23Sep09 -- Clearfield, PAKen: Back on the road. Since the object of the next phase is to get to New England quickly, we decided not to try to meet along the way. Each of us would get to Maine as best we could. With the weather patterns, it wasn't a given that I'd get there before Nikki. We folded up the TrailManor, and headed for the post office. Traffic wouldn't let Nikki slide into the right lane, so I checked and our trailer lights were out on the right side. Took some time and phone calls to find someone to work on it. Corrosion on lamp and socket. Nikki dropped me at the airport and headed for the highway. I've had most of the maps needed so far, but no Montreal Sectionals to be had here. Within an hour I was able to take off. Low clouds for a bit, then was able to climb out to a reasonable altitude, with scattered clouds below. This was to be the pattern for the first three legs out of Murfreesboro. I'd plotted the great circle route from Murfreesboro to Belfast, Maine. Then I looked for airports to break up the flight into segments. Given that the weather wasn't letting me fly until after noon, I guessed I'd have to make 3-4 segments. So I charted four 2-hr segments on the computer. But the weather briefings and the actual weather conspired to make me change all three intermediate points. I'd planned the first stop as Ona, WV. Descending into the area, I found a lot of haze, and the Nexrad feed on the Garmin 496 showed considerable precipitation over Ona. So I diverted to the regional airport at Huntington, WV. Pit stop, fuel, and weather briefing. Similar weather, so I decided to stay to the west of the mountains and changed the next destination from Bellefonte, PA, to Clearfield, PA. This leg was a bit more tense. Started about the same as the last leg, but the final 40 minutes was at low altitude in hazy conditions. More than minimum VFR, but over strange country. The Clearfield airport sits on a ridge above the town, and it looked totally deserted. No tie downs on the ramp, so I taxied into some grass and got out the Claws. I found a pay phone, but no directory. In poking around, I discovered a medivac crew quarters with some guys in it. They got me in touch with a motel that was willing to come pick me up (Clearfield is a very small place). Pizza in the room finished the day. Despite the late start, Nikki made good time crossing Tennessee, and into Virginia, spening the night in a motel in Wytheville, Virginia.
24Sep09 -- Belfast, ME
Ken: There were people at the Clearfield airport this morning, and I got fuel. No Montreal Sectional here, either. So I changed the next destination to an airport with training activity listed. As has become usual, local fog and low ceilings kept me on the ground until about noon. Even then, I was dodging clouds at 2500'. About the time I was thinking of putting down somewhere, the low clouds disappeared and I could climb all the way to 3500', which gave me a comfortable terrain clearance across these low hills. Climbed to 4000' for a bit across the highest section of hills. These abruptly ended a few miles west of the Hudson River, and I dropped back to 3500' for the rest of the flight into Pittsfield, MA. This was the first flight where I was below reliable radar and was dropped by center for a while. Much of the last section was with New York, then Boston, approach. The Pittsfield airport sits in a valley with nearby hills all sides. Surface winds were gusting above 20 at times,and this was one of the more squirrely approach and landings I've done in a long time. This place had a Montreal Sectional! Plenty of fuel left, so I munched some snacks and headed for Belfast, Maine. Suddenly I'm out of the haze and high overcast, with only scattered cloud towers to fly around as I climbed to 7500' -- above the clouds. Favorable winds gave me a ground speed of 140-150 knots. Whee!! This two hour leg took about 1.5 hours. Most of the leg was within sight of the coast and islands. Traffic was light and it was delightful. During a long lull in radio traffic I told the Portland (ME) controller that they had provided a beautiful welcome for this Alaska guy. He was almost gushy in agreeing how beautiful the flight up the coast is. Belfast is a small town, with a basic airport. The manager came out to the ramp to greet me as I was tying down. Parking is $10/day, $50/mo, so I'm in for as long as we want to stay in the area. He gave me a ride to town and dropped me at the hotel. No rooms there (and >$200/night!), but he called around and found me a lovely B&B a couple of blocks away. Great restaurant a few blocks into town and a good bed. Life is great! Nikki had another good day across pieces of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and got a motel in Danbury, Connecticut.
25Sep09 -- Belfast
Ken: Breakfast at the B&B and I'm sitting here getting caught up on the blog. I left my pack at the B&B and walked into town. I wasn't hungry yet, so just kept walking through town, across the footbridge over the river and a couple of miles out the road to the RV park. I surveyed the available spots and was ready when Nikki pulled in a while later. She'd come across the rest of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and into Maine. A big accident on the interstate had kept her idle for a while, and she was really glad to get to a stop. We set up the TrailManor and get ourselves settled into our site here for a week. Drove back to the B&B to get my pack and let Nikki see what she'd missed. Then out to the airport to retrieve more stuff from the plane. Stop at the grocery store, and back to the TrailManor. Dinner was lobster for both of us!!
