We woke up to freezing rain in NY this morning. I’m glad I planned ahead and had them put our plane in the warm, dry hanger last night. We delayed our departure a few couple hours to let the temperatures warm up a bit. So, we took off at 11:30am into a light (but not freezing) rain and soon headed Southwest toward our fuel stop in Fayetteville, NC. I’m also glad we took on a little extra fuel in NY, because we were fighting a 60 – 65 knot headwind all the way. The first flight took almost 4 hours.
Once on the ground in Fayetteville, we refuled and picked up some sandwiches for dinner. I performed my least favorite duty as captain (cleaning out the potty) while the kids ran around and got some exercise. Soon, we were in the air again. This time, I asked for a lower cruising altitude and we only had to deal with a 40 knot headwind. The weather continued to improve as we headed South and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset while eating dinner.
Justin was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat and I noticed him looking out the window a few times and checking the traffic screen. I finally figured out, he was looking for Santa’s Sleigh. There wasn’t much air traffic and the controller seemed pretty easy going, so I called in, told him my 6 year-old co-pilot and I were wondering if he had been tracking Santa and if he had visited Florida yet. Justin listened intently as controller replied that Santa was just getting started. He was still in Canada and was scheduled to be in Florida later this evening –perfect! Justin was very excited; it was a very special moment to see the magic of Christmas through his eyes.
Most of the time, I really enjoy flying and long trips don’t bother me. This evening though, I was starting to feel queasy and couldn’t wait to get on the ground. We finally landed in Tampa about 8:15pm. Michele stepped out and immediately vomited all over the tarmac. Everyone wanted to use the restroom, but the terminal was closed. I was feeling sick to my stomach as well, but Roland & I managed to get everything unloaded and locked up.
On the way home, Brandon said he had to go potty (#2) right away, so I pulled into the 7-11. Then, he vomited as soon as he got out of the car. Oh man, this was not shaping up to be a good night. We finally made it home and got the kids to bed so Santa would arrive. Then, it was my turn to be sick. Wow, I haven’t been sick like that in a LONG time. I was up all night getting sick every 30 – 60 minutes –I couldn’t even keep water down. No matter the position, I could not get comfortable, so sleep was almost impossible. Michele and Brandon had equally tough times.
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