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...

Ringing in 2019

We rang in the new year hanging out with the Von Thuns and playing trivia and card games, including the non-computer version of The Oregon Trail. It was a blast! Then on the morning of the 2nd I flew out to Boston for a few days:

The company celebrated their 50th anniversary in the old Boston Plaza Hotel. It's weird how many new people they've hired, I hardly know anybody anymore. When I started 9 years ago there were just over 100 employees and now there are almost 900. Only a few of the people who were there when I started still remain, so I guess that makes me a dinosaur. Anyway, there was a cocktail party after the company meeting:

The hotel was super cool; it was built in the 1920s and had retained its old timey appearance:

It snowed twice while I was in Boston, but I returned to a very brown Iowa. That's OK, I don't mind the unusually warm January. Hello again, 380:

In mid-January it finally snowed and we got to do all the winter stuff you're supposed to do. Like sledding:

Meet Mortimer the snowman:

As we sat outside around the fire one night, I'm pretty sure the snowman was closer to us than he was when I looked earlier...

Then all of a sudden Rose turned 14! I'm pretty sure no one saw that coming. She had lots of friends over for her birthday and had cake, ice cream, and a snow storm:

Her birthday celebration on her actual birthday:

And her birthday celebration with friends on Saturday:

Lily hates our good time:

The girls split into two teams and went to Lindale Mall to do a photo scavenger hunt. They were a little hyper and got yelled at by a mall cop, but they checked almost everything off the list and the team that won only had one item that they couldn't find. I don't think they had very much fun:

Also, Rose is studying for her permit, so lock your doors and stay off the streets.

Cynthia and I went to Riverside to see Everclear on a frigid Friday night. The temp without the windchill was -4. Thanks a lot, January. It was an awesome show, though, and cool to see Art still rockin' in his own weird way:

January ended with temperatures around -24 and a wind chill of -49, thank goodness. Can't wait to see what February brings us.