This Sunday After my flight lesson I felt the need to “test my compass” and get some food in northern Washington. I watched the weather and found that it was a beautiful day in both Vancouver and in the San Juan Islands. I took off at VUO (Pearson field) and requested flight following. This has four huge advantages for pilots. First, and probably most important, flight following will let you know if there are other aircraft near you. This comes in really handy and has helped me avoid some close encounters. They will also will pre clear you through various airspace and give you frequencies to change to as needed. This is essential when transitioning complex bravo airspace like Seattle. They will be able to report your last position if you have an emergency which can be the determining factor in survival. Finally the flight can be later tracked on various websites like flightwise and FlightAware. These sites can email people when you depart arrive etc.
Once I was north of the Seattle area I could see the islands coming into view. The water was a clear blue and the weather was fantastic. Flying over the archipelago was more than I had expected. I could see a lot of boats out on the water. Some commercial and some recreational. To my one o’clock I noticed another aircraft. It looked like an airliner but it was close to my speed and altitude. It was heading the same direction as I was, so I was not terribly concerned. Then it turned and crossed my path at about a thousand feet below and headed to the west. I radioed the approach controller and he told me it was the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. This is the next generation of airliners! It is not even in production at this time. I was so excited I attempted to take pictures of the aircraft knowing I had almost no chance of getting a shot with a camera phone. It was really exciting.
When I arrived at Orcas island I made a small circle of the airport and landed on runway 34. I taxied up to the pumps and tried to fuel the plane. The pumps would not take my card. So I tried another and still no luck. I flagged down one of the islanders and he suggested I fly to Bellingham as they have staff there on Sundays. I thanked him and departed runway 34, which terminated in the water. It made for a really neat takeoff. I climbed over the water and headed for Bellingham. After some confusion with the tower controller I landed and taxied over to the fuel pumps. I was successful this time and filled the tanks. When I was done I contacted ground control and requested clearance from the fuel pumps to the best spot on the airfield to walk to a restaurant from. He not only gave me directions to the ramp and tie downs, but also walking directions to a Greek restaurant that he recommended. I parked the airplane and headed off to the restaurant.
The restaurant is called Mykonos, was only about a half mile walk and had fantastic food. While I was eating, there was a girl outside that was so animated that she looked like she was a mime. It was really entertaining to watch her do her little self theatre. The police showed up shortly after that and as I was leaving the restaurant I overheard the conversation the police were having with her. It was quite amusing. Apparently she was really high and on her way to Mexico. The irony was that she was starting from Bellingham. About as far north as you can be without being in Canada.
The flight home was less eventful as the weather had deteriorated a bit, but I did got to see five decommissioned aircraft carriers in a shipyard. I have never even seen one in real life and now I can see five. It was truly a trip of opportunities. I saw a lot that I would have never seen otherwise. I truly love the ability to fly. To be able to appreciate the world and all of its diverse beauty. The tree covered hills, the jagged snow covered mountains, the deep blue water around the archipelago, and the steep majestic cliffs of the Canadian Rockies. Where else could you see all this in one afternoon.
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