All My Bags Are Packed

This was my bedroom Thursday morning at 7:30 AM. My goal was to be out of the house by eight so I could stop at Target to grab some drinks and snacks for the airplane.

With five male passengers and one male Captain with me this week, I am severely outnumbered. And they like to eat, as most men do. So lots of grub on board was a must!

With my suitcase and laptop carrying case in addition to all the edible goodies, it was enough to warrant pulling up next to Gladys to unload. In this air-conditioned car.

There are always lots of big, beautiful airplanes randomly hanging out at Scottsdale. Like Falcons and Challengers. I love the bright, happy colors on these two particular airplanes. Airplanes make me happy.

I love this shot of Scottsdale from the sky! What a great airport.

We passed Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport at 12,000 feet on our way to the Stanfield VOR. I used to be based here in a Beechjet. Though it’s closer to my house for my commute, I don’t mind that I am now flying elsewhere.

We ended up going all the way up to Flight Level 450. And with this head cold that I’ve been battling (yes, I’m sick again. No, I don’t know why or how), this brought on a very painful descent. I hate not being able to keep ahead of popping my ears, and I therefore can’t hear a stinkin’ thing at this very moment.

This is the Suburban fold-down movie screen that I mentioned yesterday. I don’t know what was playing on this particular day, but it was funny and got lots of laughs from the passengers. They have wireless headsets, so it keeps the noise down for us fliers up front.

In case you’re wondering, all of the cool people hang out up front.

After flying over the Gulf of Mexico, this was my first glance of Florida’s west coast. Doesn’t it look tropical? Maybe this is what makes all those people living in Florida stay, despite the constant fear of hurricane season drawing nearer.

Hello, Sarasota, Florida! Amazingly enough, I am meeting you for the first time today. In my best Adam Sandler Hanukkah Song voice, “Nice to meet ya.”

These guys at APP were truly a quick fuel turn. We were done and able to be on our way in just fifteen minutes. Of course, I just so happened to have pizzas waiting for my passengers. Growing boys and all, you know? They even shared a piece or two with me while I was in and out from watching the fueling and paying for 581 gallons of jet fuel.

That fuel amount isn’t a typo. Holy gravy!

It was hot and sticky in Sarasota, but we weren’t there to enjoy it long.

I had places to go, people to see. I needed to be on my way. Gladys and I needed to move on. We needed to get on with our lives.

With five grown men in the back, and lots of scuba diving gear. We were on our way.

Goodbye, Sarasota! Thank you for not being as geriatric as your reputation implies.

After dodging some impressive thunderstorms just off the west coast, we headed southeast towards the Miami area.

Isn’t Miami beautiful from the sky? You can buy a condo here for about thirteen dollars, if you’re in the market. But it is prettier from the sky. Just keep that in mind.

But enough small talk. I’m going somewhere that shows up on this high-altitude chart. And it rhymes with “Faint Pompous.” Well, kinda rhymes.

Do you see it?

No looking back! Well, just back a little to see a beautiful sunset in the making. I just think that Gladys has the prettiest winglets, don’t you?

So the bad news about this trip? Hubby was this close to getting to come with me. And when we found out on Tuesday that it wasn’t going to happen, I cried and cried. I personally think a week-long trip for free with my husband would be very nice. There were lots of reasons that it would be nice to have him here with me.

When I saw some ice forming on my window, I wrote his name so I would stop missing him. The stopping-missing didn’t work, but I did feel like I had a tiny piece of him with me. And that helped.

He really should be here with me right now. In Faint Pompous.

We left early this morning and landed way after dark. That is weird! But this is the view from my hotel room.  I hate to bring it up, but I am actually get paid for this, people.

And I plan to spend a lot of time out here this week on my upgraded-for-free ocean-view  patio. I swear, being nice to the hotel peeps gets me everything good in life.

I can’t wait to see everything tomorrow when it’s light and bright. I plan to bring you along for the journey. Do you mind? Want to explore Faint Pompous with me?