Search
Pages
Categories
This
work is licensed under
a
Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
Surprise
I finally got to meet Ted’s uncle, John, during his short visit while passing through Los Angeles. After staying the night, Ted took him up for a little sightseeing tour around the LA basin. Fun!
Posted by bpod at Sunday ~ June 06, 2008 | No Comments
The Valley of the Antelope III: Fun and Games
Leaving the poppies behind, we headed back into Lancaster proper for a bit of refreshment before returning home. We passed the jerky vendors and more sheep, but could not pass up a sign that read RANCH YARD SALE. . . . Well, it was pretty much like most yard sales I’ve been to, though a bit heavier in the rusty tool and crock categories. Still, it was nice to stop in, if only for the interesting scenery: Sleepy dog enjoying the shade We trundled on, turning towards an area that seemed ripe with commerce in hopes of finding a place with some cool drinks or maybe even ice cream. That was when we saw this: and this: Ted and I love going to minor league baseball games, and we just happened to be in the home of the Lancaster Jethawks (farm team for the Boston Red Sox). Serendipity was leading us around by the nose today, as we saw a parking lot full of cars and signs directing traffic into the stadium. They would have cold beverages—they probably even had ice cream—so we pulled in, just minutes after the game began. Minor league games are a whole lot of family fun. The tickets and concessions are reasonably priced, every seat in the house is terrific, they have silly races and contests at the top and bottom of each inning, and you’re almost guaranteed to see some flubs you’d likely never see at a major league game. There’s a feeling of community, as you see people greeting each other or just striking up conversations with their fellow fans. Kids participating in a mid-inning tire race around the bases KABOOM, the Jethawks mascot We ate junk food, we watched the crowd, and we saw the Jethawks getting spanked by the Lake Elsinore Storm (final score was 11-1). Ted wanted to be able to do his pre-flight walk-around while there was still some light, so we headed out during the 8th inning. We also hoped to get back to Santa Monica before the tower closed at 9pm (not for any other reason than it just makes things a little bit easier for him during landing). The flight was generally smooth sailing in calm skies, and as we flew through the Sepulveda Pass we heard the SM tower announce the time as 8:55. Ted rounded base to final, landed, and got cleared to taxi back to parking when we heard the tower close. Couldn’t really cut it much closer than that… A perfect end to a fantastic day.
Posted by bpod at Saturday ~ April 04, 2008 | No Comments
The Valley of the Antelope II: Flora and Fauna
After our visit to the Feline Conservation Center and a quick pit stop for a drink, we headed out to the main attraction, the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. Good rains have resulted in a banner year for flowers, so we were looking forward to a spectacular display. On the road to the poppies, we were treated to a display of yet another kind: SHEEP! Sheep! Eating! Lots of sheep! The shepherd tending his flock: this fellow didn’t speak any English, but seemed amused by all the tourists pulling over to take pictures of the sheep. The dogs just kept watch. VERY exciting. Hard as it was to leave, we had come to see flowers so we pressed on. The display was pretty spectacular. Glorious fields of orange and gold, set on fire by afternoon sun. We spent an hour or so walking the trails and taking in the splendor of it all. Absolutely fantastic. Next up: a brief respite, then home…
Posted by Admin at Saturday ~ April 04, 2008 | No Comments
The Valley of the Antelope I: Cats
Ted and I recently spent the day in Antelope Valley, CA. Wildflowers are blooming beautifully this year, so we flew out to Lancaster to check them out. The flight out was a bit exciting due to turbulence encountered as we crossed the ridge lines. At one point I actually hit the ceiling with a good solid bonk–nothing too terrible, as it was a somewhat isolated pocket, but still enough to make one sit up and take notice. We arrived safely in Lancaster and got hooked up with a rental car, so we were ready to roll. But first, the most important meal of the day at Crazy Otto’s, our favorite breakfast joint in Lancaster. That’s eSpresso to you, buddy Our next stop was the Feline Conservation Center, which gave us an opportunity to visit the Neko brick and these amazing cats. Bath time for Twilight (jaguar) We were delighted to see Frisbee, the fishing cat, out and about and walking through the grass One of several peacocks who roam the grounds Ever wonder what a peacock looks like from behind? Well, wonder no more: This place is amazing. Staffed by volunteers, they really do a wonderful job of caring for these beautiful felines. Every time we visit, they’ve added something new: shaded bleachers for educational demonstrations; new benches; progress on the tiger enclosures. You can see how your donations are making a difference. If you ever find yourself in the area, I highly recommend a visit. (Feline Conservation Center) Next up: poppies and more…
Willow, the grumpy bobcat
Posted by bpod at Saturday ~ April 04, 2008 | No Comments
Grounded - again
Ted was worried this would happen. While we were waiting for the fuel cap in Little Rock, a big winter storm system descended on the west coast. Perhaps you’ve heard of it: Unfortunately, this means icing conditions and other weather-related nastiness between us and home, and with Very Big Mountains between here and there, flying in the little plane is really out of the question. The system is supposed to last all weekend, so we need to find alternate transportation if we’re to make it back to work on Monday. We ended up scoring up some same-day tickets on US Air, so our current plan is to fly home commercial today, wait out the storm, and return to fly the plane home later in the week. It’s easy to sit and second-guess the decisions made so far, whether we did the right things… (and let’s face it, it’s Ted who’s doing the second-guessing as pilot in command), but we’re going home so I’m a happy girl. If all goes as planned, we’ll be heading out shortly after noon by way of Phoenix. Keep your fingers crossed.
Posted by bpod at Friday ~ January 01, 2008 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, flying, travel
Leaving Little Rock
Now that we have two functioning fuel caps, we left Little Rock for a day of clear-weather flying. Our route should take us from Little Rock to Denton, TX to Midland, TX to El Paso, TX. Downtown Little Rock Outside Denton, TX Denton tower It’s clear we’re back in Texas… It’s windy Tofu scarf in progress It’s Possum Kingdom Lake! The nicest FBO bathroom: Avion FBO, Midland, TX Back in El Paso
Posted by bpod at Thursday ~ January 01, 2008 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, flying, travel
It’s here!
Rental car: $100 It finally arrived this morning, and works like a charm. The wings are dry, today’s weather is clear, and we’re heading westward for home.
Extended hotel stay: $200
New fuel cap: $300
Keeping our fuel inside the tank: priceless
Posted by bpod at Thursday ~ January 01, 2008 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, flying, travel
Grounded
So, things were looking up. We headed back to the FBO to settle up and head out. The nice folks at the last Supermarine fueled us up and sent us on our way. Ted switched the leaky cap to the tank on the other wing to see if it was a problem with the cap or the fitting, and the problem got pointedly worse. This time, not only did the fuel leak more vigorously, the cap loosened a quarter turn sideways and was rattling in the wind. Yeek. We turned around and landed, heading to Central Aviation in hopes of finding a shop with Piper Archer parts. Now here’s the thing. It’s New Year’s Day. Everything is closed, folks are on holiday, and to get the mechanic to just show up and look at the cap would cost us upward of $350. >sigh< We figured that even if we were able to get someone to look at the cap, we probably wouldn’t be able to order the replacement part until tomorrow, so we decided to save the money and just spend an extra day in lovely Little Rock. We extended our hotel another day, got a rental car and went out to see the sights. Of course, it is New Year’s Day, and it was very cold and windy, so we mostly saw the outsides of buildings. Briefly. Still, it was a pleasant enough way to spend our time. Outside the William J. Clinton Presidential Library Funny thing: while we were at the library, another family of hearty tourists were braving the cold, looking at the outside of the building, taking pictures… we ended up seeing them two more times throughout the day, at similar landmarks. They probably thought we were just as crazy as them. The River Market pig Outside the Capitol Building Outside Little Rock High School Outside an old Mobil gas station Outside the Governor’s Mansion The Old Mill at T.R. Pugh Memorial Park After a very full day, we went in search of dinner. Found Forbidden City, a Chinese restaurant in the basement of the local mall. I can’t say I was thrilled by the cuisine—my Lo Mein had a fairly watery sauce that was just packed with MSG—but it was hot and filling, indoors, and available on New Year’s Day. Can’t complain too much about that.
Posted by bpod at Tuesday ~ January 01, 2008 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, flying, travel
Heading home?
Ted has been watching the skies and has decided to take advantage of a clear window in the weather by leaving a bit early. Weather in Asheville will be stormy starting tomorrow so we’re hoping to avoid it. We’ll be passing through a small front, but after that it looks like clear skies through the west coast. We spent the earlier part of the morning waiting for the freezing fog to lift. After breakfast and some scrambling, the weather cleared and we were good to go. The flight started out swimmingly, and we made our way to our first stop in Huntsville, AL. We expected it to be a quick stop for fuel and facilities, then on our way. Outside Huntsville, AL As we took off from Hunstville, Ted noticed he was leaking fuel from the gas cap, so we turned around and landed to have a look. Leaking fuel It didn’t seem like much fuel was lost, and maybe it was leakage due to the tanks being overfull, so we decided to head on and keep an eye on it. We left for Little Rock. Eventually the leaking subsided and all looked well, but then we started encountering considerable turbulence and headwinds that slowed us down to a crawl. Ted decided to take us down in Olive Branch, MS to refuel, take a break, and re-group. Olive Branch Tower Fast moving clouds Our original intent was to fly back to McKinney today and spend the night with my family (primarily because we were worried about hotel availability on New Year’s Eve, but also because it would be nice to share the holiday with family instead of holed up in a Holiday Inn). But things weren’t looking good. It would be another couple hours to Little Rock, then 3+ more to McKinney. We already had a late start to the day, we’d be arriving in Little Rock after dark, and if the weather was as bad as we’d just been having, it would be a very long haul. Ted decided it would be OK to fly another leg, but McKinney was probably out. Once again, we have nothing but good things to say about the folks in Mississippi. We come bursting in, unsure of where we’re going or whether we’ll be staying, and they helped set us up in the lounge, called a local hotel, and were generally friendly and helpful to us during a somewhat stressful juncture in our trip. Bless their hearts (and I mean that in the nicest, truest sense). We called ahead and got a reservation at a hotel in Little Rock and made the decision to press on. Again, we had leaking fuel, but no worse than before. Happily, the sky cleared, the winds calmed down, and we had a blissfully uneventful trip to Arkansas. Dined at Boston’s, a place adjoining the Holiday Inn where we were staying. It was just what we needed - hot food, cool drinks, friendly service staff who were efficient but not overbearing. The place had just opened, so it had that New Restaurant Smell, too. I celebrated New Year’s Eve with a couple Guinness and spicy pasta; Ted had pizza. They also brought out their dessert tray, filled with lifelike plastic samples of very large sweets. We didn’t partake, but I did enjoy the fact that someone signed the plastic cheesecake:
Posted by bpod at Monday ~ December 12, 2007 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, family, flying, travel
Heading to Asheville, take 2
So, let’s try this again shall we? Ted opted to take a more southerly route, where the weather looked a bit clearer. Our first stop was in lovely Greenwood, MS. Outside Greenwood, MS Although the FBO’s at larger airports offer many welcome services to traveling pilots, it’s these outposts at the tiny ones that often have the most local character and charm. Cotton Belt Aviation did not disappoint. The proprietor was both friendly and colorful, and he happily pointed out the features of the place: drinks and candy in the refrigerator through the door, help yourself…There’s a computer in there, but you probably want to use the one in the back. Just go on through the front lobby and the hangar and go to the pilot’s lounge in the back… Restrooms are there, too… Cotton Belt Aviation Half a dog. No idea what it does. Pencil sharpener, perhaps? Creepy Abraham Lincoln puppet in the pilot’s lounge View from the hangar Fuel tanks Ted and I continue to be delighted by the friendly folks in Mississippi. Someday we’ll need to come back for a proper visit.
Posted by bpod at Thursday ~ December 12, 2007 | No Comments
Category: christmas 2007, flying, travel
©2007 Theme By MerTUraL Sponsored By Burhan Altıntop , Sağlık Bilgisi
Powered By Wordpress
