I Get to Go Flying!

Liz and Amy have a friend named Lauren, who owns this incredible airplane.  It is a Cirrus SR22 Turbo.  During last year's party when we met for the first time, we talked flying and airplanes.  At this year's party she asked if I wanted to go flying with her the next day.  Did I?  You bet I did!  This airplane looks as if it is going two hundred miles an hour, just sitting on the ramp.  It is based at Santa Monica Airport.

We took off heading west toward the Pacific Ocean, and when we crossed the beach, she said "It's your airplane!"  Wow!  So I got to fly it.  Interesting to learn how a new airplane like this flies.  It has a side stick, instead of a control wheel, which took a bit of getting used to.  We flew for 1.6 hours and went almost all the way to Palm Springs, before turning around and flying back to Santa Monica.  I can't begin to tell you what an amazing day that was!

We headed East from the airport just south of the San Gabriel Mountains.  I wanted to see Mt Wilson Observatory from the ground, but the clouds were too low.  The mountains were absolutely beautiful in their dusting of fresh snow,  with dark clouds overhead.  I felt that this photograph looked like the dawn of creation.