After our trip meeting Grandpa and Kami was such a success in Joesph, OR we decide to try another fly in meet up in Florence, OR as a day trip. The summer weather has the entire Oregon coast clear of clouds. We call the FBO and ask about a courtesy car and they say they have 2 cars, first come first served with a 2 hour limit and they are $10 (for insurance) We arrive at Florence and it is very windy! We go around on the first attempt to land because we didn’t have a stabilized approach. We land on runway 33 which takes you over a little bay, thats where the wind shift is. There is lots of open parking and we just pick a spot. The Volunteer at the “FBO” isn’t back from lunch yet, but the building is open and there is a clean bathroom to use. We don’t have to wait long for the volunteer or Grandpa and Kami to land. We all load up in the 90’s sedan (with roll down windows) and drive towards town. Florence seems like a small fishing town with a cute downtown area. As we drive by, we see Mo’s (an Oregon coast seafood chain) and International C food Market side by side. We park and decide on the ICM since we have been to a few Mo’s. The food was very good, including the clam chowder and the seafood salad.
After our lunch we drive over to Heceta Beach south, about a 15 minute drive for the easy beach access. It is very very windy at the beach too, and cold! Grandpa thought ahead and brought a super cool kite, and we brought some towels to lay on. We hid a bit behind one of the sand dunes since the cool air and strong wind made it so chilly. The sand was nice and soft though. The Little Dude wanted a chance to fly the kite, but he couldn’t do it alone since it was soo windy it would have disappeared if he let go! We were coming to the end of our time with the car so we heading back to the airport. The volunteer asked us to be back by 4, which we were. We loaded up just a few things and got some self serve gas before our departure. We meet up with Grandpa and Kami a few miles north of the airport and fly some formation for fun before they break off and head home. We continue the flight home to S50 and put the bonanza away. Another day adventure complete!
