http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/CFC C2C/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from CFC C2C en-us Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:52:11 BST Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:52:11 BST Dick was up first and had long since checked the weather and filed his final flight plan by the time Judy saw him at breakfast. The mood was lowkey and intently focused. The weather was no problem. The briefers asked us whether we were familiar with the special procedures for flying in the Washington DC area. Affirmative we each replied. We're based there. We were ready to be home and cal http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Maryland/Gaithersburg/blog-282658.html Editorial NoteAs we begin this day we'd like to thank you our readers friends and family for your good thoughts and wishes during our voyage. Your messages whether sent through the blog comments or phoned or emailed to us individually have given us cheer and encouragement and helped us a lot.As primary writer I apologize for the entries that had too much unexplained airplane jargon. I http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Ohio/Columbus/blog-282473.html For those who can't wait....Box Scores Three more states Iowa to Illinois to Ohio two flight legs one lost hour as we are finally back in Eastern Time266 241 miles a total of 507 miles was our achievement today.287 miles to go.Our sights will be fixed on home tomorrow.Fort Dodge IA Morris IL Marysville OHThe storms we had been trailing for the last few days moved through the Fort Dodg http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Ohio/Columbus/blog-282371.html Fri 30 May Spearfish SD Luverne MN Fort Dodge IAWe awoke to the fresh rainwashed smell of a South Dakota spring morning under nearly clear skies with the last of the mountains we'd need to cross in stark relief on the horizon. Judy made an early morning run back to the WalMart to replace her camera which had gotten dropped in Walla Walla and had finally given up the ghost Thursday night http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Iowa/Des-Moines/blog-282167.html Strange Vignettes...As a group we do tend to confuse people. In response to a query about Ruth by the FBO counter staffer in Sheridan Dick declared My wife No that's not my wife. Her husband left her in Portland...Thursday 29 May Sheridan WY to Black Hills Spearfish SDBob Hawkins awoke badly in need of chiropractic help. His back had been putting him in a lot of pain and how do you fin http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/South-Dakota/Spearfish/blog-282038.html Wednesday was a terrific day of excellent flying logging a total of about 350 miles maybe three hours or so the entire day made especially more pleasant by a lot more unanimity of decisionmaking about weather...and whether or not to fly and where. Even though we'd agreed to meet at 7 am most of us were up much more than an hour before that looking closely at the weather and how far we coul http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Wyoming/Sheridan/blog-281675.html Editor NoteFor those of you who can't wait as you probably know thanks to relay from Anne we landed safely in midafternoon at Black Hills airport in South Dakota. Account of today which has three minutes left in it in our time zone and yesterday are pending as soon as we can get to them. I had this text finished last night but it takes another half hour to upload and annotate pictures a http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Missoula/blog-281301.html We all got out of Walla Walla and have landed safely in Missoula. We've now passed over the highest of the mountains we will cover on this trip though we have some more to go.We decided to launch based on best available information and to continue based on en route Flight Service weather and some local views. We had filed for S95 Lewiston Missoula Helena with the general intention of sto http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Montana/Missoula/blog-280514.html Mountain obscuration see photo keeps us grounded today. It is exotic to be in a part of the country where we can read W CNTLDVD in the weather forecast and actually CARE about anything happening west of the continental divide....though the thrill is officially wearing thin at this point.Around noon Bill Dick and Bob wandered over to the field near the Veterans Park close to the Fort Wall http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Walla-Walla/blog-280076.html The first thing the weather briefers said this morning was AIRMET for mountain obscuration VFR flight not recommended along your route of flight. Attached picture is what that looks like. To fly we need to get over the mountains. To get over the mountains we need to SEE the mountains. And right now we can't see the mountains.The weather overhead is exasperatingly lovely.The other issue after http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Walla-Walla/blog-279742.html At 550 am Judy once again passed by Dick set up with his computer checking weather while she was on her way to the gym. Several hours later. after considerable peering at possible routes either from Walla Walla via Lewiston and then VOR routing to Missoula which featured several private airports as possible diversion points if we'd needed an alternate over high territory or along a river val http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Walla-Walla/blog-279384.html Ruth was already up when Judy headed down to the treadmill at 615 am passing by Dick who greeted her in the lobby. He looked like he'd been there for hours had already having set up shop there with his laptop computer while his comrades slept. He was peering intently at displays from the ADDS aviation weather site particularly the high and lowlevel radar returns and the big picture of the s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Walla-Walla/blog-279106.html Ruth and Judy drove this morning from Olympia where we had stayed since Sunday night with Ruth's warm and generous cousin Margie Taylor and family to Aurora airport to link up with the other pilots. We dropped off Geoff Hornseth at the airport shuttle for Seattle he had been traveling with the group since May 4th has to get home and can't wait for the uncertain arrival of C2C.Irregular low http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Portland/blog-278770.html Editor's noteThis is just a textonly update for now. We will quiet publish that is update without pestering you with another email this entry by adding pictures later tonight or tomorrow...whenever we get wherever it is we may end up going today.Writing this on Wednesday the 21st Judy has offered to help the others catch up on their last few days and has plopped herself down on the s http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Portland/blog-278762.html Jackie Ashley Ruth's cousin Margie's neighbor included Judy on a walk with her kids and Margie's grandkids to feed goats and chickens that live on a nearby campground. When SHE heard what had brought Ruth and Judy to town she said You should see what my husband Clayton has in the garage it's his second wifeUm okay...So here she is...Clayton finished building the helicycle in 2005 and http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Olympia/blog-278550.html Judy overnighted on the 17th with former debating buddy Vicky Yehl. You might have seen Vicky on a recent segment of the Discovery Channel all about mining for diamonds in the Canadian north She gave Judy the backstory about which apparently hardworking site was about to go bust and which guys were competent geologists and which ones weren't... the two of them had a lively visit brunched with http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Olympia/blog-278549.html Sunday we breakfasted at the hotel and began our trip's twoweek anniversary with the news that Alex had decided to return home commercial from Seattle and Gashaw had decided not to come west after all.Extensive route planning followed as whatever plans we THOUGHT we'd laid for our final northbound leg had been totally scrapped by this point. After much peering at the sectional charts we plott http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Oregon/Portland/blog-278508.html Porterville a hot dry departure. The airshow people were doing their thing and we had to fit our departure in between their graceful formation takeoff practice runs. We were finally on our last leg towards our first view of the Pacific Ocean. We took off around noon. In the early afternoon we sighted the blue of the Pacific as Monterey Bay heaved into view. Near the posh city of Monterey we t http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Redding/blog-278501.html After a series of phone calls from Ruth began to narrow down the likely Olympia rendezvous day to Sunday evening Judy was sure that her hostess friend's patience was on the verge of evaporation. Having come armed with her bordercrossing paraphernalia she hopped a bus up to Vancouver for a quick return to her Home and Native Land and a visit with Vicky Yehl a diamond geologist of some renown. A http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/British-Columbia/Vancouver/Stanley-Park/blog-278494.html Meanwhile up in Seattle Judy had been waiting it out since her hideouslyoptimisticallytimed arrival on Tuesday the 13th. A quiet day in West Seattle as guest of a friend with deep roots in the local cultural community included a yoga session walks along the Seattle and West Seattle waterfronts the unavoidable traipse through Pike's Place Market a play I Am My Own Wife a Tonyawardwinni http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Washington/Seattle/blog-278447.html