We haven’t been following news much on this trip, but any time like the last few days when we’re thinking about flying we do follow the weather and what we saw today brought a quiet and somber mood remembering where we were flying less than a month ago.
7141 Before
Joplin High looked so colorful April 20th when we diverted slightly off the course of our intended destination that day to take a look at the town made famous by the “Route 66” song. Along with large portions of what was a quiet place, the school was destroyed by a tornado.
7142 Joplin, MO Aerial 4/20/11
Like the National Guard helicopter we saw taking off from Ithaca Airport today, our thoughts are with the thousands of people whose lives have been devastated.
The quiet had begun with a look at weather on our path from here to Chicago, and the decision to spare ourselves an unpleasantly bumpy flight in strong headwinds with potential for an unplanned stop due to likely storms in route. So we took a walk in the green area outside the hotel, that ended up at the airport. Along the way we passed a quiet pond where we paused to ponder.
0710 Quiet Pond
We paused again to smell some flowers and listen to the wind in the trees.
0713 Quiet Sounds & Smells
Being at the airport, we of course visited Tripp, and with the help of several friendly mechanics were able to check on a minor intermittent issue she’s had a few times. It felt good to ensure that it is indeed minor, try something that might have fixed it, and get ideas on what to have our mechanic try if it recurs on the way home. We feel very fortunate tonight in our quiet hotel room with Tripp well-secured nearby awaiting our next flight.
John & Anne Wiley 
So you are close to population center of USA heading back via usual route skipping North. Been very busy lately.
Missing you guys and the fun we had. Take care.
Comment by Zubair — 2011/05/24 @ 20:45