Day 4, Final leg of the AirRace

(Enroute RAC to AIO, Time 1250Z, South of DBQ at 2400ft)
It is sad but sweet to have taken off on our last leg of this AirRace. It is an absolutely beautiful day for flying (it is Flyday, after all). Again we had a short night, made worse by kids running up and down the hotel hallway. We did have to get up at 4am again! The picture at right shows the storm approaching our destination. We want to get in before this, obviously.

I didn't go to dinner last night so I could finish the post before I went to bed. So I missed out on visiting with our "mama birds:" those women who have flown the AirRace assigned to the newbie pilots like us. We haven't been in contact much with them, being separated by the differing speeds of the a. The organizers have done such a great job getting everything ready and conveying the information that things have been pretty clear: where to go, where to sign in, who to talk to, where to stay, etc.

We will be in Atlantic, IA, just after 9am, well before the finish deadline of 5pm. We don't have any plans until the Reception tonight at 6pm. Saturday we have a brief at 8am followed by aircraft inspections and score sheet distribution. There's a 2pm visit by some Girl Scouts and another dinner at 6:30. THEN a breakfast Sunday morning and another debriefing. The day is free until the evening banquet and Awards ceremony.

Heather and I will be staying with a host family while in Iowa for these last few days. They are even letting us use their car! I'll be driving, since I'm more accustomed to driving on the "right" side of the road than Heather. Hopefully they will not mind us taking some time to rest because I can certainly use a nap. We can/will leave on Monday. I'm not exactly sure how I'm getting back yet. I dread another repeat of the trip down here when I was stuck in Atlanta all day. Should be a bit easier getting back to Cleveland from Iowa!

(Time 1345Z, North of DES at 2400ft) Only 53nm and 20 minutes short of our destination. I asked Heather if she wanted to go around again, she said she would if this time I raised the funds for the airplane! With a little notice, I'd like to think I could!

We have arrived in Atlantic, IA, and have already had the excitement of getting stuck in the mud. We have met up with our host family for the next few days, so it's time to go grab the car, our gear and take a snooze!