Father's Day Flight

So Father's Day 2011 rolled around at the end of a week-long beach trip at St. George Island, FL. I first went to this island when I was 8-10 years old, and then my parents started making it at least an annual trip for us. A barrier island with a few restaurants, stores, and beach houses for rent. No condos or high rise hotels here. When I entered high school, my parents bought a house here and I spent several years going down every weekend and sailing in Apalachicola Bay. Over the last few years, it has become a tradition for us to spend a week there with my parents at the pristine beaches.

I flew down since I had to be back home the Monday after Father's Day for work, and my wife was planning to spend some time in Georgia for a few days on the way home. My oldest daughter has had an aversion to flying for over a year now, and was not particularly interested in flying at all. So that left me flying down alone and planning to fly home alone. However, as the days wound down on our vacation, she indicated some interest in flying home with me. This got her younger sister interested too and before I knew it, they were both planning on flying home with me on Sunday. The plan was to leave especially early to avoid any turbulence buildup throughout the day and then go to Concord Mall after we got home. I kept a close eye on the weather, because I wanted this to be a great re-introductory flight for them.

On the morning of the flight, there was a slow moving frontal system scheduled to arrive at home by early afternoon. We departed at 7:30 AM for the 2.5 hour flight home from the beach. I had my iPad charged up with some movies on it, so we plugged that into the auxiliary input jack in the back and the girls watched movies during the flight. Smooth climb to cruise at 9000 feet and completely smooth ride all the way a;long our flight path. As we approached South Carolina, it became apparent the the front was moving in to our flight path earlier than expected, so I was able to negotiate a path to the east of Charlotte in order to avoid clouds and bumps. ATC was accommodating and we had no issues avoiding the weather.

See the flight track here

With about 15 minutes left in the flight, we did have some mild turbulence, but the girls were unaffected by it. By this time, they had stopped watching movies and watched the Charlotte skyline pass to our left. We descended over the Brushy Mountains and entered final for the runway at Wilkes County. We touched down and taxied to the hangar, glad to be home. Just as we shut down and exited the plane, the first rain drops fell. We got in the car and headed for the mall. As we left, I queried my elder daughter on how she enjoyed the flight. "Not bad, Dad, I think we can do that again" - probably the best Father's Day gift I've had in some time. Spending time with them was great - 2:45 flight, then all day at the mall, getting in two movies as well. We got home tired, but having had a great day.

We have now made plans for two upcoming family flights based on the success of this one and the girls' renewed interest in flight. Niagara Falls and Baltimore. Will let you know how those go.