This morning we took off early from Johnstown field at Smithfield NC under clear skies with light wind. We knew that it would not last long and we wanted to get as far as we could before the forecast thunderstorms arrived.
We were flying only a few minutes before we were faced with the first lightly scattered cumulus at 2000 feet. We climbed up over them to take advantage of the lower temperatures at altitude as well as the smoother air. Soon the scattered clouds turned to a broken layer, and the tops rose to as much as 3500, and in some places the clouds completely covered our view of the ground.
In a flight of just two hours we could watch the clouds build from nothing at all to the beginnings of a thunderstorm front. I surely wanted to be on the ground before these things turned nasty.
Our target for today was still Greenville NC, the same as we intended for yesterday when we were stopped by impenetrable haze. I thought that my good friends in Greenville were going out of town today and that I had missed them when we aborted our trip yesterday. Fortunately, I got the message wrong, they would still be in Greenville today, but were leaving tomorrow. If I didn't see them today, it would possibly be years before we visited again.
Fifty miles from our destination, we had to divert to a closer alternate because Art was short on fuel. His new engine was consuming (unpredictably) more gas than the previous one. The nearest airport with fuel turned out to be Union City, NC which has the tragic distinction of being the home of Susan Smith who chose a most heinous and illegal alternative to child care.
Quickly back in the air, we completed the short hop to Greenville with rapidly building cumulus threatening us closely on both sides, but the path to Greenville remained amazingly clear. It was clear that the forces were with us today.
Arriving somewhat after noon, we had plenty of time to kill before I was to meet up with my good friends from high school Rick and Chris Feeny. Art got a long-overdue haircut, we found a drop-off laundry, we arranged to have our biplanes washed (the first time since we left California over 6 weeks ago), and we even took in a movie. I don't want to ruin the movie for you but I strongly suggest seeing "Independence Day". I particularly liked it because it features a biplane and because it was the biplane pilot who saved mankind and the entire universe. You will also see a prime example of the "swagger" which pilots have perfected and which I mentioned in a previous email.
The evening was filled with recounting the memories of close friendships which have spanned the last forty years. We dined and drank well and shared updates on the triumphs of our children and our plans for the future. A highlight of the evening was shooting some pool at Rick and Chris' home, on the table that I sold to them when I moved from Winnetka IL to California, almost 20 years ago. Rick and I have both spend many hours playing pool on that table and it was great fun to be there again.
We'll meet again for breakfast, and I'll take off into the west, and our lives will quickly revert to their previous pace and content, and we will probably not see each other again for a long time. But, as always, the minute we get back together we will be as though we had never been apart. True friends.