2017-08 KPIA (Peoria, IL)

in Destinations

We wake up the next day and there is a line of thunderstorms on our way back west. We tentatively pick Chicago area and load up and go. We’re a bit more comfortable now that we are down a person, but with 2 adults, 2 kids, a stroller, bike and bags it is a bit of a puzzle to load and manage weight and fuel.

The next leg is a big one, about 3:30 minutes, plus possible deviations for the thunderstorms. While we definitely don’t have get there it is, it is about 14 hours straight back, we have  5 days, and we want to have some time to enjoy the ground. We have onboard weather and our phones work some times. Flying over the mid-west states can be a bit boring at times as it it’s large squares of different shades of green and brown for as far as the eye can see.

We chose Peoria in the air. The town looked to be on a river and they had great fuel prices. We landed in the early evening and taxied to Byerly Aviation. I love FBO’s like Byerly! They came out and waited patiently to see what we needed. We had already found the embassy suites hotel in the air and booked a room and the hotel had a shuttle. We informed the line guys and they had the reception call the shuttle and helped us with our bags on a cart. Having our 2 month daughter on a long flight a diaper change was needed once we landed, who knew a low wing aircraft also made a great changing pad? They patiently waited while I changed her too! So nice to have that level of service with 2 small children. A plus for the Little Dude was popcorn!

We shuttled to the Embassy Suites hotel and it was right on the Illinois River. We were only staying the night and did not need a car and  it was so nice to be able to use a shuttle. Once we were settled in our room, we walked along the river to granite city food and brewery. It was so nice to walk to dinner and eat outside right on the river. The service was great and the food was made so fast. We walked back to the hotel and relaxed on the patio to watch the sunset before heading to bed.

The next morning we enjoyed the breakfast buffet which is always pretty good. Embassy suites are great for families since the rooms offer a little extra space and free breakfast and Wi-Fi. We loaded all of our stuff on the cart and went to the front desk for the shuttle. One problem. They were refusing to let our son on the shuttle without a car seat. This was an interesting one for us since they didn’t ask for it when they drove us over and the shuttle is a 20 person bus. We have been on a few shuttles and didn’t need it. She was telling us about Illinois law, well it never crossed our minds that different States would have different rules. Since we were just in 2 big city’s and rode buses, it didn’t even occur to us. Eventually, the agreed to let him ride on the shuttle the 5 minutes back to the airport. We were back at Byerly and it was time to gas and go.

 

2017-08 KOKV (Winchester, VA)

in Destinations

The adventure home is starting. Now we are done with the business stops of the trip and transitioning to our “dart at a map” method of travel back across the US to Seattle. We leave Teterboro and head south for an hour and a half to drop off Papa Birdie to his family who are visiting Virgina. Our plan is to stay the night with them and continue our journey the next day. We land at the Winchester airport on a sunny day. The airport is flat with mountains to the west. Winchester Aviation has our rental car ready to go. We are planning on only staying one night.

One of my favorite ways to visit a new city/town is with people who live there. There is just something more intimate about the experience. Our friends are from the area and now all the best places to go. We start with downtown for lunch and meet up with their family in the area.  The downtown is a classic southern downtown with brick streets and old buildings now occupied by shops and restaurants. We wonder to Village Market and Bistro. They have a private room off to the side that fits our large 8 person party. Our lunch was fresh and fast. Time to head to the winery, and as we leave downtown we notice a sign for Stonewall Jackson’s Headquarters. We of course do a quick detour on our way to the family’s winery where we get to stay. The winery is on a beautiful sloping property and The Little Dude’s favorite part is that his friend from home is there and they have a pool to play in! We have fun exploring and learning about the winery.

 

 

 

2017-08 KTEB (Teterboro, NJ)

in Destinations

We awake the next morning and packed up for our next spot. On the way to the Bedford Airport, we had breakfast near Harvard. The Bonanza had been positioned at the Signature FBO for the pervious 2 days working filming the Breitling DC-3 on their world tour. The plan was the Bonanza and crew would fly to KTEB and Mama Pilot and the Plane Kids would fly on the DC-3. Plane girl is only 2.5 months old and flew on a historic plane that most dream to fly on! It was a nice experience, but since it was summer, the ride was a little bumpy from turbulence flying low and the ventilation wasn’t that great. Nonetheless, these things did not bother The Little Dude from being very excited. The flight was only 1:30 and as we approached the tall buildings The Little Dude shouts, “New York.” He knows what New York looks like from the children’s movie, “The Secret Life of Pets“. We did 3 approaches before actually landing at KTEB. The DC-3 has a very low approach speed, about 80 knots and Teterboro is a very busy airport with lots of business jets. The tower and approach control were having a hard time spacing the DC-3 in to land.

We had 1 night in Teterboro as it was the last stop filming the DC-3 with the bonanza. While Papa Pilot was off working with the plane, Mama Pilot and the Plane Kids went to the city. We walked to the bus, then rode the bus to the subway, then got off in Central Park. It was a nice warm summer day and The Little Dude got to play at the oldest playground; Heckscher Playground. While The Little Dude played with the kids on the playground, Mama Pilot and The Plane Girl enjoyed the sun on the astroturf. After our visit at the park, we took the subway to Times Square and went to dinner at Carmines with Mama Pilots college friend Ms. Vicki. It is so wonderful having friends all across the country! Carmines is a family style restaurant and you really only need to order one thing for 4 people. The Little Dude was surprised with some new shoes and a new NY Yankees hat with his name embroidered into the side. He was having a blast. We didn’t get to spend too much time in the city because we had to ride the bus back to New Jeresy and walk back to the hotel. The next day was time for a new destination.

 

2017-08 KBED (Bedford,MA)

in Destinations

Our first trip across the United States actually started from the east coast, so it was only a one way trip across the US. Papa pilot and crew positioned the Bonanza in Toronto Canada for filming work and then to Bedford, Ma. The filming work continued in Boston area and Mama Pilot and the Plane Kids took our favorite airline, Alaska, across the country to meet Papa Pilot and the Bonanza. Air-lining with 2 kids solo is so much more stressful and work than taking the Bonanza; it really makes you appreciate being able to walk up to a plane on your own schedule. We had 2 nights in the Boston area before our first leg on the Bonanza to the New York area, but side twist. The Bonanza was already full of crew and equipment and not enough room for the family to be comfortable. Mama Pilot and the Plane Kids got to ride on the Breitling DC-3 to New York.

We stayed in the Cambridge area in Boston at the Hyatt Regency. Our room had an amazing balcony on the corner and was perfect to go out the morning of the photo shoot and take pictures of the flight over head. The filming work included the Charles River and downtown Boston.

Our first night we were able to meet up with our friends the Palmermanns at Legal Seafoods in Kendall Square. Legal Seafoods is a local chain, but an easy option for dinner with a large group. We also were able to walk there on the Dr. Paul Dudley White Bike path along the Charles River.

The next morning was Papa Pilots work day filming with the Bonanza and crew. The filming flying finished by early morning, and then we went out to explore Boston as a family. We parked at the garage downtown and did a Boston Harbor Cruise . The cruise was short and sweet about 45 minutes and took us the inner channel and was a quick preview of Boston from the water with nice views and history. After the boat ride we followed the freedom trail to an early dinner at the Union Oyster House.

The freedom trail is a route that leads mostly around the downtown area to historic places. It was fun for the little dude to ride his bike along the line to the restaurant. At the restaurant, we followed the host through a maze of low ceiling rooms before being seated across from the Kennedy Booth. The Union Oyster House was all charm. The food and service were average. We and others I’m sure simply visit because they claim to be Americas Oldest Restaurant. After Dinner we headed back to the hotel for the evening. Tomorrow was a filming day for the crew, and a reposition day to the New York area.

2017-07 KFHR (Friday Harbor, WA)

in Destinations

Being based in the Seattle area we are about a 30 minute flight from the San Juan Islands. For us to drive to the islands, it would require a fully committed weekend with a 3 hour drive to Anacortes and then a 2 hour ferry ride to the islands. There’s no way we would be able to do a quick dinner on the islands without the airplane.

It’s Papa Pilot’s birthday today and he wanted to go to Friday Harbor for dinner. Our friends, The Birdies were able to rent an airplane and meet us there! We loaded up from Auburn with our other friend the Canadian and decided to meet up over Lake Sammamish and do a formation flight to the islands. We had preplanned a location to join up, different altitudes to be at and a frequency to talk on. As planned, but with a minor delay from Renton Tower, we joined up as briefed and flew over to Friday Harbor. The flight from the land over the water into the islands was just gorgeous.

Friday Harbor Airport was not as busy as we expected for our arrival, as by 5pm on a Sunday, most people have already left. The airport is uncontrolled so all the pilots are responsible for making their own radio calls and keeping themselves separated. We landed on runway 16 and taxied to transient parking. From there it’s a short walk into the town and it’s all nice sidewalks (important with the kids!)  We walked over to Downrigger’s because the Canadian had never had oysters and Downrigger’s is right on the water. The restaurant is newly renovated because a few years ago it caught fire. It’s a very open floor plan and the blue sky day wasmade the atmosphere bright and cheery.  We ordered the raw oysters from Wescott bay. Wescott bay is just on the other side of  San Juan Island from Friday, so these were nearly as local as the oysters could be.  The oysters were super-delicious, creamy and very fresh. The other food we ordered included the Dungeoness crab tater tot’s, scallops, and the Pork Belly.   mmmmm- delicious.

Afterwards, we walked around the boardwalk and got ice cream close by. Another short walk back to the airport and we loaded up and flew as a flight back towards Seattle. The Canadian spotted a pod of whales on our climb just south of Lopez Island and we were able to get some some great photos of the Birdies 182 and stayed as a flight until near Paine field.  We landed back home just after sunset. Again the little airplane pulled through as a time machine to get us to a fabulous birthday dinner on a beautiful day with our great friends.

 

 

2017- 07 KBDN (Bend,OR)

in Destinations

 

It’s almost a month since plane girl was born and we decide to take our first trip to Bend. It’s going to be an interesting week we’re staying at different places and doing different things. Papa pilot has some work to do in the middle of the week with cinematography company  so we based our trip around that.

We had a good weight and balance done when it was just the three of us and now that we have to add all the baby support gear we have to do more weight and balance to see how much gas we can take and where bags need to go. We haven’t flown with a stroller and a long time and they take up a lot of space but they’re not very heavy. We finally get the numbers figured out and were in balance with mama pilot in the middle to help with the kiddos  and full tanks.

Mama pilot packed the bags in the eBags cubes because we weren’t going to be staying many days in any place. The first night we decide to stay in Old mill at the Hilton Garden Inn because it had the best rate. The next two nights we stayed at Pronghorn to have a nice large place to stay with our friends the Birdie’s with the kids while Papa pilot was working. And then the last night we decided to stay with family.

 

 

 

KMYL (McCall, ID) May 2017 ::Leg 6 of 6::

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McCall was the last stop on our trip back home. We just needed to get out and stretch our legs and have lunch. Since we’ve been here before we knew that there were a couple dining options close to the airport that didn’t require us to use a car. We walked to the Pancake house and had breakfast there, it was a really old and large restaurant. The food was good but crazy large portions. I had actually checked trip advisor to see where we wanted to eat and I read in the reviews that they said the portions were huge, so we decided to share. After that we walked back over to the airport and we noticed that the Idaho Aviation Association has bike shed where you can borrow bikes. What a great idea!!! Payette Lake is only a mile away, a little far maybe for a walk (if you’re going to do more then just walk there and back) but perfect to get around town on a bike.

KSLC (Salt Lake City, UT) May 2017 ::Leg 5 of 6 ::

in Destinations

After an overnight in Sedona,  its time to head north home and grandpa is flying north too.We load up and decide to head to Salt Lake City, it looks like there may be a few thunderstorms along the way, but nothing too bad. We are planning on driving over to Park City for the night. Before we left we looked at our options in the Park City area. Salt Lake and Heber (36U). We decided on Salt Lake International because of the availability of rental cars and the overnight pricing. Both airports are about a half an hour drive to Park City. We also booked a hotel room at the Hyatt Park City. The Hyatt was still a ways from the main ski area, where the summer activities were, but in the winter would be nice because it had its own lift to the ski hill. The rooms were large and had a kitchen, it was a great place a family could stay for a week and ski.

Park city was beautiful and just warm in the sun. It just happened to be the first weekend that all of the summer activities were open. There were kids activities were perfectly geared for The Little Dudes age he had his first chance doing in alpine slide and a ropes course. We dined at the High West Saloon and Distillery which serves western mountain cuisine. The next day will the weather was still great and we loaded up to head home with a quick lunch stop in McCall, Idaho.

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KSEZ (Sedona, AZ) May 2017 ::Leg 4 of 6 ::

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It is Saturday morning and we are all rested and ready to take Grandpa to Sedona and continue on to Park City, UT. A quick google search for donuts shows Swiss Donut close to the hotel and on the way to the airport. We want to get going as early as possible to avoid as much turbulence as possible. We use Tripadvisor to find the donut restaurant; they also sell boba tea so the decision is a no brainer. Of course the maple bar, chocolate donut and taro boba tea are delicious. We head over to Atlantic and re-load the plane and avoid purchasing gas at their gouging fee by planning ahead and tankering fuel from our previous stop in Bishop! We leave our Avis rental car in the parking lot, grab some water and call for our clearance and taxi. It is about 9am and the flight to Sedona will be about 1:30.

We are pretty lucky on the flight there isn’t much turbulence. We fly over Joshua Tree and it is a really scenic flight, especially as we get closer to the Red Rocks of Sedona. It is Mama and Papa Pilots 2nd time into Sedona so were familiar with how to get in. Grandpa has his plane based there part time and he is excited to take it north for the summer.

The airport is located on a plateau and it usually one way in and one way out. They do have a super delicious restaurant on the field, Mesa Grill and the FBO, Red Rock Aviation has reasonable fuel prices! We head to the Grill for lunch and fill up the plane after. It is about 2 hours to KSLC for our next leg and over night stop.

 

KPSP (Palm Springs, CA) May 2017 ::Leg 3 of 6::

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Unfortunately when I think of Palm Springs my thoughts of palm trees and In-n-Out are over shadowed by the thought of large fees at the FBO’s at KPSP.

We load up from KBIH and get our seat belts on for the rest of the bumpy flight to KPSP. It should be about 1:30 in flight and we hope to land by 4pm to make our 6pm event. We booked a room for the night at the Hilton Palm Springs close to both the Palm Springs airport and the Palm Springs Aviation Museum where the event were attending is being held.

Before we left Bend in the morning, Mama Pilot called both FBO’s to see what their fees were in addition to their very high fuel prices listed on Airnav. I also called the FBO at KUDD (Bermuda Dunes) to see what their fees and rental car availability were. Heres the Breakdown:

Atlantic Aviation KPSP: Fuel : $6.99/gal + $40 facility fee (waved with 15 gal) +20 each night

Signature KPSP: Fuel: $7.36/gal + $40 facility fee (waved with 8 gal) +$25 each night + $5 security fee

The other interesting thing with these posh destinations I learned was that they also corner the market on rental cars with Go Rentals. Go rentals normally will rent you a higher end luxury car starting at $129/day. Papa pilot gets a great Avis rate through work and we pay about $30/day. We like to spend more time flying and less at one place on the ground.

Another option besides KPSP is KUDD (Bermuda Dunes) which is about 30 minutes drive from Palm Springs. KUDD is more reasonable when it comes to general aviation their gas is $5.09/gal + $10 per night tie down fee. They also only carry the Go Rentals. We were quoted a Toyota Camary for $89/day! We tried to see if the local Avis would deliver to the FBO, but they were out of cars, so the fees we would say would be made up for in the rental car.

Therefore we tankered up in KBIH and went to Atlantic in KPSP. We went to Palm Springs for the night for the opening of the new Vietnam/Korea Hangar at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Since it is a more casual event we event took little dude. The Palm springs air museum prides itself on having flyable aircraft that people can get up close too. The Little Dude was in heaven because he was the only kid there. It was so fun to get a generational photo with Grandpa, Papa Pilot and Little Dude in front of Grandpa’s Dad’s Squadron painted P-47 Mustang!

After the event, it was time to wind down for the night and rest before our planned early departure to Sedona. We also planned after the event that we would head to Park City, Utah after dropping off Grandpa in Sedona.

^ Always bring your chain saw to cut rocks on the ramp

^The pool at the Atlantic FBO in KPSP