In John's words: Cedar Key exists!

From: "John Williams"
Date: Jan 29, 2012 8:51 PM
Subject: Cedar Key exists!

The government didn't shut down the runway, the island still exists; we are here, safe and sound.

Departed Rock Hill, SC, around 9:30.    I flew the  first leg, about 40 miles, we landed to switch seats.   krista is a Certified Pilot, but has never flown in the front seat of a weight shift control trike.   Thankfully, I've given enough rides to people who want the experience of sitting in the front seat and momentarily taking the controls.   Krista was a NATURAL!

Krista took us around the Columbia, SC, airspace, and in-between Columbia airport and  Shaw AFB.   There was a narrow slot, about 2 miles wide that we could pass through without having to get a clearance.   Krista stayed on the controls for about 2 hours.    We finally came down to take a break, top off the gas tank, and warm up.    Plus, we sent a few messages to let our spouses know we were still at it.

I took over the front seat duties.    We climbed to 4,500 to try to avoid the mid air turbulence that was starting to kick in.   Mid day thermals can make flying an ultralight quite a handful.    However, going high meant that the temperatures were going to be a lot colder than down around 2,000 AGL.    It wasn't long before Krista said that it would be nice to do something about the cold.   Her feet were freezing.    I selected an alternate airport, about another 30 miles down the 'road' in the direction of our ultimate destination.    We had to descend through a turbulent layer of air for a Cross-Wind landing at Baxter County airport, Baxter, GA.   I think that the guys had never seen such a craft before.    We had about 10 people gathered around the plane.    I sent Krista inside to get warm as I topped off the fuel for the final  push to Cedar Key.    We landed around 2:30 with another 158 miles to go.   At the speed we were making, it would take us all of 2.5 hours to get to our final destination.    I suggested to Krista that it would be wise to get going so that we didn't push arriving at sunset.    Cedar Key airport does NOT have runway lights.    No way to land in the dark unless you have a bright full moon and no clouds.

The problem was Krista's mesh tennis shoes.    The mesh allowed the cold temps to make her feet freeze.    The guys at Baxter airport came up with a solution.   We placed each foot into a plastic bag and taped the bags with a healthy dose of duct tape.     The perfect "John Williams" solution.    (Ask me about a motorcycle tyre and duct tape.)

Problem solved!   In fact, Krista's feet got hot & sweaty in the plastic bags.

We quickly got back in the air; I continued on as pilot after giving Krista the choice to fly front or back seat.   Krista made a second decision: I gave her the choice of flying high in the cold, or staying low in the turbulence.    She made the decision to stay low, so we didn't go much over 1,000' above ground level.  I put the hammer down, flew the trike for speed, and took the bumps in stride.    Krista never complained about the bumps, I guess she had blind faith that the pilot knew what he was doing.    I got the speed up to 80 knots and made quick work of the final 158 miles.    Our route took us directly over a huge fire that produced thick smoke over I-75.   Smoke so thick that we heard that a big pile up of cars & trucks on the interstate made the national news.    We skirted the fires on the windward side so that we would not have to breath the fumes.

We arrived @ Cedar Key, well before sunset.   We had enough time to twice fly around the town so that Krista could get a good idea of what she was getting into.    There are no stoplights in town, and many of the stop signs have been removed so as not to impede the lack of traffic.

We couldn't believe the size of the float plane that was parked on the ramp.   The float plane must seat 10 or 12 passengers + pilot and co-pilot.    Turned out to be a Florida fish & wild life service plane.    As we shut down our engine, two people were sitting in a nice looking Bonanza next to where I planed to tie up.    Looked like they were getting ready to fire up and depart just prior to sunset.    However, when I looked at them a second time, I think that their mouths were hanging open as they looked at us.    Did we look strange??

We both called our respective spouse(s) to let them know we safely arrived.   I called Dale and Nancy, our friends who permanently live on Cedar Key, to come pick us up to take us to the condo.   By the time we reached Nature's Landing town homes, our diggs for the week, Dale kindly suggested that  we keep the car so that we would have wheels for the next few days.    When we took Dale home, we paid a short visit to Melinda who is now 94 years old.    You'd never know it unless you met her in person.

When we departed Melinda and Dale's house to return to the condo, we first stopped at the Island Hotel bar to sample the "Best hamburger in Florida".    They weren't kidding, it hit the spot and then some!    We topped off the dinner by sharing a piece of Key Lime Pie, the real stuff, not the green store bought imitation.   I think I had to fight Krista for a 15% portion, somehow, she seemed to enjoy the dessert after telling me that she wasn't all that partial to KLP.

We are back at the condo, ready to take showers and hit the bed.   I am tired.

Tomorrow morning, Jason, Krista's husband, will fly his Cirrus airplane down to Cedar Key Airport (in about 2 hours) to take Krista home.    Jason flew to Cedar Key with me a few years back, had his first ever soft shell crab sandwich at 'Annie's', and vowed to eat another soft shell before returning home with Krista.   Thankfully, we bumped into and started talking with the owner of Annie's while at dinner.   We mentioned that even though it was not soft shell season, Jason expected a soft shell crab, or he wouldn't fly down.    Hmmmm?    Does that mean that Jason would choose a soft crab over time with his wife?    I wonder about their relationship!

I called Maxine to give her the update, that Melinda was doing well, that dinner was great, and that I am beat & ready to hit the hay.

Warm regards,

JDW