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Rosie & Tuppergal?s Caribbean Trip 2013

You guys all ROCK! I spend way too much time drooling over all the pictures and stories you post (this is the first thing I read when I turn on my computer at work....then spend as long as it takes reading every detail of your trip - maybe if I spend more time actually working, I could afford an RV and take an adventure with you....someday). Godspeed to you all!
 
Hey, Rosie. Brother Dave Huhman put me on this thread last night when he came into MO. What a great adventure, I spent the morning catching up with all the posts, while sending Dave to the farm to dig ditches. I hope to see you in September, have a great rest of the trip.
 
All I can say is WOW, been sharing this adventure with another of our
corporate pilots and his mouth is bouncing off the table

I think I saw 5500 miles on the trip odometer... what a great time for
sure
keep us updated
Smilin Jack
 
Day 20: Rain, Rain, Rain...in St. Lucia

Hi to our RV Family of Friends (Updating this as you read this on Friday AM),

Thursday (April 25), was set aside for a day of diving for me with Key/Sharbait/Tuppergal planning to head out and go ziplining midday. I was up ~0645 and grabbed a cab (10 minutes) to the Sandals Grande. I wasn't even a guest there, but when I arrived, I was treated like I was there NUMBER ONE customer. I've never stayed at a Sandals resort but I really have to tell you about how I was treated as a 'local' who was there to dive with them.

I was personally escorted to the Dive Center where a gentleman named St. Rose (nickname Rose :) helped me fill out my paperwork. I thank him for having me here and (of course) tell him how I come to be on the island. WOW! "That's Exciting". We are best friends now :) I had called the night before and was told to be there at 0730, so with the paperwork complete, Rose offered to take me on a personal tour of the resort. All I can say about Sandals is WOW!!!!. I can now see why people who come here, come here to relax. The only things you have to do is 1) Pay and 2) Show up. YOU are KING (or QUEEN) here!

With the 'very cool' tour complete, Rose handed me off to Hiram carried my dive gear to the boat (I offered but it went on deaf ears). I was then introduced to a very-fit young man Marney (my Dive Instructor Marney). Marney brought me aboard the boat which had six (6) others on (there was room for 25 divers). I was able to setup my own gear while the crew assisted the other guests. As we headed out to the dive site, Marney told me that he would be my personal guide for both dives (and that the others would be separate).

At that moment, I thought to myself, "Gosh, I'm the new/old guy so Marney is stuck with me....WRONGO BONGO!". The 45-minute boat ride to the ship wreck (Lemleel?) was past the big, green crude oil tanks (see previous St. Lucia pics) but before the twin Pitons. About 20 minutes into the ride, Marney came down and briefed me on the dive. He also said that he wanted me to be geared-up and READY TO JUMP IN as soon as the boat stopped. He said that we would be "first in and last out" so we'd have MORE bottom time than the others. Hey, I'm LIKING this! Must have been the still-wet-ink on my Advanced Open Water paper license!

He tapped me on the shoulder, and I got all suited up. The boat stopped, we jumped in and he/I had an EXCELLENT dive on the wreck!!! And for the first time ever, I saw 'spaghetti worms' that look like strands of string coming from a central hole. Marney touched the base of the hole, and the strings slowly sucked back into the hole (very cool Jimmyb! The other divers joined us...and the other divers got on board first.....he/I got up last for a ~50 minute dive. Jimmyb, you'd be proud: I was down to 80' and came up with 1200lbs of air!

Once aboard, I could see the other divers getting debriefed from their dive...just like I was when I made my first dives to get my dive card back in 2004: I was the only 'carded' diver on the boat thus my guided tour with Marney. I LOVE IT! The second dive was nearby and we were again 'first in, last out' and I was back on board after one (1) hour with 1300lbs of air (I'm getting better on my air with every dive :) I did not have a camera with me but here's the best I can do for my dive adventure:

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On the ride back to port, I could see that it was getting dark, and I hoped that Jailbird/Indira got off the ground to Nevis early morning else they were going to get 'dumped' on and be stuck here on the ground. Jailbird called later to let us know they were safe on the ground. They are on-their-own now as they have to be back to Seattle sooner than we have to be back to California. WE LOVE YOU BOTH AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US ON THIS GREAT ADVENTURE!

Once back in port, ~1300, it started pouring rain and it rained ALL DAY.

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And the last thing I wanted to do was sit in the room and watch the rain come down... So Keys, Sharkbait, Tuppergal and I 'suited' up in our rain gear (which for me consisted of my water-socks, swimsuit, dry t-shirt and 'Tupperware' light raincoat with hoodie). We walked and walked and walked and walked and checked out stores and went to the market and then found a pizza place where we had a really good pizza.

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And for Tanya "Cookie" Card, no day is complete unless you've had...some Ice Cream...Italian Ice Cream...."Hey, Sharkbait...did you get enough?"

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We were back to the room around 1900, and the most exciting thing we saw were small crabs....actually, it's the only other picture we took all day:

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We decided to fly to Martinique Friday (takeoff ~1000-1100) for one day just so we can visit a 'French' Island. It's right next-door to St. Lucia so only RV-minutes away. No hard island plans after that so we are still "winging it" :)

Many thanks to all (and especially now the Corporate Pilots :) for the kind words and it was especially great to hear from my pilot-friend and co-worker Dave Huhman's brother Rodger! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Day 21: St. Lucia to Martinique

Hi to our RV Family of Friends!

Our day started off with clear skies and that followed our day pouring rains. I was up at ~0700, packed then went over for the light morning breakfast (Fruit, cheese, bread, jam…and bologna). We called our cab driver Bentley who had brought us from the airport to the hotel, since he knew the ‘ropes’ to get us back to the General Aviation Ramp.

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Upon arrival to the airport, our handler Alfred was there to greet us, and he had us filling out our flight plan and six (6) GenDecs (Three for departure from St. Lucia and three to use on arrival to Martinique).

Alfred gathered all of our luggage (to send through the X-ray machine) and then back to the Taxi to get back to the planes on the west ramp. Here’s Bentley smiling proudly:

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Upon arrival to St. Lucia, we parked on the main ramp (with all the commercial planes) so that we could clear into the country but then were redirected to the approach end of runway 9 to the west ramp once cleared in.

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Here’s Leslie (left) and Chris (right) with the group, guys who worked on the west ramp. Chris also collected our parking for two nights, ~$9/night.

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Leslie and Chris were helping to rebuild an old C-172 that was purchased for, no kidding, $1. The owner was tired of paying for ramp space and was going to have the plane dumped at sea but somebody stepped in, and guy said, “You can have it for one dollar” so a bunch of folks are working to get it airborne again. Chris had even flown it during it’s flying days.

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We readied the planes then requested reposition from the west ramp to the main ramp, and the three of us (I’m sure) looked pretty good taxiing as a three ship on the runway.

We parked on the main ramp, and Alfred was there with our bags and signed-off paperwork (Immigration/Customs). He had completed all of our paperwork so we packed the planes, requested permission to start up from the tower, started up (hmm…I have a story on that but will get to it another day), then requested back-taxi for takeoff:

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The tower had us pull back onto the west ramp so we could hold for this guy to back-taxi then takeoff:

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So I'm thinking we are number one for takeoff, and I call requesting takeoff and am told that we have to wait for landing traffic...landing traffic that is on ten mile final …arghhhhhh!!!??!!!!!

FINALLY, cleared for takeoff, we departed single ship with a left downwind departure then south along the beach for a loop around the island (and the Pitons) before making the 34nm trek to next-door-island-to-the-north Martinique:

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We headed south because we wanted to take another loop (actually Figure-8) around the twin pitons, visible just to the right of the prop:

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Day 21: St. Lucia to Martinique

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After our Figure-8 chasing each other around the Pitons, we headed east to the other side of the island then north along the eastern coast. Tuppergal

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Look through the reflection to the Sandals Grande who I dove with yesterday:

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Time to make the short hop to Martinique so I fell in behind Keys who was following Sharkbait to Martinique (TFFF).

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Tower was good to us and gave ZERO instructions on having us space ourselves. They actually relied on our own decision-making-skills and let us set our own spacing, imagine that...pilots separating themselves from others!

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Here we are on a wide right base then final:

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Day 21: St. Lucia to Martinique

Upon landing, one of the first things I did was check on my roll servo under the passenger seat as the pilot had quit working a week or so ago. The pin had sheared so I pulled the linkage off and used the tools I had in the toolbag to make a spacer:

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The General Aviation ramp was pretty full and we were still the best looking planes out there :)

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We gathered our gear and walked over to the GA terminal building where we found Sebastian inside. He collected exactly $2 each for the landing fee and asked us to fill out four (4) GenDecs. He then said to place them in the boxes outside:

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Inside the door to the airport office was the Police and Customs....Empty!

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I asked Sebastian where they were and he said they don't come around much. I then asked who we were supposed to clear into the country (France) with. Sebastian asked, "Did you put your forms in the boxes outside?"..."Ah, yes we did"...."Ok, you can go now. I called a taxi and he will be here in a minute". WOW, that's it!!!! $2 each and we can go now!

We piled in, stopped at the main terminal to get some Euros as we had been able to get this far using US dollars and a credit card. ONLY EUROS Sebastian told us.

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Here's the view out our room at the Hotel Panoramic (which lived up to it's name):

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We went to the beach for a couple of hours then had to wait until 2000 to have dinner (nobody opened till then). I'm a point-and-shoot photographer but Sharkbait showed me some things (15 seconds worth @ F/4):

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We are leaving for Dominica on Saturday and will check in then.

Keep poundin' them rivets because it ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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French Islands

Rosie,

You gotta love customs in the French islands. I flew out of Grand Case, TFFG, St Martin for 8 years, loved it. I was on Guadeloupe St Francoi airport, TFFC for almost a year. Great place. Had a Bonanza then. Landed most all those Island airports from time to time. Even Barbados TBPB, for a surf tournament.
Be carful in Antigua, better have correct change if you buy fuel.

From Rosie: Thanks for the heads-up Jay, and you are correct as we've heard that Antigua folks are not as GA friendly as they could be! We plan to get fuel at either Saba or Anguilla before the long leg back to Providenciales (Turks & Caicos) next Thursday.
 
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So here's the skinny on our Nevis leg

Leaving St. Lucia, the air traffic controller told us that he was now convinced that he should at least buy a radio-controlled model airplanes like ours. We gave him and the other nice Lucians a wing wag as we took off and headed for Nevis.

Again, lots of big, puffy clouds to negotiate and a little bit of rain, but the islands were beautiful. We aimed for 4,500 as our cruising altitude, but did some climbing and dipping down to stay clear of weather as much as we could. Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe - and French-accented ATC instructions. As we flew by Montserrat, we could see the lava flows from the Soufriere Hills volcano - they run all the way down to the sea. We could see Antigua in the distance as we descended into Nevis. We flew around Mt. Nevis (3,200 feet). It's top was wreathed in clouds and there was a little mild turbulence as we circled around it and a little hill that hid the runway. (Pictures later - left the camera in the plane.)

Not much going on in Nevis, but we saw a Cirrus parked by the tower and decided to park right next to it - we know our little RVs will go anywhere a Cirrus can and farther.

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We were greeted by the smiling and cheerful Omel, who handled all the paperwork for us and even arranged for a taxi to the Nisbet Plantation Inn. (Most handlers charge a fairly reasonable fee or work for tips and they are completely worth it - they can save hours in paperwork and headaches and fees.)

A former sugarcane plantation and sugar mill, it was the home of Fanny Nisbet who was married to Admiral Nelson, the hero of Trafalgar.

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We were greeted with smiles and the delicious house signature drink, a rum and passion fruit concoction.

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Our little cottage was Sea Haven. That night there was a barbeque and a steel drum band. All the staff are super nice and treat you like family. By the end of the evening, everyone - staff and guests - were dancing to Hot! Hot! Hot! - well, almost everyone. We were exchanging yarns the Cirrus owners, Sue and Will, who flew to St. Maarten and Nevis from Park City, UT. It turned out that Will was a former Marine, like Jailbird,l and we stayed up way past our bedtimes.

The next night, we didn't feel like getting dressed for dinner at the Great House - and we wanted some local flavor. The super nice front desk person and Hubert, our taxi driver, recommended Lime on Pinney's Beach as the place for good Nevision fare. After enjoying a Green Flash at sunset on the upper deck, we went downstairs to the open dining area for a super fresh fish/lobster dinner. As we were eating, Jazzique and his band were warming up and people started flocking in for the Friday night music. The moon was full and the stars were out. And, to add to our delight, a white SUV pulled up and an assortment of people stepped out including a fabulous Personage in a sparkly silver and platinum wig (we're pretty sure), silver lame jacket, dangling earrings, huge sparkly ring - all very coordinated. The fun was just beginning, but we went back to the hotel early so that we could get a good start in the morning.

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This morning, we left Nevis and dodged low clouds and rain and made a detour around the Virgin Islands to San Juan Isla Grande airport. Now having an after dinner drink after a great Criollo dinner at Casa Lola.
 
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Day 22: Martinique to Dominica....then Nevis

Hi to our RV Family of Friends!

Day 22 (Saturday April 27) marked the beginning of our final (fourth) week of our wonderful vacation, and it started off on the French Island of Martinique. I wanted to land on at least one French Island, and now looking back on it: I don’t need to land on any more so we’ll be bypassing Guadeloupe!

We were awake just before 0700, and Sharkbait had already walked to reception desk to pick our ‘breakfast bread’ offered by the Panoramic Hotel. The room fridge had butter, jam, milk and juice in small paper cartons and Tuppergal had bought some cheese the night before. A nice, light breakfast to start the day.

Afterwards, I walked down the hill to the souvenir store to buy a shirt (I only brought one T-shirt from home and having been buying my shirts along the way). Keys was down on the beach to enjoy his last ocean swim in French waters.

Here are some pics from the previous day:

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The view from our room that had a very nice patio to sit and enjoy:

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We had previously arranged with our taxi driver Andre a 1200 pickup and he was spot-on to get us back to the airport. This time, there was a gentleman at the GA terminal behind a small desk who we showed our pilot’s license to, and we were allowed into the ramp. No Customs, Immigration, Police….just one ‘desk’ guy. We filed our flight plans with the tower using the airport office phone, filled out our four (4) departure GenDecs (from Martinique to Dominica) and filed one each in the four (4) mailboxes outside as before.

There were some pilots on the ramp who wanted to look at the planes which we are always glad to do…we are never in a hurry to leave the ramp. We were even invited back to the 2014 Martinique Airshow next spring. Matter of fact, one of the guys involved with it told me he had previously contacted a large group of pilots who had just performed a couple of weeks ago in the Dominican Republic….”Hey, we know those guys….Team Aerodynamix!" They’d love to have you Kahuna!

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This time, it was Sharkbait’s turn to lead so he called for engine start (you NEVER start your engine until you’ve been given permission by the tower). Hmm…that reminds me of a story I forgot to tell you but mentioned previously. On the day we left Grenada for St. Lucia, Jailbird/Indira/Keys flew direct while Sharkbait/Tuppergal/Me flew our little ‘island hopping’ excursion.

Following our pictures at Bequia, I was getting ready to call for startup when I heard Sharkbait startup..his prop was spinning…

I called the tower (all of 100’ away and maybe all of 20’ tall)…that was right next to us for permission to start up:

“Bequia Tower, RV 628PV request permission for engine startup”

“628PV permission granted”…. So I’m ready to flip the Avionics Master off when I hear Sharkbait…

“Bequia Tower, RV 522AB request engine startup”

“522AB….engine already started…advise when ready to taxi.” You gotta’ laugh!

So back to Martinique, Sharkbait requested engine start for all of us (granted) then taxi to the runway (granted). He tried for a formation takeoff but no-joy. One of the pilots we were talking with said they would probably allow a low approach (so they could take some video) and THAT was allowed.

We took off in sequence: Sharkbait, Keys then me. Here's our approach for the pass:

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Leaving the coast of Martinique:

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So the flight from Martinique (TFFF) to our next island, Dominica, was ~50nm (20 minute flight). I think Keys/I stayed at 1500':

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Here's the southern coast of Dominica. We were supposed to land Canefield (TDCF) airport...

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So Sharkbait asks approach for frequency change to Canefield, and Approach says, "The airport is closed." CLOSED?!? "Sharkbait, ask them if it's temporary." The French were just fine with one plane calling for all three of us...he asks and they say, "It closed at 1200 hours".

"Sharkbait, tell 'em were going to the airport at the northend, and I have no idea what the name is...but give me a second". I punch it up and tell him "Melville Hall, TDPD". So we're going there, decision made. Here's the eastern coast of Dominica, heading north:

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Day 22: Martinique to Dominica....then Nevis

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Here's the approach into Melville Hall:

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Since we did not have a big breakfast, and the fact there was a small eatery on the field, we decided to get some food. While there, Sharkbait got out his laptop to figure out where to go next. My ORIGINAL plan was to land at the Canefield airport (west coast) and spend two nights in nearby Roseau (and that gave me a day of diving). Since we were now the east coast, there were no dive sites...so we are 'outta' here!

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Day 22: Martinique to Dominica....then Nevis

Sharkbait had suggested Nevis so we overflew all the islands to Nevis and had some SPECTACULAR cloud formations all the way there (Deb:There are clouds and then there are CLOUDS!):

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Here's the coastline of Monserrat where there was a volcano eruption in 1997. This is the lava field flowing into the ocean:

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Chasing Sharbait to the crosswind for left downwind entry to the runway:

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Day 22: Martinique to Dominica....then Nevis

Excuse the head in the over-the-shoulder picture of us left downwind:

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Now this was a VERY COOL downwind leg:

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Nevis and St. Kitts are separated by only two miles, so while on downwind, Tuppergal took this picture of St. Kitts off the right wing:

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I need to get the story from Sharkbait but he had been in contact with Omel who he met (online) via a family friend, and she was expecting us. She was a SUPER handler and got us through the airport in no time at all!

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The flight from the north coast of Dominica to St. Kitts took us over Guadeloupe and Montserrat, ~123nm...as you know, not far at all for an RV!

I've read the diving is excellent here and am looking forward to it on Sunday. As you have guessed, this trip (for me) is about flying and diving :)

Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL WORTH IT! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Spot Track Update for April 6-27

I spent some time downloading ground tracks and wanted to show you a summary of the ground tracks across the USA to the Turks and the loop around the Caribbean to date:

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I know there are many of you who are thinking "What a great adventure!" and I have no doubt there are many who are thinking "They are crazy to be flying single engine over the water!"....and I'm OK with that. I heard this first from Bill Marvel, "RVs make great magic carpets!" and I TRULY believe this!

I 'steal' the quote below from our great friends Scott & Deb Mills who have it in their signature line of every post they make. I very much enjoying sharing the trips we take with all of you and hope to inspire you, as Gary "Condor" Sobek did for me, to take a trip...any trip... in the RV you built... or bought :)

"In order to discover new lands one must have the courage to lose sight of the shore."
Andre Gide
 
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Seeds for thought

Rosie
Your trip is ispirational, and also a challenge to see the RV as more than just
transportation... it is an excuse for adventure!
Jim Frisbie
RV-9A
 
Days 23-24: Enjoying the Island of Nevis

Hi to our RV Family of Friends,

We've had a great couple of days here on the island, and both days are mirror images of each other: Wake up around 0800 and have a bottle of juice for breakfast. Catch the diveboat right in front the resort we are staying at, Oualie Hotel Beach Resort. We ride about 15 minutes to the dive site for the first tank, dive then to the next dive site for the second tank. Back at the resort by 1300, have lunch then to the room for a shower and maybe a short nap. Jump in the water for an hour or so then get cleaned up for dinner. Depending on how much fun had with the new friends we've made, back to the room by 2200-ish...then an update to the website if I'm awake :) Here are some pics from lunch one day at the Gallipot Restaurant. This is the owner Traci with Sharkbait

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Here's the view from the front door of the Gallipot:

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We met Annette at the Gallipot as she is a friend of Traci (the owner). We ended up having dinner with our new friend at "Sunshine's" Restaurant.

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Spectacular Sunsets here in the Islands (raw photo, not retouched):

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Days 23-24: Enjoying the Island of Nevis

Tuppergal and Sharkbait took the Ferry to St. Kitts today (Monday) and visited the Brimstone Hill Fortress, and Romney Manor, home to Caribelle Batik (fabric) factory. Here are pics from their day:

This is the pier at St. Kitts:

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Looking out a window where they fired guns at the opposing forces:

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Days 23-24: Enjoying the Island of Nevis

Here are pics from the Oualie Beach Resort where we stayed:

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The view out the front door:

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The Restaurant (all the island eateries are 'open air'):

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The Surfboard Outdoor Shower:

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Here's Pat from the reception desk of the Oualie Beach Resort:

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Great write-up.....

As we are having one of the longest winters on record and one of the slowest return to spring conditions, I am really enjoying living vicariously through Rosie's posts......what a great adventure !! I' m dreaming of Oshkosh.....
 
commander rosie, what a trip! looks like you got me in the rear view mirror now. :)
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hey by the way, if you want to fly a 100 miles of incredible island beauty drop down low on the exuma islands and see the best views bar none.

if i can catch up with you at fort pierce on the return ill buy you all lunch. :cool:

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From Rosie: Hot-of-the-camera, just for you Turbo....I'm right behind you!


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Day 25: Flying to Montserrat then to Anguilla

Hi to our RV Family of Friends!

It’s Tuesday, April 30, and we had a great stay on the Island of Nevis! Keys tells me this is his FAVORITE island to-date, and I know we will be back.

I had mentioned that we met a new friend on the island, Annette, and it turns out that during our dinner conversation, we hear that she needs to have her Visa renewed (or something like that), but the short version is that she needed to leave the island and come back….Andrew offered up a ride to Montserrat as we had planned to visit the lava flows of Montserrat in the morning then fly to Anguilla in the afternoon.

Annette was at the resort at ~0830, and we piled into her car for the airport. Our handler, Omel was there to greet us: What a SUPER, WONDERFUL, CHEERFUL person!!

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You ready to go Keys!?!

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Say goodbye to Nevis:

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I asked and the Tower allowed us all to back-taxi, line-up and take-off at three (3) second intervals:

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We are very used to having water off the wing (or under the wings) after takeoff:

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Nevis has it’s very own drag-strip:

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We flew around the island a bit just to see the other side:

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This is Redonda Island about half way to Montserrat from Nevis:

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As we overflew Redonda, Nevis tower called to ask if we had our prior-permission paperwork ‘in order’ for landing at Montserrat…”Ah, no”. Ok, you can try but they probably won’t let you land. I tried to ‘lie’ the best I could… “Oh, I’ve been here before, years ago…” Didn’t work…this is the best we could do…an overflight:

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Day 25: Flying to Montserrat then to Anguilla

From the Montserrat airport, it was only about a minute until we arrived to see the aftermath of a volcanic eruption:

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Notice in this picture in front of the wing, a house that held it's ground:

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Here's another picture of the same house:

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As we flew by, the smoke you see comes from the volcano and smells of sulphur (rotten eggs):

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Time to head back to Nevis as Andrew was going to drop off Annette then follow us to Anguilla:

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Day 25: Flying to Montserrat then to Anguilla

From the Montserrat (TRPG) to Nevis (TKPN) was ~34nm and another ~66nm to Anguilla (TQPF). This is the northern coast of St. Kitts:

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This is the island of St. Eustatius:

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Nearest Airports:

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Heres’ St. Barts:

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Here’s St. Marteen:

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Grand Case (TFFG: St. Martin) Airport:

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And our arrival to Anguilla’s “The Valley” (TQPF) airport:

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Day 25: Flying to Montserrat then to Anguilla

Yes Keys, you can get out now!

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Sharkbait had to stop (again) at Nevis to drop off Annette so he was minutes behind us:

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We are diving with these guys on Wednesday:

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Another great view from our room at the Arawak Beach Inn:

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Wednesday (May 1) is our last day of diving and relaxing in the Antilles Island chain before we start heading home to California.

Thanks so much for following along, and keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Day 26: A morning diving and afternoon of sightseeing on Anguilla

Hi to our RV Family of Friends!

It’s Wednesday, May 01, 2013 and our last full day of ‘vacation’ vacation as we now have a ‘flying’ vacation ahead of us through this coming Sunday as we head for California.

Our day started at 0730 for breakfast in the hotel reception area then Keys/Sharkbait/I were off for our morning dive with Doug Carty on his boat ‘Desha’ (named after his daughter). He first took us to a cargo ship that was sunk in 1990 and this followed a very nice drift dive that took us from one side of Sandy Island to the other (about ¼ mile). We were back on the dock around 1300 and walked the beach:

Elvis Lives (at the Elvis Beach Bar):

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The Dock and Customs/Immigration:

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Here’s Wallblake house (the distance to the runway is about two miles):

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The Roman Catholic Church next door to Wallblake (where the Priest lives). All the rock was cut-to-fit...WOW...lots of work there!

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One of the small beaches (Sea Feather Bay) we took a dirt road to find:

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Need Money?

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Our evening entertainment in the hotel reception area:

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As we headed to the room, Tuppergal saw this lone chair across the small bay under the light, so this photo is courtesy of Sharkbait (not sure how much vegetation he walked through to get this photo but it came out nice!):

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We are planning an 0900 departure from Anguilla (TQPF) to Providenciales (MBPV) for fuel (via the Dominican Republic) then into Great Exuma (MYEF) for the night at the Hideaways (where we stayed during our Bahamas 2011 trip). If you have time, track us via SPOT!

Our plans, weather permitting, are Bahamas on Thursday, Florida (and a bit beyond) on Friday, Dallas on Saturday and Southern California on Sunday...YES, no problem in an RV!

Keep poundin’ them rivets because it’s ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Rosie!!! We're still reading! I see that the picture source is still working (technical details). Hmm. vaf convergence upon Mike may be in the future! (Mike, you're da man!)

The adventure is amazing. Good for you man, and of course Sharkbait and Keys!! I can see that Victoria is hanging in there :).

So, You have provided visibility into the process of communication and being nice to people in the world. I, as many, am challenged in such arts, but you are not. I choose to be a student and have learned a lifetime of wisdom from your flight brief that basically said "be nice". "It is your greatest resource for success of this flight."

Twoop.

I've been aggressively using something of this in business for the last couple of weeks back in the real world with real successes.

For the rest, there is a takeaway here. This island hop requires the most basic of human skills that we sometimes loose in our everyday lives. This is 'island time Mon'".

2015!! I've already talked to two ships, face-to-face, hundreds of miles from home that are IN, that I can vouch for.

On your way back across the country; if you need planning resources, where to stop, or the most personal flight service that one could imagine without having to talk to lockheed, call (Cookie is your person). Of course, if N. Texas doesn't work out, aim a little further south and call when you're on the ramp, we'll be there within 30min..

From Rosie: Scoot/Cookie, you both are 'good people' and thanks so much for the kind words. I've have always beleived that I am a 'reflection' of the friends I keep :) You hang out with 'ducks'...you'll probably act like a duck. You hang out with nice pilots, you will be a nice pilot :) Hang out with good people, 'you' are good people! I look forward to MANY more trips with you both!
 
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Day 27: Flying from Anguilla to Great Exuma (Bahamas)

Hello to our 'RV family of Friends

It’s Thursday (May 2) and we’ve had a VERY long day of flying but let’s start with the beginning of our day on Anguilla. Upon arrival yesterday, Maria (the Innkeeper at the Arawak) recommended we rent a car which we did (a Toyota Yaris). It was great for getting around the island and it was also our ‘taxi’ to the airport.

We had a light breakfast and headed for the airport around 0730, arriving about 20 minutes later. And this brings up something I've failed to describe: I don’t think I’ve really gone into the details of what you need to do at the airport (any foreign airport):

UPON ARRIVAL:

Taxi/Park as directed by the tower

Unload the plane of baggage

Request (and pay for ) fuel. We like to have the planes ready to go at departure.

Secure the planes (in the grass if no tie-downs available: we rarely had tie-downs or grass). I had chocks for awhile then they disappeared so I was using sticks.

Gather baggage and proceed to the ‘Arrivals’ gate

Fill out paperwork as requested by anyone willing to get you through the airport ‘maze’

Prepare the arrival GenDecs for your arrival to the country (number depends on the country…the Dominican Republic wins at five in and five out). Give them to whoever wants one.

Pay fees as requested by the official you are talking with. US Dollars worked fine everywhere except in Martinique (France: Euros)

Gather bags, get a taxi and head to the hotel

UPON DEPARTURE:

Fill out Departure GenDecs based on the number you used on the way in.

Proceed to the Airport Office or look for a window that says Airport/Departure taxes: Pay fees.

With passport in hand WITH your Pilot’s license sticking out of it, proceed to the
Departures gate: Hand the person at the X-ray/Metal Detector you are a private flight (as evidenced by the Pilot’s license you just handed them: It’s your ‘boarding pass’. Once inside, you need to find someone who can take you see Customs/Immigration if it’s not readily visible.

Clear Customs/Immigration and give GenDecs when requested. Sometimes they will stamp and return one or two and other times they will keep them.

Here’s where you feel like a Rock Star: With everybody sitting in the terminal waiting to board your plane, show a Security Person your Passport, Pilot’s License and any receipts for fees paid and ask them to open the door to the ramp. People seated wonder, “Who are those people?!?”

Take baggage to the plane. In my case, leave wife to ‘ready the plane’.

Proceed with other Pilots to the Tower where you will file your flight plan. If there was no Airport Office/Departure Tax Office, the tower will collect your landing fees and such (cash only). With flight plan filled out, head back to the plane.

Pack the plane (wife does not lift heavy bags).

Perform thorough Preflight and ALWAYS sump the fuel tanks.

‘Don’ your fishing vest that has all kinds of survival stuff ‘stuffed’ into in then put on your lifevest over that.

Hold pilot brief with other pilots to decide procedures on leaving: Who’s leading, radio calls, direction of departure etc.

Board your plane and wait for lead to call tower and REQUEST ENGINE STARTUP.

Startup on Lead Hand signal. Follow lead if tower allows a ‘flight’ else call tower in sequence for taxi instructions.

Line up and wait or takeoff as directed by the tower. ALWAYS thank the tower for ‘having you’ at THEIR airport :)

Switch to company once tower ‘turns’ you loose and discuss how the departure went and how it could have been better.

Fly to next airport and repeat the process :)

Ok, back to Anguilla…here we are piled into the car:

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We arrived to the airport and paid our fees, $13.90 US for parking and landing fees.

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Fix flat tire (in 30 minutes):

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Depart the airport and cruise the coastline. The 'pointy' buildings are the Arawak Beach Inn where we stayed:

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'Spaghetti tracks from our arrival to Beef Island (see my wide crosswind entry to the right downwind?), our day of flying in the USVI and then back across Puerto Rico to Santo Domingo:

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The Virgin Islands through the clouds:

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Flying off of Lead: Sharkbait

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Day 27: Flying from Anguilla to Great Exuma (Bahamas)

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10,000nm flown this year (trying to catch Turbo!)

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Puerto Rico under the clouds:

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Grand Turk:

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South Caicos:

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The ‘downline’ into Providenciales:

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One of two ‘360s’ on final waiting for an American 757 to backtrack off the runway:

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Key’s getting front row parking while we got ‘kicked to the curb’:

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We were on the ramp and refueled in no-time at all so we wanted to get out of there and heading to Great Exuma (MYEF): WE WERE HUNGRY!

WARNING: The Turks & Caicos have the HIGHEST FEES in the entire Caribbean. Our Fuel bill was $253 and we left the office after paying $410.

On our April 9th arrival, I did NOT look at my bill but am guessing I'll see the same. I will NOT be back to the Turks & Caicos until they lower their Fees! We SHOULD have landed in the Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata: MDPP) for $30 plus fuel.

Here’s the departure end of the runway at Provideciales once airborne:

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Day 27: Flying from Anguilla to Great Exuma (Bahamas)

Following lead for this leg: Keys

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For Jimmyb: Pittstown Point and the Lighthouse offshore (from 8500' MSL):

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It was great to be back on Great Exuma and see Jermaine Bannister again: He handled Cookie's flight (Tanya) on their way home from the Bahamas. YOU MUST STOP AT GREAT EXUMA AND MEET JERMAINE! He's GOOD PEOPLE!

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Day 27: Flying from Anguilla to Great Exuma (Bahamas)

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Here?s what?s left of a plane that was on the ramp during a hurricane:

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Not sure why Sharbait parked way over there?

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Here are pics from the Hideaways where we stayed on our Bahamas 2001 trip. Beverly Brittain is the manager, and we were GLAD to be back at the Hideaways!

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Here's a snapshot of today's flying: Anguilla to Great Exuma, ~800nm in six (6) Hobbs Hours :)

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The current weather radar is not looking good at the moment so we'll see how Friday goes....on Friday morning :)

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Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Human jack

.....loved you "human jack" under the wingtip while you fixed the flat:)

Thanks so much for 'taking' us along.

Safe travels all,
 
Feet Dry

Rosie and Keys about to become Feet Dry over Florida. That is after a little less than a month of feet wet flying.
Just Outstanding!
 
Manana Mon!

Enjoy the pool ...... sip on a cold one...... swim the salty sea.......
Sunday and Monday will be nice days to Fly over Florida to the places you must be.

Great trip, thanks for sharing.

Also enjoyed the high tech voice controlled wing jack...
 
Great Exuma, Bahamas to Granbury, Texas (well over 1300 NM) in one day! Are you kidding me? With Customs and some zig-zagging due to weather, that's just amazing! :D
 
Rosie & Tuppergal safe at Pecan Plantation (TX)

Hi All, it's just after 2300, having arrived to the home of Martin & Claudia Sutter. We just enjoyed a nice, HOT soup, that we needed after tonight's COLD flight. 1300nm Don?!? I didn't know that! I DO know that I wanted to be here in Texas, and we are here :)

Sharkbait departed Venice for points north (towards Ohio), and Keys hung in there with me and completed our day with a beautiful 2-hour night flight into Pecan.

Many thanks to Tom & Bonnie Lewis for bringing Blue Bell Ice Cream (and fruit and chocolate sauce and bananas!) to make the evening complete!

I'm heading to be now and will try to get pics up tomorrow night.

Thanks so much for following along! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
... 1300nm Don?!? I didn't know that! I DO know that I wanted to be here in Texas, and we are here :) ....

Rosie, it may have been over 1400nm. The great circle distance between Great Exuma and Pecan Plantation is about 1266 nm so with the zig-zags I just rounded it up. It was probably closer to 1400!

Whatever it was, my hat's off to you and Victoria(!) and to Keys for showing us what these little planes built in our garages can do :D ...not just yesterday, but for the whole trip.

Also, I don't know what the record number of views for a single thread is, but this one is approaching 50,000. There were a lot of folks checking on you during your trip. Thanks again for sharing it with us.
 
Day 28: Great Exuma to Pecan Plantation (TX)

Hi to our RV Family of Friends,

It's Saturday, May 4th, and I wanted to get some pictures up for you today before we head out for lunch at the Hard 8 BBQ (at 1100 local). We'll continue on to California from there but won't quite make it home (but will get close).

So without spending lots of time on the text, I'll come back and add words after we get home.

This is the ground track for the day's flying from Great Exuma (about the red dot) to Pecan Plantation, with Keys/I landing around 2215 local.

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Keys, Tuppergal and Sharkbait:

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Do you see Keys in the background?

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We are back home to the United States of America!

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Day 28: Great Exuma to Pecan Plantation (TX)

Landing at Fort Laurderdale International with Keys leading (notice the 'bamboo' font for his N number):

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Keys was leading our flight of three when the approach controller asked how much separation he needed between for the flight...."Ah, zero"....controller chuckles... "Roger, Zero". Keys/I landed a two-ship with Andrew right behind us, and I'm sure it looked GREAT to all those 'eyes' on us!

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Left to right: Rosie, Keys and Sharkbait:

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From Customs, there were LOTS of taxiways to navigate, and here's our Taxi clearance: Taxi to runway 28R via Papa, cross runway 31, join Quebec, Delta, Sierra to Bravo then monitor tower on 119.3. We were in line behind five (5) heavies (I kept my distance), and I found that you don't say anything when in line: Tower 'knows' who you are!

In line for takeoff with the 'big boys'. The United pilot keyed the mike and said, "Nice RVs you got there! I have an RV-6 at home, two years now and love it!"..."We love 'em too, thank you!"

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All three of us were allowed on the runway as a 3-ship for departure...cool! Following departure from Ft. Lauderdale, maintaining at or below 1000' MSL until clear of the Class C airspace:

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Sharkbait leading us to Naples:

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Landing Naples for food...

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...then departing immediately because my AOPA database had 'lied' about there being a restaurant on-field:

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Day 28: Great Exuma to Pecan Plantation (TX)

On the ramp at Venice (VNC) where they DID have food (maybe another 25 minute flight): We were hungry since we did not eat breakfast in Great Exuma!

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We said our goodbyes to Sharkbait as he was going to fly to Ohio and visit family. We all departed ~1530 northbound along the western coast of Florida with full bellies and full tanks:

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We turned eastbound somewhere 'abeam' Perry-Foley (40J) and were VFR on top nearly most all the flight to St. Landry (KOPL), LA:

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We were able to talk with Sharkbait at ~290nm before we lost him completely on the radio:

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The Mighty Mississippi comes into view at the end of the overcast we'd been flying over since leaving the panhandle of Florida:

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XM weather showing clear skies all the way to Texas:

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Into St. Landry (KOPL) after 4.5 hours of flying (I had six gallons in the tank :)

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One more leg (2 hours) to Pecan Plantation (0TX1) to the home of Martin & Claudia Sutter (where Tuppergal/I stayed) and Tom & Bonnie Lewis (where Keys stayed):

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This was just beautiful...one of the most beautiful sunsets I've seen when flying into a sunset......another raw photo (no retouched):

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Long hop to Great Exuma, That is one wonderful island, the place you stayed looks very familiar. I stayed down there on a trip and the place was on the southern end of the island with the 4 season resort on the north where our folks stayed.

How much fuel you land with after 6 hours? guess you have a built in relief tube :) From Rosie: I know how to eat AND drink for long flights!Smilin' Jack
 
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Hard 8

Rosie and Victoria,

Fun seeing you two today at Stephenville, TX KSEP and lunch at the Hard 8 BBQ.
Hope to cross paths again soon.
Victoria,, may I buy you a cup of tea, some where? You were giving me a bunch of good info, please, sometime,,,,, when your cheer leader husband is at work or? We all love him but I would like to pick your brain about these trips from your view, ,,, just not enough time today.

Thanks for stopping in our neighbor hood, come back soon.
You two have 5 bizzilion hours on your RV6A? Wishing you many more!!!
 
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Rosie & Tuppergal are safe in Payson, AZ

Hi to our RV Family of Friends! I just wanted to 'check-in' and let you know that we are in Payson (AZ) overnighting with longtime friends. We'll be heading home in the morning and I'll get you all caught up then.

It was GREAT having lunch with VAF #s 1, 2, 3 & 4 at the Hard 8 BBQ. We departed Stephenville and was on the climb-out when I heard a familiar voice on the radio so we landed.

My former co-workers from my days on the F-117 flew in to say hi: Dave Gill and Carl Scheuneman. I gave Dave a short ride (Carl had one a few years ago). We visited a short time on the ramp then were off to Muleshoe (TX) then to St. Johns (AZ) for fuel (about 2.5 hours for each flight).

From there, it was about 45 minutes to Payson (PAN). We watched a Little League game for awhile then to dinner.

We'll check in again from California on Sunday, Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Congratulations!

I see that you've arrived at home. What a trip, with over 51,665 thread views, thousands of miles travelled and countless memories! All in a little "homemade" airplane.

From Rosie: Yes Don, we arrived home ~1239 local on Sunday May 5th :) Thanks so much for keeping an eye on us and the kind posts. I look forward to meeting AND flying with you one day!!!!
 
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