An interesting year was last year, my full 65th on the planet.
A quick summary includes a wonderful springtime trip to Italy, with highlights being Venice, Roma again, Naples and Vesuvius, and a stay and wonderful drive down the Amalfi Coast from Positano. A magic place on the planet that is, and it's easy to see why people have treasured it for thousands of years.
Later, mid-summer, I flew down to Florence Colorado and bought a Kitfox IV Speedster which had been sitting in the hangar for a few years since the owner had died. It was a wonderful adventure, meeting all sorts of interesting aviation people, getting it into flying condition, then getting me into flying shape, then flying over the Rockies, the Utah desert, then Idaho, Oregon and Washington, to arrive at the new home at Apex Airpark near our house. Fantastic little airplane. More later.
Then of course was our wedding in mid-August. Family from Canada and Oregon were there, and we had a wonderful day, which had threatened rain but turned out to be great. A quick honeymoon trip to Rockaway Beach in Oregon (since we'd already been to Italy) and we were back at home, with Terry heading off to work a few days later.
Last major item on the agenda for the year was major surgery, where a defective heart valve was replaced. Lots of down time, lots of pain, some repercussions, but overall a worthy effort, especially considering the alternative.
So, I welcome my 66th year. Quite a few things planned, but one in particular excites me.
We're going to fly the Kitfox to Oshkosh for the EAA AirVenture which is very exciting. Lots of planning going into it, including aircraft maintenance and refitting. Working on short field landing procedures as best I can. The Speedster is a shorter wing version of the Kitfox, so lands longer, but this one has a high-output engine so can get off the ground in a hurry. If I can get the slow-flight work done properly then we may be able to visit the odd back-country strip on our way across America. We aren't particularly camping types of people, especially at our age, but we're going to give it a try. If it doesn't feel right, hell, we'll ship the tents and bags home and stay in motels. Whatever works.
