May 2003
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Highlights of May 2003

Sun Valley

In early May, Jon and his instructor, Lew took a friend of Lew's to Sun Valley Idaho and back in one day.  We flew for 11 hours in a variety of conditions including rain, hail, hard IFR, and icing. We parked at Sun Valley amidst executive jets and some very nice twins. Some real challenges but a lot of good training.

Parked with the big boys
Sun Valley Mountains

Southern California Aeroventure

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took our first major long distance flight together to Southern California with Jon as pilot in command of the Cessna 182 .  We got an early start Friday morning and made our way down the central valley to John Wayne Airport. Along the way we passed such glamorous spots as the Grapevine intersection of Interstate 5.  



When we landed, we were met by Jon's sister, Jane, and her husband, Scott.  They whisked us off to their home in Irvine where we spent two days catching up with their family.  Saturday we hopped the ferry to Balboa Island and worked up an appetite for lunch by taking a long beach front walk.






 

We took some shots from the hillside overlooking Turtle Rock. The walk was more for Roxy's benefit then ours.



Sunday morning the clouds lifted and we made the second leg of trip- a visit to Hemet to see Jim, Tisha and family.  While at the airport, Quinn checked out the pilot's seat to make sure that everything was in order. 



Below is the familiar family portrait from the front door of their residence.




A wily set of rascals !!


Care passed the time on the return trip taking shots of the few landmarks including the Lemore Naval Air Station along the central valley corridor as well as several arty ground shots.






 



Boyd and Barb Visit

Just about a year later than originally planned, our friends Boyd and Barb from St. Louis came to visit us for the first time in Marin.  Upon arrival at our house they were greeted by Milford, the pig, complete with chili lights.  Friday evening we took in the view of the San Francisco skyline from Sausalito while we had dinner at Guyamas. 



We kept to our original itinerary and flew up to Mendocino for lunch on Saturday. Only this year, Jon flew up in his own plane instead of a rental.  It was a clear, warm day for all the photographers on board.






After crossing Petaluma, we headed out toward Pt Reyes past Tomales Bay and Stinson Beach.  We turned North along the coast for Bodega Bay, Jenner-Russian River and Pt Arena.






 

Boyd, our co-pilot, caught a shot of Little River's extra healthy landing strip.  We posed for a "we made it picture" before we climbed into the van aka stagecoach for the town of Mendocino. 




Mendocino seems much like a New England town that forgot its East Coast roots.  After lunch in town, we strolled along the bluffs and around town capturing some of the local color.














Our trip in Mendocino seemed to fly by and in no time we were back in the plane headed down the coast.




We included a quick tour of San Francisco bay on the way home. 

San Francisco - Broadway



Upon our return Boyd and Barb were experienced flight assistants and helped unload and tie down the plane. 



It was "Sierra" time when we returned home.  The boys popped a brew and headed for the hot tub.  Barb joined them in this true California/Marin ritual.








 

Sunday we used the car for our sightseeing. First a photo shoot on Mt. Tam and then a short jaunt over to Sonoma. 







Needless to say the hounds enjoyed all the attention this weekend. Like us, they look forward to the next visit from B&B.



 

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