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Rosie & Tuppergal's Bahamas Trip 2011

Her response surprised me. "We'll have the Bonanza for a four place so build an 8 and make it a fast one.".

Hmmmmmm, can you have her talk to my wife????

What is it you have in your tag line, --- "daydreams of a Super 8 or a Rocket starting to take over my brain."

I am so consumed by the idea of a Super 8, with a ShowPlanes canopy and cowl setup, & Grove gear legs.
 
Mama did't tell me about these

One of my favorite pictures from the trip taken by Alina Buono. We haven't been "Feet Wet" for very long when off in the distance we see this.

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Just got back from another island dinner. Hey, this is definitely not the ritz, but most of the food is good. But, it doesn't matter, because the company is great and we can simply take over most any place we walk into (most places don't have inside tables). Did anybody say, we have 41 people here!

I have to say, I'm not much of a traveler. In fact, I hate to travel. However, I built this thing in my garage called an "RV" and it LOVES to travel, as does Tanya. So, it is truely through this machine that I have a very personal connection to that connects me to some of the most grand adventures and people I could ever imagine.

Today, as with most so far, we got up, had breakfast in the room, and wandered down to the "super secret cove" for a perfect swim and snorkle on one of the most beautiful postcard perfect beaches that I had ever seen. Then took the dive boat to a spot they call the "Blue hole" for a scuba dive to a big natural hole/tunnel that goes through the island 8mi. We went down to 90' and saw some amazing sights. It is amazing to dive in clear water as opposed to the 2.5' visibility that we're used to. Returned to BS around the pool for a couple of hours, then dinner.

Oh, there is a pretty funny story here: For the past couple of evenings, we've been walking down the road about .25 mi (in light rain each evening) to eat dinner at a sort of outdoor collection of food and bar shacks. Really, some of the most primitive conditions that most would consider "dinner". Food is cooked by ...(Rosie: insert her name here)... The nicest local cook you would want cooking your food, on an outdoor grill. Really good food at a great price by my opinion. Anyway, she is taking the day off today for a local holiday, "Labour Day". So, we're walking to another place, and one of the other "Fish Fry" shack cooks came zooming up the road, as they do here at full throttle, and came to a skidding stop across the road when he saw us. He hopped out of his car, dashed across the road, and handed Rosie his menu for tonight with the hard sell to come eat at his shack. The problem is that some in the group were OVER eating next to the big rusted barge and tugboat while getting pelted by wind, sand, and rain. We were generally looking for someplace with a table and chairs that was out of the rain :). So the "chef" was out of luck for tonight.

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Stay tuned. The group is flying out to another island for lunch tomorrow (~10am here) and I bet there will be a whole other flood of pictures and stories to come.

Build On! I know I will when I get home :).
 
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You just need the big numbers coming back in. I brought a roll of electrical tape and plan on putting the numbers on before leaving Exuma.
FAR 45.29(h) says "After March 7, 1988, each operator of an aircraft penetrating an ADIZ or DEWIZ must display on that aircraft temporary or permanent nationality and registration marks at least 12 inches high".

That reg applies for ops in the ADIZ, no matter which way you are going.

Fortunately FAR 45 only applies to US registered aircraft, so I won't have to worry about it if I ever go to the Bahamas.
 
OK.. OK...Time to Chime in

I have been behind with updating my website. Janet and I have been having such a good time, first in Maryland, then in Homestead and finally on the island. Rosie, Deb and Scott and Tanya have covered the adventure aptly. I finally caught up on my website, so if you can stand yet another account of the adventure, you can check it out here:
www.getbusylivingnow.net
Gene and Janet Larsen
"Moody Blue" RV9A
 
really thought we would see more of the white sandy beaches and turquoise water pics like this,

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really thought we would see more of the white sandy beaches and turquoise water pics like this,
Turbo, Coming right up! Processing pictures now from todays flyout down to Crooked Island at Pittstown Point, 29 people, 13 airplanes. Simply amazing!

It was a dark and stormy morning on the island Mon', when 29 sheep assembled to be herded to the airport... (the full story with pictures is coming, while I go pour a stiff drink.)

Ok, a couple of drinks later, HERE are our (77) pictures of the day 4 flyout to lunch, with a few captions by yours truely. I didn't upload full resolution, but they are available. Here is a teaser for the lazy people :).
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We watched the rain clouds for 20 minutes before they hit us, so we knew they were at least moving. The ringleader instructed his minions to check with a couple other island airports for the weather. "It's clear here, and your direction looks dark, but southeast is just puffy clouds." That's all we needed to hear, and we were off to meet our chariots for the day. Shake the water off the canopy cover, release the tie-downs, and off into the dreary sky. We pointed southeast and awed at the multitude of tourquoises and blues. The tourquoise reflecting off the underbelly of the clouds is still eluding the camera, so you'll have to come see that for yourself. Delta flight cruised down the east side of Long Island on the way, and 2 decided to take the opportunity for some low flight over the scenery. Lead cleared us down, we kept him in sight the whole way, and Scott ("Scoot") proceeded to race down the coast at 200 feet, 160 knots, with well over 29 inches of manifold pressure. OK, play time was over and it was back into the flight, easy as pie since they were never out of sight. The field at Pittsdown Point has no taxiways, so each flight landed and continued to the end of the runway. Once the last plane in the flight was down, they called their position and the flight taxied down the runway. Two more identical drills, with JimmyB flagging us in, and we were once again assembled.

The FBo was ready for our flight with a great table setting and some welcome punch. I'm not sure how many times I heard pilots confirm it was a non-alcholic punch, but that made me smile every time. It's best to be wise and safe. Lunch was comprised of chicken, grouper, conch, rice, coleslaw, salad, carrot cake, and key lime pie. They sure had it all together. Lunch entertainment was the usual hangar flying stories, but the icing was Rosie presiding over the union of "The Keys". Of course, it was time to wander the beach a little, take some pictures, and saddle up for the ride home. A few of us took the opportunity to get some nice pictures over the lighthouse and were rewarded for our efforts.

A nice, smooth flight home awaited us even at 2 in the afternoon. That would never happen back home this time of year. Some minor in flight adjustments of plans saw the inagural flight of "Scoot Flight" over the water for the return. A few more pictures along the coastline of the island we are calling home for the week. Ready to dream about the next adventure, surely only hours away... (by tcard)
 
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Pittstown Point

Processing pictures now from todays flyout down to Crooked Island at Pitstown Point, 29 people, 15 (?) airplanes. Simply amazing!

That must have overwhelmed them! Here's some pics from the 2001 Alpha Flt to Pittstown. Ask JimmyB or Zilik about the hailstorm!

2001 Alpha Flt
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JB getting in some laps
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Lighthouse off the end of the runway
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Glad you guys are having fun. Wish we were there. Sure brings back the memories.

Lucky/CJ
 
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Picture of 628PV

Scott,
You got to send me a full rez copy of that one of Rosie passing the lighthouse in your post above. Awesome, calendar-worthy shot!

Regards to all,
 
Wow, I wondered what all the commotion was about. We had heard that 5 or 6 were flying in but I never expected 13 airplanes. Unfortunately, I didn't know you were coming in for lunch only. I was busy installing a weather station on the roof but had planned on coming down later to visit and look at all the "flying" RVs. I live about a mile east of Pittstown. Glad to hear you all had a good time. We love it here on Crooked.
 
US return frequencies....4 June 2011

Miami Center ...close to MYEF 127.22 I obtained squawk code (VFR flight following) before activating flight plan

Miami Radio (FSS). close to MYEF Activate flight plan 118.4 They told me they would get a code so told them I already had one. You may be able to to do the flight plan first. This was just how I did it.

Nassau APCH 121.0 41 nm from Nassau

Miami Center 125.7 10 NM NW of Nassau

Miami Center 133.4 133 NM SE of KFPR

Miami Center 132.15 64 NM SE of KFPR

Miami Center 132.25 41 NM from KFPR

Might have been others closer.

You just pay Jermaine at MYEF. You never see customs folks. You can be airborne around 800 AM. This was faster than coming in!

Customs at FPR. Walk in with luggage. I waited in the plane 10 minutes then called Ground. Verify the procedure at FPR when you call them to advise of your arrival.

You will call US Customs from Strachan office. FPR customs: 772-461-1733. If during non office hours, you call Miami customs 305-526-7155. This number was noted on the FPR line.

Was told tolerance on arrival was 45 minutes.

Breakfast at FPR Tiki until 1130 AM

Runway 10R at FPR is the original runway 10.

Haze around Memphis today was very bad.
 
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Miami Center ...close to MYEF 127.22 Obtained squack code
Miami Radio (FSS). close to MYEF Activate flight plan 118.4
Nassau APCH 121.0 41 nm from Nassau
Miami Center 125.7 10 NM NW of Nassau
Miami Center 133.4 133 NM SE of KFPR
Miami Center 132.15 64 NM SE of KFPR
Miami Center 132.25 41 NM from KFPR
Might have been others closer.

You just pay Jermaine at MYEF. You never see customs folks. You can be airborne around 800 AM.

Customs at FPR. Walk in

You will call from Strachan office FPR customs 772-461-1733 If during non office hours, you call Miami customs 305-526-7155

Was told tolerance on arrival was 45 minutes.

Breakfast at FPR Tiki until 1130 AM

Thanks Ron for doing the test run for getting out of here. As you know we had a great flight to Pittstown today
 
Swimming with your RV

What's the deal with the 6 tied down in the water????

We tied down after we landed (turned out out it was in a bit of a depression). A HUGE storm came in and dumped a bunch of water/hail. The depression filled up with water. I think we all ended up changing wheel bearings after we got home.
 
Scott & Deb cont ...

In order to obtain a more perfect account of yesterday's events, Scott "Scoot" Card thought it appropriate for us to include a different perspective. Even the New testament gospels were written by four different people. Not suggesting that we're anywhere near that level of import... just saying. ;)

The day sure enough started out pretty dismally--rainy and cloudy. After arriving at the airport and checking the weather, we knew it to be good both at MYLS Stella Maris and MYCP Pittstown Point, our destination. Once the gray sky cleared up at Georgetown, it was launch time. With the other two flights in the air, Delta Flight (Mills, Card, Brandt, Larsen) took the intersection and off we went.

It's always interesting for me (being from Colorado) to see so much manifold pressure and fuel flow on takeoff! We climbed to 3,500 ft for the short over-water hop to Stella. A fairly large cloud kept us somewhat south of MYLS. After descending to 1,200 ft, we ran the eastern shore of Long Island (no, not that Long Island) almost all the way down until running into a rain shower. We made the turn for Pittstown Point and skirted the edge of the shower for the remaining 39 nm to the airport and Crooked Island.

A soggy-looking morning waiting for the taxis.

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A group shot at the Exuma International Airport. In the center of the photo is the man responsible for making our Customs and Arrival work such a breeze.
Many THANKS to Jermaine.

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Carolyn Zilik buckled up with her Mae West on ready for departure.

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Bravo Flight leader Bryan Wood with a full house in the Bo.

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Just after take off from Exuma.

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In flight between MYEF and MYLS. One minute it looked like this...

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... and the next it looked like this. Delta's #3 (Gene and Janet Larsen) and #4 (Andrew Brandt and passenger Annmarie Strachan) cruising at 1,200 ft with a rain shower off to their right.

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Scott and Deb Cont.

End of the loooong final approach into Pittstown Point with Jimmy "Paddles" Baker acting as LSO off to the right.

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Fashionably late for their own wedding, bride and groom Mike and Denise Brewton made their grand entrance 30 minutes after everyone else. When you see Mike, ask him how he got his new name "Keys."

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Planes on the left...

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...and planes on the right.

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In this first photo, camera man Andrew Brandt could not control his unruly subjects. Note the lighthouse in the background.

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After a tongue lashing from headmaster Rosales, everyone straightened out and got in line.

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Heading back shortly after making the turn at Stella Maris for Exuma. Yes the water really DOES look like this. But don't take my word for it; check it out for yourself.

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After a fun day of flying, swimming and dinner, several of us gathered poolside for socializing and some J-E-L-L-O.... shots that is.

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Great pics!

Thanks for the motivational pics/writeups. We were just in the Bahamas two weeks ago but arrived courtesy of Royal Caribbean, not by plane. My wife and I attended "Destination Bahamas" at KSGJ yesterday. The program was well done and we managed to score some cracked conch without leaving North Florida. Now that we got the "how to" on flying to the Bahamas, I need to finish the RV to put theory into practice! Looking forward to your next update...:D
 
Making Hay on Day 5 in the Beautiful Bahamas

The resort brought in a band last night that was playing in the restaurant, but it proved to be a little too loud for some of us. The 'some' of us started out at six but eventually grew to about 20. It seems others wanted to be able to converse as well. The limited menu turned out to be a hit with some great chicken alfredo and standard Bahamas BBQ plate.

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We wandered into the lobby at 8:27 for an 8:30 meeting time to head to the dive shop. We were concerned when nobody else was in the lobby and thought we may have been left behind. We confirmed with the front desk that nobody had headed out the dive shop already. Once again, mother nature won as yet another diving day was canceled due to weather. So what do you do? Nothing less than assemble in someone's room and gab for a couple hours. Then lunch time was upon us, and it was time to explore Stocking Island across the bay. A water taxi ride over placed us on a yet to be explored shoreline. A short walk over to the Atlantic side while the grill was heating, and we were treated to the tourqouise giving way to a deep blue as the ocean floor descended under the water.

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Andrew joined us after his paddle across the bay. His arrival ashore was much more leisurely than it would prove to be a few hours later. A meal munched and time to join the rest of the crew at Chat 'n Chill a mile or so down the island. Another round of hangar flying, enjoying the breeze, and soaking in some sun, turned out to be on the agenda for the afternoon. As the second trip of the water taxi completed, Andrew was pulling into the cove and the driver advised him of a particular fish in the water. It turns out an 8 foot tiger shark had decided to visit our small piece of coastline. We watched as the shark pulled out from a protected reef area and proceeded to inspect the newcomer to the cove. Suddenly, the steady paddling turned a bit frenzied, and I swear the kayak was up on a plane as the last couple hundred feet were covered in record time.

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Time to sip a drink by the beach, take a shower, and contemplate dinner plans. There isn't a lot to do on this island, and that is perfect.

tcard

And for those of you who want the entire picture set (29 pics) with additional commentary, click THIS LINK!

Rosie, Wake up from your nap! This torch is getting heavy!
 
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Days 13-16: We be on Island Time!

Once again, I thank the Cards, Mills, Larsen and anyone else here on the trip keeping this thread fresh with pictures! I, on the other hand, have been on 'Island Time' out playing in the water (snorkeling and diving when able).

Day 13 (Thursday, 2 June): We met the dive boat at 0900 for a 2-tank dive. We spent time at ~65' checking out a sunken barge. My dive partner Mike "Keys" Brewton has a new toy (video camera that straps on his head) and was able to get some fun video of the dive. There was some excitement down below when our boat mooring broke and we had to reset the anchor. I believe I blew half my air for that, whew! I'll try to get a video link here.

After diving, we were back to the resort where many of us spent the rest of the day around the pool relaxing. Dinner was a short walk to the 'Fish Fry', an area of several very small business (read small, small wood buildings) where we had a great BBQ dinner (thanks to Tanya for taking pictures here previously posted in this thread). Here's Seismo, Dave Huhman (a co-worker/diver) and me;

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I heard rumor Ron Lee had arrived on the island, possibly pictured here (not yet confirmed ;-)

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Here's the way a typical late afternoon after dinner starts out and ends late into the evening, visiting with friends;

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Day 14 (Friday, 3 June): The morning dive was cancelled due to high winds so I was able to sleep in till 0830 (usually up at 0700). Gary and Carolyn Zilik are training for a triathalon. She asked if I could join her for a swim as she knows I love being in the water. I tell you that I had on my dive fins and could not keep up with her. She is a speed-demon in the water. She swam well over a mile and just plain wore me out! Back to the room for a short nap to recover then back to the pool to hang out with the gang.

We got a call that there was going to be an afternoon dive in the protected harbor at a site called "The Blue Hole". It starts out as a hole that takes you down to about 80' then travels for miles across the islands to another hole (the islanders did a test with dye to verify the holes were connected). In the morning, the water flows one way through then in the afternoon changes direction. You can only dive the site when the water is in transition, in the afternoon. We entered the hole then traveled down the 'tunnel' about 40 feet, very cool! This was Scott & Tanya Card's first salt water dive since the ink on their dive cards was still wet from diving in the mud holes of Texas ;-) Dave Huhman joined me on this dive, thank you very much!

We arrived late afternoon then it was back to the pool for awhile then to dinner at Augusta Bay, a few doors down. We are sharing a 2-bedroom suite with Gary & Carolyn so our night's end sitting around the front room visiting.

Day 15 (Saturday, 4 June): Flying Day! We'd been briefed by the Dive shop that they would be 'down' on Saturday so Jimmyb arranged a special luncheon at the site of the first 'Alpha Flight' ten years ago to Pittstown Point.

Even though I awoke to a light rain, I knew that we could wait awhile and the weather would change ;-) We all piled into the taxi's for the 10 minute drive to the airport where it was still raining (Bryan tried to keep dry) while the Mills' and Andrew elected to stay under cover:

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While waiting, I walked out to the ramp to get a picture of the planes on the ramp; the most RVs they've ever seen on the ramp I'm sure;

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As I said earlier, wait long enough and the weather will change which it did. You'd think with pouring rain that wouldn't fly but it never lasts for long.

Alpha flight was airborne first, and I asked Jimmyb if I could break the gaggle to fly over the resort for a picture (permission granted). The resort is in the middle of the picture, on the beach, all rooms are light blue or yellow with white roofs;

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Our room is in the building farthest right with the pool area on the left.

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This pictures shows the two-story units that also had great views of the bay;

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We departed Great Exuma for Long Island (and trying to catch up with Jimmyb). This is the island where we stayed for the second half of our Bahamas trip in 2004 and is home to Stella Maris.

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Days 13-16: We be on Island Time!

Stella Maris is a beautiful resort of which my favorite spot was the ocean pool. Find the 'real' swimming pool partially hidden by palm trees then look down below it. There are steps leading down to the ocean pool which is surrounded by natural coral that was cut such that the ocean water enters on the end and exits on the other. Of course, it's empty at times due to the tides;

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From Long Island, we crossed the next bit of water to Crooked Island where it was time to fall into trail (Jimmyb and Seismo were ahead of me) for the landing at Pittstown Point. We landed then waited at the end of the runway for the last plane in Alpha flight to land before taxing back;

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Now if you look at the picture above, I have Dave & Alina Buono behind me... we are missing an Alpha flight member....Mike Brewton (and Denice Nicol) got to the airport at Exuma only to find he had forgotten his airplane keys...then they took a taxi back to the hotel to get them...they arrived to their room only to find (and see on the table inside) their room key...locked out there too...He will now and forever be known as Mike "Keys" Brewton.

Here is their arrival a short time later;

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Here are some of the other arrivals (Wood & Eulitt/Brooks);

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Days 13-16: We be on Island Time!

The Cards' arrival;

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Here are two of the coolest pictures you can see on the islands; RVs parked on both sides of the runway in paradise;

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Our lunch was waiting for us, and what a special lunch it was! We had three main entrees with salads and desert, VERY GOOD!

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And yes, the rumors are true...by the powers vested in me (VAF #5) by Doug Reeves and Van's Air Force and witnessed by Jim Pappas (VAF #13), I held a special wedding ceremony for Keys and his Fiancée Denice Nicol reading from the 'Book of Learjets'. This trip was their 'honeymoon' so I took it upon myself to make it 'official'. MANY CONGRATS TO THEM BOTH!

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All good things must come to an end and it was time to head back...but not after thanking the staff at Pittstown Point for a GREAT meal!

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Everybody took off for the flight back to Great Exuma...except for myself/Annmarie Strachan, the Buonos and Andrew Brandt. We flew to Staniel Cay for some more snorkeling and walking on the beach;

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We departed Staniel Cay a 3-ship landing Great Exuma at Sunset. Here's Dave & Alina Buono off the right wing;

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Day 16 (Sunday, 5 June): Diving was cancelled again, and Victoria had the camera for day trip on a boat. I'll get those pictures up later...it's 11:38pm local and I'm beat.

Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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anyone shootn any video.

Yes. Mrs. "Keys" is...

From Rosie: From here on out, Mrs. "Keys" is known as 'Video' ;-) Everytime I see her, she is shooting video...here we were, flying overhead to take a picture of her and what do you see.... 'Video'!

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Approach into Ft Pierce (KFPR)

The first picture is around landfall. It is based upon a Nassau (MYNN) to KFPR path.

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The next picture is over the causeway. Note the bridge.

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Finally I blow up the area from the second picture that shows the two silo like structures just past the bridge. At the top is the airport (runway 14-32 obvious). This approach worked to enter right downwind for runway 10R.

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I hope that you have water in your rooms (plumbing fixtures) on your departure morning. I did not. I was going to head north low but it looked rainy so I headed west to climb above the clouds. Left at 811 AM and it sounds like not long after that the rain moved in on you.
 
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Days 13-16: We be on Island Time!

Day 16 (Sunday, 5 June): I'd left off at nearly midnight last night so here's the continuation. Diving on Sunday was (again) cancelled due to high seas. With Carolyn 'Red' Zilik and Tuppergal away for the day on a boat excursion, Seismo and I were able to hang with the group.

We all caught the $12 water taxi across the way to the "World's Best Hamburger" cooked up by owner Alvin. While he prepared the burgers on his outdoor wood-fired grill, the Cards, Seismo and I went for a short walk over the small hill to the other side of the island (it's a thin island). Real pretty views with the sounds of the ocean made for a peaceful place to wait for the burgers :) Then back down the hill where Alvin served up a really big AND tasty hamburger. Midway through our burger, Andrew Brandt paddled up on the kayak and joined us in the shade.

The water taxi was back about 1.5 hours later to take us a short distance around the same island the the Chat 'n Chill where they were having their Sunday pig roast from 12pm to 7pm. This was a great time to sit in the shade of the palm trees and visit with the Baldwins, Bakers, Brewtons, Buonos, Cards and Woods. The time was pushing 3:30pm so it was back to the main island where there was a report of a 7' to 8' Tigershark. Sure enough, the boat drive pointed it out, and about that time, Andrew was paddling into our beach. The Tigershark swam towards him for a moment then turned back when it saw there was no food in the 'yellow kayak' fish ;-) Here is a picture that Jim Pappas took;

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Back at the resort, I was back at the pool where I really enjoy just hanging out! Next thing I know, the girls were back from their day-long boat trip. Here are some pics Tuppergal took of her day;

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Smile Red!

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We had another great dinner with the gang, and once again ended the evening visiting with our roomates Seismo and Red.

If all the pictures posted haven't motivated you in the least, then you obviously must live here in the Caribbean!

Keep poundin' them rivets because this is, truly, no kidding, ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Cards Day 6

The winds and waves finally died down enough today to make dives at a shipwreck and then a reef. After a couple days of cancelations due to weather, the pent up demand was quite evident on the drive over. According to the experienced divers, the diving around here isn't very good. However, for those of us with little ocean diving in our log books, it made for a great day.

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We arrived back about 3pm, and the group splintered for showers and food, to be followed by the usual gathering in someone's room.

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Which, as usual, gave way to a gathering at the pool...

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and off to dinner with "Chef Bo" of skidmark fame.

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A walk back to the room with a soft island breeze capped off the night. One more day on the island and then back to the states.

Our complete pictures for the last 24 hours here.

tcard
 
Day 17: We be divin' Mon'!

Day 17 (Monday, 6 June): Do you ever get tired of doing the same thing everyday...get up at 0700, have some breakfast, van leaves at 0830 for the dive shop, in the water by 0930, out by 1030, move to a new dive site, back in the water at 1045, out by 1130, back at the dive shop by 1145 and sitting next to the pool at noon, having lunch....ahhh....NO!

Barring the days we've been weathered out, this is a typical diving schedule ;-) Today was no different other than the fact we had 12 divers today, a record for the group! Many thanks to Jimmyb for coming to the room near 11pm to give me his pictures he shot from the dive today;

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Guess who our divemaster Jonathan is ;-)

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Day 17: We be divin' Mon'!

More pics from Jimmyb:

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Mike "Keys" Brewton with a video camera stapped to his head:

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Deb & Scott Mills:

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Me on the left (trying to mimic Jimmyb & Sid Baldwin), and Keys on the right:

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Seismo:

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Wave goodbye Deb ;-)

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So here's the full story for today (it was a bit different today come to think of it): Wakeup at 7am, 8:30am pickup to the dive shop. We had a record 12 divers today. We only had 1 dive boat for today (should have had 2). The boat we had normally holds 8 divers for a 2-tank dive (the boat can hold 18 air bottles including 2 for the dive master). So they put 13 bottles on the boat and we all pile on. We dive on the tugboat wreck then back on the boat. We were left on the nearby Island (at the Chat 'n Chill) while the dive boat crew went back to change the tanks for our second dive. They came back to get us and we went out for the second dive, and we did not get back to the villas till nearly 3pm.

I was back to the room just to get out of the sun (the boats have zero shade) then out into the water with Andrew on a kayak (they are fun! never been on one). Next thing I know we are in Jimmyb's room (with several others just visiting: My favorite time of every evening). Around 7:30pm (sunset), somebody says, "We should go eat" so off we go (walking a 1/4 mile) to the Fish Fry which is actually an area with several small shanty-type buildings where they serve up great home-cooked food.

Tonight was spent with Chef Bowe, great Islander with lots of stories. He sees a bunch of us and says, "I make you good BBQ dinner buffet!" No menu.....he brings plates of ribs/chicken/rice/mac 'n cheese...it was great! He even wears his Chef Hat too! Just now back in the room near 10pm....and I don't have a single picture to show for it but Tanya already got some pics up for you all to see.

One more full day on the island...I keep telling Jimmyb & Seismo that we need to just sell all our stuff and buy a dive shop down here...

Keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Scott and Deb Cont...

Being on island time has slowed us down a bit. As I sit here typing, the waves are making that steady crashing sound right outside our door. I understand why life and time slow down here. We have had a blast on this adventure yet when I try to recall what happened on which day, I realize that I have lost all track of time....

However, I do remember that on Sunday we set up to take some group photos in specially-purchased shirts just for this occasion. Everyone managed to show up at 6:00 PM for the shoot.

Look at all the Happy Smiling faces.

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From Rosie: Here's the back of the shirts (from Customink):

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And, of course, one of everyone misbehaving....

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After the "formal" photo shoot Deb and I hosted a spaghetti dinner for Delta Flight at Andrew Brandt's posh pad. We have dubbed it "Delta Dinner" and hope to keep it a tradition on all future group trips.

Some of our guests.

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Everyone was so busy eating that we forgot to actually photograph the dinner fare. Post-dinner reports came back that the sauce was excellent and a good time was had by all. While Janet Larsen and helper(s) did the majority of the cleaning up, these two posers managed to be caught on film trying to make themselves look good. :rolleyes:

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We managed to get in a day of diving on Monday. This first one is master underwater photographer Jimmy B.

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"Rosie" and "Keys." Look Ma, no regulators.

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The highlight of our dive was a Sponge Bob sighting. He and his friends were SUPER excited to welcome VAF to Bikini Bottom. (Thanks to Scott "Scoot" Card for loaning me his hat. Doug I really need to order one.)

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Regards,
 
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Best. VAF. Hat. Sighting. Ever.

Provided off the head of yours truely! Tanya says I even burnt my "shiny spot" in sacrafice of the effort :). I can't believe I was the only one within reach that had the required head gear. Scott and Deb worked on that one picture for almost half of that dive, it was pretty funny to watch. They had it all setup on the bow point of the wreck that we were diving and were having a heck of a time keeping all the characters in place long enough to get the picture. Tanya and I hung out watching the comedy for a few minutes once we saw what was going on. I just wanted to be sure my hat wasn't being accosted and that I would get it back. Which I did, it is almost dried out and ready for the flight home. I guess you have to be a Sponge Bob fan to truely get it... which I'm not sure I do :).
 
What is your planned departure time for tomorrow and the three or four flight lead tail numbers. Will observe on flightaware if possible.
 
Day 18: All good things must come to an end...

Day 18 (Tuesday, 7 June): This is the day I dread the arrival of: Our last day on the island :-( It always seems that when this day arrives, it seems like you just got here, and you always wonder where the time went...

We always make this day a no-diving day to ensure we are decompressed for the flight home. I woke up at my normal 0700 and Seismo/I had bacon & eggs the girls cooked up. Red was already back from her daily morning swim. Checkout this beach where she swam every morning that was just a couple of minutes walk (leeward side of the island, calm waters);

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It was kind of overcast today so no hurry getting out to the water this morning. Next thing I knew, it was 1100 and Andrew Brandt was at the door as I told him I wanted to kayak with him across the bay to the island and have one last hamburger at the "World's Best Hamburger". I'd never done any kayaking, and I had a lot of fun trying to keep up with Andrew.

We made the ~1/2 mile crossing in about 30 minutes and were met by Scott & Deb Mills and Andrew's friends Galen & Megan. Chef Alvin cooked up another tasty burger that we enjoyed sitting around a big, round table with some folks who were moored in the bay (sailing the Bahamas out of Pensacola).

Time for the ride back which was much easier as we were rowing with the wind ;-)

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Once the kayaks were beached, we walked over to Jimmyb's to see several couples their visiting....Good times.

Tuppergal & Red had gone to town to go shopping and were back with a poster of the island I requested. I spent about 30 minutes tracking everyone down so they could sign it.

I don't know where the rest of the afternoon went then it was time for dinner. We ordered up some pizza in the hotel patio bar (got any pics Tanya?)

From pizza, we gathered in the hotel mini-conference room where Scott Mills had setup a 'movie night' for us where we enjoyed "Captain Ron", what a fun movie!

It was hard breaking up the group for the night knowing that Wednesday morning brings us back to the USA and 'real life'.

We plan to depart the resort for the airport around 8am with Alpha flight airborne by 0930 landing Fort Pierce (KFPR) around 1215-1230. I'll follow with Bravo flight 5 minutes later trailed by Scott Mills' Charlie flight. Check out our SPOT Link to see our day's flying goes. Many will split off once we've cleared customs at Ft. Pierce but I believe I'll have a 4 or 5-ship joining me (weather permitting) to Foley, AL for the night (and a visit to Lambert's).

Thanks so much for following along on our island adventures but know that we still have several days of fun and flying as we make our way to California!

For the Texans, Heads-up! Plan to be at the Hard Eight BBQ sometime on Saturday. I'll leave the details to Doug Reeves (please put out a mass-post with details, I'll be there!).

See you all soon and keep poundin' them rivets because it's ALL worth it! Rosie & Tuppergal
 
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Made it home about an hour ago.

Had a blast as usual.

Safe flights home everybody.

Glad to hear you made it home safely. I was watching you work and dazzle those three British women at the restaurant your last night. You had them giggling like school girls and it was quite the sight. ;)

Anyway, we depart this morning and I'm up early going over the numbers. See you next time.
 
Thanks Brian

Actually they were French Canadian from Quebec!

Wondered why you guys were grinning over there....

They were fun to talk to but the three from Texas at lunch were almost as much fun! ;)

Hey, a single guy has to talk to somebody on the island when he's alone!:cool:

You guys all fly safe.
 
Looks like Rosie (and flight) are feet dry with a check ok signal.
 
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Rosie's back in the air and over the Gulf.... final for Foley!

Correction looks like they landed Pensacola International.
 
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Scott & Tanya

Just checked aprs.fi. Looks like 8822C is just South of Tyndal AFB going feet wet to get around Tyndal, Panama City, Eglin AFB, and Pensacola NAS. Probably headed to Foley too.
 
I was tracking Delta 2 over open water this morning. Interesting to watch not sure how interesting to fly over ocean :)
 
4822C is also landing at Pensacola.

I don't know their plans but Foley AL would probably be deserted this time of day. I would have gone into Pensacola as well. Better chance of getting to a hotel.
 
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Day 19: We are back in the USA!

Day 19 (Wednesday, 8 June): It's been a long day but no complaints by me! Here's a snapshot of our day's flying from Great Exuma (MYEF) to Pensacola (FL):

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We are so close yet so far to our planned destination of Foley (AL). We had to go around some pretty big thunder bumpers (thus the over-water legs over the Gulf), and to get into Foley we had a few more big thunder bumpers to go around but we cried 'Uncle'. I couldn't find a picture of the weather near 6pm EDT when we landed (can get it in a few days) but this shows there was quite a bit of rain near Mobile in the last 24 hrs:

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So here's how the day went: The Ziliks and us were up at 0630 and completed the last of the packing. Toast and oatmeal for breakfast then met the cab at 0745 for the 15 minute ride to the airport.

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First, we went to the FBO to pay for our Fuel/Taxi bills then the flight leads called Customs with an arrival time (Alpha flight 1145 EDT, Bravo Flight 1215 EDT and Delta-Delta (not sure where that came from) 1230 EDT. We had filed our flight plans electronically the night before. I tried something for the first time; On the international flight plan (using DUATS) , there is a drop-down selection for number of aircraft. I selected the number 4 then entered the other N numbers in the remarks section so we had 1 flight plan for all of Bravo flight.

I went up to the tower to get a picture of the planes on the ramp while folks hauled their bags to their planes; I'm sure the ramp had never seen that many RVs parked there;

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In addition to packing, some of us had to put on our big N numbers. Some were homemade (Jimmyb using his 'bamboo' font) and me putting on my 'I paid for this' font;

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I caught Jimmby & Vicki right before they jumped in the plane;

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Here's Sherri and Bryan Wood;

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Here's the complete list of flights (couldn't get group pics as people were everywhere on the ramp). Bold indicates lead:

Alpha Flight: Bryan & Sherri Wood, Dave & Alina Buono, Jim & Vicki Baker, Chris & Indira Kleen and Gary & Carolyn Zilik

Bravo Flight: Gene & Janet Larsen, Paul & Victoria Rosales, Mike & Denice Brewton and Mercedes Eulitt & Jeff Brooks (pictured below)

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Delta-Delta Flight: Scott & Deb Mills, Scott & Tanya Card, Mark & Debbie Bantam and Andrew Brandt

Alpha flight started up around 0920 but had to wait for a plane to takeoff then they were off...

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Day 19: We are back in the USA!

Bravo flight followed Alpha flight by 5 minutes as we knew we had some time to kill with a flight over the resort and nearby bay;

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Here's Hamburger Beach (owned by Alvin);

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Here's the last shot of Great Exuma as we headed direct Fort Pierce (KFPR);

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We climbed to 8.5K, and I was able to open my flight plan with Miami Center who gave me a squawk code (while the others squawked Standby). Here's the GPS about 30 minutes after takeoff. Note the XM weather cloud cover depiction;

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Here's Mercedes & Gene on my left and "Keys" on my right wing;

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When flying cross country, I always checkout my 'nearest' airports, and it was cool to see all the non-USA ICAO identifiers fill the screen (MYNN is Nassau which was straight ahead);

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With three planes on the wing, it's easiest to let Mr. TruTrak fly the plane ;-) Here's everything nice and steady. The ADI heading is actually 323 and is a camera versus update rate of the ADI issue when taking pictures (yes, I'm still happy with all my round gauges!);

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I'd like to show you more pictures of the islands but we had lots of scattered clouds below us so not much to see. Here's Nassua looking back after overflying it (don't confuse the seatback reflection with the coastline);

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Here we are crossing the ADIZ; We are now flying in American Airspace ;-)

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Day 19: We are back in the USA!

Here's the Florida coastline as we descended into Fort Pierce;

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Here's base-to-final and a nice shot of Mercedes on our formation landing to runway 10R. Great formation landing Mercedes!;

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Whenever you arrive from a foreign country, you MUST taxi DIRECTLY to CUSTOMS!!!!! And do NOT peel off you 12" N numbers on the Customs ramp (right Jimmyb? :) As I pulled into the 'penalty box', Bryan & Sherri Wood were taxiing out to the fuel pump;

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If you've ready any of my out-of-country trip reports, you know I am not a big fan of Customs, but I have to tell you that this trip now holds the record for clearing customs; MAYBE 6 minutes in/out of the building. A lineman from the Jet Center FBO (instead of a Customs agent) brought us a baggage cart and told us to bring in only our clothes bags.

Once inside, it took maybe 2 minutes to fill out the Customs card. The 'man behind the glass' took maybe 2 more minutes. As I walked towards the X-ray machine, Mr. Customs agent came in the building with Mr. Geiger Counter in-hand. We added another 2 minutes putting our bags on the X-ray machine.

I was very happy with the service we received today though Chris "Jailbird" Kleen was a bit peeved that they didn't ask him for his pilot's license or medical; He'd been detained by Customs for over 4 hours on the Caymans 2009 trip for not having his pilot's license or medical thus his call sign "Jailbird" :)

From Customs, we taxied to the fuel pump where it takes time to fuel 13 airplanes;

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We met at the Tiki Room to say our goodbyes as most went their seperate ways. The Cards, Brewtons, Mills, Ziliks and Buono's joined Tuppergal and I back to Cedar Key. Here's a left base to final for runway 23 (you do see the runway, right? You can also see the poor visibility due to the fires in Florida):

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Ms. Judy was there to greet us and give us a ride into town where we had a late lunch on the water (will get a picture from Tanya to post here).

There was a logistics problem trying to get a rental car at Foley since it would be VERY CLOSE to quitting time for the Enterprise folks in Foley (5R4), our planned overnight stop. Seismo, Brewton and I decided to bee-line to Foley to get the rental car before 6pm leaving the others behind to catch up.

The Buono's headed off to Disney World and the Cards/Mills chased us to Foley. Enroute, we went around some pretty big thunder bumper enroute to Foley (5R4), AL. Visibility out of Cedar Key was terrible due to the fires in Florida.

Here's our first glimpse of the thunder bumpers we had to go around (hugging the ADIZ all the way around the panhandle of Florida). These pictures show the out-the window view with the corresponding XM weather depiction;

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Looking at the picture above, you can see that there was some ugly weather past KPNS (Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional) shown at the top of the screen (red boxes with dots are bad)...that is not far from Foley so we decided that Pensacola was the place to call-it-a-day ;-) It's great to have a plan but it's OK to change the plan! Lambert's will have to wait!
 
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Day 19: We are back in the USA!

I started our descent out of 8.5K looking real hard for the airport when Tuppergal caught site of land as we'd been flying over water for awhile (no problem doing that obviously!);

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We landed KPNS around 1745 EDT, a 3-ship cleared to land on runway 35.

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The Mills and Cards landed a short time later. I'll get some pics from Deb Mills to post here later.

We were able to rent 2 cars to get to the Holiday Inn where we had dinner in the hotel restaurant. I then sat with "Keys" on the computer to help map out his plan for tomorrow as he was going to try to get to Portales (NM) and home to California on Friday. Not sure where the others ended up but I do know that Wood/Brandt were aiming for Tennessee.

The Cards (TX), Mills (CO) and Ziliks (CO) are heading home tomorrow (Thursday) while we are going to stay the day to enjoy the Naval Aviation Museum. I did get a call from Jimmyb & Vicki letting me know they arrived home safely to Goodland (KS), about a 1600nm day, WoW!!!!! When I see numbers like that, I think to myself, "Professional Pilot, closed course, do not attempt!" That beats my personal best in 2004 by 100nm, flying from SoCAL to Rockford (IL) near Chicago (tried to get into OSH but the tower had closed for the night).

Our plan is to depart for Addison (KADS), TX in the afternoon, weather permitting to visit a longtime friend. Our vacation is still going strong!

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

PS: Think "Hard Eight BBQ" on Saturday!
 
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