This morning I departed Belmont, MA with a goodbye from Amy Charron when she dropped me off at Philip Greenspun's house in Harvard Square. A short drive to the Lawrence Airport (LWM) and the adventure was set to begin. I have always been extremely poor at any parting of ways and this was no different. The idea of a 3-month trip across North America and into Alaska still hadn't really set in. I had only two small duffle bags containing clothes, a camera bag, and my laptop for the journey.
The initial plan was to hop into the DA-40 and fly to Gaithersburg, WA (GAI) just north of Washington, DC; however, a thunderstorm was overhead and forced us to wait about 2 hours before we could takeoff. Aside from the massive thunderstorm overhead, the weather everywhere was beautiful with copious amounts of sun and a few scattered puffy white clouds. The opportunity to see the Northeast from above was great so we headed directly for the Atlantic coast and flew southward with the United States off our right wing. The many massive homes on Long Island were astounding to see. The number of these amazingly huge mansions on the coastline shocked me. Instead of attempting to go below New York's controlled airspace we requested clearance through it and were granted a route that took us directly over the top of JFK International airport and we could easily see the Manhattan skyline and LaGuardia Airport just off the right. Continuing back towards the coastline we watched the large ocean freighters passing below us. Finally, we headed inland for Allaire, NJ (BLM) so that we could refuel. After getting a top-off we made the first westward turn of the trip towards Philip's parent's house near Gaithersburg, WA. Passing over Baltimore airport was beautiful only to be topped off by flying directly overhead the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and into Gaithersburg.
Upon landing at Gaithersburg Philip and I met his brother Harry, sister-in-law Katarina, and their 9 month old son Luca. A bit of gentle persuasion convinced the three of them to go for an airplane tour with myself. Philip accepted the most difficult task of watching Luca while we were enjoying the sights. I am not sure who really gave the tour, with Harry in the front seat and controls in his hands, he flew for about 90% of the flight and narrated along the way as well. We over flew Sugar Loaf Mountain and Harper's Ferry as well. I wanted to spend the rest of the night in the airplane over Harper's Ferry recreating its history in my mind and admiring the beauty of the area. The entire day was topped off with southern barbeque and an introduction to Philip's parents. This was a great beginning to a trip that I am sure to remember for a long time to come.
A bit of sleeping in for everybody else allowed me some quite time to read more of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis this morning. This book has been excellent in addressing the personal issue I have had for a long time of deciding whether I enjoy living in a small remote town or a major metropolitan area. I have not come to a definitive conclusion yet; however, this novel combined with the current adventure will hopefully allow me opportunity for new insight. I am not so sure that I will reach a definitive answer really as I suspect that what I really desire is the perfect place to resided and I don't think that one exists.
A flight from Gaithersburg, WA to Niagara Airport in New York took up most of the afternoon and offered yet another beautiful view of the country from the air. This time we passed over lush rolling mountains in western New York and the surrounding states. The weather was the same as yesterday, unbeatable.
After few scenic laps around Niagara Falls and some fuel at the Niagara airport, we were on our way to Toronto. I am now convinced that the falls look much better from the air than they do either from the US or Canadian sides. The customs folks were a pleasure to deal with and all went smoothly. No matter how many hours I fly a year or even a day, still never tire of simply looking out the window of an airplane in absolute awe every time.
In Toronto we stayed at the fabulous Metropolitan Hotel. Philip's friend, Henry, is the owner of the hotel and a couple of area restaurants as well. He treated us extremely well with a 20th floor suite, the likes of which I have never experienced before. This evening we met Henry and also Alisa, another of Philip's friends. The food in Lai Wai Heen, the restaurant within the Metropolitan is terrific.
The second day seems to have topped the first. I am meeting new and exciting people all of whom are fun to be around.
Let me tell you, five star luxury offers a great nights sleep. With the plush robes in the rooms and exquisite bath products one does not want to leave. The Royal Ontario Art Museum (ROAM) did manage to tempt us out of the hotel by about 10:00 AM though. At the ROAM we met with Alisa, again and toured the most extensive collection of Chinese art that I have ever seen. The mineral collection was also excellent.
After Dim Sum at Lai Wai Heen restaurant in the Metropolitan again, the three of us headed back out to the Art Gallery of Ontario. Here we toured an exhibit of William Wegman's sculpture and many other great works of art. I am anxious to order a book of Wegman's photographs featuring his dogs dressed in a variety of costumes when I return from this trip. Actually, my list of books to read is growing faster than I can pare it down to size. I am always excited to get into a good book and this trip should offer many chances to do just that.
Toronto is a much larger city than I had anticipated. The population seems quite young, somewhere between that of New York City and Boston, I would say. The area is clean and the city so much fun. We had a good view of the city from the top of the CN Tower where we also had dinner. Throughout the day, the weather had been quite gloomy and thunderstorms were again passing through the area making our escape more difficult. After numerous consultations with Canadian Flight Service we finally took off for London, Ontario at about 9:00 PM.
Low-level clouds obscured the ground for most of the way and fog was beginning to settle into London just as we made our ILS approach to Runway 15. Fortunately, when we arrived at 10:15 PM there were still a couple of employees at the Diamond factory who let us in and helped us secure the airplane in the massive hangar for the night.
Finally, we had the opportunity to meet up with Kyle and Jesse for the first time who had been driving the Winnebago all day long from Boston, MA to London. After a short drive to a local KOA, we made camp for the night.
It wasn't the best night to test out a new tent as about 2:30 AM a massive thunderstorm rolled through; fortunately, Jesse and I passed the night dry and more confident in our sleeping accommodations for the upcoming months.
Cloudy skies again greeted us this morning. After downing one dozen eggs amongst the four of us, we toured the Diamond Aircraft factory. This was a great tour and we got to see all phases of construction of the DA-20 and DA-40. It was impressive to see the raw materials of carbon fiber and woven glass fabrics combined with resins to form the composite material used to fabricate nearly the entire aircraft. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and offered the best tour that I could imagine. All of the folks at the Canadian Diamond Aircraft facility were fantastic and more than willing to have visitors take a look inside.
To this point both the driving duo and our flying team had been pressing on pretty hard so a bit of shopping at Wal-Mart and a local grocery store finished the afternoon. With camp made and dinner to come we all sat down to read or write. A bit of relaxation was in order.
This has been a wonderful trip for sleep. We each retire when the mood overcomes us and each arises when the body is rested. This morning Kyle and Jesse dropped Philip and me off at the London, Ontario airport and they headed off to meet us in Sleeping Bear Dunes, State Park.
After conferring with the Diamond folks, who are spectacularly wonderful, we headed off on an IFR flight plan for Saginaw, MI (MBS) to again see the Customs folks. The passage through US Customs was probably the most pleasant I have ever experienced. The woman answered all of our questions and even supplied us with the forms and telephone numbers that would be needed as we made progress to Alaska.
We made the brief flight to Flint, MI (FNT) to acquire a few charts that we really should have had a couple of days ago and we set off on our last leg of the day to Frankfort, MI (3DA). I fondly recalled a family vacation to Frankfort, MI and swimming the incredibly clear waters of Crystal Lake as we over flew the lush trees, clear waters of Lake Michigan and dunes rising on the shoreline. At the end of the flight Kyle and Jesse were waiting at the airport in the Winnebago. Jesse and I went up on a 30-minute flight over the area for his first flight in the DA-40. The air was so calm, the scenery perfect, and the sun just setting over Lake Michigan. This evening I decided to sleep under the stars as a clear sky had dominated the area. It was the first clear sky that we had seen in days and improved everybody's morale. Aside from a midnight visitor who decided that my sleeping bag would be a perfect spot to spend the night, it was probably the best nights sleep that I have had since we left Toronto.
Early this afternoon Kyle orchestrated a hotdog barbeque on the bluffs overlooking
Sleeping Bear Dunes and some quite time to read.
I am so enjoying Main Street and
over half way through the work. I shot some pictures of the dunes and Lake Michigan
as Alex came along for the walk. The afternoon turned surreal when I took a wonderful,
though short, afternoon nap in the sun.
It seems that Jesse and I were instructed to meet up with Philip and Kyle when they completed their bike ride from the dunes; however, Jesse and I were under the assumption that we were waiting for them to return to us. A bit of confusion and a few hours later we all finally met up in Glen Arbor, MI. This is a wonderful town that has not been overrun by tourists and frivolous attractions. I would more willingly visit here than Traverse City or even Mackinac Island.
This evening we returned to the same campground as last night for another peaceful night under the stars, or so I had hoped. Last night it was a late night visitor on my sleeping bag, this time it was cold raindrops on my face at 2:30 AM. After discussing the issue for too long, Jesse and I decided to go through the effort of setting up the tent in the dark rain, only to have it stop as soon as we got the sleeping bags inside the tent. Isn't that why I do this, to have stories like these to tell to my grandkids?
The day commenced with a morning flight with Kyle to Mackinac Island. A horse drawn carriage picked the three of us up at the airport and we headed into town. First, we visited Fort Mackinac. Jesse, driving the Winnebago from Sleeping Bear Dunes established a camping spot for the night in St. Ignace and then hitched the ferry over to the island to meet us. With overpriced rented bikes propelling us around the island we attempted to begin a ride around the island. The small downtown center was crowded with so many people attracted to Alex that we hardly had a chance to get the ride started. Once under way, Alex wouldn't stay put in the baby carrier that we had rented for him so he ended up running the first 6 miles alongside the bikes. Finally, completely tired out and sore, he unwillingly rode the final two miles into town. It would take the next two days for him to recover from the muscle soreness that he earned during this run.
Jesse and I spent most of the short evening working on the screen room that was recently purchased for addition to the Winnebago. I worked on installing it for about an hour or so last evening as well and learned only that the directions are very poorly written and that I still didn't understand the final goal. Jesse and I finally got it mostly installed, though I question its ease of operation. Hopefully, it will prove its worth and the time required to install it in Alaska.
This evening we camped in magical site that was directly on the water and looked right up at the Mackinac Bridge. There was a bit of fog that shrouded the dimly lit bridge. Both Jesse and I made a few photographic attempts
With a brief stop over at Beaver Island for lunch and some grass field flying practice we made our way to Appleton, WI (ATW). This evening I was introduced to a new form of camping called driveway camping. We just pulled the Winnebago in front of Roger and Jayne's house and plugged it into their garage for electrical power. The interesting thing about all of that is that Roger and Jayne were in Kentucky on vacation while we invaded their house and laundry room. The entire group offers their gratitude to them.
This was the first time in a week that I had the opportunity to check my email and phone messages. After the joyous experience of spending the hour or so required receiving all 141 messages from the server and realizing that not even one was a real letter or of any importance whatsoever I have considered eliminating this necessary service. I am sure that it will not come to that though.
I am feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point. We seem to be maintaining a breakneck pace; however, I am thoroughly enjoying all of the sights and stopovers. This is far superior to the airline lifestyle in which you visit a city, but never really have a chance see it. I have been to more state parks in the past week than in the past 5 years, I think. Once the adventure progresses west of the Mississippi River, I am anxious to see many more sights that I have never seen before.
The flying is going well. There is so much information and such a variety of procedures to cover for the IFR rating that it too can seem crushing. I am really enjoying the flight time and Philip is doing very well. We have been following the Jeppesen syllabus for the most part; however, when the opportunity arises, we depart the script as necessary. This journey is truly a great way to learn IFR flying.
The group dynamics seem to be doing well and I am sure that they are just getting formed. I suspect that a few flare-ups will occur occasionally as one would expect, but I believe that this is a good foursome.