To California for Pie

It has been such a fun and busy few months at work. Already we were headed for another trip to Van Nuys after just getting back from there!

This time around, we left on a late Sunday afternoon to drop some passengers off. Then we returned home empty to bring more people over in a few days for more meetings. Isn’t this fun?

I love this picture. It’s a different angle of Gladys that I think captures her beautiful lines. Did I ever tell you how much I love this airplane?

I only got to go to the first of three hours of church, since mine doesn’t start until 2:00 PM now. Then it was time to go to work! I hate missing church, but it will be a quick trip over and back this afternoon.

This past Sunday was my first time in my own ward since the first week in March! Sheesh!

This pretty Learjet was also getting ready for departure tonight. It’s a pretty common thing to fly on the weekends in private aviation, you know?

The passengers arrived, and we were soon airborne. It’s a gorgeous spring in Phoenix, so the green grass is really loving the warm-but-not-yet-deadly temperatures.

Summer is right around the corner, I’m afraid.

But for today, it was nice to look down and admire the lovely weather. Wouldn’t you want to live here if it was like this year-round?

So would the rest of the world, I bet. I’m so glad that we get unbearably hot to keep the crowds at bay!

And then I had to deal with views like this for the next hour. Do you have any idea how difficult my job is?!

I could never get tired of views like this while zipping along at 450 knots true and 34,000 feet. It’s just not in my capacity, you know?

It’s a little difficult to see in the evening light, but on the left side of that dry lake bed is the famous Edwards Air Force Base.

The book that I’m reading right now talks about how the Boeing 747 used Edwards to test the  engine cut certification on takeoff back in the late 1960s. The runways are huge, and there is a giant dry lake available for more runway, if needed. Flight testing took place here to receive some of the required FAA certification before deliveries took place.

It’s a cool book!

Anyway, back to the flight at hand.

I’m going to torture you with several gorgeous sunset views from my office. Please humor me.

We descended into the northern Los Angeles valley towards Van Nuys tonight. And I sighed as I saw the colors in the sky. Yowsa!

OK, last one.

For now…

We were cleared to land on the 8,000-foot Runway 16R.

After we landed, we loaded up a car and got some people on their way to a full few days of meetings. We will bring more people over soon to join the meetings, then head out again on Thursday for NYC.

That’s right…New York City! One of my favorite places on earth!

I heard that this airplane owner was a little difficult to deal with. He owns DSW Shoe Warehouse, but that shouldn’t give him the right to treat people poorly. It drives me crazy when some snooty people are snooty!

Kinda makes me not want to frequent his store…as often.

But the owners of this beautiful airplane are swell indeed! I really love my bosses. I feel so appreciated and taken care of. What a difference, huh?

Hi, Van Nuys Tower!

El Capitan was in the mood for some down-home cookin’, so we can to Marie Callender’s for a quick bite before returning home without passengers.

I had a really nice experience last time I visited this restaurant, but it was a little disappointing tonight. Maybe their food is only good if you get the pie?

One convenient thing for me was the calories listed by each dish. You might think that you’re making a better decision by getting a salad, but some of the salads have more calories than a sandwich!

I love being able to see right away how many calories I’m eating. Modern technology wins again.

I quickly ruled out this selection, though the picture looked pretty. I didn’t think that a pot pie and then another pie for dessert would agree with my long-term goals for slimming down.

Am I right?

So I got this French Dip Sandwich with fruit. The description sounded wonderful!

I watched people enjoy the salad bar for their dinner. I knew that eating too much would be a direct result of adding this on to my meal, so I skipped it tonight.

The fruit was delicious! But the sandwich was just meh after reading the menu! I only ate about a third of it.

But, hey, I saved a bunch of calories that way!

While eating dinner, I texted Hubby to see if his parents, who were spending the night with us, wanted me to get them a pie. They did, and to my great delight, they ordered a Banana Cream Pie.

One of my favorites! How did they know?

Unfortunately for them, the went home the next morning and left it in our fridge on accident! So Hubby ate this entire pie all by his lonesome over the next few days.

He was in heaven. And I even had a few bites, too. It was ridiculously good.

With full bellies, it was time to hit the road, Jack. We got to go home for a whole day!

Once again, our “new” FBO at Van Nuys treated us wonderfully.

But Gladys got us home safely, and we were soon standing on the ramp at our home hangar.

It was still beautiful weather when we arrived. Did I mention that I love spring?

El Capitan headed home, but I had a few minutes to kill while waiting for the pitot tubes to cool enough for me to place their covers safely over them.

So what’s a girl to do all alone on an airport ramp next to a gorgeous airplane? Take pictures of a gorgeous airplane, of course!

I was quite proud of myself for not forgetting the pie in the nose compartment. It was out and ready to go home.

Next to some bananas are the pitot covers waiting to go on. They are like little quilted blankets to protect the pitot (pronounced pee-toe) tubes from the elements and little critters crawling inside.

Ahhhh, a nice parting shot of Gladys with the lit windsock in the background. Can you possibly get enough of this machine or is that just me?

Back to Van Nuys on our next trip.