It was hard getting going this morning since I only got 4 hours of sleep. When I woke up this morning around 5, I just couldn't get back to sleep, which isn't a great way to start a busy day, or much of a cranky mood lifter, but hey, you rolls your dice and you plays your game. :)
Steve left for Sheridan pretty early, and I followed along with Kaylee about 2 hours later. The T-6 is down for annual, so I drove the Jeep down. It Was Hot. It wasn't just kind of hot, it was Holy Cow HOT. Just like last year. It was so hot you had a hard time breathing and keeping hydrated. This year I stayed inside most of the time, wore sunscreen, and I Still got a lot of sun. The ramp was pretty well filled up with airplanes all the way through noon, and then several of them did a mass exodus in order to get out before the airspace closed down for the show.
The show itself was not exactly smooth as butter. We were late getting going, there were mechanical issues, timing issues, canceled acts and time-fillers that didn't end up working out all that well, including one motorcycle guy who didn't have brakes on his motorcycle and drove out onto the runway while I was coming in to land (it wasn't close, don't worry). But it was an otherwise safe event, and most of the general public didn't know the difference on a lot of it anyway. :)
My part was to take the RG and take Greg over to Indy Exec so he could pick up the jet for the show, then come on in and land at some point during the Stearman's routine, whenever Air Boss (Steve) gave me the all clear. During the briefing, the announcer was getting everyone's names and info down, and he included me in the show. The thought is really funny--"And now, ladies and gentlemen, in the Mighty Cessna 172RG, we have Laura Stants!" :) I sneaked out during a Pitts routine and sneaked back in after a Stearman routine...
After the show, when the airport was packed up and put away and everyone had been debriefed, Steve, Kaylee, me and AE decided to go into town and celebrate the end of a long, busy day with air conditioning, a cold beverage, and food. There's a steakhouse in Sheridan that's new, and on the sign it says "Best little steakhouse in Indiana". They may very well be right. That was really, really good stuff.
We had all driven separately, so I was on my way home in the Jeep this evening, with my windows rolled down (because my air conditioning doesn't work), and it was so muggy and stifling hot that you almost couldn't catch a breath. Nothing was moving. Off in the distance I could see the sky was getting darker, and all of a sudden the wind came Blasting in my window, cool and smelling like rain, so hard that my Jeep swerved. I tipped my head back and almost closed my eyes it felt so good on my hot sweaty head. :) As I got closer and closer to Kokomo, the lightning show started up, and looking ahead I had the thought "I wouldn't care to try that in an airplane." I was on Hwy 31 when suddenly the sky opened. Rain was driven so hard sideways I had to shut my windows and I had to fight my Jeep to stay straight. I turned off onto the back roads to get home, and now the wind gusts were upwards of 50 mph according to the radio, and at one point the rain came down in such a sheet that I couldn't see. I slowed way down, and was startled when a tree branch with a bunch of leaves went right in front of my windshield. Then came the hail. While I was trying to drive, my phone went off and I saw it was Steve. I answered quickly, just in case it was important, and it was Kaylee telling me they'd stopped at a gas station because of the hail, and telling me to be careful. I told her that to be careful I needed to concentrate on driving, not talking. ;) Coming up our street, a neighbor's tree had fallen across the road, blocking access, so I had to drive around the block and come in the other direction. Big ole tree. That had to be the worst storm I've driven in for a very long time. I hope the Jeep doesn't have hail damage...
Long day, busy day, hot day, done day!
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