June 29, 2007

Roll call at 6AM but we were not out the door until closer to 730AM.  Actually, Chris has reveille on his Ipod which I was tempted to use. By the time we checked out and got a ride to the plane, took the cover off and went through the preflight we had wheels up at 8:03AM bound for St. George UT and breakfast.  After one past over Monument Valley and a check of our fuel load, no gas available at Gouldings, we decide to put down at Page UT to top the tanks.  We could have made it to t George but the margin would have not been as great on the fuel, better safe than sorry.

Landing in St George is fun because the airport sits on a mesa and looks a bit like the deck of an aircraft carrier.  I was surprised to find that it does not have a tower.  I guess I just assumed that since it is Sky West's HQ the airport must be towered...not so.  After landing we took the FBO's crew car, a very stylish vintage Cadillac that was roughly the same size as my old suburban, into town looking for what turned out to be brunch.  We initially went with the recommendation of the FBO but since it was not really lunch time that place was closed.  We ended up at IHOP for fine gourmet dining.  What can you do to egg whites right....

Airborne again we were now direct to Las Vegas.  Chris thought it would be a kick to land at Mc Carran, the International Airport in Las Vegas.  So after taking off from St George Chris dialed up La center to get flight following to Vegas at which point he was turned over to Las Vegas approach control.  The request was for runway 19 which would have been out of the way of the bulk of the commercial traffic.  After we made one pass over the dam Chris called back to approach control and we started in for the airport.  Half way in the controller came on with "say intention".  The kiss of death.  Two 360's later we were informed that it would be 30 minutes before we would be cleared for the landing.  We diverted to North Las Vegas airport where I took my first flying lesson, so for the first time in the trip I knew exactly where we needed to be and on which runway we would be landing. North Vegas has two parallel runways.  12R is the one they always use so I was familiar with the right downwind approach.  Another perfect landing, tie down and a cab to the Bellagio to meet Robyn.

For our evening entertainment we started with dinner in Sansei, a nice restaurant in the hotel.  Then off to the Mirage to take in the new Cirque du Sole show "Love".  This is more dance oriented than most of the prior cirque du Sole's but they have really captured the spirit of the Beetles music and I would highly recommend it.  Robyn got us outstanding tickets that just about put us in the show.

All in all, a long day but a really nice one.

June 28, 2007

Reveille at 6AM to watch the sun come up over these absolutely beautiful cliffs.  While reading on the lanai horses and turkeys were wandering around in front of me.  We drove into Moab for breakfast in an outdoor breakfast place called the Jail-house Cafe.  Back out tot the airport, turned the car in and loaded up the aircraft with the stuff and fuel.  Since this airport has a high density altitude Chris wanted to do a few touch and goes to get used how the plane handles in this situation.  We did three touch and goes and then departed straight out for Monument Valley and Gouldings.

The airport at Gouldings took a little effort to differentiate from another near by airport but once we sorted it out Chris shot a very challenging approach to the runway.  The winds roll over the bluffs right next to the airport and the runway actually has a vertical raise that ends up against a shear wall of another butte.  We checked in at the office, dropped our bags and went for lunch.  At 4PM we took the 3.5 hour twilight Monument Valley Tour.  We are actually staying in Utah but are less than a mile from the Arizona border and Monument Valley.  This area is a Navajo Reservation.  All of the help at Gouldings are indians that have a very stoic personality.  At first you think they are very stand offish but if you talk with them they are very friendly and responsive but it take a little getting used to when you first experience them.

The tour was about 1.5 hours to long.  Although hot there was a breeze blowing that made it acceptable.  I would be lying if I said I was not happy to be back at the lodge. We were hot, tired and sweaty but had to go right to dinner as the house we are staying in requires a shuttle.  Since it was 7:30PM we decided to just go for it.  Had we gone to the house first to clean up we would have probably skipped dinner.  Tomorrows flight plan calls for an early departure and a stop in St George Utah for breakfast and fuel.

June 27, 2007

7AM, up and time to get in the five minute window.  Chris has noon in the Plane Availability Pool and I have 10AM.  Todays flight plan calls for Palm Springs direct to Bullhead City.  Lunch with Robyn and Marilyn.  Following lunch we fly the very specific FAA controlled route through and around the Grand Canyon before heading on to Moab and the Red Cliff Lodge.  It is going to be a long day in the air.  Unfortunately we have had to drop Sedona from our schedule.

At 10:30 we drove over to the Signature office and they took us to the maintenance facility.  They had just finished the door and were in the process of making the log entry.  We jumped in the plane taxied back to the Signature.  I went to get the car, drove it on the tarmac next to the plane, loaded the plane up and the flightline guy took the car back to Hertz.  Flying in your own plane is a definite advantage.  By 11:33AM we were in the air and on our way to beautiful Bullhead City Arizona by the River.  Did I mention it is hot?  Hot is naturally a relative term, what is hot to one is not necessarily hot to another.  109 on the tarmac at Palm Springs at 11:30AM.  But wait, this was only the beginning.  113 degrees on the tarmac at Bullhead.  After we had lunch with Robyn and Marilyn at the Golden Nugget they were going to walk out on the tarmac, roughly 70 yards, to see the plane.  Ten yards into it they called it quits.  It was hot by anyones definition.  They pulled over to the side of the road that runs parallel to the taxi way and waved as we took off.

From Bullhead we had the long leg up to Canyonlands and Moab.  We flew by way of the Grand Canyon.  What a view that is as you go floating over the canyon with all of the colors and the great landscapes.  We flew a little to the south of El Tovar on the South Rim.  The FAA has very specific corridors that general aviation aircraft must fly through.  Happily there was not much tourism in the area so we did not have to contend with any other traffic other that a helicopter well below us.  Our assigned altitude through this corridor (Dragon Corridor)was 10,500 ft.  Nice and cool up there, 70 degrees.

We landed in Moab right on time at 7PM local.  We picked up one hour in the time zone change.  After a quick tour of the main town we drove the 18 miles out to the Red Cliffs Lodge.  This is a place everyone should see once before they leave this earth.  I have been to a number of really pretty places over the last 60 years but to date this takes the cake.  You just simply cannot imagine how pretty it is here.  The Red Cliffs Ranch has been the setting four a vast number of movies, everything from John Wayne Westerns to Back to the Future and Indiana Jones,  Not to mention TV shows and hundreds of print adds using the area as backdrop.  The Lodge has a museum with all of the Hollywood pictures and posters.

Chris and I had dinner outside on the porch looking over the Colorado River on an absolutely clear night with a full moon.  A little humidity in the air but a warm evening and no bugs.  Chris found out that this lodge has only been here since 2002.  This guy has a gold mine.  Long day in the air, bed time now.

We finally got going today after 3 days of waiting for the freakin' door hinge. Flew to wonderful Bullhead City (KIFP) via Lake Havasu. VERY hot there, well over 100 degrees. Mostly full of old people. Ordered Grilled Ham and Cheese for lunch, and it came with American cheese. Gross. Continued the flight and passed over the Grand Canyon. That was amazing. Unfortunately, photos don't do it justice. If you're a pilot, this is something you should do at some point, it was really cool. Continued the flight up through incessant light turbulence due to thermals, which also meant constantly dealing with up and down drafts, which was kind of a pain. Landed in Moab just in time to pick up our rental car, and then drove to the Red Cliffs Lodge. The place is amazing, it's where tons of movies are shot. The photo of the mesa was taken near sunset from right in front of our room. Sweet.

Tomorrow, it's on to Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley.

Tuesday June 26, 2007

Up at 6AM thinking nothing but positive thoughts.  E-mails out of the way it's off to breakfast.  Yesterday we watched a photographic shoot take place while we ate breakfast, probably for some Sears catalog.  Low and behold they are back again this morning still shooting.  Like yesterday, they fold up about the time we are finished with breakfast. Must be something to do with the quality of the morning light.

As I write this it is 8:30AM and Chris has checked in with the flight line to see if they have received the part.  Our plan, developed over breakfast, is to provide economic incentive ($100) to the mechanic to get us out today either before class starts or after it finishes.  We understand the door has been prepared and all that is required is the installation of the new hinge.  How long can it take to do that???  Now we have the issue of do we check out of the Parker and check back in if it is a no go??  Check out and sit by the pool with limited access to clean up??  These are the kid of issues big time executives are paid to deal with every day (it would be nice if we could find one to deal with it).  At any rate, they have not yet received the part but the guy seemed interested in performance based pricing.

Here we are at the mid point of the day and we have our first piece of good news.  The front desk has given us a 6PM check out time.  We should know our status well before that but at least we don't have to sit around the pool on our luggage.  Look, we have to take our bits of good news where we can get it.

It is now 3:45PM and we have been delivered the death blow for today.  The good mechanics have finished their class and are apparently well compensated because they have decided to go home.  The work will be done tomorrow.

After and entire afternoon by the pool we are both drained.  It is amazing how much the heat takes out of fat old guys.  Chris and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner....MISTAKE !!  W e could have ordered one entrée and split it and still left food on the plate, what a disaster.  Well, a little flight planning tonight and bed.  Tomorrow we fly!!!

Jack Sprat is on the way!

Looks like all of MA's work with finding the right breeder has paid off and there is a male puppy available for us. We'll be heading out to Vacaville on Sunday to pick him up. After a lot of controversy, I finally got MA to agree to Jack Sprat for the name. She was in a low leverage position though since I'm going to be with him most of the time, so if I called him Jack Sprat enough, he'd respond to it. This is a photo of him.

Keeping track of your stuff.

I've read enough other bloggers to know that they have code names for the important people in their lives. We'll use Big D for my Dad.

Over the past few days I've noticed a pattern of how he intereacts with his gadgets and other stuff he has to carry. When he comes in the room, he leaves these gadgets in "logical" places when he sits down to relax. Then, he'll need one of them, and he storms around looking for it in any number of logical places. When it's not in place #1 or place #2, he starts getting angry and swearing under his breath saying "where the f$% did I put my X!?!" Eventually, he finds it, but by then, he needs another item. The process starts again. He needs a third item. Unfortunately, by the time he finds the third item, he has put the first item somewhere, and he needs it because it was the reason he got up in the first place, so the cycle starts over.

So, we have learned that he can really only carry 2 items at a time. In order to carry more than 2 items, there needs to be some sort of tracking system, at least when traveling, as I don't see this happen as much at home.

Unfortunately for me, I see some of these same things happening to me, so I have a pretty strong incentive to either figure out a good system for him, or get myself down to just 2 items.

Monday June 25, 2007

Up not so early today, around 7ish.  Breakfast in the hotel waiting to hear the status of the airplane.  As would be expected, the call comes as the food is being served.  Ever the faithful father, I go ahead an eat while my food is warm.  Chris goes off to deal with the airplane mechanic on the phone.  Bad news !  We are "hard down" for maintenance.  It will take them until tomorrow to get and install the part, it appears we will be guests of the Parker Springs Hotel for one more night.  To bad because the room air conditioning did not exactly get all of last nights burrito's out of the room.  I would say they are going to have to repaint. 

As part of the developing story, Chris is in contact with the maintenance facility.  Our situation is deteriorating.  Maintenance just called again and the earliest it looks like we are going to be able to go is tomorrow night.  Depending on the definition of tomorrow night, we may have to stay here another night.  If tomorrow night means around 6PM we could still get to Bullhead City easily before dark.  The part will be FedEx'ed in for arrival at 8AM.  The bad news is that since this is a Cessna approved maintenance facility (there is some good news to this story, this could have happen in some out post like Goulding's) they are having a day of class from the manufacturer.  So, lets say the part arrives on time and they get right to it, we could be out by 9:30AM.  If, instead, there is a little "play" in the system and they go off to class then we have to hope there is enough time left in the day to get at it before they go home.  If so then we make the twilight landing at Bullhead.

So now, what to do ?  Lets see, Palm Springs in June, 105 on the thermo meter.  Off to the mall or rather the outlet stores up in Banning Pass.  After inflicting minor damage to the credit card we started back for the good old Parker Springs.  En route we noticed the exit for the Palm Springs tram which takes you to the top of this mountain range that blocks Palm Springs from the coast.  I think the top is somewhere around 10,000 ft so the good news is that it was 72 degrees on top.  You make the assent in a round cable tram that has a rotating floor so everyone gets a great view.  From the top you can see the entire valley and most of the way to Las Vegas.  There are also a number of hiking trails that you can spend the day waking, last tram at 10:30PM.  For that special occasion there is a restaurant on top.  Once again Chris tried to cash in...lets take the hiking trail!  The vertical down to the trail is steeper than the hills in San Francisco.  We took the shorter of the two loops which I have to say was a very nice walk through tall pine trees so you really picked up the combination of the fresh mountain air and the pine smell.  When we reached the part of the walk that would take us back up the vertical to the mountain house I could swear I heard Chris say "let's run". At any rate I hauled my fat rear end up the path so I thought I earned the ice cream bar at the top that forced us to miss a tram and wait an additional 20 minutes.

Back at The Parker we choose Fisherman's Market in Palm Springs for our fine dining experience.  Interesting place in that you go in one building and place your order and then go into another building for your table.  Once prepared they bring it out to you.  Good food, nothing special.

Turned in thinking positive thoughts about tomorrow hoping there will not be any "play" in the system and the door will be repaired before class starts.

Sunday June 24th

It's GO TIME !!  DPN up early, roughly 4:30AM due to Eastern time on the body clock but the day looks like a good one for flying, no fog in the greater San Francisco area.  Our expected wheels up time is 9AM.  The plan is to have breakfast at the flight line cafe with "the old guys", then load up, pre-flight and off we go.  DPN gets the old guy egg white omelet and CJN the french toast.  I have to say this little place does a great job on breakfast.

Due to impeccable planning on my part gets us to the threshold right on time at 9AM.  Cleared for take off we are off on runway 30 heading for Tehachapi CA where we have agreed we will stop for fuel before proceeding to Palm Springs (arrival at 10:53AM).  Nice little historic railroad town that the Santa Fe was responsible for starting but today marks the beginning of California's latest type of farm, the windmill farm.  From Tehachapi (wheels up at !!:16AM) you proceed past Edwards Air Force Base which we received clearance to fly directly over as log as we were above 6000 ft.  We had a chance to clearly see the Shuttle and the 747 that will take it back to Florida. Past Edwards we went over a bunch of ground fires that control advised us to be on the look out for aerial tankers dropping water.  The last passage was through Banning Pass which is the valley that one drives through on the way to Palm Springs from LA.  Windmills as far as the eye can see.  I think it is fair, to point out at this time that at several points during our journey Chris would roll the plane to the left or to the right to get a better look at something.  The reader should keep this in mind as the story continues.

I had lunch with a friend of mine last Friday and while telling him of my plans for this trip he said to be careful on the approach to Palm Springs because the wind comes over the mountains and tumbles into the Palm Springs valley.  Guess what...he was absolutely correct.  As we came out of Banning Pass we entered a washing machine in the spin cycle.  Four a few minutes we bounced all over the place but then the air smoothed out and Chris shot a perfect landing on a short approach.  It was at this time, I am sad to say, that I uncovered a sinister plot to bump off the old man.  As we pulled up to the Signature FBO and Chris shut the engine down I reached to open the door and the top hinge of the door broke.  I quickly grabbed the door and held on until Chris could come around the plane to hold the door up and open while I got out.  I think it was pretty clear that all of the rolls earlier in our flight were designed to dump the old man and collect the cash.  Happily, this event took place at a big FBO.  Had this happen in Sedona or Bullhead City we might have had a bigger problem. The mechanics will begin working on it at 7:30 tomorrow morning.  Neither Chris or I can remember if it was just the failure of a pin or as I remembered it a rusted hinge that gave way.

Hertz delivered our car to the FBO so we loaded up and headed for what turned out to be fine dining at the near by Subway place.  A quick sandwich and we were off to the Palm Springs Air Museum. Had a good time, Chris had a chance to speak with the many of the guys that actually flew the aircraft during the war.  Following the museum stop it was on to the Parker Springs hotel for check in and pool time.

Dinner tonight was at El Mirasol for some beer and burrito's followed by another episode of Top Gear.  Someone should bring that show to the U.S.  The battery ran out for DPN by 10PM, no staying power.

Well, we made it to Palm Springs safely. We did a quick stop for fuel in Tehachape. It took me about 30 min to figure out how to pronounce that one. Then we continued on over Edwards AFB, which was pretty cool since the space shuttle just landed there a few days ago. We saw it sitting outside under some scaffolding. This is also the place where the sound barrier was first broken and a bunch of other aviation stuff happened.

We got a few bumps on the way into Palm Springs, enough to make my Dad a little nervous, but they were over quickly enough. We landed, and it was definitely over 100 degrees. I get out of the plane, and my Dad says, "Chris, you better come over here." Turns out the upper hinge of the door had broken, and when he tried to open it, it almost fell off! Doh. The mechanics will work on it tomorrow morning starting at 7:30, so we should be good to go tomorrow. Hopefully they have the part!

My Dad brought his Garmin Nuvi along to help us navigate on the ground, so we chose a place for lunch.
Try 1 - Drive around the airport, and find out that the place is in the commercial terminal. No thanks.
Try 2 - Drive to the other side of the airport, place doesn't exist.
Try 3 - Drive a mile away to a crappy deli that is only open during the week to service the local auto shops.
3 strikes, you're out - we went to a local Subway we'd passed 3 times in the process of chasing the Nuvi's directions around.

The air museum was pretty cool. On the way in, my Dad tried to tell me the "B17 Fast taxi" story again, but I cut him off at the beginning with "Is this the fast taxi story again?" Anyway, the museum is cool for two reasons - all the planes in it actually work, and they're all these old WWII fighters and bombers. The second and bigger reason is that they have the actual pilots there. I met a pilot of a B25 and a B24 and got to hear a bunch of war stories. Considering that these guys are in their 80s, that's probably the last time I'll be able to talk to a WWII pilot. Cool stuff.

 Saturday, June 23, 2007 11:39:48 AM

It is, as Peggy the captain of AA flight 179 to San Francisco, a beautiful day for flying.  Robyn and I shared a car to JFK and arrived with exactly the right amount of no fuss no mss time to check in and get through security.  Walking into the terminal I was met with chaos.  It appeared that every flight American has to a third world country was leaving on or around 9AM.  People everywhere, people on top of people.  After working my way to an agent she directed me around a near by wall and into a corner where First Class check in was and in a matter of moments I was through the bag check in process and on to security.  Guess what, the security line was just as bad but low and behold a First Class path through security and again in a matter of moments I was through and on my way to the Admirals Club.  I called Robyn to thank her, wish her good luck in Las Vegas and thank her for setting me up with the first class seat.

After a cup of coffee and a bagel in the club it was time to go flying.  First to board that's my motto.  Got settled and put the Bose on to start a new book.  After the door shut the nice flight attendant said I had to shut the power to my headset off.  OK, I'll play the little TSA game but now they have raised the bar.  Now it's take the head set completely off.  Oh, and by the way, no more approaching the fllight attendant in the galley, not if you want something, you have to ring the call button.  These guys are going nuts.  We had wheels up at 9:30AM local

It looks like the weather in San Francisco is going to be about the same as it was in New York, middle 60's and sunny.  Perfect weather to watch a ball game in, not too hot and not too cold.

How time flies when you are having fun.  Two movies (Wild Hogs & Ghost Rider) and a quarter of a book later we are wheels down at exactly 11:55AM local.  Taxi to the gate and I am off the plane at 12:15 PM and on the way to baggage.  One quick call to the Palm Springs Signature facility to arrange for a car when we arrive and, by the grace of God here comes the luggage.  I get a call from Chris who is dropping Mary Ann off at another terminal for her business trip to Baltimore and in a few minutes he picks me up and we are off to AT&T Field and the Giants v Yankees game.

I have been to a lot of baseball games over 60 years.  This is the first time I have ever been in the last seat in the house.  If you drew a straight line vertically from the third base line to the top of the stadium we were in the very top seat.  It was like watching the game from a helicopter.  One the way to the game Chris was talking about how hot I was going to be in my long sleeve shirt and pants and had made up t-shirts to commemorate our week long experience, one of which he was wearing.  Well, it turns out that when you are that high in the air the temperature is a lot lower plus you get the wind.  Age and experience over youth once again!!  At any rate the game was a very good one with the Yankees blowing a four run lead, the game went into extra innings at a 5-5 tie at the end of the 9th. We left at that point but the end of the story is a Giants win at the end of 13.

Following he game I was forced into manual labor.  We went over to Chris and Mary Ann's new apartment and while touring the roof deck we had a chance to meet some of Chris's new neighbors and hung around chatting for a while.  Then it was back to work hanging a cast iron pot holder from the ceiling.  I am glad this was Chris and not me.  This thing weighs a ton but he had the equipment to locate the studs and in a matter of moments we had it assembled and in place.

The rest of the night was sushi for dinner at Sushi Groove with a drink while waiting for our table at a near by wine bar and Swenson's ice cream after.  Then flight planning and lessons in Mac short cuts.  We watched a show called Top Gear, made in England about cars and their performance but with a humrous spin.

My Dad and I are going on a trip in my airplane. Here's a nice photo of the airplane. If we file any IFR flight plans (probably not) then you can follow us by going to flightaware.com and typing in N236SP. If you watch this blog, we'll give you updates. Our current plan is:
Sunday - San Carlos->Palm Springs
Monday - Palm Springs ->Laughlin (see Mom and Aunt Marilyn) -> Sedona
Tuesday - Sedona -> Grand Canyon sightseeting -> ? Maybe Moab, maybe Eagle/Vail, maybe something else.
Wed - Moab
Thu - Moab -> Monument Valley
Fri - Monument Valley -> Vegas
Sat - Vegas -> San Carlos