It was shaping up to be a quiet week. Brother Baker was out on a trip, and The Great Barbeau was in San Diego, California, attending a UPS Store convention. My Bride was delighted! With the Brethren away; we could finish our income tax return---free from the distractions of Jellystone Air Park.
Thursday morning, while Nancy and I were enjoying our coffee, I received a text message from Brother Baker. It was a response to my question regarding the status of his current adventure. The last time I heard from Joe; he was sitting in a hotel room in snowy Fairfield, West Virginia, waiting on an airplane to come out of a sixteen hour maintenance inspection---instead of enjoying the warm Florida sunshine, that he had packed his suitcase for! That was Wednesday morning. I was curious as to how things were going.
The message read: "Cancelled! Lunch? Flying? Both?" He followed up with: "Long Island?" (Meaning Long Island Air Park, on Lake Norman, just north of Charlotte---a place we have yet to explore.) "Jim's Cherokee?" (Jim Rummery runs the maintenance shop at the Lancaster Airport, and has kindly offered us the use of his Cherokee 180. Joe is planning on flying it down to the flour bombing competition at Pond Branch Airfield, next Saturday, since his father will be flying the Luscombe.) I typed back: "So you are in town?" Joe's reply: "Walking to the (employee) bus right now!" At this point Nancy could see the tax window slipping away. . .
As we were pulling 43 Bravo out of the hangar, Joe asked where I thought we should go. In true Baker style; I answered his question with a question. "Are you hungry? How about the 57 Alpha Cafe at Rutherford County?"
Except for a few bumps, the weather was perfect---and the visibility outstanding! The flight over took fifty-four minutes, block to block. It could have been shorter, but we dilly-dallied some. We circled a camping area south of Kings Mountain that Joe knew about. It was a nice looking place---it reminded me of my Boy Scout days. There is also a grass airfield northwest of Shelby, North Carolina, that warrants further investigation. . .
The ramp was full when we arrived. So was the cafe. After placing our orders, we found seats outside on the covered deck. It was a little chilly in the shade, so we moved to one of the concrete picnic tables out in the sunshine. While we were sitting there, a nice looking SNJ landed and pulled up to the gas pumps. We were about to take a closer look, but our food arrived and our stomachs convinced us to stay put. By the time we had finished our lunch (burrito and cheeseburger), the cafe was empty---as was the ramp. The SNJ departed shortly thereafter. He gave us a nice shot of smoke on departure! Brother Baker's comment: "There's a fellow who knows his audience!"
The flight back to Jellystone Air Park took forty-five minutes. It was Joe's leg, and pretty much a straight shot. There were a few more bumps to contend with, but the visibility was still spectacular! All in all, not a bad way to avoid working on income tax returns!
Which one has the Crosswind Gear?
www.57alpha.com
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