One Tuesday Afternoon...
What a day Tuesday was! I left work early to get in an afternoon of flying.
In our area, we have two golf courses with runways on them, so I thought I'd
make the 26 mile trip and hit a bucket of balls at the driving range. When I
arrived at the airport, I found that I was not the only one that couldn't
resist the temptation. As I lifted off into the clear blue sky, I set my
loran for waypoint 28, "The Bourne" golfcourse. The Bourne is one of the best
kept secrets in our area, it's an 18 hole golf course on the Illinois river
with rolling hills, woods, creeks and a runway - heck, it's one step short of
the Garden of Eden! A few nights a week they have a special, dinner plus 9
holes with a cart for 20 bucks. To make it even better, it's enough out of the
way that I've never seen it crowded. Well, as I make my way west, I decide to
do some barnstorming and I drop down to about 30 feet AGL. As I pass over the
rolling green countryside, I remember the voice of my brother scoffing at me
for living in Illinois (he lives in San Diego). I begin to think back on
life in Southern California (I lived there for a year) and come to the
conclusion that a day like today in Illinois is worth a hundred days in the
desert! My loran tells me that I'm right on course, my destination is about 3
nautical miles ahead. I begin to feel a little like a cruise missile as I pass
over the countryside at treetop level, not being able to see my destination -
but knowing that it must be somewhere over the next treeline. Sure enough,
just as my loran starts flashing, I've got the "Bourne" in sight - and what a
sight it is! What a day! What a country!
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