Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig


Tuesday June 24, 2014

We left Williamsburg, VA this morning, stopped in Beaufort, SC for a fuel stop for plane and pilots, and off again for our final leg to Opa-Locka, FL (KOPF), home base.  After passing some interesting waterways, dodging weather, and flying over Cape Canaveral, we thought we were in the clear to home but one last challenge, an ILS approach to KOPF at dusk with rain starting.  Kuddos to Tamra who was flying this leg.


Interesting waterways after leaving Williamsburg, VA



Our mid-day stop at Beaufort, SC.  Beaufort is a quaint town with Lady's Island Airport.  The FBO Supervisor, Joel Phillips, and support staff were very pleasant and helpful.  They even loaned us the airport car so we could drive to town for lunch.


A beautiful view in Beaufort



Flying directly over Cape Canaveral



Many thanks to our wonderful supporters!!!

This has been an extraordinary adventure.  We hope you have enjoyed our blog and learned from our experiences.  

Love,
Myra and. Tamra



Monday, June 23, 2014

Back in Time

One of my favorite places is Williamsburg, VA where we spent the day remembering history lessons of long ago.  Tamra and I visited the Governor's Palace, the Court House, the wig maker, the blacksmith, the wheel maker and more.  We participated in an interactive reenactment of a real trial that occurred in the mid 1700s.  The day was a perfect day with blue skies and a light breeze.


This is the Governor's Palace with the Lion and Unicorn, symbols of Brittain.



This is what happens when you let a man do the decorating.


The bookbinder is showing how to bind a book.



One's status and career choice dictated the type of wig worn.


Tools used by a blacksmith


Pending weather, we hope to continue our journey southward tomorrow.


Sunday, June 22, 2014

Homeward Bound





Today before Ron dropped us off at the airport, we stopped for lunch at a deli in New Cumberland, PA.  Well, look who happened by, Zia and Emily.  When we raced in 2012, they were the first racers we met in Gallup, NM on the way to the race and today, the last racers we saw after this race.  Their theme is Rosie the Riveter.  


We also visited a local park and walked through the beautiful flowers.  Ron made a new friend,



Our real excitement of the day was flying through the Washington, DC area SFRA.  We carefully reviewed our sectional and before we flew in this race we took an AOPA online course to familiarize ourselves with the special flight rules.  We were on an IFR flight plan but it was an intense flight because of all the rules.  We waved to the pres when we flew by.  

We were happy to land at Williamsburg, VA.  We landed to see grass growing in the cracks on the taxiway and, to our delight, we saw three deer at the end of the runway (they were on the side of the runway and took off when they heard our engine purring).  Sorry we didn't get a photo.  We plan to park for a day and see the sights of historic Wiliamsburg.




We thought we needed at least one selfie.


Saturday, June 21, 2014

Debriefing and Chocolate Meltdown

Saturday June 21, 2014



This was the weather picture yesterday when we started toward PA.


Rolling low hills and valleys  near Capital City, PA


Fifteen minutes from Capital City, PA, the terminus of the 2014 ARC


We started the day with all the racers in a debriefing session sharing positive comments and ideas to improve the race.  

Then Tamra, Ron, and I went to  Hershey's Chocolate World --just what we needed -- chocolate and a day to relax.



Tamra and Ron, expert chocolate tasters.



Since Harrisburg is the capital of PA, we also couldn't miss viewing the state capitol building which is near the Susquehanna River.


Tamra and Myra in front of the PA State Capitol

The evening ended with a wonderful celebration of the racers.




Top ten teams


The entire 2014 Air Race Classic -- From Sea to Shining Sea

Friday, June 20, 2014

Woohoo!! We made it to the Terminus!!

Friday, June 20, 2014

We had a long flying day today -- about 6 1/2 hours from Kirksville, MO (KIRK) to Akron-Canton, OH (KCAK) and finally to the terminus at Capital City, PA (KCXY).  We are excited to be in PA.  It is fun reconnecting with other racers and we look forward to the celebrations tomorrow.

We will fill in the details tomorrow.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Eastward Ho!!!!

Thursday, June 19, 2014

An early departure from Scottsbluff, Nebraska (KBFF) to Norfolk Regional, Nebraska (KOFK) started our day with blue skies and white, puffy clouds -- a great beginning.  At (KOFK) we landed to see Classic Racer # 8 on the ground.  We expected a quick turnaround and off to Iowa, City but the messy weather was playing with us again.  (See photo below). Instead were we served delicious sandwiches and beautifully designed sunflower cookies.


The weather is messing with us again.  Who wants to fly through that??



Sunflower cookies

We finally decided to fly eastward but the weather forced us to land at our alternate destination along the way, Red Oak, Iowa.  We were greeted by airport manager, Gail Ernst, who waited out the weather with us. We highly recommend a stop at this well designed and maintained airport in the middle of farm land with all the relevant aromas.



After a delightful visit, we were off again, heading eastward again.  By then, the deadline for racers to arrive in Harrisburg, PA passed so we decided to file an IFR flight plan.  Once again we made a stop because of weather, at Kirksville, MO (KIRK).  Robert heard our radio call and waited for us to land (already 8:00 pm Central time zone).  He even loaned us an airport car to drive to a hotel for the night.  We also discovered that KIRK will be a future Air Race Classic stop.



Kirksville, MO


You can track all the racers at www.airraceclassic.org


Off to bed.  We have about 6 hours of flight time tomorrow to reach Pennsylvania -- Eastward Ho!!!


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Icing in June??? What???

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

We planned an early departure from KEKO, Elko, NV this morning but.... We left the hotel and saw frost on the golf course, so we knew it was not going to be a typical day.  When we arrived at the airport, we noticed low fog and found 1/16" ice all over the airplane.  Southern Florida girls are used to 85 degree plus weather with no icing so we had real life experiences.  We learned more than can ever be taught from a book.


In case you want to see it for yourself -- here is a photo of Icing on the front cowl in JUNE!!!!



Did you ever think you would see Tamra scraping ice off N37TJ????  We found a new use for the low tech plotter.


This was a challenging day skirting mountains and weather.  We stopped at Pinedale, WY for fuel and met Alex and her crew who grilled hot dogs for us and provided fruit salad and other goodies.  We landed for the night in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.  Sherry and her crew welcomed us with open arms, a BFF shirt, and a delicious sandwich.


Alex, stop chair, has a very interesting story to tell -- from a performer to music teacher to pilot with the CAP.



Airport dog and friends hanging around Pinedale, WY




Stop chair, Sherry, sporting her Rosie the Riveter jumpsuit and a BFF shirt she gave every racer.


It is an awesome experience to fly with such outstanding female pilots.  One of our favorite things is to hear the other pilots' stories.   All ages from 18 to 80s, participate in this race, some highly experienced and some newbies. No matter what level of experience, everyone learns something, improves their aviation skills, learns more about our beautiful country, and are better because of of the experience.


We've included various pictures of majestic snow-covered mountains to the Great Salt Flats.












Tuesday, June 17, 2014

In Search of Warm Clothing

With mountains obscured, rain, and icing developing, 15 racing teams were grounded for the day.  Stop chair, Donna and the volunteers welcomed us and were very helpful and hospitable.   Miami girls are not used to cold weather and Elko's temperature was just above freezing.  In an effort to minimize weight in the airplane, we didn't bring cold weather clothing -- it is June, after all.  We searched all over town for a light jacket and stores do not carry such items at this time of the year.  We also learned a lot about  Elko.  Did you know that Elko was one of the stops on the first air mail route.  Elko is also a gold mining town, even today.  Several movies were made here and Bing Crosby had a tuxedo made of denim for one of the movies.  Several of us visited the Northeast Nevada   Museum and the Western Folklife Center.  We made lemonade from lemons.  

The downside is that we must fly four legs tomorrow and three on Thursday or we won't finish the race by the deadline on Thursday.  That means about 9 -10 hours of flying tomorrow.  It looks like the weather will be better tomorrow and we will need to have engine start by 6:30 am.  We also lose one hour of daylight because we will change time zones.  So early to bed, early to rise.


15 Racing Teams waiting and wishing for better weather at El Aero FBO in Elko, NV


Weather forecast at our next destination, KPNA


Low ceilings -- too low to be able to cross 10,000' mountains





Artisans create hand-crafted saddles.


"Thank you," Donna and timers.