The Millers Come to VA

When I was in Arizona last year, my friends Timmy and Tara mentioned that they were probably going to do a big East Coast trip sometime in 2017 with their son, Canyon, and their dog, Simba. I had been following their trip on Facebook and knew they had left Maine and were making their way south when I got a text from Timmy asking if I wanted to meet up at the Culpeper Air Fest. He had no idea that I had already arranged to work there for the day to talk to people about ATC, so it was perfect!

They had been mostly parking their camper in Walmart parking lots overnight, so I invited them to park in our driveway for a few days instead. They got there Friday night while Mark and I were still at work, but Timmy came over to say hi and hang out for a little bit Friday night after we got home. We didn't hang out too late that night, though...I still had to get up early for the AirFest the next day.

It was IFR when I got there in the morning, but at least it wasn't pouring like it had been the year before! The weather was forecast to improve as the day went on, too. I set up the canopy and table while I waited for my buddy Joe to arrive. They had this sweet warbird parked right in front of the table at the beginning of the day...not a bad view!

The weather started to clear up and Timmy and Tara arrived shortly before the airshow began. They wandered around a bit, then came back to watch the show from the shade of our canopy. Joe and I took turns manning the table to talk about ATC and wandering around, checking out the planes and catching up with some pilot buddies.

They had a pretty good show; I wish I had my better camera! (Oh well, next year!) We finished out the day with a really good turnout, then packed everything up and headed back to our house. Mark ran out and picked up some pizzas from The Brick in Warrenton, and we spent the evening hanging out and catching up.

I had originally been scheduled to work day/mid the next day, but I was able to get leave from the day shift so I could spend a bit more time with my buddies before they had to leave. There were a bunch of things we would have liked to squeeze into the trip, but since we only had one day, we decided to go for a hike up in Shenandoah, then head over to HWY so they could see my hangar before I had to grab a nap in the afternoon to go work the mid.

The weather hadn't looked very nice at our house that morning, but the webcams up in Shenandoah were showing clear skies. We drove up to Skyline Drive, and by the time we got to the top...

...we were well above the clouds. I've wanted to get a picture like this for years!   :)

Timmy, Canyon, and Tara. We stopped at one of the overlooks to enjoy the view for a little while.

I could have sat there all day, just watching the clouds drift around, but we had hiking to do!

We decided to hike up to the summit of Hawksbill, which is the tallest peak in the park at 4050'. I'm used to being up in Shenandoah in the middle of the week, so it was definitely weird to see so many cars parked at the start of the trail.

Timmy and Tara brought Canyon's carrier backpack, but Canyon didn't want any part of it and did a fair amount of the hike up himself. The first mile is fairly steep, so it was nice to hike with someone more my speed: slow!   :)

We did eventually make it to the top. Visibility was great, and there were lots of other people up there enjoying the view, too.

Initially, Canyon thought the ocean was on the other side of the cliff. Um, nope! Tara walked with him up to the edge so he could see the valley.

It was pretty clear out to the west, but the lower clouds were still hanging around to the north and east. It made for a neat view from the summit.

That's Old Rag on the right. I'll eventually hike that again!

We hung out at the top for a little while. I took a bunch of pictures of the views...

...while Canyon played with the pointer on the compass.

We took a couple last looks around...

...then eventually started back down toward the car.

We took a different trail down from the summit. It's not as steep, but it's a bit longer. Canyon was alternating between wanting to hike and wanting to be carried (but NOT in the carrier), so we took a little break off the side of the trail.

Canyon wanted me to take pictures of all of his silly faces.

My favorite, his "stank" face.   :)

After a little while we met up with the Appalachian Trail and followed that for a mile or so until we got back to the car. Timmy thought it was really cool that we were hiking on the actual Appalachian Trail. I don't think Canyon was as impressed.

After hiking, we went over to the airport and I showed them my hangar. Timmy was impressed with the planes, but the highlights for Canyon were my Krazy Kart (basically, a tiny go kart), and a big puddle in the front of my hangar. We hung out for a little while, then went back to my house. I took a nap, then worked the mid, while they went out for dinner and some errands.

They had to hit the road the next morning to continue their trip, but we did take a little time to grab breakfast at the Corner Deli first.

It took a little while for Timmy to get their FJ Cruiser hooked up to the RV. I hung out with Simba for a bit while Timmy fiddled around under the car, trying to get everything set. They eventually got everything hooked up and packed up, we said our goodbyes, and they got on the road. I'm really glad they were able to come visit; I've always had such a good time when I've visited them, so it was nice to be able to return the favor and catch up with them for a few days!   :)