Our September Fly-In to Paso Robles was rescheduled for Sun Sept 23rd and it just so happened to be two of our members birthdays – Connie & Emily!!  What a wonderful way to celebrate a birthday with a beautiful lunch in wine country.

September weather in Santa Monica is always a bit tricky with a morning marine layer that only sometimes burns off. We met at the observation deck at 9:30am to a blanket of clouds. South and East of the airport looked promising, so we waited to see if it would scatter. By 10:30am it wasn’t much better and not enough breaking up to sneak through on Visual Flight Rules.  So, we called it – Kate made a no-go decision and Janie would depart IFR. We were determined to get at least one plane in the air!

Miraculously, 15 minutes later the field cleared and big blue skies appeared! So, Kate jumped in the Cheorkee and attempted (impossibly) to catch up to Janie’s Mooney. We only heard each other for a couple quick calls while on LA Center’s frequency.

 

 

 

Once in Paso Robles, LA Chapter Member and Paso-resident, Sarah, picked us up in her big car (a pilot!) and drove us downtown for lunch at Fish Gaucho. She headed back to pick up late-comer Kate while the rest ordered appetizers. Lunch was delicious and we were happy to avoid another greasy spoon airport cafe.

Back to the airport and after a quick preflight, we were off! This time, Emily kept Kate company in the slower plane back to Santa Monica.

Extra special thanks to Sarah, our local host in Paso Robles for her many trips to the airport and showing us her favorite eatery. We can’t wait for our next one, when we will have to plan an overnight to enjoy some of the local wine!