Seamans Field Airport

Mary and I decided on visiting friends north of Wilkes-Barre, PA in a small town just a short drive from Seamans field. Pete and Lorie live in South Gibson, maybe 15-16 miles north east of 9N3. Pete agreed to pick us up at the airport so we decided on a 10am meet. Fast forward to this morning and we are dragging tail feathers getting out of bed. The temps have dipped down into the 30's which is a big jump from the 60= degree wx of the last two weeks. Eventually we get moving and head to the airport. I called for fuel prior to leaving the house so that was taken care of. We made a quick stop at McD's for the breakfast McGriddle sausage wrapped in pancakes along with a bottled water and soda for Mary.

We motored south and headed through the gate on to the ramp around 9am. It was a bit nip with temps now hovering around 38ish. I prime 08Romeo and get started with a nice low idle to bring up temps. Electronics are set up and I even fiddled with the Zaon traffic system in hopes of it knowing who I am and not giving a ghost reading of the plane. I made the call to the tower and was cleared to taxi for runway one four at kilo 5. Run up was good and we were cleared to take off, 08Romeo loved the cool morning air. Once clear of Wilmington's delta air space I contacted Philly approach for flight following. The exchange was smooth and quick and I was cleared to 3.5, no magic words at this time. As we held our course, which was going to put us directly over the Pottstown, Limerick cooling towers, Philly said the magic words and cleared us through the Bravo then immidiately handed us off. I checked in with the next Philly Approach sector, Sundowner 6708Romeo, level 3,500 requesting 6,500. I got the updated altimeter reading and was cleared to 4,000 on course. Hey that worked, he sounded kind of busy with traffic. In just a few minutes he cleared me to 6,500. Philly handed us off to Allentown and they in turn handed us over to Wilkes-Barre Approach. We flew right over the KAVP runway two two approach. AS we cleared the runway area approach had a traffic alert for departing traffic runway four which I soon picked up at our four o'clock climbing out. We crossed Bald Mountain and could see Lake sheridan in the distance. I was settimg up for 9N3, runway four and had the wx update from KAVP. I requested to start my descent and it was granted with the typical, maintain VFR. I had the field in site and canceled Following so I could listen to the local traffic. One other aircraft was inbound so we traded calls and both got it figured out as we made our way in. The runway is 2500 feet and I wanted to be on the numbers today. Base to final was a tad fast so I pulled back more power and pointed the nose at the runway. A short but nice round out with good stall horn and I touched each main separate followed by the nose wheel, it felt pretty good. The runway is short and a bit bumpy.

Pete and Lorie had just pulled in and their son (18 months)PJ Jr., was taking it all in. So nice to catch up, it's been way to long. I checked in at the office to let them know I would be leaving this afternoon then we headed for Pete and Lorie's. South Gibson is a sleepy little town with a blinking light, a small diner and some shops. Their log cabin is set with the background of the mountains and a nice stream at the foot of the hills. We walked the property for a good bit along with their two dogs Bailey and Brandy, hung out and chatted trying to catch up on family, work and baby stories. We loaded up and headed for a nice tour of the area. It's a good thing Pete didn't drop us off, I had no clue where I was. We eventually made a stop at the Mountain View Restaurant for a late lunch. Great place! The prices were like stepping back in time. I had a chicken dinner with mashed potatoes for $5.95, Mary and Pete had liver and onions (yuck!) $5.95. Lorie had a cheese burger and PJ had spaghetti with meatballs. Warm rolls and a basket of sweet bread that we all split up to take home. Mary and I decided that we would head back to the plane so we could get in the air. I guess it was maybe 4pm when we pulled out of the tie down and taxied out. We waved as we went by heading out to runway two two. The wind sock was dancing around but for the most part favored our runway of choice. I had a heavy fuel load so I added two notches of flaps for my departure. 08Romeo was in the air in less then half the 2,500 feet and pointing towards the mountains between us and Wyoming valley. A smooth uneventful ride home with flight following the whole trip. We shut down on the red eagle ramp at 5:15 and quickly buttoned up the plane. I did clean the windows with the fresh can of Plexus that I had ordered, it did a great job.

Finally home and taking care of the zoo. We are going to kick back for the night so I can type this post and Mary can type away on facebook. I would have had more pictures but I forgot to check camera batteries and I only had two of the four double A's required in my flight bag. I even had the video camer with us but never took the time to mount it or plug in the audio. Better luck next time with some additional prep time and not just the camera phone to work with.

We're tired too PJ!!