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 ...  !!!