December 1 – December 19, 2014
On December 1st, I blasted off for Texas in our 195 with my friend Brad Hieronimus. Later that week, after a few adventures, he flew home in a pressurized aluminum tube from Memphis. In the evening on Friday, December 5, I picked up my wife Christina in Miami.
This was the jumping off point for a sailing adventure in the Bahamas with Terry & Wade Gillaspie. We got to fly over the gulf stream in formation and Wade and I obtained our bareboat credentials.
Following our week in the Bahamas, Christina and I flew back to Florida to begin the journey home. Poor weather resulted in us briefly exploring a couple of new places and helped us spend some time with the Milton’s. It also forced us to leave the airplane in Johnstown, NY and rent a car to make it the rest of the way home so Christina could get back to work. On December 19 the weather cooperated so that I could retrieve the airplane and return it safely to CYKF.
From December 1 to December 19, CF-KCS had blue sky under her tires for 38 (trouble free) hours. It was a blast. During the first week I hopscotched around the southern states to visit some of my favorite friends whom I just don’t get to see nearly often enough. And, on the trip home Christina and I managed to make a couple of brief stops in some new places (St. Augustine, FL and Lancaster, PA). Places that we will undoubtedly go back and explore.
A small airplane is a time machine. It changes the apparent distance between places. We purchased our airplane excited about the places we could visit. What we didn’t know was that was just the beginning of what it does. Our 195 has opened a whole new social world for us. We’ve discovered that the airplane brings together people more than places. It’s a magic carpet that transports us all over to connect us with our friends and family.
Thank you to all who shared your time with us. Life is about the moments you remember. I am remembering so many great moments brought to life by a passion for aviation.
