Boo! A Halloween Night Flight

Yes, I know that Halloween is over. And that Thanksgiving will be here in less than two weeks. Can I get a hand raise from anyone who is really excited about turkey and mashed potatoes sneaking up on us so quickly?

I won’t even begin talking about the wonderfulness that is Christmas just after that.

I didn’t have to buy Halloween candy this year, and consequently didn’t eat a ton of Halloween candy intended for Trick or Treaters. I knew that I was heading to work tonight instead, and I was pretty excited about that.

As much as I like candy, I have no self-control when it’s in my house!

In honor of the spooky holiday, I wore my orange sparkly shoes to work tonight.

Bling bling! Sparkle sparkle!

Gladys was clean inside and out, and blankets were ready for our short hop over to Los Angeles tonight. We are headed to the Van Nuys airport through Saturday…so three nights and about three days in California!

And we’re off! I’ve warned you before how little night photography practice I’ve had, right? Well, apparently it’s really impossible hard to get a clean, crisp night shot in an airplane that is moving all over the place. But I couldn’t ask Gladys to hold still. It simply isn’t in her nature.

So we’ll just pretend that this moon burst city shot of Phoenix is just a surreal interpretation of city nightlife, OK? I do like the moon burst.

It was really easy getting out of the Phoenix airspace and into the L.A. airspace tonight. No one else was flying on Halloween!

We were soon on the ramp at Pentastar Aviation. We loaded the car and got our passengers on their way. Then it was time to take a picture of Gladys’s little brother, the Phenom 100.

You see this one coming, I’m sure: My airplane is better. Neener neener!

And I have the pictures to back that statement up.

We shut everything down for the night before grabbing our rental car. El Capitan had plans to visit Universal Studios for the few days that we were here, so a rental car was necessary for him.

The rental car already smelled like cigarette smoke. Awesome.

This was by far my favorite shot of the night. Look at how pretty this airplane is sitting under the moon! And the city-lit sky is just the perfect backdrop.

Man, I love my job.

Thanks to almost non-existent traffic so late at night, we made it to our hotel in about fifteen minutes. We went back to the same Holiday Inn Express in Woodland Hills that I’ve stayed before. It’s a great place with a great rate through the FBO.

And I love rooms that have comfortable chairs. It’s almost like this was giving me permission to read a good book for the few days that I’m here, huh?!

The next morning was a treat because I awoke to fog.

I know! I couldn’t believe it, either! I love days like this where I’m practically being forced to sit down with a good book. Now, if someone would just provide a nice, steamy mug of hot chocolate, I’d be set.

The fog burned off by late morning, and it was soon time to head out for some lunch. I already knew where I wanted to eat…California Chicken Café is just heavenly and just four blocks away.

I’ve been craving their salad since the last time I visited!

On my walk, I passed this sign and smiled. Is anyone else out there a fan of Dumb and Dumber? Capistrano has salmon, in case you didn’t know.

We have arrived at lunch! Just as it should be, this place was busy. Wholesome, delicious food is bound to do that to people.

Though I was craving their salad, I decided to break out of my normal and get their white meat roasted chicken plate. I got a chicken breast and wing with two sides of my choice. Holy smokes, this was amazing.

It helps that I was really hungry, too, I’m sure.

One of my sides was their broccoli pasta salad, which is now what makes me drool when I think of this place. It was incredible!

And healthy, right? Guys?

The oven-roasted potatoes were scrumptious as well. You would think that giant pieces of onion would be scary, but they were so sweet and tender. They really made the potatoes sing that much more.

Since my Dad is from Ideeho, I have a special place in my heart for anything spuds.

And the chicken was moist and hot and perfect. It was a perfect meal to enjoy during my day off in California!

In tomorrow’s post we’ll discover more food before heading back to the Phoenix area. Can you wait? I don’t know if I can!