Friday and Saturday

Kaylee texted me that she worked 100 hours the last two weeks. Today she texted that she got a check for like $1300 for it, and she was pretty excited by that. She'd been tired from working a lot, but at least she got the paycheck to boost her morale afterwards.  :)  She does a good job saving most of it. Of course we help her with that because we pay for her car expenses including gas, and we pay for her phone. She pays for her own whatever else she needs, her utilities, etc.   This full time work stuff is new for her, it's good for her.  ;)  She's in Ohio this weekend going to a friend's bridal shower.

Friday I finally got to fly with the T-6 guy from Ft. Wayne. It had been several weeks, his plane jacks didn't work so we couldn't talk last time, and we had a difficult time. This time was a lot better. He flew us to Kokomo, and I had him practice taxiing, locking and unlocking the tailwheel, and then he wanted to do the takeoff. He wanted me to do the stick and power, and him to do the rudder.  Keep in mind he's not a pilot at all, let alone a tailwheel pilot.  So this went about how you would expect. He kept it straight until I got the power all the way in, and then it did one little swerve and he twisted his head around to try to see and boom, we were off towards the side of the runway poste haste.  I of course rescued that and took us off, and it gave him the idea that at least this isn't as easy as he'd like it to be.  lol  When we got back to Ft. Wayne, he wanted me to take his son up in the Citabria for his first ever small plane ride.  Typical teenage boy, he didn't hardly say two words. He was quiet, shy, and impossible to read. So you didn't know if he was bored, scared, or happy.  I had him fly us around a little while, he found his parents' house and his grandparents' house, and then we came in, and I took back off in the Citabria and flew back to Kokomo.  It was 4.5 hours of flight time, on a 90 degree day, with no water, sweating, and by the end of it I was depleted, and I still haven't caught up on hydration. I have tried. Electrolytes, water, tea, I'm floating in it, and I still have a dehydration headache today (Saturday evening).  Friday afternoon I had one more flight at 4 pm, the peak of the heat wave, sitting left seat in the RG while Morgan tried to figure out how to teach and talk and fly from the right seat.  It was fun, and she'll get it, but it's fun for people to see that this isn't as easy as it seems.  :D 

This morning Steve and I and AE hopped in the Aerostar and went to French Lick, Indiana. We landed at the airport in the hills and trees out there.  The hotel sent a shuttle out to pick us up for free, and took us to the hotel where we walked around the stores, sat in the atrium and had an expensive but tasty lunch (I even had a little caviar), did some more walking, took a free tram up to the stables, did a tour of the stables, hung out, took a free bus back into town to the other big French Lick hotel, sat on the porch there and had a drink, walked across the street and had some home-made ice cream, and caught a shuttle for free back to the airport.  You can go around the entire town and just tip the shuttle driver and be done.  The last time we were there, the West Baden Hotel was unfinished. Now it's up and running, the atrium was rebuilt and restored, most of the hotel is full of what I called "Old Opulence".  Mostly old thin white people in khaki and white shorts, pastel or floral shirts and dresses, and golf clubs in their cars.  Beautiful countryside though, beautiful area, beautiful hotels.  You know you're in a wealthy environment when you get free rides around town whether you are actually staying at the hotels or not, and when you go to the public restrooms in there, they have solid quality toilet paper and thick white soft paper towels with gold printing on them to wipe your hands off with.  ;)

Lunch was:

Colossal Shrimp Cocktail 

Poached White Tiger Shrimp with Fresh Grated Horseradish and Lemon Chili Sauce.

Artisan Cheese Board

Selection of Artisan Cheeses, Nuts, Olives, Fruits and Spreads served with House-Made Crackers and Bread

and 

Signature Ballard’s Burger

8 oz. Wagyu Beef Patty or Beyond Burger with Frizzled Leeks, Gorgonzola Cheese and Chive Aioli, with bacon, on a Brioche Bun  with fries.

It was a most excellent burger. 

We had Stormy here to be a caregiver so we could be gone for so many hours. Ann has been difficult the last few days. She got belligerent with Stormy, wouldn't go to bed. She had a hard time even understanding or speaking any words I'd call English the last couple of days.  Then she'll be okay-ish again.  So it was nice to not have to go over more than once today.  She's also sometimes getting up after we put her to bed, but when she does that, we don't go back over. Eventually she'll get tired and go back to bed on her own.

A few photos from the last couple of days.

Citabria in the sun

T-6 up by Huntington

Me with the shy young man in the back seat, a photo I took for his dad

Back in the barn.

The atrium

Fancy pants ;)

Great burger

old opulence

The stables

Me and Elvis at the French Licker (ice cream place)

The other fancy French Lick hotel

Obligatory airplane shot.