Today we busted out the flying RV to go say goodbye (temporarily) to two of the coolest people we know. Tiffani and Deke are moving from Whidbey Island to North Carolina, and although we're happy for them, we're bummed for ourselves. We love these guys!
We flew up to Whidbey Island to pick them up and take them flying (and we got to see Kyle again, too! — Kyle stayed at our house for the several weeks we were in Italy, but we only got to see him for two days when we were home before he headed North.)
Taking off in Portland (this is what happens in photos when the prop is going around):
The flight up to Whidbey was incredible. We could see Mt. Baker, Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson all at the same time. Crazy!
Mt. Adams behind Mt. St. Helens, off the wing:
Flying into Oak Harbor. This runway is 3200 feet, but look how narrow it is…it's only 25ft wide (with a 1.6% downward slope the direction we were landing). It's there, right off the wing, running perpendicular to the shoreline (Tiffani took this photo when we came back, so I'm cheating and putting it out of order):
We were greeted enthusiastically at the Oak Harbor airport by Tiffani and Deke and Kyle. See the three of 'em there? (This photo was taken after the waving and jumping up and down had stopped):
"Take Tiffani and Deke flying" was still on our "Things To Do with Tiffani and Deke" list and we're SO happy we got to do this before they left! It was a blast!
We headed up to Orcas Island and parked in the grass area for visitors at the Eastsound airport. Kevin and Deke talking planes:
We walked into town and decided on a spot called The Madrona Bar & Grill (no idea how the food was going to be, but they were waterfront, and that's what mattered). Turns out the food was quite good!
We took a quick self-timer group photo (nice reflection in the wing!) before taking off for a bit of sightseeing around the San Juan Islands:
Tiffani and Deke each got some front seat time with a bit of flying. I think they dug it. (I'm sure of it, actually.) Eastsound Airport on Orcas, right off the wing:
We had such an amazing day with wonderful friends, good weather, beautiful scenery, and not enough time. We dropped Tiff and Deke off back on Whidbey Island and flew home, talking about our next across-the-country Airstream trip that will include North Carolina. We DO still have that whole upper right corner of the United States to explore!
