Jiggedy Jig

It dawns clear and crisp in Greenville. A wonderful spring day with the promise of temps rising into the 60's. We have found that there is a lot to see and do in the area and pick up a local guide with the idea of coming back on our own time. The Intrepid Five, Lewis, John, Bill, Gene and I meet for breakfast and in comparing notes find that we have four more passengers from the call backs last night. Now we are at 23 which is two more than we can accommodate so that means two flights. Bill likes that as he will be able to go along to observe.
When we arrive at the airport John and I go inside to meet and register our passengers, while the others go attend to the plane. They are a real excited and enthusiastic group. There is a boy of about 12 who was taken out of school for this experience and this will be his first airplane ride of any type. There is only one woman, the wife of a city employee who is also on the flight. A man of about 45 is taking his father. Three other 40ish friends are going together and are in high spirits. One man is a dealer in aviation memorabilia and shows us a trading card he found in his collection last night showing our Flagship with the tail number on the wing. We are excited about that! There are several family members who came to watch the take off and some other folks too who just knew when we were going. When the dust settles, I have entered one person on my manifest twice and one does not show, so we end up with exactly 21. Yay! One flight of full capacity means more profit on the flight.
Bill and I will be the ground crew. Pretty soon they start wth right engine which billows a lot of white smoke to the oohs and aahhs of the onlookers. It sputters and spits and acts like it is not going to keep going but finally it roars fully to life, followed shortly by the second. The crowd likes the sound of the engines. Lewis is in he left seat, Gene in the right and John is cabin attendant. Shortly they taxi and take off. A great sight on this pristine day.
Before we know it, they are back and we go out to meet and greet. The passengers are grinning from ear to ear. The woman runs up and hugs me and says, "Thank you, thank you for bringing this plane here. This was a wonderful experience!!" Later Gene told me that almost all the passengers got to visit the cockpit and each one had grins so wide it seemed their faces would split. Chase Hunter, a corporate pilot friend of Charlie's is taken out early for pre flight, given a few minutes on the stick and follows the guys around after the flight learning what they do at the end of the flight. Gene said when he got to fly, he didn't smile, he laughed out loud!! Gosh, it is so gratifying to be part of something that makes people so happy. One young man with a professional looking camera and tripod had photographed the plane for about an hour the day before and he also stays about an hour after the flight doing it again.
All good things come to an end. Gene and I rent a car and head for home. It is an easy 3 hour drive and we are home before we know it. More things are blooming and it looks great. Gene has been gone a week. We are doing laundry and in the morning, he will pack up and drive back to Greenville. On Wednesday they will do some on the ground training of people who are flying in today and on Thursday it is back to Myrtle Beach to fetch the golfers and back to Shelbyville. On Saturday there is a fly in in Shelbyville. So for now.....That's All Folks!!!

And Yet More Fun

Today started out bad weatherwise and got worse. I set up my store outside the door of the plane at 10AM. It was cloudy, in the 40's and a stiff breeze. The tee shirts were taking flight off the table. Today I am wearing two shirts and three jackets. My new best friend, Anita, has sent me a heavy hooded fleece jacket to wear and it is a lifesaver, protecting my neck from the wind. The guys are all inside the plane, out of the wind. There was a picture on page 2 of the Greenville Times and a near 2 minute segment on the local Fox affiliate. Again, we have a steady influx of people all day who saw us in the news. Charlie made us a donation jar instead of charging for tours and it seems to work better. Some people give $1 or nothing, but others give up to $20. Flagship member, Bill Bronson, is here today from Hilton Head and kindly offers to mind the store while I go to the terminal to warm up. Inside one of the employees hunts in the storeroom for an envelope of hot chocolate to warm my innards.....boy, that was good! On my way back to the plane, I run into John. He says he came to get me as we are moving the goods inside the plane because of the cold and wind.

Now this plane is what they call a tail dragger. The front end sits high and the back end is low, see photos in earlier post. That means the floor slants. That means everything wants to slide toward the back. So we do our best to stow things and still halfway display tee shirts and hats in a rear seat, brochures in the opposite seat and three of us are crammed into the rear galley area along with two folding chairs...one of which is holding our "tip jar." And we are standing in a permanent "lean." Today we have several more WWII vets, some of whom flew this plane when they joined up...their first plane ride. We met Annabelle, who flew for United in 1953 and who still had that flare and get up and go of an airline stewardess. And many, many more. Gene and I agree that in our limited experience this group love our plane more than any other groups we have worked. Gene was in the cockpit all day 10-5 except for one 30 min break telling folks about the airplane. I could tell he was doing a good job, as the folks came back to the back and told me what they had learned.

It just seemed to get colder and windier all day and about mid afternoon we had a shower of snow pellets for a time. Many of our customers were underdressed for this weather but they did not complain and were so grateful for us bringing the Flagship to them. Many came, then went home and came back bringing friends or relatives. Today, we all are pushing hard to sell memberships to the Foundation. An annual membership is $150 and with that you get to fly on the plane free. By the end of the day, we have 28 possibles which means we may do two flights because the capacity is 21.

After we close up, Charlie and his friend, Randy Mayfield again lead us downtown to a great meal. Me and 6 pilots. One thing about pilots is they are all instantly friends with any other pilot they meet up with, so here we all with all our buddies. They take me in too. Three of these guys are retired from American Airlines and ex-military too, so they are comparing careers and playing, "who do you know?" Surprisingly, Gene is playing the same game with Bill who was based in Boston where Gene was based with Digital Equipment. And Bill is good at telling real funny but true pilot stories from his career. They speak another language, but it is a language they all know. And there is just something about these types who have the boldness to loose the bonds of earth and take flight...they inspire admiration in me and I am fortunate tonight to be "one of the guys!"

With dinner over, 5 of us meet in our hotel room, divide the list and start calling to confirm flights for tomorrow and give final instructions. Now at 9:30, we have 19 confirmed and 5 we left messages for. A good number. We all go over our game plan and roles for tomorrow and part for the night. John and I will handle registration and money collection.

Tomorrow morning will be my last mission on this trip. After the flight(s), on which Gene will be co-pilot, we will rent a car and return home. On Wednesday, Gene will drive back over and re-join the group. Thursday they return to Myrtle Beach to bring the golfers back to Nashville, then return to Shelbyville. Gene and I have left a car there for him to drive home.

Are We Having Fun Yet?

The forecast was for 64 and 30% chance of rain. It was in the 40's and never got over 55 and it is still raining now. It was not so bad at first. It was dry and our local volunteers showed up with still warm cinnamon coffee cake and double chocolate muffins (oh, yeah, and fruit, but who is interested in fruit with all that other good stuff) We set up shop under the wing cause we knew it would rain at some point. Rule of thumb is females run the shop, males do tours, tell about the plane, all planes and tell war stories. (Gene ran into a guy who knows his sister and brother in law. How did they figure that out?)Problem is, shop is outside, tours and other male duties are a lot of the time inside the airplane. None of us seem to have warm enough clothes. I was wearing two shirts and two jackets and still freezing. Mostly, hands, feet and face. Perhaps there is no such thing as warm enough, standing under the wing of an airplane in the rain and a pretty good wind.

We were surprised at how many people came. Hard to estimate but a steady trickle from 10AM until 4:30 PM and most were so very interested. We sold tee shirts, hats and accepted donations. I think we took in almost $400. We are still hoping to get enough people together to sell some rides. Reporters from two TV stations and one newspaper came by and we are hopeful this will bring folks out on a Monday. The Fox reporter is from a flying family and he stayed over an hour and shot lots and lots of film. Sometimes we took a short break either in the plane or in the terminal. But the Democrats were trying to pass the health bill and I could not stay inside and watch that for very long. Cold and wind were preferable.

When the day was over, our host had us meet he and his wife, and another couple who had been with us all day at a micro brewery downtown. For the first time since I left home on Friday, I had a meal. It was excellent. And supposedly the beer was good, too.

Tomorrow it is to be cooler, but not raining. Our host will bring jackets from home. I think what I really need it a hat and gloves. I feel guilty talking about all this cold in front of my Costa Rican readers who cannot fathom the concept. Ah, the gypsy life!! Are we having fun yet?

Yes, when the 30 something tells us about Grandpa flying a DC3 and now he is seeing one for the first time, Yes, when the 84 year old WWII vet goes home and brings his war pics back to share with us, Yes, when young aviators go through the plane two and three times with stars in their eyes. And, yes, watching the love of my life so excited, telling the stories again and again all day without pause and each time with the same enthusiasm as the first time.

The First Leg(s)

We bound (?) out of bed at 4:30 and are headed to Smyrna, TN, 30 minutes away to pick up 11 golfers and take them to Myrtle Beach for their annual outing. We being John Thatcher, retired AA pilot, Lewis Drake, who joined the Foundation when he stopped for gas in Shelbyville, spotted the Flagship and fell in love, Gene and me. The interior has been restored to its 1937 spendor. It does not have a working bathroom, nor heat, nor air and the seats are tiny. In fact, one of the guys ends up sitting in the cockpit on the jump seat as he just will not fit. They have joined the Foundation for $150 which includes being able to ride in the plane if it comes near where you are. They have paid an extra $150 to be able to take a journey in it. John acts as Stewardess, giving a pre flight orientation, and continuing with commentary, questions and answers during flight. He even hands out pretzels and water and collects trash near the end of the flight. It starts out about 40 degrees, but gets a little warmer as we near the coast. I have not had anything to drink since supper the night before to compensate for 3 hours flying time with no bathrooms, but start drinking water when we are almost there.

We land in Myrtle Beach where it is warm and breezy. All the men stampede for the restrooms and stand in line bitching that they have to wait. We munch on popcorn provided by the FBO (Fixed Base Operator). Luckily I had brought a couple of protein bars on board and Gene had a cinnamon roll in Smryna. We are on the ground just long enough to load all the men, luggage and golf clubs into rental cars and wave good bye. Too bad, because this place looks interesting. On take off, we briefly go out over the ocean and it looks so blue and inviting. Oh, well, we are not on our own time!

For this leg Gene and I ride in the cockpit. I am in the jumpseat and he on a padded platform across from me. The view is panoramic from here. Being down so low means a much better view of things on the ground. A mere 36 miles later we stop for gas in Marion County cause they have cheap gas and this baby burns over 90 gallons per hour! We bought over 500 gallons....and you think your buggy burns gas! Everyone gapes as we taxi in. There is a young man there in a tiny very red plane which says "U.S. aerobatic team" on the tail. He is headed to Lakeland, FL to practice for Fun and Sun fly-in which starts April 13. We may be there too. This is his first year. We all admire his ride, he admires ours. Everyone admires ours. The staff of the FBO takes a tour, the areobatic guy, another guy who wanders up and 6 Civil Air Patrol guys who land while we are refueling. Oh, I forgot the UPS lady and her side kick. They are all so excited that I dig out brochures and hand them all one. Then it is payback time. The plane does not have a reverse, so we recruit all the bystanders and we all push on the stabilizers or tires or landing gear and gradually roll the plane away from the fuel farm far enough to turn it around. And off we go again.

Like our camper, this plane goes slower than normal so the 45 minutes to Greenville stretches into an hour. George's good friend, Charlie, has put together an event here for Sunday and Monday. Just come out and see the plane and maybe we can sell memberships and rides. Also we have some tee shirts, hats and lapel pins. Not much since the cargo space was full of golf clubs. It is almost 5 when we get there and there is a small but enthsiastic greeting party. They are friends and relatives of Chalie, plus Charlie himself. They greet us like long lost family. Again everyone comes out of the FBO. Then another woman comes up and asks me if I came in on the plane and when I tell her I did, she said "You all flew right over my house. I heard those engines (they sound sorta like a Harley) and yelled to my husband. Something interesting is going over." Turns out her father was born in Porterdale. And she is friends with Bernadette and Ray Smith, two Covington artists. All these folks pitch in:getting our luggage off the plane, they roll in coolers with soft drinks and beer and submarine sandwiches and chips. Oh, yeah, and chocolate chip cookies. "Maude, these folks haven't eaten all day! Fetch the coolers!" Then they pitch in to help turn the props through to prevent hydraulic lock, they crawl up on the wing and help Gene add oil, and they get rags and start cleaning the plane! One of them has donated his Suburban for us to use while we are here and they have made reservations at a hotel that is on airport property, a stone's throw away. John keeps mentioning things we were unable to bring due to space and one or another of them say, we got it, we'll bring it! Wow! These are go-getter enthusiastic people. The FBO line boy is even cleaning the plane.

So we are here in our room, tuckered out. I feel guilty for being tired as the guys have worked so hard. You really FLY a DC3...not like many of the planes Gene flies by turning dials and pushing buttons, this one you man handle and it takes two people even to start an engine. And luckily, we do not have to leave here until after 9AM tomorrow. I will try to do a better job with the photos. Should have taken one of the little red plane.

The Adventure Begins

What a wonderful day Friday was. Warm temps and blue skies. Left home around 10 headed for Shelbyville, TN. Reached Bell Buckle about 1:30. Darling little town with neat shops. Hmmm. Have at least an hour before Gene is due. And look ahere. they are having a daffodil festival. How can I pass this up. So the next hour was spent shopping in Bell Buckle. If you are ever here or near here, the Bell Buckle Cafe has the best down home cooking you have ever tasted. It is here that I once had blueberry salad (like a dessert...to die for). But today I just shopped. Nothing really wanted to come home with me, so I headed on for Shelbyville Airport about 10 minutes away. Oops! Yard sale with interesting looking furniture. Saw a neat Sheraton mahogony table for $75. Top needed refinishing but not bad and real solid, no wiggle. Alas, I am going in my Mitsubitshi to pick up 3 XL sized guys. (Read: Gene is the smallest of the three) so I have to pass it up along with the lyre ended coffee table that I love, but really have no place for. Shelbyville is nestled in lovely rolling hills mostly used for horse pasture as this is the center of the Tennessee Walking Horse world. I am told that the real champions are never let out of the barn except under supervision so all the ones in these pastures are wannabees, I guess. George Dennis, founder of the Flagship Detroit Foundation, and his wife Kay, own a horse that was Grand Champion a few years ago.

I arrive at the airport and am told the plane is running an hour late. That is par for the course in this world so I settle in with magazines and a book on tape. I see another woman with a small dog obviously waiting for someone and start to strike up a conversation, but I don't. An hour passes, Gene calls. They stopped for fuel and he taxied the plane into a position from which it could not recover. So all hands at the airport were pushing this large plane back and forth to wiggle it back out. Finally at 6PM they arrive. The woman I have been eyeing for the past 4 hours also approaches the plane. She is Ann Drake, wife of one of Gene's best buddies. Really railed Gene and Lewis for not telling me she was coming. They live about two hours away in Kentucky and she has come to ferry one of the crew to Huntsville for a flight back to Dallas. Man, all that good gossip time missed. We grab dinner and head for George's "cabin" a 4BR, 4bth log house on a grass landing strip that is about 15 miles from George's residence. It serves as the Foundation's bunkhouse when needed. We turn in early as it is to be wheels up at 6:30 the following morning.

Here we go again! See photo of Gene and plane in last post....he is in Fort Worth at Alliance Airport where that photo was taken last October with that plane. He went out to give some training to some of the Flagship Detroit Foundation pilots and fetch the plane from winter storage in American Airlines' hanger there. I hear they put a galley in it this winter so am anxious to see that.
Tomorrow I will drive to Shelbyville, TN to meet them and on Saturday we take off on an adventure that involves picking up a group of 15 golfers in Nashville and taking them to I think Myrtle Beach. Then more places and things I am unsure of. Stay tuned, I will keep you posted as well as I can since I will be using his computer.

More History

Having gotten our camping feet wet, we jumped off the deep end in mid October with a two week trek through Texas. Gene had to go to Dallas to teach a DC3 class and it was a good time for me to revisit as I lived there for 12 years. We also worked an airshow with the Flagship Detroit.

We learned a lot. First that you travel more slowly pulling a camper and so arrived later at each stop than intended, thereby being in a rush all the time. But also how nice it is not to have to search for or use public restrooms. You have your own bed, bath, sofa, food and "stuff" right there. Set up takes about 20 min, no biggie. We found that state parks generally have more ambiance than private campgrounds, but lack wifi and cable. Exception is the 10 rated campground in Grapevine, TX. Run by the city, it has it all, including lake view.

Visited Cousin Betty in Ft. Worth, saw Charlotte in the Hill Country, did San Antonio, headed to Galveston by way of the Lawton family beach house in Freeport, checked out my old dwelling places in Baytown, shopped in Fairhope and then back home. This was ambitious, but we found we liked it and felt real cozy. Gene said, "It is comfortable, but you have to plan your moves."

The downside was a slow moving front that caught us in the hill country and played hopscotch with us all the way to Galveston. So there was plenty of rain, wind, cold, and mud. Staying warm at night became an issue, but we learned, bought another heater and blankets, slept inside without opening the ends.

There was one more trip to Thomasville, GA in November on which we learned to always check the online reviews before booking a campground. An interesting experience where we actually left a day early rather than spend another night there.

Now we impatiently wait for Spring and Season Two with the Conestoga. Hope you will find our journey worth reading about.

A Little History

Last year, when the Big Bad Recession had decimated our investment accounts, the dream of travel began to recede dimly into the mist. What could we do? Perhaps follow the example of our friends, the Norreds, and get a camper. The logic being that with the savings on lodging and food, over time it would at least partially pay for itself, and recoup part of the investment when we sold it. And it would be an adventure.


Gene had enjoyed a pop-up years ago, but was astonished when I mentioned it because I always said my idea of camping was the Holiday Inn. Desperate times call for desperate measures. However, Gene was stuck on another pop-up which was waaaayyy too much like a tent for me and not at all cute. "What has cute got to do with it?" he asked. "Everything!!" I replied. So there we were in a Mexican stand off.

In August, on the way back from Dad's 90th birthday celebration in Orlando, I was amusing myself looking at campers on Craig's list on the iphone, when suddenly the solution was right before my eyes. It was a hybrid camper, lightweight, 17' long with beds that drop down like tents on each end. And it was in Watkinsville. Gene agreed to go see it.

Three days later, there we were. And we liked it. Though it was 7 years old, it was well kept and had some improvements we liked. We bought it on the spot and brought it home. Gene named it Conestoga for its covered wagon like look.

A few weeks later we went with the Norreds to Indian Springs State Park for a "shake down cruise." This was very helpful and Art and Sandra both gave us scads of tips on the hows and whys of camping. I was still apprehensive about the tent like bed and hearing all the noises of outside, but it worked just fine and we had an enjoyable lakeside weekend.

My Facebook friends seemed to enjoy news and photos of our travels, but everybody is not on FB, so I decided to revive this long unused blog to share our news.