Imaginary

My daughter rode an elephant today.  Not just like in a circle at the circus, but actually down a river, and down a street.  Here are a couple still shots and a little video clip.  I think she got a real charge out of that one.  They used the elephants as transportation.  How fun is that?!

Steve and I became Great-Aunt and Great-Uncle today.  Morgan had her baby, Israel, this morning.  :)

First thing this morning I had a Discovery flight, a 15 year old girl whose dad wanted to ride in the back.  I let her do all the work, as always, and they both had a good time.

I put that plane away, and then it was time to do the first test flight on the Saratoga!!  It hasn't flown since April 10, 2011.  Nathan and I went up in it and put 1.2 on it, and made up a list of squawks.  They worked on some of the squawks and took it back up for awhile while I was busy elsewhere.  It's exciting to see it fly again.  Being grounded for almost 9 years is a loooong time.  We didn't leave the airport environment for a little while there just to make sure everything stayed attached and kept running as expected.

When I got done with that, I had a meet-up.  It was with a fellow named Bill, better known as Willie, from the pilot board I mostly hang out at.  We call them imaginary friends, because you only know each other online.  But so far I've never regretted any of the people I've met from there, including today.  He is from New Jersey, but is working in Chicago right now, so he drove over to meet me.  We had a nice time today.  I showed him around the airport, and around Glenndale, and took him to lunch.  We were going to all eat together, but he ran too late and everyone else had to eat, so it ended up just he and I.  At the end I offered to fly something with him, but he deferred.  I think he wanted to but didn't want to say so.  But he promised to come back and we'd go flying then.

Steve and I came home, and fixed up two of the 2" thick, 10 oz fillets with a little fat around them that Walt had sent me as a thank you for flying his T-6 and putting some hours on the new engine.  So let me get this straight.  I fly your airplane, you pay for the gas, and you send me 4, expensive, huge steaks as a thank you.  It's a terrible job, you know.  ;)

I am pooped though today...

Here are the photos from Kaylee, and I'll have to later add the one of me and Willie, as he has those.

Chiang Rai, Thailand

Traveling via Elephant

Nathan in the Toga

Willie signing Jim's rafter

Look at this meat.

Seriously, look at it.