Tacoma, WA (USA)

After a pleasant night in the Hampton Inn & Suites - Tacoma, we (Waylon and I) headed back to McChord Air Force Base to get our plane (departed hotel at 0545L).  There was lots of ice on the aircraft and we had to do a lot of prep before we could take off.  Even then, we departed Washington just after sunrise this morning. Once we were airborne, the weather was good. Along the way, we figured out we could avoid a fuel stop at Forbes and shorten the day. We made our planned stop in Camp Springs (had to side step the Prohibited Area), dropped off our passengers and then headed back to Virginia Beach.  After completing all the required paperwork, I arrived home at around 1900L.  Not a bad RON mission!

Tacoma, WA (USA)

Flew (with Waylon) from Hampton Roads to El Centro, CA to pick up some passengers and fly them to Washington. On the way, we saw Crater Lake in Oregon and a long line of mountains that stretched from the California State line to the Seattle area. It was very clear and Mount Rainier was very easy to spot, even from south of the Columbia River! What a sunset! The red glow in the west made the everything look surreal.  We landed at McChord Air Force Base and our lodging was at the Hampton Inn & Suites - Tacoma (checked in at 1825L).

Seattle, WA (USA)

Many days after we'd initially planned to leave, we were FINALLY told we could leave the Seattle area today. It took a long time for hotel check-out (from the Red Lion on Fifth Avenue), the commute to Paine Field in Everett, eating breakfast and completing some paperwork.  After that, we then we had to go over all the work that was done by the contractors. At 1130, we finally got airborne and headed east. [We arrived in Hampton Roads before 2100L.]  It's good to be home!

Seattle, WA (USA)

What do you know - we aren't leaving today, either... I was wide awake around 0930 - even with little sleep - and met up with the rest of my crew.  We tried to find a nice place to eat for lunch but not many things were open before 1100... Eventually, we located a great Thai restaurant in the Pacific Place Mall. The whole area near the restaurant was very trendy and I could see Nicky liking the many indoor shopping locations in this city. After lunch, I walked around again - it was sprinkling but I managed to get around without getting too wet. I stumbled across the Public Library building - what an architectural sight! I went inside the glass-walled building and took the elevator to the top. There was an interesting thing about the floors (called "the spirals"): you start at the top and walk along the floor and before you know it, you are on the next floor down! The secret it the slanted floor (barely perceptible)... We took it easy tonight - another happy hour... It's been nice to have our lodging in the Red Lion Hotel on Fifth Avenue!  We need to be up early tomorrow - I think we might actually be leaving...

Seattle, WA (USA)

I was awake around 0600 and the weather was great, so I walked around near the hotel (Red Lion on Fifth). I found some great shopping places "underground" - Rainier Square was one. There was an interesting display of Seattle and Boeing history on the walls of the mall. Along the way, Jay called me to say that we weren't going to leave today because the plane still isn't ready. Later, Thor, Jay and I explored the Pike Place Market. There were fish in the air - thrown by the vendors! I found some great produce, meat & coffee places, too. I must admit that this was definitely a highlight of the trip. We "rested" this afternoon at the Elephant & Castle's happy hour before heading out to catch the monorail to the Space Needle. Before today, I would never have guessed that I would EVER get to climb to the top of this landmark! We even had dinner up there - the restaurant rotates. We left around 2200 and I tried to stay up to get ready for our red-eye tomorrow night...

Seattle, WA (USA)

I got a flight to the west coast today!  We were scheduled to drop off an aircraft for some cabin improvements and were able to fly direct to Paine Field (Everett).  We arrived this morning only about an hour after it had snowed (probably about 3 to 4 inches) but we were lucky that the temperatures were rising.  As we got out of the aircraft, we only had some melted snow to greet us... Our squadron told we we'd be able to leave the airfield right away (in another aircraft) but the contractors told us that they needed at least one more day to complete their work.  This required an audible and planning for a more extended visit to Washington State. Several hours later, we headed to downtown Seattle and checked into the Red Lion Hotel (on Fifth Avenue),  By then, it had already started raining again. Fortunately, the place was nice and the bar downstairs (Elephant & Castle) was fun. We ate dinner down on First Street at the Islander (Asian/Polynesian) and later moved over to the Pike Place Brewery. I got the "Sampler" and tried all their beers - the "Kilt Lifter" is a good one. With the time zone change, I fell right to sleep when I reached my hotel room...

Edenton, NC (USA)

We finally had a nice day to drive out to see Edenton. We have driven by here a few times (it is off US-17 near the Albemarle Sound) but never stopped. We had no traffic along the way and we stopped into do some recon for a return visit to the Dismal Swamp bike trail and another trail just south of the VA-NC border. Our plan was to do the historic homes walking tour. When we arrived we had lunch at Chero's - an eclectic, colorful restaurant near the waterfront. They had a brunch and Nicky and the kids loved it. We drove around the quiet streets (only 5000 people live here) and saw homes from the 1700s and old cemeteries from the 1600s. When we arrived for the homes tour, the guide had called in sick :-( But we plan to go back again. BTW, Sunday probably isn't the best day to go to this part of North Carolina - they have some strict Blue Laws (or voluntary closures) and not much was open. [Before heading home, we drove over to see Elizabeth City town had to offer. I have seen it from the air a few times and always wondered whether it would be nice. Now I can say it really isn't too special, although the homes are nice here and there is a lot of waterfront land. We drove by the Coast Guard Station and explored an area near the Navy's Blimp Hangar - there was one out today. This place wasn't too exciting, but we could give it another try someday...]