June 2004 – Herrick Home Page

June 24, 2004(Cont)

I met a little girl on my flight, she is 4 yours old (just had her birthday last week) that made me feel like I missed living near Amy and Sarah. The two of us played with her etch a sketch and then read a magazine together. She “knows a lot of things” and had fun

June 24, 2004

I am in the Dallas airport, waiting for my next flight – to San Jose, California!! Don will be picking me up and taking me with him and his son, Stephen out to Yosemite National Park where he will be flying. I slept the entire flight here and hope to get some more sleep on the way. It feels great to be on vacation!

Last weekend:

A tiny woodpecker out behind my home.

Pam’s mother, brother in-law, Pam, Pam’s Father and sister all ready to go fishing on Father’s Day.

Out on the bridge to Honeymoon Island getting set to fish.

Dad’s new chair!

Sisters taking pictures of dad in his new chair.

Part of the 30 car pile up I spent two hours waiting to be cleared so I could continue to work the other day.

June 14, 2004

Don wrote a note:

I’ve been busy at work and flying as much as I can. Stephen will be joining me in California in about a week. Stephanie is doing fine in school and still working as a legal secretary in LA. Jeanne is on the East coast this week so I’m house and Pandora-sitting.

I think I might have given you a little bit of the wrong impression about the turbulence I encountered on landing in Indian Valley. It wasn’t pleasant but I did have enough altitude and was able to pull out of the stall I got into. I try to fly very conservatively. Also, a correction on where I will fly in a couple of weeks. I’ll be flying off Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park in CA. (Yellowstone is up in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho.) I’ve got to write more so I can be more clear ;-).

I’ve flown quite a bit this spring and have flown many new sites. I also did my longest cross-country flight yet (only 12.8 miles, but I’m on my way).

I’d like to tell about one of my favorite flights this spring. It was from a mountain called Mission Peak on San Francisco Bay. It was before a cold front came through and some of the clouds were dark, fairly small and ragged at around 4500 ft. It only took me 15 minutes from launching (at 2400 ft.) to get up to 4400 ft. I spent about 3 hours essentially poking around the clouds. I’d catch a thermal under a cloud and leave it before it could draw me into the cloud. I stayed at cloud base and had a marvelous time traveling around the south bay. One of my flying buddies took this picture of me using a helmet-cam:

The scan is poor but I like the “impressionistic quality” of the picture.

Later – Don
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Me with Pam’s two grandkids Madyson and Anna!

June 11, 2004

Dad and Betty have returned from their trip, they are enjoying their new porch and looking forward to their next trip north in July. They may fly!

Donald has had a moment of panic when his hang glider caught an updraft then a microburst down as he was landing. He almost “penciled in”. He is looking forward to hang gliding in Yellowstone Park in a couple of weeks!! What a treat!!!!!

Pam and I are going to Orlando this weekend to go to her daughter’s housewarming!

My recent picture taking: