Why I Fly, Part 2

I've been thinking for a little while about a second installment to Why I Fly and my mind was flooded with beautiful memories of endless coastlines, rolling hills, fields, shimmering lakes and incandescent sunsets from that very special vantage point that we pilots have the luxury and privilege to enjoy.
My lacking writing skills would only diminish the awesome beauty of those sights and since , as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, I will let a series of photographs do the talking. Enjoy the trip, which will take us from the Boston area to Maine and New Hampshire and back home in the most blazing sky I remember.

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Well, as you can see here, things can get pretty hectic at airports and while you are dying to get up there (While My Hobbs Gently Ticks) and enjoy the world from the air, you're stuck in traffic on the ground.

But once you lift off, your patience is greatly rewarded. This shot was taken during my second solo cross-country, which on August 25, 2004 took me from Bedford, MA to Portland ME, Portsmouth, NH and back home. Here I am alone at 5,500 with beautiful skies all along my route and a full day of fun ahead of me.



Passing KPSM, I take a minute to enjoy the beautiful view of the estuary flanking the town of Portsmouth, NH.

Following an uneventful landing in Portland, I head back South, abandoning radio navigation to skirt the coast of Maine.


These next shots were snapped on Nov. 20, 2004, the day of my very first cross-country with Jen to Laconia, NH (KLCI) for the proverbial $100 burger. Here we are on a long straight-in for Runway 8 at the beautiful little airport by Lake Winnipesaukee.


After lunch with fellow pilot blogger Scotty (Yellowbird), Jen and I launch off in the afternoon skies, which darkened considerably. The views, however, remained stunning. This is looking North over Lake Winnipesaukee.


And to the East...


A snow-capped Mount Washington to our North.


I'd like to say I took the next three pictures on our way home from Laconia, but instead we were greeted by rapidly dropping ceilings and visibility. No, the next shots I took while I went up alone one night the following week. No words can even come close to how beautiful the views are, so here they are. The images I have in my mind of that evening are a thousand times more beautiful. There's really nothing quite like a sunset seen from the sky.

This is exactly why I fly!