Friday Fun

I woke up this morning out of a dead sleep around 5 a.m., wide awake thanks to one of the most gruesome nightmares I've had in years. I feel this urge to share the weird and gory details, but nobody really needs to hear how it went, so I will control myself. ;)

Today was Picture Day for Kaylee at school, so I got her up extra early so she could get ready without last minute rushing around late. When she came out, she was wearing slim dark jeans, a leopard shirt, black boots, and dangly earrings, and she looked like a little teenager. She looked very nice, but so BIG! She was ready early, so I sat down in a lounge chair, kicked it back, and she climbed up with me to cuddle. Within 2 seconds Roadie was up by Kaylee, as she always does, and within another minute or so, Dulcie was up on me. Steve was over on the couch shaking his head-all his "girls" were in one spot, nice and cozy. He took a couple pictures of us all cuddled up on the chair together.

It was another beautiful weather day, making for another perfect morning for students, which we took advantage of. At Glenndale's lunch, a gentleman I'd just met online not too long ago flew in to join us for our airport lunch. I was really surprised, because I'd invited him to any of our Friday lunches, and the next day, he came on up. That was kind of neat. Unfortunately he sat out there for most of lunch alone because I didn't know he was out there until he introduced himself after most people had gone home. But he said he had a good time and enjoyed his day up here, so that's good!

I went up in the Cub with Ty for awhile after lunch. We did a couple take offs and landings at Glenndale, went over to Indian Hills, and then hit several other little (very little) private strips in the area. I didn't know where we were going for the first one, until he starts coming in to land into what looked like a field. He aimed at a stand of trees, went in between a couple of them right over the deck, and landed in somebody's yard. I was cracking up--it's actually a little grass strip at a friends' house, but it's basically a yard. Took off out of there and went over to an actual tiny grass runway, right by where Steve ended up in the beans. Next was a fun little strip which has telephone lines at the one end and a good-sized upslope. So you take off one way and land the other. We next went over by the bypass over by Kokomo, and again came down right over a field, turned a corner by a group of trees, and landed on a strip with some giant trees at the other end. Another one that you land one way and take off the other. And only in the Cub or the Champ, because even the Citabria is too fast to get down and stopped in these short little 1000' strips. It was a lot of fun, and if I could ever find these little places on my own, I'd enjoy visiting more often, because it feels like you are being bad in a fun way when you're flying around (and between) trees, right over the fields, and landing in somebody's yard, with the window and door open, so it's just open air right by you with a view of the tire and the ground. It's just neat, and when Ty says that folks are usually somewhat traumatized by it the first time, I believe him. I thought it was great, but I'm strange like that. ;) Unfortunately I think the only one I'll be able to find again is by the bypass, but maybe I'll do some hunting in the general areas I remember and see what I can see. I can just see flying along and landing in some guy's yard and it being the wrong one. ;) (I'd have to make sure it was okay with them to land at these places anyway, as three of them really were by someone's house, basically set up in or as their yard. Private strips require prior permission to land. Ty has that.) I was basically checking out flying the Cub from the front seat (instructor sits up front in that airplane), it was a really nice day to do it, and we had a good time doing it too. With no door there, the wind was blowing my hair all over the place, and Ty started laughing-he practically couldn't see around it. The Cub flies slow enough that my hair isn't even tangled up, which I think is pretty funny, considering after I fly the T-6 with the canopy open and no helmet, it takes me 3 days of heavy conditioner, pulling knots and sometimes even cutting out pieces of it to get my hair untangled again. Still worth it. ;)

I had my phone with me, just stuck under my leg, because I had a student on their first solo cross-country, and they were to call or text me before leaving each leg, and call with any problems, so I needed to have the phone. With the wide open doorway there, I couldn't help but think how much trouble I would be in if I lost another cellphone out of an airplane. Fortunately I didn't. ;)

I brought Kaylee home from school, and finally my 5 a.m. wake-up got to me, and after awhile I actually went to bed. About 30 minutes later Steve called me, on his way home. Napus Interruptus, but I probably shouldn't have taken it anyway...

It was Mom's Night Out tonight, so four of us went out to eat and sit and talk and catch up on the kids and folks lives. The kids are growing up on us, that's for sure. We had a big old meal, and sat and talked for about 2 and a half hours and had a nice time.

Nice day...