TEXAS SANDFEST 2008

We had made plans to fly to Port Aransas for The Texas Sandfest and awoke to find cloudy skies and a low ceiling. Dale checked the weather and we decided the skies would clear and we took off for Mustang Beach Airport in Port Aransas. We stayed at 1,000 feet almost all the way to Rockport with the ceiling lifting, but clouds or haze kept visibility from being great. We flew over the beach to scope out the Sandfest and landed at the airport. We had just missed the trolley, so the airport manager gave us a lift in his golf cart to the beach and dropped us off at Sandfest. They had a pretty big crowd for the last day of the event and the sand sculptors were busy working on their projects. They had a division for Master Sculptors, Amateur Sculptors, and even a kids division for budding sculptors. The Master Sculptors were from all over the US, they even had contestants from Italy, Canada and one from the Ukraine. The Master Sculptors competed in Solo or Duo competition. We walked up and down the beach checking them out and watching the artist at work. They also had vendors selling goods, a few food vendors and even some Blue Grass music in the entertainment tent by South Texas Grass Roots. I was busy taking pictures and trying to get the best shot, with the best light and angle. The horn blew a little after noon and the sculpting came to an end. Dale and I picked our favorites and decided to go get some lunch at The Wharf. We started walking and looking for the trolley and finally it pulled up. We had a great lunch with HUGE Fried Gulf Shrimp. We caught the trolley for a ride back to our plane. We dusted the sand off our feet, climbed in Miss Ice Tea Too and flew home. We had a great day, even if the weather didn't cooperate!

LBX Spring Fly In

We took flight this morning and headed to the Brazoria County Airport for their Spring Fly In. We flew over lots of large catfish farms on our way. The flight was smooth, skies were clear, and the MP3 played our favorite tunes. We buzzed some folks at Daneavang and the Danish Museum, some of Dale's kinfolks. We approached the airport in Brazoria and the radio sounded like the air space was full of airplanes. We got in line to land behind a RV8 and landed with no problems. We had a hamburger lunch and visited with Dennis, the photographer from Austin. They also had a car show and some remote control airplanes flying, a real busy place. We toured the airplanes on the ramp, checked out the Windsock Grill and talked airplane with some folks. Dale decided we would takeoff and fly down the coast to Port O'Connor and then cut across to Victoria. The flight wasn't as bumpy as we thought it might be and we landed and put Miss Ice Tea Too in the hangar.

Brenham, Blue Bell, and Bluebonnets

We took off this morning for a flight to Brenham Municipal Airport and lunch at the Southern Flyer. It was a smooth flight and we arrived at Brenham early, before the crowd. The airport grounds were covered in wildflowers, but not to many bluebonnets. I grabbed a table on the patio so we could watch the airplane traffic during lunch. Dale and I decided to try the 100 dollar hamburgers - airplane talk for how much it really cost to fly and go eat out. When we left the place was packed and people were waiting in line just to get a table. We checked out the other planes and then took off for home. It was a bumpy flight home and Dale had to climb to 6,500 feet to get it to smooth out. We landed, wiped Miss Ice Tea Too down, and headed to the house.
On the flight today Dale logged just over 500 hours in this plane, that's a lot of time in this plane.

Final Day at Sun and Fun

Well our final day at Sun and Fun started the same way, up and out to the show early. We decided to take a flight line tour to view lots of aircraft. Our driver almost hit a truck and didn't know how to shift gears on the tractor pulling the trailer we were on. It was an adventure!
We made one final pass among the vendor booths to make sure we hadn't missed anything. Dale talked with some Rotax guys and I walked out to the flight line to watch the planes come and go. We met some other Ran's pilots at the Ran's booth at noon to compare notes. Since we had done it all we decided after our picnic lunch to head back to the hotel, catch a nap before going out to dinner. It was sunny and very warm today, the hottest day so far. Another Sun and Fun has come to an end for these two Texans.
In the morning we catch our flight home, thank goodness we aren't flying American, lots of canceled flights.

Airplanes And More Airplanes

We were up and out to the air show early this morning after a good nights sleep. We went out to the ultralight area to check it out. Talked with some friends, Dale talked with the Rotax man, and we watched the ultralights fly. Then we headed to the buildings to check out the vendors and order a Bose headset for a friend. Dale and I made a few purchases and made sure we hadn't missed anything. Our picnic lunch at the car was followed by a short cat nap. The crowds were bigger today and the weather was great with lots of sunshine. I took off after lunch to stake out my spot under a Piper wing for the air show. Dale showed up and decided to join me under the wing. We left before the air show ended to beat the traffic. We headed to our favorite seafood restaurant "Shells" for some fried shrimp. Tomorrow is our last day at the show and the RANS guys are having a get together at the RANS booth at noon.

Sun and Fun Air Show

Well, Dale and I arrived in Tampa, Florida yesterday, picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel in Brandon, Florida. Early this morning we took off to the air show in Lakeland, Florida.
It was muddy everywhere since they had just had 4-5 inches of rain, but Dale managed to weasel his way into a parking lot that was high and dry. We went in the back gate and Dale used in charm to get us a ride in a cart to the front gate to buy our air show passes. We headed out to the ultralight area to see old friends and grab a hot cup of coffee. Then we went into the buildings to see the vendors and look at all the airplane goodies. Up and down the aisles we went, touching, and coon fingering all the new airplane gadgets. After a picnic lunch at our car it was time to go the actual air show. A plane climbed in the sky, soon a jumper appeared, then he pulled his chute and unfurled a huge American flag while the National Anthem played, a pretty moving site. We manage to find a shady spot under the big wing of a Piper, Dale even caught a brief nap. We left the air show and went to the Outback for a good steak for supper. We plan to turn in early this evening as we have another early wake up call in the morning to beat the crowds at the show.