steer, he offers a hearty laugh at the question. Surely there are moments when life piloting the blimp can become stressful. This isnt one of them.On a scale of 1-10, he says, today is an 11 as far as it being a perfect day to fly.Dillard, 61, has been piloting blimps for 26 years. Sporting a shaved head and salt-and-pepper Fu Manchu, he has the physical characteristics of a dude you dont want to mess with, but is perpetually affable and not often at a loss for words.There are a few, though, that he refuses to use.In our industry, we dont blow up; we inflate, he explains. We also dont use the D word; we dont deflate.The Snoopy 1 Airship stays inflated while the crew travels from tournament to tournament, Dillard through the air and others on the ground, never more than 30 miles away from each other.It might not be the quickest way to get around, but its absolutely the most scenic.Ive seen every inch of the United States of America, Dillard likes to say, at 25 mph.Hes also seen some of the best -- and worst -- golf shots at professional events from 1,000 feet above the fairways and greens.During the broadcast window, there is a cameraman seated behind Dillard, who controls the exact aerial video shown on your TV, but just like a player and caddie, one cant do his job without the other.The similarities dont end there.The worst type of weather for flying a blimp is heavy wind and thunderstorms, which arent exactly golfers favorites. And the relationship is symbiotic; while the pilot and cameraman use whats happening below them to help tell the story to viewers, the players will look above to assist with their jobs.The players use us, says Dillard. They look at the blimp to see which way the wind is blowing. If its a tailwind, theyll club down; if its a headwind, theyll club up. Theyll say, Look at the blimp and trust your club.Dillard insists that he can identify players from his catbird seat. I look down on the early first round of the Travelers Championship and think I spot Vijay Singh -- or maybe thats Ernie Els. Spotting pros must be a learned trait from up here.Theres more to this gig than just flying around and checking out players. A director in the production truck will ask Dillard to find a specific shot. He must maneuver the blimp into the best position for his cameraman to catch the flight of the ball, while keeping his shadow out of the shot.He admits hes biased, but contends that an event without any camera angles from a blimp loses something in the translation to television.When youre watching a tournament and you dont have a blimp there, its pretty dang boring, he says. There are just some shots you cant see from the ground.We take another quick spin above TPC River Highlands, then Dillard starts the scenic route back, over the Connecticut River and past downtown Hartford. He has to get to work soon, maneuvering Snoopy 1 through the sky on this 11 day on a scale of 1-10.Youll know his work when you see it. When a player hits a towering approach over some tall trees to tap-in birdie range or mishits a drive so offline that it cant be trailed from ground level, that will be Dillard, positioning the blimp into a place where he and the cameraman can best help tell the story.Its a pretty sweet ride up there. If you ever get the chance, enjoy the scenic view in any direction and dont be afraid to put your hand out the window and feel the summer air against it.Oh, and theres one other thing: After Dillard laughed to my question about the bathroom, he finally offered an answer.All Ill say is that you probably dont want to touch the empty Gatorade bottle behind the pilots station. Wholesale Basketball Shoes Shop . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. 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NEW YORK -- Ayesha Curry remembers the first meal she cooked for her ultra-popular NBA player-husband Stephen Curry: a baked chicken dish. But the meal Stephen whipped up for his chef-wife wasnt as tasty.Or edible.The one time he cooked for me, it was awful. It was salty, cream of wheat, gushers lined up on a plate as garnish, Ayesha, 27, said in an interview Tuesday. It was cute, but I couldnt eat it.Ayesha said the Golden State Warriors point guard loved the first meal she made, which included his dads famous seasoning.So maybe thats the reason why were still married, she laughed. I dont know. I hope its more than that.Food has played a large part in the familys life -- and Ayeshas career. She just launched her first cookbook, The Seasoned Life (Little, Brown and Co.), and she cooks all the meals for her family -- including daughters Riley, 4, and Ryan, 1 -- without the help of a chef.No discredit to the people that do -- Im always watching and looking on social media at the stuff that they make -- but at home I think Im so prideful with my food and so I make everything, she said.For the book, she also worked independently: I food styled and cooked all the food for the photos myself, so it was just the photographer and I.Ayesha says the recipes are quick, easy and accessible. Some reflect her multicultural background -- her mother is Jamaican and Chinese and her father is black and Polish.Its a big part of the way I cook, the way I flavor my food, and I think it helped me growing up to be able to play around with my food and experiment, she said.Ayesha said she turned to food professionally after starting her cooking blog.Some of the standouts in her book include her Mama Alexanders brown sugar chicken, Stephens five-ingredient pasta (for game days) and her honey-peppered cast-iron biscuits. She came up with her pancrepes by accident.I just threw stuff together, put it in a pan and then realized I left out the thickening agent, what was going to fluff that pancake up, and it was the consistenccy of a crepe, but they were so delicious, she said.dddddddddddd The whole family loves them. Theyre great. Its my happy accident.She says she enjoys cooking with her daughters, and getting Riley involved has helped expand her palette: The way that I get her to try stuff is by making it with me because then shes seeing whats going into (it) ... and shes feeling like shes accomplished something.Rileys become a social media star, garnering attention at her fathers basketball games, press conferences and more. Ayesha said its hard to deal with her daughters popularity.Its a little bit intimidating I think as a mom, a little bit scary `cause the intentions werent there for that to happen, but weve kind of taken it on and taken it for what it is because if you have a gift to make people happy the way that shes made people happy, I mean thats OK, Ayesha said. She puts a smile on peoples faces so were all right with it.Fame has also impacted Ayesha, who, while being a fan-favorite, has taken some criticism. Her angry Twitter rant earlier this year following a Warriors loss during the finals made her a target (she later apologized). And her wholesome image, while being lauded by some, has caused others to use her photos as memes with a holier-than-thou image.I think its silly. Its so funny how your personality and character can be shaped by other people and not yourself, and I would just like to say nobodys perfect. Im completely normal, she said.Shes hoping that her new cooking show, Ayeshas Homemade, will help deliver her true personality. It premieres Oct. 22 on the Food Network and was filmed at the Currys home in Alamo, California.I tend to be supergoofy and that will come off on the show, she said. Im just excited for people to see that I dont take things so seriously -- lifes too short, so weve got to have fun and make things easy.----Online:http://www.ayeshacurry.com/ ' ' '