2009 Spring 2 Fall travel blog

Grandson Austin playing soccer

 

Austin and Kielyn with Santa

 

 

 

our favorite gymnast (with bear) and one of her team mates

Wednesday, December 8 - Ft. Lauderdale Airport

the climbout from Lauderdale

going over the intracoastal waterway

going out over the ocean

starting the big turn

coming back in over the beach

edge of the Everglades

the ponds are frozen in Illinois

and there's snow on the ground

making the approach to Midway Field

right in the middle of beautiful Cicero, Illinois

Midway was a dangerous airport when I left Chicago in the fifties

but it's one of Southwest's main hubs now

a few seconds after liftoff you're going over houses

but it's only Cicero

Colorado is even colder!

 

at least the runways are dry

Welcome to Denver

just a quick stop to take on peanuts

doesn't this make you want to move to Denver?

a short delay while we de-ice de plane

that's better

now we're cookin' - that's Utah down there

maybe it's time to de-ice de plane again!

there's that scenery we love

 

 

over California now and those are ski runs down there

lots of low clouds over the foothills and the Central Valley

South Bay salt beds

 

is there a city in the world as pretty or as interesting...

we think not


After weeks of driving - flying home is a surreal experience - Tuesday, December 8

Our days in Parkland were a blur of activity, much of which involved finding a place to store the motorhome and then getting it ready for a few months of inactivity. We found a great place at a great price only a couple of miles from the McCright's home, and we took our baby there and said a tearful 'goodbye' on Monday, leaving her all spiffy and clean for the months ahead.

Seeing our kids and grandkids was wonderful, and it makes us wish we had the ability to be in several places at once. While the lure of travel is powerful, missing our family and friends is the downside, and a serious downside at that.

Tuesday morning Viki took us to the Ft. Lauderdale airport and dropped us off. The weather was balmy and clear, and it wasn't until we got inside that we saw on TV that everywhere we were going was socked in with a huge winter storm. Our route on Southwest took us from Florida to Chicago, then to Denver before going on to San Francisco. The reports said to expect lots of delays and problems and it looked like it was shaping up to be a very long day.

We took off on time, however and landed in Chicago 20 minutes early. There was snow on the ground, but nothing serious, and the temperature was a frigid 3 degrees. We got off late due to a crew change, but had a non-eventful flight to Denver where we had one of the smoothest landings ever made in Denver. In Denver the temp was zero or below, and everything looked frozen solid.

A good take off and two hours later we were in SFO a little less than an hour late. We caught the bus for Sonoma County and our friend Carl picked us up and drove us home. The weather is cold here too, but mild compared to Chicago and Denver. Our home looked great after nearly nine months, and we now look forward to seeing everyone we've been missing! To those of you who have traveled with us, thanks so much for the company and we look forward to you're joining us in the spring when we take off for Indianapolis and the big 500 race. Look for our next trip journal 2010east2west. 'Til then, goodbye and God bless you.

Entry Rating:     Why ratings?
Please Rate:  
Thank you for voting!
Share |