John & Anne Wiley

2009/10/28

Water Everywhere

Filed under: Big Adventure,Has Photos,Nature — John @ 00:55
We had a quietly playful day in Greenville. The few times I checked aviation weather for our route, it felt wonderful to be on the ground. It was a refreshing day, after so much flying yesterday, and in such a fun place. Strolling the spiffed up downtown and splashing in puddles, ducking into shops and cafes along the way until we reached the (Reedy?) river again. A heron was patiently fishing next to the rock wall below last night’s restaurant, highlighting how well the city has integrated nature and development.

I caught this angle on the footbridge that conveys some of the sweeping arc it makes over the river.
This is the view up-river with our restaurant at the right lower corner of the building and next to that on the left is one of the several theatrical venues we saw. You might be able to make out another pedestrian bridge beyond the Main Street bridge across the river.

Downtown has slow traffic and wide sidewalks, with an elegant canopy of trees.
It rained very hard once, but most of the day was light rain and fairly warm. We shot this from today’s dinner choice a couple of blocks away from the river on Main, with a wicked muffin/ice cream/Kahula dessert at Trio across the street.
Tomorrow we hope to take flight again, hopping across GA for FL. We’ll probably stop often to check weather, since scattered thunderstorms are possible and I’d like to stay well clear. We’ve also found a small airport in Daytona near our next destination where we can land and get my FAA pilot medical certificate. I just had a complete physical, but I need the mini one from an FAA “AME” because time “flys” (so to speak) and I thought mine wasn’t due until next year. Pretty cool that we can take care of it right at the little airport!
We’re refreshed from our day off, and Richmond feels like several weeks ago. Hope only two new states tomorrow doesn’t seem too slow. 🙂

2009/10/27

Rain Delay

Filed under: Big Adventure,Has Photos — John @ 15:55
We’re sitting in last night’s hotel room with checkout kindly extended by the front desk, hoping for weather to lift just enough for us to scoot closer to FL. Meanwhile we’ve been browsing the web and our pix from NYC. I just posted one to the Photo page (see Links, upper-right on this page). Since several people have expressed interest in a snap of us riding Central Park, I took another look for one. This is the closest we have, and none of us both actually riding.

We’ll try to find someone willing to stand and snap us riding by next time we ride it. Meanwhile there are probably several dozen pix of us in C.Pk. already online, because even the most jaded New Yorkers at least took a furtive glance when we passed. Many took pictures and cellphone videos, and when we stopped by that angel fountain near the lake three cyclists examined the bike in detail. One was snapping away and taking closeups of the methods, so maybe she’ll try to patent it.
As for today, it looks very unlikely we’ll be flying so we’ll probably shift to a hotel a few blocks further into town. We’re so glad to be in a city we enjoy, with so many small reminders of home.

Time Travel

Filed under: Big Adventure,Flying,Has Photos,Nature — John @ 03:40
Several times tonight we’ve expressed amazement that yesterday we were in DC. Jot down your guess as to how many states we were in today. Late in the morning we rose out of Richmond and gazed in silence at this historic spot. Where the river ran we imagined legions of grim civil war encampments. None of the dozen or so people we spoke with during our overnight stay made any mention of that time, and we didn’t bring it up. Instead we asked people what they most like about living there, and received vague answers about work and family.
We headed into West Virginia, and were surprised by two things. First how smoky the Smoky Mountains are, along with the Allegheny, Blue Ridge, Appalachians and Shenandoah ranges we crossed. They’re scenic, but the photos make the haze even worse so we’re relying on our mental images rather than our hazy pix. Another thing that stood out in WV is how many mountains no longer do. That is, vast areas are chopped flat where entire mountains have been blasted flat to extract coal more cheaply than by mining. The rivers and lakes look polluted, and we imagined what’s no longer there reflected in stagnant black pools.

Surrounding states like Kentucky didn’t seem to have much mountain mauling going on, and the colors in KY were bright as you can see looking back at Pikeville where we turned south.

We got fuel, junk food and sweet hospitality from the kind people of beautiful little Elizabethton, TN.
After crossing the mountains we stopped briefly in Asheville, NC where we’d visited a friend several years ago, and we enjoyed seeing it this time from the air.
We reached Greenville, SC just at dusk. Last night in Richmond we rummaged the web for a nice place for tonight, and I was struck by the tales of this place. Waterfalls in the restored downtown, and an airport in the city. Lots of art, theater, music and the sorts of things we enoy in Santa Barbara. After checking into the hotel we walked Main Street looking at menus and wound up at an affordable gourmet place overlooking the waterfalls. Walking back we took a detour down along the falls and up across the majestic curving pedestrian footbridge. Here’s a long exposure of the view back across to our restaurant.

Now it looks like weather might conspire to give us another night here, so we might go back to the airport and fetch our bike for some daytime exploration. Anne’s eyes filled with tears tonight as she realized the end of this Big Adventure is approaching. So many places still to look at and to briefly sample, but not much more than a week remaining.
Oh, states we’ve landed in today: VA, WV, KY, TN, NC, SC = 6 + Confusion. The state of Confusion is enhanced when we think about also being in DC, DE, MD for a total of 9 within 27 hours. You might recall my mention of “prop advance,” where flying for an hour makes everything you did before that seem like it happened yesterday. I doubt you can really imagine that taken to an order of magnitude, but lest you feel concerned I can assure you it’s FUN! We’re experiencing a sort of time travel, both back and forward. Walking “home” we talked about our early childhoods and our approaching old age, all stimulated by this amazing trip. It’s as if all we have ever been or could be opens beneath us in an arc over this enchanted orb we linger upon.

2009/10/26

Migrating South

Filed under: Aviation,Big Adventure,Flying,Has Photos,Random — John @ 04:04
This morning we got a relatively early start so we could gobble up more of our “must see” highlights of DC. “Let’s skip breakfast now and grab something along the way.” As you’ve already guessed, aside from a cookie and some coffee we didn’t eat until on the train at 1:30.
That did buy us time to visit some meaningful places and chat with people from all around the world, including DC. A couple from UK told us DC is a 5-visit minimum city, and their favorite in the world. We got misty at the Supreme Court contemplating rule of law, where two Presidents with vastly different style and values can peacefully and amicably transition.

We got misty on the steps of the Capitol where our representatives can disagree vehemently and still (sometimes) find common ground in the interests of the people. Adding a note of populism was some sort of Marine Corps marathon with a band playing and people along the route cheering them on (and nearly all transportation in the city shut down to make way for them).

We were moved by the new native american exhibit on the Mall, and wished for time to go inside.

By the time we reached the Air & Space Museum, I had tears in my eyes. This is a place I’ve yearned to go since childhood, almost since the birth of my dreaming of flight. Even looking at this dinky pic of The Spirit typing this, I’m misting up again. Dreams can come true.
The bird’s eye view of the city we’d been told of turned out to be great for small birds. There were vertical cables an inch apart perhaps to keep people from jumping as they do from bridges. We didn’t even get off the elevator, instead racing to catch the next train back to a real bird’s eye view: from Flash.
Taking off from New Castle (Wilmington, DE) we got permission to land near Patuxent River, MD. That’s where Anne was born while Dad was there as a test pilot, and today was the first time she’s ever been back.
After a short stop, we took off over Leonardtown where she lived as a toddler.

It was so smoggy we decided to skip our initial goal of seeing Chesapeake Bay and just head for historic Richmond, VA. Our decision was rewarded by a spectacular sunset.
Tomorrow our plan is to do some state hopping. Possibly the most in one day we’ve done so far. As you know, there are often differences between the flight we plan and the one we take.

2009/10/25

Two Great Cities

Filed under: Big Adventure,Flying,Happiness,Has Photos,Inner World,People,Random,Relationships — John @ 04:33
I’ve added to the Photo page, and here’s a snap of some favorite buildings from our second flight down the Hudson. Already feels like a week ago.

Amtrak from Wilmington to the Capitol was fast and comfortable, putting us near enough to walk. Instead though, we first got on one of the step on/off bus tours that run continually because it was raining buckets. We decided to get off and brave the elements though, because it was impossible to take pix and difficult even to see much. We bought one of the $5 umbrellas that seemed to appear on the streets, and that lasted us until the clouds finally parted at sundown.
We noticed a gentle mood in people. Everyone seemed solitary in contemplation, almost reverent, yet happy and so warm it reminded us of some global extended family. The kind that might disagree, but is well aware of closeness and reaching out to maintain it. We felt that the most here, and were moved all over again reading Lincoln’s words in this thoughtful historic place.

Sure wish we could fly near enough to get some pix from the air! A helpful Metro employee gave us a tip on a place we can easily get a bird’s eye view, so hopefully tomorrow we’ll get some panoramic pix from there.
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