M'lady was scheduled to layover in Charleston for 32 hours, Saturday inclusive, and I was at our Maryland place,
so I figured I would fly standby and join her, then head back to the Sierra's. But the East Coast weather disrupted
things, all the direct flights from DC cancelled mid-day Friday, and trying to connect via CLT was not a good idea.
Not having driven the I-95 corridor in a while, I have lost track of the painful travel times, and foolishly looked to
see what a little road trip might be. 9 hours of Hades on the interstate! Not!
Off to the hangar to finish off a static line repair to our plane I had left languishing. Finally got everything buttoned
up, but by then it was civil twilight, and I was not up for a cold, dark, turbulent trip. Time instead for two (maybe
four) fingers, and surf & turf out of the freezer, since the vegetarian was in Charleston.
Woke early, and launched. Nothing like a beautiful sunrise over the Eastern Shore of Maryland:
Clear and smooth over the Carolina's at 4,500, a far cry from the day before:
A quick Lyft ride from Signature, and I got to the hotel just after m'lady's post workout shower. Time to do a
proper brunch at Eli's before a self-guided walking tour of the city:
Later it was half shells and dinner at The Darling Oyster Bar, a decidedly non-pilot bar, yet we ended up sitting
next to a JetBlue pilot on a similar extended layover. Then later met a volunteer Airport Ambassador from Norfolk.
Aviation connections pop up everywhere! M'lady had a 0330 pickup this morning (glamourous life of an airline pilot
indeed) and I considered an early launch myself, but opted for a good nap after she left. Worked some switches to force
backup modes on the way north, just to remind me how things work (and to make sure they work) and landed in time to
help my son with some auto repair prior to lunch.
Our traveling time machine did better than the airline, even if I have to delay my trip back to the Sierra's by one day.
Good times.