Marion Plane Rides

There seems to be a common theme to my blog posts just recently...

We went to the Fly-In Drive-In event at the Marion airport to take some plane rides and we ended up on the news! Cynthia and Rose are in the very first plane featured and I'm visible in the plane that appears in the video at 00:25 (you can kind of see Emily in the backseat): Marion Fly-In Drive-In

Cynthia and Rose were in the plane just ahead of us waiting for takeoff:

It was the first time flying for both Rose and Emily. I think they had fun.

It had been raining, but cleared up right before we got there and the flights were just starting when we arrived. Even though it wasn't sunny, it was still really cool to go up in a plane:

That plane that looks like a dot in the middle of the sky is the plane that Cynthia and Rose were riding in:

I think that's Marion High School down there:

That's Collins Road and Lindale Mall in the distance:

Linn-Mar:

During the flight we kept drifting through low-hanging thin ghostly clouds:

Hey, there's a roundabout! That thing that baffles Iowa drivers:

See the runway up ahead?

They offered helicopter rides as well, but they were shorter than the plane rides and more expensive. This one was just taking off as we were about to land:

Coming back down:

Cynthia and Rose's plane again:

That was a lot of fun and maybe we'll do it again soon.

The airport had several planes and helicopters on display in and around the hangers:

Rose tried out a helicopter:

Good times! I think the girls are ready for a plane flight to Pensacola...

Cessna Ride, 1994

I was recently going through boxes of old photos when I ran across pictures of my first plane ride. In October 1994, my aunt and uncle (who live in Pella) arranged for me to ride in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk piloted by a friend of theirs. The flight was only about 30 minutes long, but it was a lot of fun and very memorable. It was a on a very still autumn evening just before sunset, perfect for flying and taking pictures.

My Grandma Brackin and my sister Abby are in the lower right corner of this photo:

I'm standing in the doorway of the plane and my dad is right behind me. My uncle rode along with me and my dad stayed behind. He's not a fan of flying.

My mom taking pictures of my dad taking pictures of the plane taking off. Everything was documented in full detail, we got it covered:

During the flight I saw a barn burning, so we circled it for a few minutes so I could take pictures:

Then we flew out over Lake Red Rock:

And that's it; those are the only surviving pictures of that experience. If I remember correctly, there were at least two rolls of film with pictures from that evening, but this is all that's left. It's enough, though! We buzzed around over Pella and along Highway 163, before circling back and making a steep landing on the small airstrip. We made a very rapid descent onto the runway; I think the pilot was having fun with us. It was worth every minute.

School's Out for Summer II

Emily finished elementary school! I think she'll be sad to leave Garfield, but a lot of her friends will be going to Franklin with her in the fall. It helps that she's already been to Franklin many times and sorta knows her way around. 

Rose graduated middle school at Franklin and even though those weren't her favorite years, she did well. She won the President's Award, Principal's Award, and a Math Olympiad Award. 

See her?

At the end of the awards ceremony she got to sing with the choir again, her favoritest thing in the whole wide world:

Congratulations, Rose! On to Wash...

Morwood

The weather couldn't have been more perfect for camping at Morwood Campground. It's a tidy, well-maintained campground with a pool, miniature golf, hayrack rides, hiking trails... and Amish people working in the fields nearby. The Amish weird me out a little, but it's cool. Anyway, we stayed a couple nights and it was one of the quietest campgrounds I've visited.

Since it's June and there has been a lot of rain lately we came prepared. We had five different brands of bug spray (and itch stuff for bites) and the winner is... none of them. Cutter was the only thing that the bugs seemed to dislike momentarily, but you have to reapply it often to keep 'em away. Better than nothing.

The afternoons were hot, but there was a steady breeze and the humidity was low, so it wasn't too bad. We took a break between trips to the pool:

One of the best parts of always carrying a camera around is the ability to annoy everyone. Good morning, Rose:

Nearby there is a nature center and wildlife displays at Fontana Park.

One of the Amish cats became friends with us:

So yeah, Lazy Acres and Morwood; a couple good camping spots in Iowa.