Leg #9 Cheyenne WA/Los Angeles CA

November 27, 2014

It was an easy departure from Cheyenne WY, in spite of snow and ice on the platform and runways. The a/c was nicely parked in an heated hanger so we had the luxury of making all preparations, including loading and strapping our luggage in this hangar. What luggage could one possibly think of for one night only? Well Sophie is usually carrying three bags for herself, but she has promised to reduce that number very soon.

Strong wind, 35 knots, during the T/O [take off] but under an angle of only 10 degrees to the runway and still cold. So we departed knowing that Maarten and Tarini Wagener would await us in a temperature of 24 degrees C. Our flight took after all 3,5 hours since we had to fight a headwind of 90 knots.

over the prairies of Wyoming

overflying Utah

Las Vegas, Nevada

I forgot to make a special mention of our new tracker. It works very good and is since Minneapolis under control and supervision of Sophie. She has found a somewhat better position for the tracker, I must admit.

Busy traffic at Van Nuys Airport, packed with Gulfstreams. We had to park within a cluster of brand new looking Gulfstreams (only G4 and G5), so we felt nearly ashamed stepping out of our FIAT PANDA.

LA, Van Nuys Airport KVNY

As a coïncidence we observed an a/c being packed in exactly the kind of cowling cover we discussed with Fabian Conne in the Pilatus factory.

According to Maarten Wagener who picked us up from the airport, we had been in the air for about 34 hours on this trip. We did not calculate it yet and am afraid that the Delorme map of us does not give such information, contrary to the previous one. (Perhaps time for improvement Professor Köhne?).

After an Italian lunch, where I was the only one drinking a glass of Champagne mixed with orange juice, under the pretext it would help me getting better sooner) Maarten drove us first to Malibu Beach. Some of you my have concluded right away that Sophie could not be stopped to enter the water (pootje baden, in Dutch). Correct.

two friends at the Malibu Beach

Thereafter to Santa Monica in the hope to meet some movie stars, but they all must have on holiday outside of California.

Santa Monica

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Then we hurried home to get an hour rest at the hotel before we would proceed to the dinner Maarten en Tarini had offered us at their home, but due to some traffic only 20 minutes were left before Maarten would pick us up again. I did my Opa-slaapje and that 12 minutes sleep did wonders so I was ready to go after a shower and felt much better, but not Sophie. She needed a bit more time to recover.

Once at their house we had a very pleasant time indeed with them (gewoon gezellig Tarini!) and their childern Ishan and Anjali who had to stay up very long to await us. Anjali was dressed like a princess. Same dress Elisa, Margherita’s grand daughter was wearing when we visited Tony and Milena a couple of years ago. Similar type, same colour. Ishan may now want to become a pilot himself. Sorry for you Maarten and Tarini. Life takes it’s course.

Maarten en Tarini