Flying High

Last weekend Damonn and I were treated to a few days in San Diego for a manager's retreat with his company. We stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado on beautiful Coronado island which is rich with both Hollywood and military history. The island is filled with turn-of-the-century homes with fantastic architecture. Damonn and I laughed about how we'd love to retire there. . . you know, like if we won the lottery or Jamie married into royalty or something.

We had delicious dinners and relaxing evenings of drinks with friends and even had a chance to check out the USS Midway. The Midway is an aircraft carrier used up through the 70's or 80's which has now been turned into a floating museum. It is a self-guided "headset" tour but there are plenty of veteran volunteers and patrons willing to share with you their first-hand experiences aboard this ship or flying the aircraft used on it. It was very interesting seeing the inner workings of a ship this size and to get a peek into the daily life of a mid-century sailor. I wish we could have stayed longer but we had to catch our flight. No, not our flight home. . .




THIS FLIGHT:




Yep, I flew in an authentic 1920's bi-plane and it was amazing! I now understand how those first flights must have captured the hearts of our early aviators. There is nothing like the feeling of freedom and adventure when the wheels first lift off the ground. And seeing the world at 1500 feet with the fresh sea air in your face. . . well, you don't get a feeling like that in the daily grind of the suburbs. But best of all was when Drew, my friendly and apparently fearless pilot, turned over the controls and gave me a shot at flying that bird. It was easier than I thought it would be, mostly just moving a big joystick to keep the plane flying evenly. But like they say, flying a plane is easy, the hard part is landing it. And Drew wasn't that fearless.




I absolutely recommend this and the rest of our trip to anyone visiting the San Diego area. The guys at Fun Flights (www.barnstorming.com) are fantastic and are willing to accommodate special requests within their flying range (they let me fly past the Hotel Del). They also offer Warbird and AirCombat flights for those looking for a little more adventure than "riding in a convertible at 1500ft."!

Carpe Diem!