Cheesecake and Sunsets…Good Things Indeed

When you think about California, it’s not very likely that the first thing popping into your head is fog and drizzle.

Well, unless you live in San Francisco. But then you’re just cheating.

When thinking about Southern California, you rarely think of fog. Right?

While spending a few nights in Van Nuys last month, that is exactly what I awoke to on our morning of departure! Isn’t it so cool?

I love weather like this. But today, relaxing with a good book and some hot chocolate while wearing pjs just wasn’t in the stars.

There are airplanes to fly home, people!

I packed up my things and headed outside to wait for El Capitan. Then we headed for some lunch before arriving at the airport to go home this evening.

As you can see, the fog was short-lived. Soon the sun came out and thus did shown forth on my favorite restaurant in the world…The Cheesecake Factory.

We decided to eat here for lunch. And I was OK with that.

I love this place for many reasons…and about a dozen reasons can be seen through this heavenly glass window just after entering the premises.

This is my all-time favorite flavor. I heart Red Velvet anything, but you’ve probably picked up on that tidbit by now. And I like cheesecake, but it’s often too rich to enjoy alone.

Enter this wonderful concoction of cake and cheesecake combined. The red velvet tones down the cheesecake, and the cheesecake makes the cake even better.

It’s really a match made in heaven. And don’t even get me started on those white chocolate shaving around the edge. Holy smokes.

Anyway, after admiring the cheesecake storage facility by the hostess, I sat down at my table and knew that I would be looking at nothing but their new Skinnylicious menu.

I’ve already tried several things from it and am always happy and impressed. If you think it tastes like health food, think again!

It is The Cheesecake Factory, after all!

I decided to get the Chicken Salad Sandwich this lovely afternoon.

And I had a little slice of bread while waiting for the main event to arrive. If you haven’t had warm bread with butter at this fine establishment, may I highly recommend that you do ASAP?

And you know what? This has been the best thing that I’ve ever tried from their healthier options.

The sandwich was crispy on the outside because they lightly toasted the brioche in olive oil. The chicken salad itself was incredible as well, with a nice crunch and perfect creaminess. They added almonds, too, for even more awesome texture.

If you’re there to try the bread, you might as well give this sandwich a go, too. And you won’t even feel bad when you leave, since it is under six-hundred calories!

On our way back to the airport for our flight home, we stopped for some gas at the closest station.

I don’t know who thought this mural was a good idea, but I need to complain immediately about a black widow the size of all the spiders in my dreams. I don’t need those to really exist, thankyouverymuch.

Not cool, California. Not cool.

The FBO lobby also had murals, but significantly less spiders were involved this time around. Thank goodness. I wouldn’t stay at all long if there were spiders on these walls!

I have to admit, though. I’m still getting used to the red carpet. It’s just such a weird selection. But then I have to remember where we are! We aren’t too far from where all the big-shot stars live. I bet lots of them fly out of this very FBO.

So maybe the carpet selection feels normal to them?

This random wooden “C” carving outside stands for Castle and Cooke Aviation, but I can’t help but think of Splash Mountain every time that I see it.

And I don’t mind being reminded of Splash Mountain one bit.

The ramp here is small, so the place is busy with airplanes moving in and out all day long. This pretty little Lancair is even prettier when you consider that it was probably built in someone’s garage. You can also buy a factory-built one, but it’s certainly more cost-effective to build your own.

If you are more patient than me, of course. If I built one, it would fail on day one.

Hi, Van Nuys Tower! You’re busy, but not very tall. wop wop.

Because there are really only two parking spots on the ramp, we waited until just an hour before our scheduled departure to have Gladys pulled up. She sat patiently in the background and watched all of the other airplanes have their fun.

You’re time is coming, pretty Gladys.

I emptied the melted ice and put some fresh stuff in to make the water and soda cool for the passengers. It’s not crazy hot yet, but a refreshing beverage can be just the ticket on a 45-minute flight home!

As you can see, this place was hopping! It was fun to just stand back and watch lots of big, beautiful airplanes do their thang.

I love how they stage the airplanes facing outwards. It makes getting to the taxiway that much easier!

Soon it was our turn to be pulled into place for departure. The nose wheel is just propped up onto this tug, which then moves the entire airplane to and fro. It’s pretty fancy, and I think those tug things are pretty darn expensive.

Two passengers arrived in the early evening, and we were soon headed to Runway 16R for takeoff.

Isn’t the green grass pretty? Green grass is a foreign object to me in the desert.

Castle and Cooke Aviation is about a mile from either runway entrance, so we had a ways to go before we were at the starting line tonight.

But I was digging the pretty sunset already.

This flight home is going to be good!

As we climbed, we looked towards the south. The city of Los Angeles is located under that creepy, foggy cloud layer down there!

That is definitely more than just the usual smog!

It’s hard to pick a favorite picture from today, but I really love this sunburst action with the misty mountains in the background.

We flew right over Burbank Airport, which often causes delays for us corporate guys trying to depart from Van Nuys, since they fly right over our airport to get to theirs.

Sweet revenge here, huh?

We turned and climbed and climbed some more. We headed up to 33,000 feet today for our quick flight home.

Uh oh. This is another contender for favorite shot of the day! Look at those colors!

And what’s that white stuff on top of that mountain?

Ooooo, but I love these pretty colored layers in this picture, too. And adding a wing doesn’t hurt us any.

Who am I kidding? We all know that my favorite picture from today is the display of cheesecake!

Thanks to a nice tailwind, the lights of Phoenix soon came into view. You can tell that we had a nice sunset for most of our flight home tonight.

This is how all cities should be laid out, by the way. Nice, straight streets that are easy to navigate.

I’m sure it helps to have so much open space out here in the west, but have you ever driven in New York City?! Yuck!

Because we had picked the airplane up from maintenance for this flight, my car was still on the other side of town after we landed. We grabbed a taxi and headed down to Willy Gateway to retrieve our vehicles.

Pearl was happy to see me, and the feeling was mutual.

What a great few days at work! More to come, so stick around!

Flights and Food and California

After a few quick days at home, it was time to gear up for another busy month at work.

We had dropped off the airplane back at maintenance after landing from Dallas a few nights before, so that was where we picked it up this evening for a night flight to Van Nuys.

Bye, Pearl. I’ll see you in a few days when I get back! And then…I won’t see you for weeks!

Gladys was ready and waiting for us. We still didn’t get anything fixed permanently after this visit, unfortunately, (but we did this past week…knock on wood!). But these guys work so hard for us to find the problem and try to solve it.

First we departed Willy Gateway Airport, where our maintenance service center is based, and flew home to pick up a few passengers. It’s an eight-minute flight.

We departed there for California around 8:30 PM tonight.

Phoenix is such a large city…the fifth-largest in the nation, in fact! It has been a nice place to live. I’ve been here over six years now!

I apologize for the blur. This was on final to Runway 16R at Van Nuys. Night pictures can be tough enough, but trying to hold still when it’s windy and, thus, very bumpy, is next to impossible!

Still, I wanted you to see what I look for at night when trying to find an airport. Luckily, since we’ve been to Van Nuys about a gazillion times, we know exactly where to look.

Once on the ramp at Castle and Cooke Aviation, we got our passengers on their way to the hotel with their bags.

Then we watched this cute little Citation arrive just behind us. It’s such a busy airport!

We’ve only been coming to this FBO for the past month or so, but we have plans to be here often! They have been wonderful, but we have to talk to them about waiving their minimum purchase for fuel. In a smaller jet like ours, and on such short flights from Phoenix, we usually can’t take three-hundred gallons of fuel!

I think that we’ll be able to work out a deal, though.

Gladys looks good on this ramp, so we need to stay.

We will be here for two nights, which means that I have all day tomorrow to grab some yummy food near my favorite place to stay while in Van Nuys!

That same little Citation that had just arrived looked pretty next to the Van Nuys Tower, so I tried to capture it in a picture.

Sometimes, our eyes just do a better job of seeing things!

Around 10:15 PM, we were finally in the rental car and on our way to the hotel. This late at night, traffic was pretty decent. There are very few hotels near the airport, so we traveled about seven miles to our usual Holiday Inn Express in Woodland Hills.

About half an hour later, we were checking in for our two-night stay. Cool lobby, huh?

I’ve been here so much this past year of work that they actually know me by name now! I like it…a personal touch never hurts!

After a great night’s sleep, it was time to head out for a bite to eat. A few weeks before, I had finally tried Leo and Lily’s Café, and their breakfast sandwich was calling my name again today.

Luckily, it agreed with my healthy goals.

It’s just a short half-mile walk from my hotel to arrive at this fun little eatery. With a grumbling stomach, I knew that I was in for a treat.

Aren’t the trees lining the street so pretty?

Soon enough, the sign came into view.

Because the sign told me to do it, I turned to my right and saw this. Ta da!

I love the menu. I am actually reading it now more than I ever have in person. It sounds like there are some other yummy options than my usual Americano Sandwich!

Like these Multigrain Cinnamon Pancakes. Yum! How have I missed those until just now?! I guess we know what I’ll get next time that I am there…

I had the gouda cheese last time and wasn’t a fan, so I swapped it out for a slice of cheddar. Muuuuuuch better.

Luckily, the potatoes were so salty that they were inedible. So I didn’t waste any calories on those!

Too bad. I’m rather a fan of potatoes.

While waiting for my meal, I enjoyed this magazine that my sister had given me while visiting Dallas a few days before. My house wouldn’t be able to quality as “country,” but I always love looking at new ideas!

I love how the bill was presented in a mason jar. What a cute idea! Maybe I can use that next time that we host a dinner party…

Just for the record, we don’t really charge our guests.

But that could be pretty funny, huh?

In other happy news, the car wash that I walk past every time that I’m here has apparently been painted for a new-and-improved look.

I approve. In case they are avid readers of mine and are concerned about my opinion.

This part of town actually has some cool crosswalk technology. For your viewing pleasure…a crosswalk button.

Much later that same day, it was time to grab a healthy lunch. I knew exactly where to go, yet again.

California Chicken Café is my favorite place to eat when visiting this part of town. It’s only a short walk from the hotel and is pure heaven.

I thought that it was a gorgeous day, but it kept the locals inside for lunch. Normally the balcony is as packed as the inside eating area, but it was only sixty-three degrees today.

So I had the patio to myself. Even after showering! (It was Thursday, after all).

The restaurant is cafeteria style, which I love. You stand in line while taking a gander at the incredible menu selection. When you’re hungry, it all sounds good.

Luckily, I knew precisely what my lunch order would be today.

I ordered and then headed outside to enjoy the not-so-warm temperatures.

And then this arrived.

Let’s just say that it was a good thing that I was alone today. I don’t think that I would have been very good for conversation because I was too busy stuffing my face.

Cooked rotini pasta, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, broccoli, pita chips, feta cheese, and a little drizzle of light ranch dressing. I get it on the side so I can control how much of it I eat.

The California Chicken Salad is by far my favorite thing here. Give it a try if you’re in Los Angeles. They have several locations!

I wandered around for a few hours, just to get out and breathe that beautiful California smog air and enjoy some sun.

I knew that my salad had been filling, but that I might need a little something for dinner later. So I popped back into California Chicken Café to get a few of their salads to-go.

Later that evening, when my stomach demanded food, I ate this delicious fresh fruit.

Man, I love fresh pineapple.

And then, for less than two-hundred calories, I enjoyed my favorite salad there. In case you’re wondering, this Broccoli Pasta Salad is out of this world. I always crave it, whether I’m in California or not!

It was a nice day off in Van Nuys, wandering around and eating yummy (and healthy!) food.

Tomorrow, we’ll head back home for a day before making several trips back and forth between home and Van Nuys over the next few days.

Busy month indeed! Stick around. There might be more pictures of food…