Illinois

Did that thing where I woke up at 4 am for no good reason and never got back to sleep. So did Steve, actually.  We laid there for awhile, then we started talking, then we just got up around 6 and started the day, like...what the heck.  He worked on billing, I got ready slowly and headed to Frankfort.

Today's trip was to Pekin, Illinois, by Peoria, and then over to Champaign, IL.  It was low IFR, windy, rainy, a perfect day for Morgan's first flight in the 340.  I did the first leg, to Pekin, to show her procedures, power settings, speeds, avionics, all that stuff.  I broke out on the approach about 300' above minimums. We dropped off Nick and Stephen, and then I had her fly us to Champaign.  She hand flew, it was IMC the whole way, got an ILS in, and she hand flew it down to 200' above minimums.  Good job.  We got there, I got gas, we took a courtesy car into town and stopped at the International House of Pancakes.  I got Swedish pancakes which are flat and slightly "lacy" or crispy, with legionberries, and only ate about half of it.  They're like crepes in a way.  Good.  I got bacon to go with it because you can't skip on the bacon.  We hung out for awhile there, had some hot chocolate, and then we got back to the FBO, where she studied for her CFII coming up, and I worked on that and the next days' stuff.

I entered the hobbs times on the spreadsheet, planned the last leg of the flight, and got a text from D asking if I could by chance go to Alabama tomorrow.  I was planning on cooking some of tomorrow, but I don't need to cook ALL of tomorrow, so might as well earn some bucks.  I'll be leaving at 6:30 am Wednesday. I have Thursday off.  Then I leave at 6:30 am on Friday to go to NY, back, fill up, leave at noon to go down to Marco Island, then back.  Boom.  So I'm planning the last leg of today's flight, tomorrow's flights to Alabama and back, and Friday's flights to NY and FL and back.  Talking to different people going on each of those flights with me, arranging fuel, checking weather, arranging transport, arranging right seaters to build time, etc.  All that arranging took just enough time, I was just ready to go when they texted they were on their way.  Morgan flew us home, and we broke out of the grey, cold, dreary, IMC, rainy day below on top just in time to watch the sunset from the air in clear smooth air.  It was a breath of fresh air to see the sunshine.  We had to go back into it to land at Frankfort, 700' overcast, a hold, an approach into the pure dark this time.  And it was only 7 pm.  Depressing.  

So Morgan did well, and we had a fun day, and she got to get some legit real world IFR and x-country and not great weather experience.  It was great.

Meanwhile, Austin with the child porn charges? This article cost money to read, so I screenshotted it for you.  Read this.  Then I'll end with pretty pictures from today instead of this grossness.  600 videos of kids as young as SEVEN.  I hope he rots in there.  I hope he runs into someone mean in there.  

And as for the photos from today...

Be Real photos.  ;)