Aviation

Today I was vividly reminded why I love living and playing in Southern California. After last week's rain storms and subsequent winds, today dawned cool, calm and crystal clear. My friends Mark and Bruce had planned to meet in Carlsbad for a morning ride along the coast and through the hills of North San Diego County. Since the McClellan-Palomar Airport (CRQ) is a stone's throw from their departure point, I decided to fly down and join them. Any day I can combine flying with any of my other passions is a great day, indeed!

It's a beautiful summer afternoon in south central Oregon. The sun shines high through thin cirrus. The air is pleasantly warm and scented with a myriad of wildflowers. My family and I are relaxing after a few hours hiking in the forested mountains south of Ashland. It is, quite simply, another idyllic experience at one of our favorite destinations. This is our fourth annual visit to the Shakespeare festival at Ashland, but each time feels just as fresh and delightful as the first.

Today I flew my 182 on a familiar trip from Torrance to Chino - this time to have one of my radios scrutinized at Advantage Avionics. I've flown this trip more times than I can count, but something was different today - a subtle difference I didn't really notice until later. Thinking back on it, my first clue was the taxi instructions I got from my hangar to runway 29R. This is at most 75 yards and the controller has always just cleared me "to 29R". Today, he specifically said, "29R via the ramp and Juliet". At the time, I didn't think much of it, simply repeated it back and continued to the runway.

The perfect intersection of favorite pasttimes - flying, camping and astronomy! This all comes together for me and my family at Kernville, CA (L05). The airport provides a great campground next to the runway. The Kern River is a short walk away and the night skies are dark for viewing. The airport operators run a nice cafe where you can get a good breakfast and/or lunch. Our favorite is the chocolate milkshake! You can rent a car from them for a nominal fee to get to and from town. We make several trips a year to this wonderful spot.

On a recent Sunday, the weather was perfect for flying. So, my family and I climbed into our Cessna 182, departed Torrance (TOA) and headed almost due East towards the inland desert. Our route took us just south of Disneyland, north of the old El Toro Marine Base, over Lake Elsinore and south of Idyllwild. The view of Mt. San Jacinto and the surrounding mountains was exceptional! Crossing the ridgeline, Palm Springs came into view just to the north and the Salton Sea spread out to the south. Just ahead was our destination - Chiriaco Summit.