Day 20 - Back Home

First, I really enjoyed the Chorus finals on Saturday - - lots of creativity and beautiful harmonies, but in particular I agree with the judges choice for #1 International Champions, congratulations to Lori Lyford and the Scottsdale Chorus!

It was a perfect flight home, like 70 degrees at 10,500 ft, no headwind so I was moving along at a good speed, plus it was Sunday and they cleared me to cross directly over Edwards Air Force Base, which is a cool shortcut and saves gas.

I keep meaning to take a picture of the view while I'm landing the plane but somehow I'm always too busy doing something critical to pause and take a picture.  Today was no exception.   But I did get a picture of how San Jose and the San Francisco peninsula looks as I approach from the south.  (see below)

The welcoming committee, as I taxied to my hangar, was one of the mechanics from the Sheriff's Air Squadron, working in the hangar next to mine.  He had heard through the grapevine about my trip and came out to give me a big hug.

As I cleared my (possibly excessive) belongings from the plane I felt lots of conflicting emotions.   Happiness that I really managed to live out my dream trip.   Humbled and grateful for the warmth and friendliness of so many wonderful Sweet Adelines I met.   Pride that my flying abilities had not only held up to the challenge, but grown stronger.   Love of this fast docile sexy airplane that thrives as a travel machine.  Validation that I still have the skills to take on a major challenge at the age of 62.  And a little nostalgia, because it's all over.

What is your dream?   How would it change you to achieve your dream?  All the obligations I had, I just left them, and decided they would wait.  And they did wait.   Go ahead, be that person, do that thing, you dream about.   Don't wait until it's a regret.

With love,
Randy

San Francisco Bay Area, as seen from the south, at 10,500ft.

Day 19 - Las Vegas, Baby!

Reached Las Vegas around 11:10 am after an uneventful flight.   

I was excited to get the chance to meet Beth Rooney, a Sweet Adeline from Valley Forge Chorus, who wrote to me a month ago that she was a retired Navy pilot and one of the first women that the Navy trained.  Both of us had the same aspirations back then, we both wanted to be astronauts.  I was unable to fit Valley Forge Chorus into my itinerary so we tentatively planned to meet in Vegas. 

Beth, of course has thousands of hours of flying time, including jets, but has not flown in many years.   She texted me on Friday offering her car, so on Saturday she met me at North Las Vegas airport and we talked airplanes, she sat in my airplane and then gave me a ride to the MGM Grand.  Her family has barbershop background but she has only been an Adeline for 2 years.    I really hope she gets back into flying!

It was fun to watch the chorus final competition, and I ran into some of the gals from Topeka Acapella, as well as, of course, the contingent from my chorus the SF SoundWave.   I was hoping to post a picture of all of us together however I was tired and forgot, and now they're out partying and I'm in my hotel room yawning.   

Tomorrow I fly home to San Carlos.   It's been quite a trip - - a once in a lifetime experience - - and I haven't processed all of it yet.  If any of you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.  Tomorrow or Monday I'll gather my thoughts and finish the trip blog.   Thank you for traveling with me.   Hugs to all!

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon

Day 18 - NOT Las Vegas

Grrr ..  12 noon and it's cold here in Amarillo.  Still very low clouds over most of my route.  Low clouds and high mountains are not a good mix, if you know what I mean.   Waiting until 1:30pm to decide where to go - - might have to overnight in New Mexico, if I can even get to New Mexico!

Talked to Flight Service weather briefer...Amarillo will clear by 3pm but not necessarily points west, and there's deep fog predicted for tomorrow too.   What?  I might not be able to travel tomorrow?   I've already missed the quartet finals an I going to miss the chorus, too?

The briefer explains that the Amarillo weather, which extends into New Mexico, is usually worse than dry sunny Albuquerque, just over the mountains to the west.    Half the airports on my route show low broken clouds, but Albuquerque is reporting scattered clouds at 11,000.  I gnash my teeth are wait another half hour.   It's getting late now, sunset is 6:19 - - I don't want to be flying in the mountains after sunset!  I don't want to wait another day, or two, or three ....  So I decide to stop looking at weather on the computer, and jump in the plane and take a look from the air.

Hmm...Not my usual kind of weather but not 100% stupid.  Scattered clouds at 5,000 ft, scattered to broken at 12,000.  I climb above the clouds to 8,500 ft.   I'm in between but I know the low clouds will get higher as I head towards the mountains.  I can always turn back... let's go see what happens.  It's 100% legal if I can maintain prescribed clearance from the clouds, and I am not being a total idiot if I can see the ground, albeit quite dark, below me 90% of the time.

I radio the air traffic folks (ATC) and explain I won't be traveling in a straight line and I won't be staying at one altitude  and I need to avoid all the mountains, but I want to go to Albuquerque.  They say OK and pretty much give me carte blanche for the trip.

There should have been suspenseful music playing on this trip.. I mean I could always see the ground, and I maintained legal separation from clouds but if I had left a trail of crumbs in the sky it would have looked like a drunken stagger.     

I took a picture when I crossed over the mountains from the panhandle area to the Albuquerque area.  You'll see what I mean.  If suspenseful music HAD been playing this would have been the point where the entire orchestra transcends into heroic major chords

I landed at Double Eagle airport just to the west of Albuquerque and almost hugged the guys who met my plane on the ramp. Unfortunately all hotel rooms were booked due to a balloon festival, so with an eye towards the sunset, I climbed back into the plane and flew another 55 miles west to Grants airport, landing as the last vestiges of pink disappeared from the horizon.  

Like Kimball Nebraska, no one was there - -  but the office was open so I went in and turned on the lights.  I called the phone number on the whiteboard and a delightfully amiable airport manager told me where the keys to the courtesy car were, and the best place to eat dinner (the Wow Diner).  

I'm sitting now in the Wow diner right now. Eating delicious Cuban pot roast, and thinking how much I stretched my brain today.  I was out of my comfort zone.  I feel older, and younger at the same time.  It was bold but not stupid.  Unforgettable.

Updated map:  https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zQV_WmsNeAbIoBDiw53rsSCRVbo
Today's pictures:  https://goo.gl/photos/Hf3QLV6r8y4fti7AA
Panhandle weather on the left, Albuquerque weather on the right ....  see what I mean?

Day 17 - Bentonville to Amarillo, Palo Duro Metro Chorus

More Weather!!!  

With thunderstorms moving through central Texas I sent my regrets to Note-Ably, (great name), in Allen Texas, especially as they have a bass who is also a pilot!!!!   Must get back there to meet her!

It looked like just the northernmost tip of the storm would touch Amarillo, possibly just for half a day.  So going north was a better choice if I wanted to make it to the quartet finals on Friday in Las Vegas.

The Linda Denny Executive Chauffeur Service dropped me at the airport and I was on my way by 10:15am.  Flight was smooth and pleasant but as I landed in Amarillo I saw those dark clouds rolling in and as I checked into my motel the heavens opened and a deluge hit.  Yes, my California friends, it was beautiful.  :-)     Here are photos from today:  https://goo.gl/photos/9hpaDmPsSo39Xs7E9

Arriving early gave me time to catch up on accounting duties, wash hair, and still make it to the Palo Duro Metro Chorus rehearsal by 5:30 pm.

When I arrived they were donning costumes for their upcoming show October 17th - - they were doing a dress rehearsal for the show!   I felt like I had hit the jackpot - - they did the entire run through and I had a front row seat!   Better than that, when they started 59th Street Bridge / Feelin' Groovy I couldn't resist and I ran up and joined the chorus.  Also I admit, when they did Lollipop Lollipop I added my signature "mouth pop" - - that's something I do with my home chorus.

The show had a nice variety of different size groups, different types of arrangements, two videos, a guest appearance by Elvis, trivia quizzes and more.  I have no doubt that the audience will be thoroughly charmed, entertained, and get more than their money's worth.

In some ways Palo Duro Metro felt a little bit like my home chorus to me.  They frequently perform parodies, and in 2015 won the audience choice award in Region 25.   They loved my chorus competition photos, and almost offered me a full set of prison suits if we should ever need them.  (Hmmm....)   Thank you Emadene Gerhardt for coordinating my visit, and thank you Palo Duro co-directors Julie McCune and Dee Thomas.

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.   Tomorrow I head to Las Vegas, and after that, home.   I loved singing with choruses around the United States but I miss my family, the Sound Wave, my Love Handles quartet, and the blue skies of California.     This grand adventure has almost come to an end.  How appropriate that the last chorus I will sing with, on this trip, has such a kindred spirit to my chorus at home.    <3

Watch for two more blog installments, Las Vegas, and San Carlos...

Day 16 - Smyrna to Bentonville - ArkApella Chorus

Today I flew from Smyrna to Bentonville.  It was not a pleasant flight.  There were low clouds along the route so I could not fly as high as usual, which slowed me down, and made it bumpy.  To add insult to injury it seemed like there were dozens of fires down below as farmers cleared their fields and the acrid smoke not only permeated the air in the cockpit, but also reduced visibility below 5 miles in many places.   When you're moving more than 2 miles every minute you'd really like to be able to see at least 5 miles ahead.

I was glad to arrive in Bentonville, and even gladder when I saw Linda Denny eagerly waiting for me at the small terminal building.

Bentonville, Arkansas is famous.
Bentonville is the tenth largest city in Arkansas, and boasts the headquarters and first store of the world's largest retailer, Walmart.  There's even a WalMart museum, fronted by the original 5-10 cent store Walton's (see pictures https://goo.gl/photos/NJq8vgm9D9m5Cn7K8) where toys and drug store items of the past are sold.

But if you're a Sweet Adeline, Bentonville is famous as the home of ArkApella, 2014's most improved chorus in Region 25, "Heart of America".   Web and Social Media manager Linda Denny wrote to me and invited me to visit and I couldn't resist.

Headed up by two year director Prudence Hagan, this small chorus is way up in the north west corner of Arkansas, one of the few states I have never visited.  Would they want to talk about Hillary Clinton?   Thankfully we did not discuss politics.   But we DID do a lot of talking, eating, and even some singing.  It's kind of fun when you all know the same song but sing it differently... singing Ain't He Sweet and in the back of my mind I'm thinking  Oh-theyBreatheHere -Ooh-fasterHere -I'mSlidingYou'reNot- NiceDynamics.  I like their interpretation!

The chorus had planned a lovely party for me.   The prior week.  So I missed my party.  They reportedly had a good time (without me) and the restaurant complimented the group on their singing. Chalk this one up to Hurricane Joaquin.  Still we managed to enjoy time together, and I found them genuinely warm and lovely people, as befits the Heartland of America, they definitely had hearts in harmony.

ArkApella

Day 15 - Hanover to Smyrna - Metro Nashville Chorus

The clouds parted and the sun shone brightly in Hanover, Va., as I departed with a wing wave to Karen Davis of Greater Richmond Chorus, and the fine folks at HOVA Flight Services who found a spot in their hangar for my plane during the worst of the storm.

After a pleasant, smooth, scenic, three hour trip I landed at Smyrna Airport, just south of Nashville, Tennessee, hoping to spend some time with Metro Nashville Chorus.  Their director, Kim Wonders, is part of the SAI International Faculty and was chosen to host the Harmony Classic webcast, so there was no rehearsal.  Instead, about a dozen of the group were having a webcast watching party and in true SAI hospitality fashion, they invited me to join them.

Metro Nashville has won a long list of accolades at the Harmony Classic, achieving International First Place in both small and mid-size chorus during the past 15 years - - and the group knew way more of the songs that were performed than I did.   They were proud that their director, Kim, was hosting the webcast - - and in her honor they had, well, ... her head ... mounted on a pole ... which was utilized multiple times during the webcast.  Hmm.  

For this group, the highlight of the webcast was when Kim said Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper.  For SAI it was the $300 we collectively donated to the webcast.  For me, it was listening to them sing two of their repertoire songs for me, and then singing tags with them.   Beautiful voices, blend, songs!  Thank you Metro Nashville for your hospitality!!!

Days 12-14 - - Weather Delays and Washington, DC

Low clouds and rain have been relentless along my route, so I hunkered down and stayed grounded.     This turned out to be a good opportunity to cross ANOTHER item off my bucket list, that is, visiting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

I was in the museum way way back in 1976 before it opened, as an engineer I helped install the cold water pumping system.  There were a few planes that had already been hung but not many.  

The museum has become legendary among aviators as a Do Not Miss attraction, especially since Space Shuttle Discovery had become an attraction at their secondary site in Chantilly, Virginia.  They say every problem is an opportunity, and my inability to depart safely became an opportunity to finally visit this spectacular aviation museum.   I LOVED IT!    Here are a few pictures:  https://goo.gl/photos/QA3Wi9RWruRkgDYb8

My journeys are now scheduled to resume on Tuesday October 6th, when I'll begin the trek west.   There is a weather system moving through the southwest next week and that may or may not delay me.  It's nowhere near the size of the weather system that is parked over Virginia right now.

If all works well I'll meet up with two more Choruses along the way, and then end up in Las Vegas for the Quartet and Chorus finals starting Friday October 9. In some ways it seems fitting for me to "come to Mecca" at the International.

Thank you all for joining me on my journey.   To be continued ...  !!!

Day 11 - Virginia Coast Chorus

The weather delay gave me the opportunity to sing with the ladies at Virginia Coast Chorus.  They, too, have a show coming up, and ran through a lot of songs in what seemed like a very short time.  I learned more choreography, sigh, and a different interpretation of Jingle Bell Rock.   Very cool.

Director Cheri Danner runs a tight ship and these gals get a lot done!  I enjoyed the double quartet on the floor opportunity; it's always helpful to me to get off the risers and hear differently.   My thanks to Carey for the invitation.

And now, for the latest weather report.  Not good at all.  Hurricane Joaquin coming?  Hurricane?  We don't have these in California!!!  Give me something I know and love, like an earthquake.  :-)

So I'm taking the safe course of action and sitting tight for now.  If you don't hear from me for a few days don't worry, I'm probably sitting with my feet up enjoying a latte or eggs and scrapple.   

Thank you all for your safe wishes.  Safe is not always the fastest course and this is definitely one of those situations!   Stay tuned.  Hugs to all.

Days 8 & 9 - Wedding / Family / Copilot

The wedding was lovely and windy as the weather front moved in.  The bride was confident and beautiful, the groom suave and calm, the parents only slightly frazzled.  My 91 (?) year old great aunt is still a joy to chat with, sharp, witty and totally in command at all times.  My sister, brother and I enjoyed reminiscing with relatives. We devoured the delicious food and drink!!! It was a delightful experience, but my eyes were always on the sky.

Clouds, wind and rain are forecast for the Richmond area all this week. The original plan was to sing with the Greater Richmond Chorus on Monday night and depart for the west the next morning.  If Tuesday is inclement, Plan B is to sing Tuesday night with Vienna Falls and depart Wednesday.  It all depends on the weather.  Isolated passing showers is not a total deterrent,  I just need a modest safe sunny path to better weather!   Driving down to Richmond today I passed three such opportunities, so there is hope.

I'm really looking forward to singing with Greater Richmond tonight.  The chorus is much larger than my home group and I expect to be feeling massive harmonious vibrations from all around me!

My journey so far has been solo, not because that was my first choice but because husband is to tall to spend more than two hours in this plane, kids are working, my chorus was performing on a Broadway venue stage, etc, etc, etc.

I had a friend and fellow Lions club member, retired United Airlines pilot Walter, who was quite interested in joining me but for various reasons he bowed out, with regrets, a week before my departure.

Undeterred I elected to fly solo.  It's actually been kind of nice.  I can arrange all my various stuff wherever I want, and I can really concentrate on the job of flying.  But it would kind of be nice to share this once-in-a-lifetime experience so I opened up right seat to several people who have flown with me recently, and I got a taker for the return journey, another semi retired Lion Mike G.

I noticed, he didn't volunteer for eastbound, only westbound.  Hmmm.  Perhaps he wanted to see if I could find my way to the east coast before he took a chance.  Mike has done some flying so that's very helpful.  When he volunteered I called his wife to find out if he was serious and if she was okay with all this!!  Anyway here's joining me on Tuesday so you may hear about him from time to time.

Next post - Greater Richmond!

Day 10 - Greater Richmond Chorus

All the way across the USA there is a chorus that totally rocks.  I always thought the big choruses would be less tight, more women could mean more opportunities for cliques, or less likelihood that they would know each other very well, but GRC, as they call themselves, breaks all my preconcieved notions.  

At sixty plus members they are just barely large, but even so, these gals are of one mind behind director, Vera Crouse.  She doesn't seem to need to explain anything.   Maybe it's telepathy.  She makes a gesture or says two words and everyone is instantly there.   They clearly LOVE their director, and she loves them.  

The visit started with food...always a good sign ... and a lot of good natured ribbing between the ladies.  At the rehearsal hall they were all ready for me, the whole front row was wearing aviator scarves and goggles / sunglasses!!!  See picture below.  (Better picture coming....having technology issues)

After running through some of the songs for their upcoming church performance, we moved into their competition set.  After that was a choreo rehearsal and I stepped out to watch.  I'm kind of bummed that their regional contest is not webcast.  I would definitely pay to see them perform.  

After the rehearsal, more food, and cameraderie. This chorus is tight, their sound is tight, and you can feel the shared joy.  Grateful thanks to All of the GRC ladies, and especially Karen and Phyllis, who offered her lovely house, two dogs, and 4? cats, and apple raisin bread (yum).

Picked up copilot Mike and we headed to the airport to check everything was okay with my plane.  All systems go, except the weather.  Humph.  Looks like Thursday or Friday departure.  Hey, that means I can sing with another chorus!   Awesome!

Day 7 - Kent to Richmond Virginia (Hanover Field)

As of today I have been traveling for a week.   What a wonderful week it has been!  What an adventure!   

As I mentioned yesterday, I decided to change my flight plans due to a slow moving tropical storm affecting the southeast (see picture below).   I chose to fly to Hanover Field in Richmond, Va, directly rather than going to Wildwood NJ where the wedding would be.  I can easily drive to Wildwood, NJ - - places are a lot closer together on the East Coast than the West Coast - - and then come back to Richmond, and attend rehearsal Monday night with the Greater Richmond Chorus.

I know from California you can get stuck at a coastal airport, like Wildwood, due to coastal weather phenomena like fog.   And the visit of the Pope means that there are significant "no fly" zones that I would have needed to circumnavigate flying in and out of Wildwood, meaning I have less choices of route in case of cloudy locations.

I am a VFR pilot - - I do not fly in bad weather.  I did take the training and passed the written exam for Instrument Pilot, but then life intervened and I never took the flying test.  I don't miss it in the least.  My idea of flying is blue skies and unlimited horizons.   

When I was younger I was a little more daring, in fact my first airplane was outfitted for aerobatics and I was accomplished at the basic maneuvers, loops, rolls, spins, hammerheads, etc.  Tremendous fun!  But the concept of flying into a cloud never really appealed to me.   What if you have engine trouble and you have to look for a place to land, real quick?  As much as I trust my airplane, why take the chance?

The flight to Hanover Field was uneventful, blue skies and sun, but in the distance I could see that tropical storm creeping towards us.   Nice surprise at the airport, Karen Davis of the Greater Richmond Chorus was snapping pictures of my plane as I rolled into the parking lot.  Karen is an independent journalist who may do a story on my trip around the USA.  That would be cool!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday are wedding / family related and I may not be posting.  I am keeping a close watch on the weather.   Monday night I sing with the Greater Richmond Chorus.  My planned departure is Tuesday, but if weather has not cleared by then I 'll stay until Wednesday and that gives me a chance to sing Tuesday night with the Virginia Coast Chorus - - win win!   

Thank you all for following my travels.   Your comments are very welcome.

Day 6 - Middletown to Kent State

Hi there - -
Vivacious Tonda took me to the airport in Middletown and we met up with two women pilots and I think she recruited one of them for her chorus!  Either that or the instructor pilot recruited Tonda to take flying lessons.  I'm not sure.  :-)

The day was clear and there were jump planes taking off every 15 minutes and parachutists dropping all around me ... the folks at the FBO kept trying to get me to try jumping and I said NO WAY.   Jump out of a perfectly good airplane?  My bucket list is already crazy, don't need more crazy....

After a quick 90 minutes flight I was in Kent, Ohio, at an airport run by Kent State University -- yes, THE Kent State University.  My friend Craig is a music education professor and his spouse is a professor in Vocal studies.  They had all kinds of surprise activities planned for me, including a PVI if I wanted it (I did) but unfortunately ... it looked like the weather on the eastern seaboard was deteriorating.   I made the decision to spend only one night with them and depart Thursday morning. I also made the decision to fly directly to Richmond VA and drive to the family wedding.

I did have the chance to hear them rehearse their upcoming concert of medieval music, which was very cool ... and to visit the May 4 Memorial at Kent State.

Most of us were around and remember that President Nixon, after promising to withdraw from Vietnam, actually began bombing Cambodia.  When he revealed the deception, anti-war protests broke out all over the United States.

At Kent State University, the governor of Ohio ordered National Guard soldiers to the campus to assist in dealing with the angry students and on May 4, 1970 the Guard opened fire on Kent State University Students, killing four and wounding nine.  They have a compelling and absorbing memorial exhibit and I took a few pictures for your edification ... plus there is of course me again.  (again!)  https://goo.gl/photos/gE5F16RiXR5LQJcU9

Day 5 - Topeka to Middletown - Diamond Jubilee Chorus

The next flight leg was to Middletown Ohio to visit Jean Barford's Diamond Jubilee Chorus.

Initially I was dodging scattered clouds but after I passed over the Mississippi the skies cleared and I noticed it was time for lunch.  I had to create my own tray table.  :-)   Passing over Indianapolis I picked up several large liquid bugs on my windshield - remember - no wipers.... (Bugs over a mile high?  Remind me never to visit Indianapolis).   Uneventful flight.   Photos:  https://goo.gl/photos/fyRJDjk4UPoqCyff8

Tuesday night the Diamond Jubilee Chorus meets in rented space at a local mall.  They have quite a setup with an office for the Director, and separate rehearsal rooms labeled "Leads" "Basses" etc.  In the large storefront space are both risers and a set of chairs in orchestra arrangement around a keyboard.  This might be the nicest rehearsal space I see on the whole trip!

My hostess Rochelle and fellow lead, Tonda, were the welcoming committee, picking me up at the airport and chauffeuring me to the hotel, the rehearsal, a light meal after the rehearsal, back to my hotel, and this morning, to the airport.

I was keen to rehearse with Jean - - she is legendary!  And I was not disappointed.  She has a great ear, and instinctively zeros in on the right interpretation.  Diamond Jubilee also has a show this fall, November 14, so we ran through some show music and then started working on choreography, admittedly, not my favorite subject.  It was a long night for the chorus, with pre-rehearsals for double quartets working on show music, and then warmups, working on songs, and then an hour of choreography, and more songs, but the reward was the meal and socializing with Rochelle and Tonda and a few others afterwards.   It was a long day, and I was pretty tired, and dozed off at my computer before I could finish the blog.   

Wednesday is a rest day - I have a short flight to Kent Ohio where I'll stay with friend Craig Resta, see this famous university, and get a chance to do my laundry!

  

Day 4 - Topeka Acapella Unlimited

Spent a delightful day in Topeka starting with a trip to the Topeka Library which is a destination all by itself.   There were multiple archways leading to spacious corridors heading to intriguing rooms - - I felt I could have spent the day there.  And if the library building with classrooms and reading rooms and children's rooms and meeting rooms were not enough...   they have outreach programs with book lockers at grocery markets, as well as bookmobiles.   I did several days worth of flight planning, and then spent the day sightseeing.

.I learned that Topeka is famous for many things - - including Brown vs Board of Education, Westboro Baptist Church, and the Equality House across the street.  I saw beautiful houses on lush green streets, immaculate parks and lots of enticing municipal facilities, including a municipal university (!), an aquatic center with water slides, a zoo, an impressive small scale train that runs a mile long course throughout Gage park, and a carousel.   And families with one moderate income can afford to buy a nice house.    Here are some pictures:  https://goo.gl/photos/fBhshpPicAg3mRZ38

This evening was my first chorus rehearsal of the trip, with Topeka Acapella Unlimited.  What fun!  Susan Ives is over the top energetic and it is reflected in her chorus, who can deliver impressive crisp uptune lyrics in tempo without stumbling.   They were rehearsing for their show and I sang bass and bari for different tunes.   At the end we all sang something I knew, which will be performed at their November 7 show, Can You Feel The Love Tonight.  After the rehearsal the ladies LOVED going through my SFSW competition photos from 2010-2015.

Today was cloudy, but it was not a flying day.  Tomorrow is forecast to be clear, and I'll be flying to Middletown Ohio.   I offered to carry notes to the Diamond Jubilee Chorus by "airmail" !!  Great day, great trip, wonderful welcoming Topeka.

Day 3 - Kimball Nebraska to Topeka Kansas

Started the day with an invigorating walk at 7:00 am.  48 degrees, sun shine, blue skies, and the peaceful quiet of a small town that is slowly waking up.   I had been wanting to video the long freight trains that endlessly rumble through Kimball so I kept close to the railroad tracks.   Sure enough within 15 minutes I was passed by a train with leading and trailing locomotives and 98 cars in between.  Reminded me of my training assignment as a containership stevedoring superintendent. Trains are a different world that takes special skills and I know nothing about it.

After another kindly ride to the airport by Chris, owner of Kimball Motel, I refueled my plane, and set off for Topeka Kansas, flight time 2 hrs 38 minutes.  The flight was pleasant, and uneventful.  Still haven't found my music player but instead connected my cell phone for music.  Random mix but somehow seemed very appropriate - - US Navy Glee Club singing America the Beautiful, as epic panoramas unfold outside my cockpit windows.

Airport pickup and dinner with Mary and Rhonda of Topeka Acapella Unlimited. They have many things in common with my home chorus in San Francisco (SFSW): They are 40 years old and preparing for a show in November celebrating music over the years (SFSW is 60 years old and also working on a show for November).  They don't believe in singing only barbershop arrangements.  And both choruses are about the same size.   The rehearsal tomorrow night is going to be fun!

Day 2 - Wendover, Nevada to Kimball, Nebraska

The flight today was the longest leg of the eastbound trip - 481nm (553 miles) and a planned duration of 3 hours and 15 minutes.  Ordinarily I would have left early, but the weather forecast for my destination, Kimball Nebraska, was extremely windy until late afternoon.  So I didn't depart until 10:45am which was a compromise.   As a result of departing that late I had 45 minutes of turbulence at the end of the trip but the landing at Kimball was uneventful.   I did a low pass to check out the landing strip, and then came back around and landed.  No one minded because No One Was There.

As you can see from the pictures, Kimball Nebraska, population 2500, has a nice clean well kept airport with quite inexpensive aviation fuel, but no people and no airplanes. https://goo.gl/photos/R4V3sfZjSXg2zGHT7   

They do have corn, growing across the street, and apparently they have missile silos.  A lot of them.  The big city park across the street from my motel has a decommissioned missile as the central monument.  No bronze soldiers on horses here - - And the Kimball Motel is just what I hoped for - - wonderful friendly owner who picked me up at the airport, and a comfortable room within walking distance of the center of the town.   One thing about flying - - when you get there (quickly) you are then walking (slowly).

Just a few words about SOME of what goes on in the cockpit during the flight, for those who are interested.  By the time I board the aircraft I have packed away all my bags, done a thorough walk around, checked the oil and gas, tires, landing gear and propeller.  In the seat next to me I have the flight plan, which for today, was Wendover to Bonneville to Cevar to Ogden to Evanston to Fort Bridger to Rock Springs to Medicine Bow to Kimball.  I have this printed out, and also loaded on my tablet navigation app, and loaded into the airplane GPS.  

In addition I have my headset, my cell phone, my spare batteries, sun glasses, reading glasses, snacks, water, pen and pencil, paper, usb cables, audio cable, music player, navigational charts, aircraft owner's manual, GPS reference manual, and napkins.  This trip I have an organizer that I'm hanging on the copilot seat to keep everything where I can find it, except at the end of the trip I dropped the music player under the seat somewhere so I need to find that tomorrow.

For 90% of the trip I am in contact with ATC.  I request traffic advisories along the route and they will tell me if there is another aircraft near me -- near both my position and my altitude.  That means listening to them talking to everyone, in case they talk to me.  ATC controllers just work a certain region of airspace, so every half hour or so they ask me to contact the next controller along my route.

Today I had the music player hooked into my headset, which is designed to mute the music whenever I am receiving or transmitting a call.  It was groovy and I enjoyed singing loudly in the cockpit where no one can hear me!

Periodically I stretch my legs, lift my bottom off the seat, yawn, twist around and then settle back down to music, the incredibly beautiful panorama, and my turkey jerky.  It's heaven!

Day 1 - San Carlos California to Wendover Nevada

Well, for various reasons I didn't get up in the air until after 11am.   My goal was a 9:30 am takeoff to avoid turbulence in Nevada, which is very common on warm afternoons.  However ...  there was almost no turbulence and the trip was lovely!   Caught a nice tail wind after passing Reno and cruised along first at 9500' and later,  at 11500' doing over 150 knots  (that's 172 mph).   

After a pleasant 3 hours, that seemed shorter, I landed in Wendover Nevada, a drinking and gambling destination for Utah folks.  Wendover is a former training airport for bomber pilots including those that flew Enola Gay.  They also have a small WWII museum. 

Here are pictures, one I snapped while departing the Bay Area, you can see San Francisco in the distance, a few over Lake Tahoe, some pictures of the desolation that is Nevada, a picture of Wendover Airport from the air, and some pictures of the historic displays.    https://goo.gl/photos/jMSrni71dtEBAeL99

I landed after a Lear Jet and in front of an MD-80.  The Lear jet was full of happy people heading for the Reno Air Races.   They bought a tank of fuel ($430!) and were back on their way.  So many nice people in the flying community. 

The Night Before ...

The weather looks great tomorrow.  Yay!

My chorus buddies gave me a bunch of hugs at rehearsal this evening.  They are such an awesome group of human beings.  I am delighted and honored to sing with them.

Discovered this morning that the airplane GPS needs a database update.  My partner John promises it will be done before tomorrow morning departure.

I was able to fix my battery powered aviation radio - - Yes I have a bunch of extra gear in case things go wrong, including aforementioned radio, a first aid kit, extra water, flashlight, etc etc etc.   

I swear, I have so many lists .... I need a list of the lists.

Booked my favorite flying instructor for a couple hours of chatting on Wednesday.  He went over my flight plans and suggested I shorten the two over water legs.  Sounds like a good idea.  

He also suggested I take the online course for flying in the Washington DC area even though my flight plans do not anticipate that need.   He's right.  If weather changes I may need to deviate and what the heck, the course takes only 45 minutes and I'm actually interested.   What DO I need to do to grab a picture of the White House without attracting the interest of the Air Force?

September 18 and 19 are the two highest altitude legs of the whole trip - - my planned route to cross the Rocky Mountains has me at 11,500 feet for at least an hour on Friday and for shorter periods on Saturday.   I plan to fly in the morning when the winds are calmer and temperatures a bit lower.

If you want to follow my flight, I have a Google Map that shows the route, and the planned stops.  I'll be updating it as I go.    So excited!   Look out bucket list, here I come.

Counting Down to Departure

Hello !

I'm very glad you are joining me on this adventure.
To learn a little about me, visit the Introduce Myself page.

Today is Monday September 14, 2015 - - and I plan to depart on Friday September 18, if the weather is just right.  I'm pretty much a fair weather flyer, so it doesn't bother me that the airplane does not have windshield wipers.

Weather forecasts being what they are, any forecast more than 7 days in the future is a SWAG.  So I'll begin some serious route planning tonight and continue tomorrow, understanding that frequent changes may be necessary.

Change is all well and good because this is a bucket list experience and I'm fully embracing the sheer joy of flying, wherever the best isobars may take me.

Having said that, I've noticed that Murphy's law works on winds aloft and no matter which way you point the airplane, you're facing a headwind.  LOL

Got my packlist going, keep adding things to it.  Probably will forget something basic (toothbrush?) and remember something esoteric like the competition pictures of my chorus.  :-)  Can't wait, this is going to be so much fun!