Mixed Emotions

Yeah, that title sounds kind of girly (no offense ladies) but today brings mixed signals to this brain of mine. Today was the day I had planned to launch for Gaston's White River Resort, America's #1 Trout Fishing Resort, on the White River in the Arkansas Ozarks for the annual Gaston's Fly In. My surgery and recovery have wiped those thoughts out, but at least I can plan for next year.

Last night Mary and I met with fellow pilots at Wings field for a "send off" of sorts for those pilots that are going to make the trip. Ted from Williamsport headed to Bridgeport, CT (KBDR) to pick up Julia and then turn the "Aztruck", as he affectionately calls his aircraft, southwest to meet the group at Wings KLOM. Meanwhile, back at the ranch.......no wrong story. Meanwhile Southwest airline was transporting Adam to Philadelphia. Lee was waiting for AdamB, Mary and I battled traffic on the blue route (I-476) that was bumper to bumper due to a downed tree blocking the right lane, Rob was holding the fort at Wings along with AdamZ and GaryS. We finally arrived at Wings about the same time Andrew pulled in so things were looking good as far as the timing. The road crew cleared the tree and Lee and AdamB made pretty good time to meet the group as we all tracked Ted taking the Atlantic scenic tour south of Long Island then west over NJ and finally into Wings.

We all enjoyed the camaraderie of sharing this passion for flying and meeting with good friends. We also didn't do to bad breaking bread with two pizzas, two jumbo Italian Hoagies and refreshments. I happened to catch a bit of info on facebook that today was Ted's birthday so Mary ducked into Superfresh and since there were no birthday cakes left, she picked up a strawberry shortcake number that we substituted for his birthday cake. No we didn't sing but AdamZ did suggest he sing the birthday song himself, out loud, for all of us to hear, he declined.

As fun as it was to sit and chat Ted, AdamB and Julia had to saddle back up and head to Williamsport. We all said our goodbyes, wished them a safe flight home and a safe fun flight in the morning as they launch for Gaston's. Mary and I headed south on I-476, smooth sailing, no traffic and in good time.

The mixed emotions title just notes how much I wished I was making this trip. Last year we cancelled out and went to Sun-N-Fun in Florida instead and this year was out of my control. Maybe next year, who knows. The one really bright spot in all this travel talk is that I went to total my log book just to see where seven or eight hours each way would have left my totals.......when I looked at what my hours were to date I felt much better and that's without adding the trip I'm not going to make. I finally smashed the 300 hour mark!! 301.3 to be exact!! I guess I can handle not making the Gaston's run for now, but I'll be ready for next year!