Salmon for breakfast, haddock for supper and a hard day’s work in the hay fields in between. Actually, it wasn’t that hard. Martin and his friend, Haldor, began work at 10AM. I joined them around 10:30AM and raked the grass down the hill to the road. That way it would be easier to load onto the truck. After a couple of loads, the men took me to another field in back of the village and I was to turn the grass to allow it to dry a bit more. I’m guessing that batch of hay will be collected next week, even though it might be raining all week. I worked hard until about 1:30PM.

I went to Alis’s house around 3:30PM and she told me Martin had called her to say I was working too hard and I needed to rest. Haha! Meanwhile, Martin, who aches all over (probably with fibromyalgia) and is 74 years old, didn’t stop working until about 6:30PM. Haldor and he came in for supper and announced that the hay filled the drying building. I have no idea how they will fit the hay from the two other fields into that drying shed, but my guess is they know what they are doing. Alis just shakes her head and says, “He’s crazy!” They have 28 sheep and she sometimes wishes they had 0!

Tonight I plan to call Scott on the sat phone after I try to watch (and understand) the news. It sickens me to see what is happening in Afghanistan. I heard today is the last day the Taliban will allow people to leave. September 1st (tomorrow) they take over. Twenty years of war and American blood and treasure down the drain because of a weak and stupid president. Christians in that country and those who helped America during the war will probably be slaughtered. Joe Biden and those who support that incompetent fool have blood on their hands. Lot and lots of blood. Time to turn off the news. Hetta er doilet ikka! (That is not nice!)

Last night, after evening service at Funningur’s old school house (which has become the community center), I headed to Sasi’s to spend the night and help her prepare for Gudmar’s 10th birthday party. Alis spoke at the service–topic was how Christ can take our burdens and one day (Perhaps Today!) He will return and all our sorrows will be gone. We sang hymns and had “bread” afterwards–bread, jam, dessert, tea & coffee (kaffe). There were about 10 of us who enjoyed lovely fellowship.

At Sasi’s, I was able to help clean a bit and run her tomato soup in the blender to get it smooth. Later she added macaroni and meatballs. It was delicious!

I slept well and when I awoke, Sasi was just returning (at 10AM) from her substitute teaching job. We had brunch (bread, brie, smoked salmon, sausage and coffee). Then the final prep began. She had already set the table with a “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme. Alis made four cakes, Sasi made a cake and her in-laws made cakes. Lots of sugar–and such yummy cakes (mostly meringue based). My soup lentil soup was not a hit, but some tried it and were polite. Family and friends began to trickle in around 4PM. Gudmar hoped to buy an iPad, so mostly people brought cards & money. He had one friend, Bjetni, come to his party. In the Faroes, the birthdays ending with “0” are the big ones and celebrated with great fanfare. That’s why Gudmar’s 10th birthday was BIG!

I was pooped early in the evening and headed home around 7:30PM. I went to bed early, with plans for tomorrow to help Martin rake the hay he’d been cutting over the past few days.

August 29, 2021

Today is Sunday and I look forward to going to the 11 a.m. service in the small, sod-roof church down by the Funningur harbor.  Last night I was with Alis at a Christian Bible Conference, hosted at the denominational headquarters.  The speaker talked about how God leads us–Hvussu lei∂ur Gud?  Although I understood only 5% (maybe!), it was good to be with brothers & sisters in Christ.  The most amazing thing to me is that God understands Faroese–a challenging language with roots in old Norse, what the Vikings spoke!  I bought a children’s Bible storybook, hoping it will help me learn a little bit more of the language, especially when I have Alis record each of the stories and I can practice the pronunciation. At least, that’s the plan.

Mary went home on Friday and I miss her company.  But being alone gives me such a neat feeling of “total immersion” in this culture and certainly doesn’t stop me from exploring a bit. My first little hike was near Elduvík, across the fjord from Funningur.  In fact, I could see my house from the trailhead, just outside of the village.

The trail began at a gate, through sheep pastures and then to the edge of the cliff.  That’s where I stopped, because with my bifocals, I’m not too sure of my footing and the rocks below looked hard!  Three young Danish girls came up the trail and we chatted for a bit.  Their English was perfect. They have been studying sailing aboard a school ship (The Danmark) for the past year and, believe it of not, English is the official language spoken on the ship.  Wow!  I was impressed, especially when they told me they can go on to be ship captains someday with the degree and training they are getting–at such a young age!  These were beautiful young ladies who were very comfortable hiking the edge of the cliff!

After the hike, I returned to Funningur for supper and time with my friend, Alis.  Then back to a quiet house just down the street–wondering what was in store the next day. The light dinner in the evening or late afternoon is call “bread.” It often consists of a delicious and heavy bread, fish sausage, sliced lamb, dried fish (like jerky), smoked salmon, cooked vegetables/potatoes and butter.

I found one thing to be so strange in the Faroes.  Salmon farming is one of the major industries here, but to find fresh salmon to bake is not easy at all.  That was my mission, so I headed to Leirvik, home of the NordFra fishing industry.  Of course, they were closed on the weekend, but I manage to find two small packages of “bakkafrost” in the freezer at the Effo station.  I had found my salmon and they were almost $10 each!  But I snatched them up and will have that for dinner tonight.  Sasi and Alis and family turn their noses up at anything but the traditional thin-sliced, smoked salmon (lox).  I’m hoping they will taste mine and like it, but I’m not holding my breath.  More for me, if they don’t like it.  And, by the way, it’s the best salmon I have ever tasted–fresh from the fjordal fish farms you see everywhere in this country.  Lip-smacking and finger-licking good!

August 26, 2021

I heard a rooster this morning saying, “Coo, coo-doo.”  So even in the Faroes, the animals speak another language.  The rooster and his hens seem happy in the morning mist, which is even thicker than yesterday.  Ah, yes–what a great day it was yesterday!

Sasi texted in the morning and said to come for morning coffee and that she would join us on the boat ride to Mykines (“mitch-in-ess”) island.  Mary and I had planned on taking the ferry there and back to do a little birdwatching. But on the way to the boat in Sørvágur, we got an e-mail announcing the trip was canceled.  That’s a pretty common occurrence, I guess.  If the winds are from the south and west, the boat can’t dock.  Sometimes people are stuck on the island for a week.  So we changed plans at the last minute, at Sasi’s suggestion, and went on the Vestmanna boat tour, which turned out to be fabulous.

FIrst we headed to Gásadalur and the Múlafossur waterfall.  It was spectacular and the sun popped out just in time to take some great photos.  

By the time we got to Vestmanna, the boat was ready to depart.  We were the last ones on board!  The seas were not bad to start, but then they got roiling as we went further up the coast and into the North Sea.  Our boat captain, Jacob, was either insane or amazingly skilled as he repeatedly took us close to the cliff walls and into the coves where the rock stacks were covered with bird droppings but not many birds.  Most of them had already left for the year.

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Later in the tour, as we were heading back, we saw a couple of puffins in the water.  It really was a fun trip.  Then Sasi took the steering wheel of our little red KIA and got us back to her home in Nordskali in record time.  The posted speed limit is 80km (50mph) on the highways and I guarantee we were going about 90.  Then I finished the drive back to Funningur with about 30 minutes to spare before our dinner the Højsteds.  Lamb dinner!  Delicious!  Mary and I brought dessert that we had picked up in Torshavn at a little grocery/bakery on Nielsgata–a rolled Danish almond cake.

Our time in Torshavn was spent walking the streets, going to SMS shopping center and eating $40 fish soup at Barbara restaurant in the Tingenes area.  Our main purpose for being in the capital city was to get our Day 4 Covid test.  We thought it would be at the hospital, but they told us it was down where the cruise ships dock.  We raced there, getting a little lost by the harbor, but we finally found it and got our car in line with all the others.  

The tester swabbed the back of the throat on both sides–no nasal swab!  Within 24 hours, we both got our NEGATIVE.  We were “positive we were negative,” but now we had proof!  And now Mary can use it to fly home on Friday.  I’ll have to do it one more time before I head back to the USA in a couple of weeks.

It’s been a busy couple of days–boat rides, Covid tests, and cruising the streets of Torshavn.  Now it’s time to relax.  The morning fog has lifted a bit.  Mary and I are knitting in the living room, taking it easy today–her last in the Faroes.  I think we will go one more time to Navia to search for a sweater and a fleece.  After Alis gets home, she will take us on a walking tour of town and the sod covered church, with its hand carved wooden interior.  And that will end another busy day in the North Atlantic.

August 23, 2021

Sunday was my day to sleep in.  With my eye mask on, I didn’t wake up until 9:30!  And, honestly, I could have slept longer!  Maybe it was the travel catching up to me.  Or maybe being in the Faroes just does that to you.  The air is fresh and cool, the clouds are low and damp.  In the night, I heard some thunder and the wind rattled the windows, but this morning was calm.  I came downstairs and found Mary sleeping on the comfy leather couch, so I didn’t feel so bad.  I tiptoed around, made coffee, looked out the window at the tranquil little village and waited for my sweet friend to wake up.

It was around noon before we were finished with that last cup of coffee (Karat by Douwe Egbert) and the slices of dense whole wheat bread and butter we had for breakfast.  Then off we went to Gjógv (“the cleft”–pronounced Jack-f ). It’s one of the best natural harbors in the Faroes.  We drove up and over the mountain to the north, around the highest mountain in the country Slættaratindur,  then down the hairpin turns to the coast.  My stick shift driving improved quickly on these steep and narrow roads.  Oops, watch out for that sheep.  Woah, pull over so the oncoming car can pass!  Aargh, downshift so the little four-banger Kia Rio can climb.  

Once in Gjógv, we saw a tour bus just ahead of us that off-loaded a whole bunch of Germans in red jackets, indicating they were on one of the Seaventure Tours originating in Iceland.  (Someday I would love to do that tour!)  One of the gentlemen pointed out the tiny puffins that were flying out of the cliff caves.  They flap their wings quickly, like a bat, so they were easily distinguished from the other sea birds.

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After that, we headed to Elduvík , hidden on the other side of Funningsfjørður.  Only 15 people live there, as opposed to the 40 who live in Funningur, our little village.  On the way, we met a tour guide who tol us that his grandmother had live in Elduvík and that the townspeople called villagers called the inhabitants of Funningur “The evil people.”  Sounds like good old-fashioned village rivalry to me.  My friend Alis (born and raised in Funningur) didn’t seem as amused as we were by the label.  She told us that in the “old days,” men from Funningur would row their boats to to Elduvík and bring some of the girls back with them.  So jealousy must be at the root of the rivalry.  Whatever!  Those kinds of stories add to the charm of this place.  Other than a pushy German shop owner who menacingly told us, “Now it’s your turn,” suggesting we buy one of his lovely boiled wool coats made with local wool and support the local farmers, we liked this small town.  The Legend of the Merman began here and the statue in the harbor proved its importance to the community.

Mary hadn’t really eaten breakfast, so at 3 p.m. we found ourselves at a pizza parlor in Nordskáli.  I used the ATM to get 3000 DKK to pay our rent, while Mary ordered pizza. We headed back “heim” and devoured it before plopping into the soft leather chairs in the living room to knit and watch KFV-TV–the public channel.  We watched a program about the birds on Mykines (pronounce “Mitch-in-ess”)–brutal!  Bigger seagulls eat little birds that fall out of the nest or they find a nest and dig in to the eggs.  Nature is fascinating . . . and cruel.  After that, there was a program (in English!) about how the Faroese people worked together to battle Covid in 2020.  It really showed what a resilient and lovely people live here.

Alis stopped by for tea around 8:30 p.m.  She announced that there had been no “positives” for Covid last Friday at the Vágar (pronounced “Vo-wahr”) airport, which meant we tested negative.  Woo-hoo!  We toasted our licorice tea, which Alis loved, and then bid farewell at 9:30 p.m.  She looked miserable as she told us she wasn’t looking forward to school on Monday.  I guess there are some nasty pupils everywhere in the world–even in idyllic Faroe Islands.  Poor dear!  But we invited her back for soup the next evening so she could vent about her day.

Thus ended Day 2.  I took a lukewarm shower in the small basement bathroom and headed to bed around 10:30 p.m.  What a *nice, cool & damp yet magnificent day!  As we say in Faroese: Deiligt! (pronounced Doy-lit!)

August 21, 2021

I awoke early, not knowing the time but ready to greet the day.  With the bedroom curtain pulled back, I got my first glimpse of Funningsfjørður from the upstairs bedroom window.  There were low clouds, green grassy fields, treeless, craggy mountains, and corrugated metal rooftops–green and red and black–all surrounding the dark water of the fjord.  So beautiful!  But what time was it?  Probably 8 or 8:30 a.m.

I tiptoed to the bathroom with a low, sloped ceiling and a small window in the roof.  I did my morning routine and took my vitamins to ward off Covid, you know!  Then I went down the 10 steep and narrow stairs to the main floor.  I soon mastered the technique of stepping down the first two steps while turning around, then continuing backwards down those stairs.  That way I could use the steps to steady myself–they were steep!  I wonder if Grandma Højsted did something like this when she lived here.  It was her house, until she passed away a few years ago.

Time to make the Karat coffee.  I glanced at the wall clock in the kitchen.  6:30 a.m. Seriously?  Oh, well.  It gave me extra time to praise and thank my Heavenly Father for his love, care, and travel protection on our three different flights and 45 minute drive to get to Funningur, Faroe Islands.  I also thanked him for giving me the desire of my heart–extended time in this unique corner of the world. Here I was, sitting in a cozy house in the cutest little Faroese town of 40 people.  The last time I was in the Faroe Islands (in 2018), I had mentioned to my friend, Alis, that my dream would be to live in this village for a month to get the “feel of the Faroes.”  Low and behold, her sister-in-law owns the family home now (this house!) and uses it for a couple of months each year as a summer cottage.  It was available after August 20–so here I am!

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Mary and I left our husbands back in Michigan while we ventured abroad, a bit stressed and unsure about international travel during Covid.  We had to get a PCR test within 72 hours of boarding the international flight, another upon arrival in Vágar airport, and a final one four days after that.  During those four days, we were to quarantine.  We could walk outside or drive around in our rental car but needed to avoid being around people.  Once you test negative on Day 4–you are free and life is perfectly normal. Unlike in the USA, there are no masks, no fearful looks, no “social distancing,” no ruined businesses in the Faroes. And their case numbers are almost zero!

So this is Day 1.  I’m now wide awake. Alis will come by around 1 p.m. and walk with us through the village, being careful to keep her 2 meter distance, of course, for three more days.  She will show us where she grew up, where her grandparents lived, where she goes to church down by the harbor.  But first, I sip my coffee and count my blessings.  So begins my three-week getaway to this jewel in the North Atlantic.  Alis calls it “the land of maybe,” because of the changeableness of the weather around here (calm, windy, rainy, sunny, cool, misty, cold).  I just call it “breathtaking.”  

It’s official–today is the last day of summer!  Where did the season go and what in the world has happened to me?  As Yoda might say–Serious blogger I am not.  But this may be the time to jump back in with a re-cap of the whirlwind adventure called MY LIFE–Summer 2021.  So . . . hang on!

Back in April, when my hubby and I returned from Florida and just after Easter, I ordered our e-bikes from Electric Bike Company.  I knew they would be here in time for my 60th birthday in May and that was the way I wanted to celebrate the momentous occasion–old lady on pedal assisted bike!  Can I just say–Best. Purchase. Ever!  We are enjoying rides and have put on many miles (like 389 so far!)  and many hours of bike riding this summer.  We can zip along at 25+ mph and still get exercise with the hard and fast pedaling.  Okay, I confess.  There are times I just use the throttle and catch my breath going uphill.  Scott is a speed demon and I can’t always keep up, but it’s such fun to ride into town together for a cup of coffee and sometimes a treat from the bakery.  I bought handwoven baskets from a Portuguese artist on Etsy.  She custom made them because of the extra width needed over the battery.

In June, we loaded up the car (and airplane) with nephews and headed to Kentucky!  I drove–he flew in 1/4 the time.  Destination Creation Museum  and Ark Encounter.  It was our third time at the museum and we are never disappointed.  But this time we wanted to share the awesome experience with family.  From the entrance, where the colorful displays discuss dragon legends as evidence of man and dinos interacting, to the educational movies on creation, to the 7 C’s of History (Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, Consummation) this place is definitely worth visiting . . . again!  We always learn something, see new exhibits and get our questions answered by Ken Ham and the Answers in Genesis folks.  

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July brought us back to the World’s Busiest Airport–Oshkosh–and AirVenture.  It was great to get back to normal with our 11th year volunteering in departure briefing/forums and seeing our once-a-year friends.  The airshows were as thrilling as always and, other than a midnight tornado touchdown a few miles from the event, the weather was perfect! Our young nephew, Isaiah, has joined us for the past couple of years as a volunteer and loves working beside his Uncle Scott in pre-show maintenance and with his Aunt Pam as a “forums host.”  

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Friends from Nebraska visited in August and it was great fun showing them the area and just being together.  Some highlights–sitting on the deck in the warm morning sunshine, sipping coffee and planning our day, going on the Pictured Rocks Boat Tour, reminiscing about bierocks and feed yards filled with beef cattle and Kansas, where we first met.  What a story that is!  And what a blessing they were to two discouraged pilots who were grounded by five days of freezing fog awhile back.  It was so fun to reconnect with this brother and sister in Christ!

Shortly after their visit, Scott had successful gall bladder surgery and I headed off to the Faroe Islands while he stayed home to recover.  Yes, I did feel a little guilty at not being the doting wife to my husband during his recovery, but the trip had been planned since May and he was just going to rest for a few weeks anyway.  All was well and we stayed in regular contact via phone calls on my satellite phone or FaceTime calls on my cell.  A dear friend came along for one week and I stayed for three weeks.  Let me just say–I wish I were still there!

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It was a dream come true!  I had wanted to experience what it would be like to live in that lovely little country of 18 little islands (17 are inhabited).  I have good friends there and so I was able to rent a small house in the village of Funningur, rent a car (manual transmission), attend church (most are Lutheran), a birthday party, a fellowship meal and program, and share some meals with “vinur mín” Alis and Martin, Sasi, Magni, and Gudmar.  I consider them my Faroese family and enjoyed seeing them in person after three years of “virtual visits” via Messenger video calls.  

For further, more in-depth details of my time in the Faroes, I will blog over the next couple of weeks–sharing my journal entries during that wonderful trip.  Suffice it to say, my time there was beautiful, peaceful, restful, sweet, fun, and so memorable.  

Oh my! The food I ate–pilot whale meat, Fulmar bird (seagull), cod, fish balls, smoked salmon–was a deliciously novel culinary experience.  It was hard to leave and return to the USA on September 10th.  If my husband had been there with me, we just might still be there!  There was freedom (no masks, no social distancing, no fearful looks, no condemnation between vaxxed and unvaxxed) and yet there was common sense in dealing with Covid.  They test all who enter into the country and then again four days later. (Tonsil swab not sinuses) The 30-minute documentary Together in Isolation explains well what they did as a country to fight Covid.  Such a sensible response and now they live their lives freely and without stress! 

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And now I’m back–yes, back in the UP, back to my routine, back to blogging. Summer has gone too quickly. I’m starting to take my plants off the deck now and think of fall activities and chores to prep for winter. It makes me a bit melancholy. But then I remember my blessings and am so thankful as I recount what the summer of 2021 has brought. It’s been good!

Easter preparation has been so enjoyable this year! Our traditional lamb kebabs and couscous for dinner last night and planning for Easter brunch with friends at The Four Seasons Club in Pembine certainly satisfies my tummy!

But mostly this year’s preparation has really satisfied my soul. Celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ should probably be done every day of the year, but setting aside just one Holy Week (from Palm Sunday to Resurrection Sunday) makes this limited season even more precious. My guess as to why this year has been so special is because last year, Easter was co-mingled with the confusion and anxiety of the beginning of the pandemic. Someday, I’ll share my travel journal of our racing to get home from Arizona–when all our flights were cancelled and we had to drive the rental car home. It was certainly an unusual Easter 2020 and this year seems so much sweeter in comparison.

I remember growing up in Bemidji, Minnesota and attending Calvary Lutheran Church. As a teenager, I went through confirmation classes in that church with my beloved Pastor Luther Abrahamson. The season of Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, is a 40-day period that builds with a crescendo to the glorious Easter morning. My little Grace Baptist Church (like many evangelical churches) does not celebrate Lent or Holy Week, but this year, I have enjoyed some daily Lenten readings in An Ocean of Grace and attended Good Friday service at the small WELS Lutheran church with my dear friend, Jaime. It was mostly chanted and sung, with the candles being extinguished one by one during moments of meditation. The final candle left the sanctuary dark as we slowly left in silence. Beautiful . . . and moving. Oh, I’m very happy at my church (most mainline Lutheran churches have become far too liberal over the years and focus on the “social gospel”), but I do miss the intense focus on the passion of Christ in the days leading up to THE most important day in history!

About 10 days ago, my pastor called to see if I could do some special music for Easter service. Oh my! Such short notice and I hadn’t even thought about it. The days of our Grace Trio seem to be over, so that wasn’t an option. I thought about asking a friend to sing “Were You There,” but I didn’t have the energy to work up a duet and arrange practice times in such a short period of time–and I am getting lazy in my old age. I am certainly not a soloist (I’d much rather sing with a small group), but I believe God gave me the idea to take the song “Oh, Glorious Day” and simply read the words. That, I can do! Since the chorus has another voice on the accompaniment track, I feel okay to sing the chorus. The song is an old hymn with a jubilant tune, but the group Casting Crowns re-worked it a bit and that’s the version I will be using on Easter morning.

I’ve been practicing the timing and the singing all week. It’s amazing how just reading the words (rather than singing them) make it more meaningful for me, so I’m really thankful to be able to share it at Easter service. My sweet friend, Mari Lynn, will be reading poetry and my cousin, Laurie, will be singing a solo. I’m guessing this is going to be a beautiful celebration on Resurrection Sunday–all glory to God! And I wish all my friends and family Happy Easter (Joyeuses Pâques)–Oh, Glorious Day!

Winter in the U.P. has been pretty mild, so we just can’t complain! However, Scott and I had already planned to “jet off” somewhere warm for a couple of weeks and Florida seemed like the perfect place this year. We could return to Sebring after four years, then head over to the Gulf to see my mom and step-dad, and enjoy some nice walks in the sunshine. Early on Saturday, February 20th, we plotted our course (with fuel stops in Indiana, and Georgia), packed up the plane with a few changes of clothing, our camera, hats, sunglasses and sunscreen, and left the 5º icy cold behind.

Total flying time was 7.5 hours before we landed for the night just east of Gainesville, FL to rest and make plans for where to stay. I’m normally a “planner” and this fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants stuff makes me uncomfortable, but I figured I’d do it Scott’s way this time. He likes a bit of adventure, I suppose! He contacted the FBO at Keystone Heights, FL when we had landed for gas in Georgia. We found out they had a courtesy car for us, but all the hotels in the tiny town were full. Fortunately, there was a hotel in a neighboring village and that’s where our first night was spent. It was in that little hotel that I searched VRBO for a rental house (no hotels available again!) in Sebring and found a duplex on Magnolia Boulevard for the next 8 days. Lucky us!

The next morning, off we went, flying around restricted areas and below designated airspace before finally landing in Avon Park (KAVO). Wild Thing would be hangared there for the duration. And, luckily, the lady we were renting from was able to give us a ride to our rental, since Enterprise wasn’t open until Monday morning. Ugh–have I mentioned last minute planning is not my comfort zone?

We kept ourselves busy by taking walks in various nature preserves in the cool of the morning. Some of our favorite trails were Curvy Run, Picnic Loop, and Gator Loop. But the one we enjoyed most was just walking down the maintenance road to our secret pond where we would sit on a bench and try to spot an alligator. No luck. We did see lots of Florida birds, though. Egrets, storks, herons, moorhens, cranes and (yes) snakes & gators were some of the wildlife we saw on our walks.

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After our week in Sebring, we headed to Ruskin for three days–the main purpose was to visit my folks and to see that they were happy and healthy. Indeed they were and it was such a joy to spend several hours each day together, eating strawberries at Gibson’s farm, hanging together in their lovely apartment, and then sitting on our balcony looking out over the Gulf. It was such a blessing to know all is well and that they still consider their living complex “a cruise ship that never leaves the port.” Nice!

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Prior to leaving Sebring to visit the folks, we had stumbled upon Harder Hall Resort. Since we were unable to return to our duplex rental, we needed to hunt for some other place. The Lord provided . . . and it was amazing! We felt super blessed to have our last 10 days in the Sunshine State be in this little condo. Actually, it’s a timeshare, but I think because of the Covid pandemic (hmmmm, is it still called that???), the Canadians who owned them were not able to use them. So, voilà! We were able to enjoy this peaceful place on Little Jackson Lake. There was shuffleboard, a pool, boats and bicycles for us to use. And the lanai was a great place to sit and have our morning coffee. I guess if I had insisted on planning ahead for this trip, we would have missed out on this place. Okay, Scott’s way of doing things has its advantages!

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“If you have time to spare, go by air.” That’s a saying all GA pilots have and that was sort of in the back of our minds. We were hoping to get home before the weather turned nasty in the middle of the country–we were watching closely and making our plan to either stay a few more days (or weeks!) in Sebring or to start heading north. Saturday, March 13th, looked like there was an opening so we made arrangements with our rentals (car, hangar, condo) to end things on that day. Just as the sun was rising, we took off and flew a different route north and a bit east to avoid rain over Kentucky and Tennessee. With a bit of a headwind, we flew into South Carolina, then North Carolina before we thought it would be okay to head over the Great Smoky Mountains.

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Well, all I can say is that God heard the prayers of those who were praying for us to travel safely back home. As we entered the foothills of the mountains, the weather began deteriorating and the clouds got lower. And then there was nothing but clouds all around. Scott is an excellent pilot and we had our glass screen with topographical details, but I never ever want to do that again. The peaks were somewhere ahead of us at over 6,400 feet. At 4,500 we just kept climbing into the clouds. Then we were at 6,000 feet, 6,500 feet, 7,000 feet, 7,500 feet. It was getting brighter and the clouds were getting thinner. Suddenly, at 9,000 feet, we popped above the clouds. Whew! An experience I never care to repeat! I’m such a fair-weather flyer. Nothin’ but blue skies from now on, as the song goes!

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Our instruments did not fail us and when we had flown 2.5 hours, we landed for fuel in Indiana in the sunshine. Next stop for fuel would be in Wisconsin and then onward to Iron Mountain, where winds were 17 gusting 30 but it was straight down the runway. Scott had a fine landing at 4 p.m. and we were glad to be “safe and sound and on the ground” back home! Our winter escape to Florida was history and we count our blessings to have been there and back in once piece and a slight tan to prove it!

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