Our last day in London began the end of our memorable 3-week adventure in the UK and EU. Taking the tube from our hotel to Heathrow was surprisingly nostalgic, as we mingled with commuters, locals and a few visitors like us.
81941 Last Tube
It felt like hours, and like seconds, before we were high over Greenland. Talking with the few other passengers huddled at the back, conversation turned to the melting glaciers.
053237 Greenland Browning
Did sagging in the channels and ripples on the surface indicate it’s moving faster?
054122 Quickening?
Is the vast size of it reassuring or scary? The discussion was perhaps made more somber by the fact we were awake while most passengers slept. In another “instant” hours later, we were descending into Phoenix for our connecting flight when the Grand Canyon passed below.
151704 Grand Canyon
I can’t make out the lodge through hazy airline windows from this height. But that horizontal line from the right-center edge is the Grand Canyon airport (KGCN). I thought about how much more we’d enjoyed the canyon view from Tripp’s open windows, and the adventures we’ve enjoyed after landing at that airport and Marble Canyon. In a “moment” we took off again, glimpsing through scratched plastic the distant mountain outcrops we’ve seen closely from air and ground.
175139 Phoenix Takeoff
Our hearts quickened as we turned over the Santa Barbara Channel gliding down through the sunset to SBA, where the runway was already in gathering darkness beneath a cold blue moon.
185358 Day & Journey End
This landing also marked a full beginning of our transition from Tripp to Tiger. That is, starting to take ever more and longer flights in the club’s AA5-B Grumman Tiger. Like this one a week later when we saw fluffy clouds announcing the impending start of rainy season.
9421 Riding The Tiger
Soon I’ll start sharing more pix from these recent flights, along with some older favorites from our last flights in Tripp. For now, thanks for sharing our UK/EU Adventure. 🙂
John & Anne Wiley 
You must be logged in to post a comment.