Looking back on our 3-week trip, I realize just what a big deal it was, at least for me. Getting my pilot’s license was a big deal for me, and even flying 100 miles from our home airport is a big deal for me. Going all the way across the country, with all the trip planning and actual flying, was an wonderful learning experience. And unforgettable. We’re so lucky to have done it.

A number of things about the trip were memorable and special to me. I got to visit states I’ve never been to before. We got to know some very different people who I wouldn’t normally meet. We got time with family and friends, and it was pretty cool to land our own plane in their towns. We learned that we were overly ambitious in our planning, and any future trips will have longer stops. And we got to know our airplane really really well.

If you’re flying your own small plane, you must be flexible (“time to spare, go by air”). We were flexible, and luckily our friends were too because we kept having to email everyone on our route to explain changes to our schedule. Next time (we hope next year), we’ll just tell everyone roughly what week we’ll probably be in their neck of the woods. We will definitely plan which airports to stop at, even though that doesn’t always work either, because the stops are half the fun. As I’ve written about, some small airports are in very pretty rural spots, well kept and cute with hospitable staff who will give you restaurant recommendations, local stories and even bird-watching tips. Airports like that on this trip were Amarillo TX – KTDW (yeah just take the crew car overnight), Weatherford OK – KOJA (aviation museum), Walnut Ridge AR – KARG (grill you own hotdog lunch on their George Foreman grill), Gaston’s AR – 3MO (slice of heaven fishing resort with grass strip) and Greenbriar Valley WV – KGED (so picturesque in a Blue Ridge valley amongst rich green fields).

Other nice stops were at slightly larger airports with more executive jet travel (so plenty of money). There’s almost always a nice Line Boy (I’ll let you know when I see my first Line Girl. I’m hopeful.) to guide you into parking, help tie your plane down, summon the fuel truck and then give you and your luggage a ride on a golf cart to the FBO (Fixed Base Operator, that owns the facilities and can sell you fuel). Really nice examples were Nashville KJWN and Charlottesville KCHO (UVA is my alma mater so it was very special).

One cool story I didn’t share in my other blogs is about a Cuban refugee we met who was our Uber driver in one of the places we visited. I thought hard about what details I’d share because I want to protect him. His story is that he had a profession in Cuba and was able to escape (with his wife) to a place where he could claim political asylum. They were placed in a US integration program to help them move to this city. He’s working his butt off, going to night school to get back into that profession. And, they just had a little baby girl.

We met lots of kind people who clearly loved their work in aviation, music (Nashville!), and hospitality. I wish we’d had time to find out more of their stories. Like the great grandmother/head hotel housekeeper who gave us a ride back to Weatherford airport, and the sweet bartender in Amarillo. And I especially want to hear more about the dedicated music teachers at Music Lab, Dan’s son’s school in Nashville. We had a perfect bird’s eye view of the spectacular variety of landscapes across the US, from California’s Central Valley to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dark green forest and scrubby red desert, bright green farms, lush horse ranches and rocky canyons. And the oceans that frame the North American continent, too. Way cool.

There is a nice sense of achievement that we went all the way across the North American continent too – that we planned it and did it. I want to do it again next year.