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From March 11 through 16, we flew Atlas -- our Piper Pathfinder -- to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, dropping hotel pamphlets, posters, leaflets, and schmoozing every pilot and FBO who would listen! 

In search of great weather, and flying more like the barnstormers of old than modern-day air travelers ("Where's the sun warmest today?  Let's go THERE!"), we covered 2000+ nautical miles in just four days of flying, seeing and doing things along the way that are only possible with a general aviation aircraft.

Our plans had been to fly to Texas, to visit the Hangar Hotel -- our only aviation-themed hotel competition -- but a cut-off low spun thunderstorms and tornadoes over Texas for nearly the entire week.  We therefore worked until noon on Sunday, and then headed east, where the weather looked best,  with the intention of making it to West Virginia by dark.

Here are some pix of our journey to West Virginia:

Overflying the Indy 500 Motor Speedway	We went right over downtown Indianapolis, and the football/baseball complex	Another shot of the Indianapolis Colts' stadium	The Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia
No place to put down there...	Pretty but forbidding	Mary turns base to final for Beckley, WV	Mary & Kids with Beckley airport sign
Joe sleeping on the pullout...

The next day (Monday) we departed for our main destination, Kill Devil Hills, and the Wright Brothers Memorial.  To land at First Flight Airfield, adjacent to the monument, is every pilot's dream, and I experienced non-stop chills as we touched down near the place where aviation all began.

To walk my children down the path of those first flights, to breathe the salt air and feel the same steady winds that Orville and Wilbur needed to make the Flyer fly -- well, suffice it to say that we will remember it forever.

Here are some pix taken at the Wright Brothers Memorial:

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