Day 6 - First Smooth Flight of the Whole Trip

The weather forecast had been for low clouds and possible rain all day Saturday. So I slept in. I woke up at 8 am and looked outside. It was severe clear! I hurredly packed up, wolfed down a cup of oatmeal and drove the mile and a half to the airport. By the time I packed up the plane, low clouds had rolled in. Arggh@!$#!

A few minutes later Dallas greets me and tells me that it will probably burn off. Hoping he was right I went to get some breakfast.

And once again another food boondoggle! 

You think you should be able to go into any small town in America at 9:00 in the morning and just order a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Is that too much to ask??? It is if you are in Junction, Texas. Now if you want ribs or brisket, at 9:00 am, you have your choice of restaurants.

I ended up eating half of a 6" cold cut combo from Subway for my breakfast.

The sky started to clear as I was eating and so I quickly headed back to the airport and took off.

The wind was already blowing as climbed up, and under, a 3000 foot broken layer. The layer was only an few hundred feet thick but once again it was bumpy underneath. A few miles from the airport the layer edged upward and so did I, trying to judge the 500 foot clearance requirement.

After a few minutes the clouds dissipated and I was able to climb up to cooler air at 7500 feet.

South central Texas looked great in the morning sun with the clouds adding dramatic effect.

And then a miracle happened. The bumps stopped and I was in smooth air! The kind you can fly with one finger. It stayed like that all the way to West Houston Airport. I could relax and just enjoy the scenery and it felt great. 

Flying with one finger

The happy, unstressed pilot

I have no idea who LUECKE is. Either into aviation or extraterrestrials, I'm thinking.

Two hours and twenty minutes after takeoff I landed under calm winds to a very professional corporate airport. There is something kind of cool when a flag man comes out and guides you with hand signals to your parking spot.

I got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my nephew Denny, his sweet wife Wendy and their beautiful daughter Jessica. Jessica's 10 year old son, Seth, and I had a water balloon fight (which I totally won), played on his trampoline and threw balls to their two dogs.

Jessica

And then FINALLY, I got to eat some real food! Not just any food. Barbequed brisket, and ribs, and bacon wrapped peppers, and collard greens and green beans and baked beans and potato salad. Then I had chocolate cake for desert. It was so good!!! Now I know why Denny married Wendy. It wasn't because she was as beautiful as her daughter. It was because this girl knows Texas BBQ!

My Texas BBQ - you rock, Wendy!

It felt wonderful to be with the family of my sister Dottie. Dottie passed a number of years ago and it has been forever since I have seen them.

Life has kept me separated from all my family by thousands of miles for many years. It has caused me a deep hurt that I try to push down every time I think of my sisters and nephews and nieces that I never get to see.

I am lucky that all of my family are kind and caring people. This trip has made me realize how much I miss them all. When I get home I am going to start making plans to visit my three sisters in Canada as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted.