OCMD & BIke Week

Thursday 9-13-12

It was Bike week in OCMD but the wx was too nice to pass up.  We decided to head south for an extended stay since I took Friday off.  We bugged out Thursday after work and headed to the airport to run through the routine.  I had filed for this flight although I don't know why, it was gorgeous out, but it's always good practice in the system. ATC gave me a strange squawk code today "6664" . As I read my clearance back I commented that I really didn't like that code, it didn't change anything.  Mary even commented on the code. Oh well, at least it made for a good picture and something to write about.

We turned up the country hits on xm radio and enjoyed the unlimited visibility.  Philly cleared me to four thousand and handed me to Dover. Dover turned me direct Ocean City then eventually handed me off to Patuxent. I took a few shots of oil tankers playing follow the leader down the Delaware River and into the Delaware Bay.  I also got a few shots of Cape Henlopen and you can see the tip of Cape May, NJ.

Pax told me to expect a visual for Ocean City and they dropped me down to three thousand feet.  The next call I heard was our friend Ron L who flys out of Salisbury, MD.  He was heading to NY I believe as I managed to ID him when I heard his tail number 22RL.  BY this time I was ten miles out, reported the field in sight and canceled IFR.  I did manage to sneak in a hello to Ron and have a good weekend, he acknowledged.

We secured 08R who really really needs a bath and headed for the Motor home. We put the top down on the Cabrio and cruised into town via the coastal highway. There we were, Mary and I and this big headed dog in the back seat enjoying the cool air,  All the bikers loved the dog as each new group behind us fussed over her.  Maggie being the shy little girl would not make eye contact and instead just enjoyed her ride. We made our pizza run to Lombardi's and headed to the rig.

Friday

Friday was beach day and it was so nice I didn't bother with the umbrella.  I need to get some color on my sticks since I lost everything from this summer. The beach was empty except for a few winged neighbors checking us out.  I guess we spent three hours or so broiling in the sun then headed back to the Park.

I cleaned up some sticks that our tree shed and we decided to clear out the burning ring and light it up with the plant leaves that burned like palms during Easter. A bit smoky but it kept the bugs away and quickly turned to nice flamage.  We eventually cleaned up and headed into town to walk the boards and grab some dinner at the Frog Bar located at the inlet.  Good dinner, way to loud music and a zillion bikes sums up the night.

Saturday

Saturday was a fun day to explore since we slept in so late we had no chance of getting a parking spot for the beach. The inlet parking lot was out too since it was closed for Bikes only and their vendors. We headed to Selbyville for lunch at the Georgia House restaurant and then continued in to Fenwick  to explore. Plenty of homes, shops and traffic but close to the beach and just minutes north of Ocean City.

When we got back to the rig our neighbors had pulled in next to us. Khno and Janet had a problem with their unit and the carbon monoxide alert was providing an audible tone for all to hear. Multiple resets did no good and we traced out a blown fuse, make that a melted in line fuse next to the battery. The owner made a run to the hardware store for a new thirty amp fusible link and I assisted in the repair by mostly getting in the way and holding wire. With the repairs completed the continues tone kept singing, Hmmm.....maybe it was a low battery even thought it was replaced in July.  Khno set up a trickle charger and Mary and I invited them for dinner.  We sat and chatted while enjoying the sandwich spread Mary put out.  Fresh tomato's, sliced onions, thick cut crispy bacon, fresh rye bread, along with sliced turkey and cheeses. By the time we finished eating we all noticed it was now quiet, the alarm had ceased the battery charge was good.

After dinner Khno and Janet got a nice fire going and we joined them next door. I guess we sat out there bug free with our faces warm and backsides cold until 11:30 or so.   The temps had really dipped and while your legs and arms were toasty on the front the back side of your legs were ice cold.  Since it was really chilly tonight we both decided not to turn on the heat, instead we closed all the windows on the rig and enjoyed the quiet time of no air conditioners.  This was the first weekend we didn't run both units.  Maggie settled in and we watched some TV until we both passed out, thankfully I had set the sleep timer.

Sunday

We gave some thought to the beach this morning but it was to chilly for me. In fact, I had to turn on the fireplace to warm the rig up some, it had bottomed out at 55 degrees inside and even lower outside as I walked Maggie at 5:30.  Maggie went right back to her bed next to ours and I climbed back under the covers....Brrrr...chilly.

We putzed around this morning cleaning up and packing. I went through my outside routine and chated with the neighbors.  Khno and Janet pulled their boat out early this morning for some fishing, Dennis and I chatted about retirement planning and property values. Mary and Joanne chit chatted about this and that, it seems our age group is focused on the finish line (retirement).

Dennis and Joanne are looking in Florida for property and still on the fence about keeping the motor home. Neither of us wants the maintenance and we all seem to agree on a nice downsized condo someplace warm in the winter and summers up north.  Mary and I have this discussion weekly.  We want to live by the beach for most of the year and want to head south for the winter months when we retire. I guess we'll explore the gulf shores area when we visit there in hopes of finding a winter hideout.

We buttoned up and headed for the airport. I did my pre-flight and we got the bags and Maggie loaded up.  My fuel was just shy of 30 gallons which gave me plenty of reserve for the 45 minute hop home. We launched for our our VFR flight enjoying the coastline and music. The tempos at three thousand were 57 degrees and I actually had to close some of my vents, gezzz....I'm getting soft.

I made my call to the Wilmington tower and acknowledged a straight in for runway one, report four mile final. I was number two and was given a land and hold short of runway two seven for inbound traffic, I acknowledged.  I made a nice landing and made a slow roll for two seven. We watched the traffic landing and as he passed by I was instructed to make left turn without delay for a falcon jet inbound for two seven.  I acknowledged without delay and got 08Romeo clear of the runway despite the controller mix up asking me to exit on Mike which was impossible. He needed me on Kilo, if he wanted me on Mike I would have had to enter runway two seven then exit on Mike.  He seemed to have his hands full with inbound traffic so I exited on Kilo and made my way to Red Eagle.