This past weekend, Pete and I made our first long trip -- home to MN to see family! It cut the trip in half -- even with fairly frequent stops! And... along the way we got to see some pretty neat scenery.
A Steel Mill - Gary, Indiana; something I found remarkable -- you can see the smoke settle along I-94, essentially forming a band directly above the highway.
Chicago-- absolutely amazing flying through/over Navy Pier at 2000 feet through the VFR corridor. We had to talk to O'Hare traffic control while traveling through this area, and were able to see big jets go above us and other little planes around us. A really neat experience! Also, we could see the backed up traffic from Chicago rush hour and I was reminded that we never would have been able to go out there for this last minute weekend trip had it not been for the ability to fly out there. It cut the travel time in about 1/2 even with frequent stops.
Welcoming committee at the airport. This pic is a bit blurry, but makes me smile. Never have we ever had such a crew out to watch us land! :) It was so fun to see everyone both at the airport and at a little party at Mindy's afterward! :)
Outside of the gathering at Mindy's where we got to see family and friends, while in Minnesota...
- I went shopping with my mom and sister's to find a few new shirts for school (and make use of the no sales tax on clothing).
- Visited with most of my maternal aunts/uncles after a wedding.
- Went boating and water skiing on the below lake until the skies turned dark and twisting with fingers coming down from the clouds (and yes, tornado sirens were going off.
- Had my first grilled hamburger of summer at a cookout at my mom and dad's (along with all the sides -- scrumptious watermelon, baked beans, chips, among other good food).
- Did a lot of visiting, and even managed to get some studying in.
- And Pete was able to share his hobby of flying with a few more people (i.e. he gave a few airplane rides to my siblings, parents and his brother).
It was a very fun weekend and great way to kick off summer! :) But, now it feels good to be home, be unpacked, and ready to return to some serious studying for the next couple weeks. Wishing all the best to you and yours! :)
A few more pics of Chicago (for good measure) -- taken on the way home.
7 comments:
What an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing. Felt bad for Jenna that she missed you, but we sure did enjoy having her/them all here.
It looks like a wonderful break from all the studies! I love to watch the view whenever I fly.
Yeah, we missed seeing Jenna, Bill and the kids! Would have made the trip even better! :) It sounds like they had a wonderful time up north with you all though!
oh!my!goodness! love the views.
i LOVE that you two can do this. i would be so fired up to make more trips if the travel time was cut in half!
way to go pete!
Great Photos ~ so glad all went well on your trip :)
How awesome for both of you - makes many places so much 'closer!' Great that you were able to make the trip even with all the school happening right now.
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