Kentucky Derby Visit -- Sunday, April 30, 2023

                                               We couldn't pass up a visit to Churchill Downs.

                                                            Here is the race track.

                                                                  Entry to Churchill Downs

                                                        Visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum

Kentucky Derby recipes on dishes.

                                                        

                                                               It is not so easy to be a jockey.

 Rules that trainers live by.

When at the Kentucky Derby, we just had to try a mint julep.

There was an art museum next to the bar where we had the mint julep.  Not sure about this piece of artwork -- a skeleton with butterflies.

                     This blingy limousine,  outside the art museum, was covered with 1000s of red beads.                                                                                  Wonder whose it is?

Surprises

Who would've thought about finding a heliport being at our hotel which was not close to a hospital.

                                              Here is the windsock to go with the heliport.

                              We took a long walk in the beautiful hillsides in Indiana near the Ohio River.

 Party ready -- music and dinner.  A piano outside right by the grill was a surprise to us.  LOL  This must be how they entertain in Indiana.

Derby Hats at the Banquet -- Saturday, April 29, 2023

We were all challenged to wear a Derby Hat with an Aviation Theme to the banquet.   Here we are sporting our creations.  Hats were simple to elaborate.  See samples below.

I was the featured speaker at the banquet.  I spoke about The 99s Let's Fly Now! First Flight Program.  The 99s provide first flights to interested passengers, focusing on females of flying age.

                                               Deb sporting her aviation fascinator hat.

                                              Dee's hat had a message -- "Follow Your Dreams."

 Here is the winning hat.  We sure are glad that we were judging this contest.  All of the hats were awesome and creative.

Fun Activities with The North Central 99s -- Friday and Saturday, April 28 & 29

       The 99s were entertained with dinner and a show, Margaritaville, at the Derby Theater!!  What fun!!!

A new statue was built to honor Rosie the Riveter.  The real Rosie spent much of her life  in Clarksville. A statue, in Rosie's honor, was placed there last September.  We were fortunate to have Rosie's daughter, Vickie, share some information about her mother.

  

                      Myra, Vickie, and Claudette with Rosie with a We can do it attitude!!

Flying Duo Together Again -- Thursday, April 27, 2023

Flying Duo Together Again

We planned to fly MOJO to The 99s North Central Section Meeting but weather did not cooperate.  We took American Airline and got there safely.

I LOVED seeing James and Sandy.  They are dear friends, more like family, and I haven't seen them in 30+ years.

We had a delicious meal together.  I don't usually post food pictures but this was worth it.

Sue and Terri of the North Central 99s welcomed us graciously!!
 

Day 18 -- Sunday, July 4, 2021 -- "We Are Home! Celebrations!"

 Day 18 - We think we can make it through weather in northern Florida.  We filed IFR and it was an easy 3.5 hour flight.  I was amazed that by 900 feet above ground at KCEW, we were able to reach ATC and activate our IFR clearance.

                                            We were between cloud layers most of the way home.

                                                     
                                                Looking familiar -- we are close to home.

                                Safely Home!!!  We have lots to celebrate on this 4th of July!!!

                                                    Jeri welcomed us with this sign and flowers.

                                                                Tom made the sign.

                                   Roger served champagne to everyone.  He is really glad I'm home.

                        

                                                            Jeri and Tom brought flowers.

Welcome home party!!  Thank you, Tom, Jeri, Jimmy, Nancy, Anastasia, Nicoli, and David for welcoming us home.  What a great surprise!!

After 50 hours of flying, the oil needed to be changed.  Thanks to my sweetie for keeping MOJO happy.

                                                           Ceremonial map pinning.  

Claudette and I feel very accomplished.  It was a great bucket list item to land in all 48 contiguous states.

Thank you to everyone who supported us in our epic flying adventure!!

    What do you know?  North Perry had entertainment and a fireworks celebration to welcome us home.

Statistics for our Eastern Flight in 2019 in N199MJ

33.4 Hours flown

3862 NM

31 Landings

1 Touch and Go

25 States 

19 Days

292 Gallons of Fuel

Statistics for our Western Flight in 2021 in N199MJ

50.4 Hours flown

6273 NM 

31 Landings

1 Touch and Go

23 States

18 Days

401 Gallons of Fuel

Statistics for our Total Mission in N199MJ

83.8 Hours flown

10,135 NM

62 Landings

2 Touch and Goes

48 States

37 Days

693 Gallons of Fuel

                                                                        Pins in the Map

                                                                    Travel and Be Inspired

Day 17 -- July 3, 2021 -- "Uh oh!!!!"

 Day 17 -- Weather turned today into a rest day -- well sort of.

We started the morning looking for treasures at the Fort Walton Beach Flea Market.  We didn't find anything to add to our payload but we searched.

When we don't fly, we question our decision but the downpour convinced us that we made the right decision.  Look at all of these beautiful boats.  This is like going to a fly-in with 300 airplanes.

                                        We drove in some pretty bad traffic with a heavy rain.

The boardwalk is set up to help children and families have fun -- a train, a  bungee jumping apparatus. a zip line, dolphin tours, snorkeling tours, and more.  There were soooooo many people (and none wearing masks) that we started feeling uncomfortable so we stopped for a cold iced tea and drove back to the hotel to make a decision about flying tomorrow.  We are both ready to be home.  Hopefully, the 4th of July celebration will be a huge celebration for us, too.