07/28/2005 - 07/31/2005

OSHKOSH!!! This was my first trip to Air Venture via the seaplane base and will definitely not be my last. The volunteers at the seaplane base do a fantastic job! The campgrounds are nice and the facilities well maintained. Between the corn roast, walleye feed, and watermelon feed we ate well all weekend. The show itself was amazing as usual. We took a break from working the booth and made it up to the main field for a bit. I was happy to meet Lee from Airframes Inc. and Mark and R.J. from Dakota Cub. At the Superflite booth Roger Lehnert was kind enough to take the time to show me how to cover an airplane. I was fortunate to met a lot of fantastic people while working the Adventure Seaplanes booth and it was great to see all the new opportunities in Aviation. All in all it was a productive trip and I'm looking forward to next year. 

07/09/2005

Brian and Lori invited us to tag along on a trip into NE Wisconsin this weekend. What a blast! Roxanne, Lenny, Indy and I loaded up and started by flying out to Phillips, WI where we caught the tail end of an air show. After a quick lunch and chatting with some folks we took off and went to lay on a beach in the Chippewa Flowage. We stopped in for dinner at Herman's Landing then flew about 30 miles NE to Pete's cabin. Pete and Barbara were kind enough to put all 7 of us up for the night after a boat ride and a few brews at the local pubs. The following morning all three planes flew down to Lac du Flambeau where we met up with two other aircraft and had breakfast at the casino. Afterwards Pete and the other two aircraft took off for parts unknown while N93027 and N185AS went in search of another beach. We spent the better half of Sunday afternoon laying on a beach in the Willow Flowage before heading home.

I owe a big thanks to Brian and Lori for coaxing me to come along and Pete and Barbara for putting us up. If it weren't for these fine people I'd have spent the weekend at the office instead of taking Indy on his first airborne adventure. I also have to thank Brian for sharing some of his local seaplane destinations. His experience is invaluable to a well planned and safe trip for those new to the area.