Going to Church with Friends in Historic Truro Anglican

27 April 2014; Historic Truro Anglican --

I felt extra-specially blessed this Sunday when I attended Holy Communion services in historic old Truro Anglican Church in Fairfax VA, with long-time friends Kathy and Jim, and with my God-Daughter, Sara.

This church facility includes the rectory (parsonage) next door in which a Union General ostensibly rode his horse up the steps and into the house to capture a Confederate General who was still in bed.

The Truro Church congregation voted virtually-unanimously many years ago to disaffiliate from the U.S. Episcopal church. It had become evident to them that the Episcopal church was adopting doctrine which Truro believed was un-Biblical. 

Since then, other former Episcopal-affiliated congregations have similarly voted to withdraw. These congregations, in the U.S. and Canada, have become united in a new Anglican Province called the Anglican Communion in North America [ACNA]  I am one of the original members of a congregation that left an Episcopal church and established Emmanuel Anglican; we worship in facilities belonging to (and shared with) Grace Baptist Church in the Ballard area. Emmanuel is one of the parishes that make up the Cascadia Diocese of ACNA.

Sharing worship services and having Communion with this large (2,000+?) and lively congregation, and with these dear friends of mine was a very moving experience. I shed not a few tears of joy as I reflected on the way God has blessed me, and blessed this people by having His truth regularly preached.

After "another cup of coffee" on the church grounds, we went to a Mexican restaurant to have Sunday lunch.

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Seafood On the Potomac

25 April 2014; Colonial Beach VA--

This evening, Ward & Peggie and I went out to eat at a French-Thai restaurant in this little village of Colonial Beach. Near here was born two of our early Presidents (John Monroe and James Madison); our First President, George Washington grew up not far away; and Robert E. Lee was born South of here aways.

This seafood restaurant is noted [by Ward, no less!] for its delicious crab cakes -- they contain lots of real crab meat! They also offer a wide variety of seafood, including swordfish steak, halibut steak and tuna steak. I had a tuna steak dinner this night -- medium rare! [I had never heard of having a fish steak cooked any way other than and unspoken, "well done". But since I was asked my preference, I decided to give it a try. It was OK, but the next time, I think I will have it done

"medium" if not "well done"!]

As we were finishing our meal and eating our dessert [I had the specialty, coconut ice cream], we spotted this swan serenely paddling his way downstream past some pilings.

After dinner, Ward drove us along the shoreline and upstream along the Potomac where we sighted this sunset and a Peregrine Falcon coming in for a landing on someone's hapless boat. [Think fish parts strewn below where this master fisher-bird eats his/her dinner.]

Great Grandchildren! Great Grandchildren!! Great Grandchildren!!!

25 April 2014; Maryland USA --

After seeing Uncle Bob off, we drove across the Potomac into MD to meet the three Great Grandchildren who live "over there". Here they are: Dalton (151/2), Jordyn (17), and James (131/2). As you can see, both of the boys are tall and Jordyn is beautiful. [The Old Man in the middle needs no introduction to regular readers of this BLOG.

Jordyn had to work this day so we did not get to visit with her. We (their Grandparents and me] took the boys to a Red Robin where we "pigged out" on the tasty selections available at this venue. I had a "Black and Bleu" burger -- it had mushrooms, sauteed onions and Blue Cheese packed in with the hamburger. [I overate!!] The boys had several "refills" of fries -- [I doubt that they were filled!]

Howard, who had just purchased a new Hyundai that afternoon, joined us at the Red Robin. The next day (26 April) was Howard's birthday, so I got the Waitstaff at Red Robin to sing him their patented birthday jingle. Howard's wife, Patricia also joined us, with her first ride in Howard's new car.

25 April 2014; Shannon Airport VA--
Today, Uncle Bob took off to fly to Fayetteville SC to visit his friend and sometime boss, Daryush. I playfully cautioned him to "be careful with my airplane".

I felt pangs of loneliness as he flew away; these feelings were to be quickly abated by the exciting things I was to experience subsequently, as the reader will perceive if you continue to follow this BLOG.

My Son Ward and I took the following photos of Bob's departure. The first photo shows his and Ward's goodbye after the push-back from the fueling station.

The next two photos show: 1.) The Mooney accelerating down the runway at the point at which I predicted it would leave the ground, and, 2.) The Mooney lifting off the ground, far down the runway.

Ward is Awarded by Flying with Ward

23 April 2014; Shannon Airport VA --

Today Uncle Bob awarded me with one of the greatest opportunities of my life: Bob insisted that I -- not he -- fly my #1 Son Ward around the area on a windy day here in Virginia! It was one of those historic flights that happen too infrequently in one's life.

The sky was clear and the wind was blowing at about 20 knots out of the North Northwest. A check of the Left wing tank revealed a nearly-full tank; this was considered very adequate because we were planning on a fairly short flight around the area within 5 or ten miles of the Shannon Airport.

A preflight check was performed revealing that the Mooney was "rarin' to go" -- as usual! The runway of choice was number 06 [magnetic heading of 60 degrees]. This meant the wind would be about 60 to 70 degrees into our left wing. As the Mooney accelerated down the field, I remembered the lesson I had learned a few days ago when I took off with an even more severe cross-wind flying out of Billings MT; this time I turned toward the wind when the airplane became light on its wheels as it neared airspeed. The result was a skid sideways down the runway centerline and a normal takeoff when full flight speed was achieved! I got the gear retracted quickly, the flaps stowed and the engine throttled back for our climb to the desired altitude of 2,000-2,500 feet.

I pointed out some landmarks to Ward and we joked about the turbulent air through which we were flying. I flew downwind parallel to the air strip for about five miles, then after calling Shannon airport traffic I began my base leg for a long approach to a landing on the same runway we had taken off from. Another aircraft somewhere in the vicinity announced his position as three miles upwind for landing on "33" [that would be the turf runway approximately perpendicular to the paved one on which I intended to land; I realized that we should have no conflict and that I had priority by reason that I had announced my intention first]. I lowered the gear to slow the airspeed, pushed the propeller speed-control to full speed and the mixture to full-rich. I announced to Ward that I was going to use only two pumps [instead of the normal five] flaps for landing as I intended to land at a higher than normal airspeed since I was anticipating gusts as we approached touchdown.

As we crossed the numbers and threshold for runway 06, I had the Mooney cocked about 20 degrees to the left, into the wind. As we touched down, the tricycle gear steered the aircraft into alignment  with the runway and we were able to depart the runway less than halfway down to park again at our tie-down spot.

I thanked God, my Son Ward and my Brother Bob for this memorable occasion!!

Greetings When We Arrive in Virginia -- The Hermit

21 April 2013; Virginia Estate--

Our arrival at this palatial setting on the banks of Maddox Creek was highlighted by a greeting from the Guardian of the Grounds, Mad Dog Grouch. This Old, One-eyed fuzz-face was fierce-looking, fierce-talking and fierce acting. [I was led to believe that he had once schooled a gang of thugs in Maryland by demonstrating the fine art of using a pistol to shoot clay pigeons out of mid-air. This shooting demonstration/lesson taught these young thugs to better be able to terrorize the neighborhood -- in a location other that in which Mad Dog lived.]

Meeting this wild-looking visage of a humanoid was alarming, to say the least; being met by him on the way in to visit my Daughter-in-Law and Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren was hair-raising!

After assuring this Old Man of our honorable intentions, Uncle Bob and I were allowed to venture deeper into the wilderness in which the Main House is sited, and subsequently provided every courtesy, including some of the strongest coffee -- short of Starbucks! -- that is available in the Free World. We were even permitted to stay and sleep in the comfort of a bedroom with an inner-spring mattress and running water, the latter surprisingly available in the tidy shack at which we first encountered Mad Dog.

 Upon arriving at the Main House, where my Daughter-in-Law lived, we found her proudly protecting her personal car, a vintage four-wheel drive Jeep. [Unfortunately, this otherwise very capable vehicle was handicapped by being equipped with "four-on-he-floor" gearing. Such are the kinds of cruel deprivations imposed on this lovely woman by the Man who thinks he is in charge.]

If this introduction piques your interest, stay tuned for more sequels to this Saga of the Senior Citizens in Virginia.

 

 

Ward Wanders into Ward's (Son!) Territory

21 April; Virginia Mansion by Maddox Creek --

Monday morning Bob and I took off from Billard Airport in Topeka for "points East". Bob occupied the left (Captains') seat and demonstrated the superiority of his calm confidence in command of the Mooney, honed by years and hours of experience in the cockpit of the Mooney and his previous Piper Pacer airplane.

He piloted the airplane to 15.5k feet where I eventually fell asleep for a short nap as the Mooney hummed along at a ground-speed of 140-150 knots. [The deficiency of Oxygen at this altitude clearly demonstrated to me that I must limit myself -- when I am flying solo -- to more benign altitudes of 12-13 thousand. Remember that, at 18k, half of the Oxygen is below you!]

We stopped in Cole's County airport in western Illinois to refuel before again climbing to 15.5k to cruise on into Shannon airport in Fredericksburg VA. Ward and Peggie arrived 20-30 minutes before we landed, and welcomed us to their State and home. [I admired these Creeping Phlox that were beautifying the landscape near the entrance to this Virginia Country Mansion.]

The next few days will be one interesting thing after another. I hope you enjoy my stories of this visit.

Ward's Wanderngs; Chapter 3- - April 20th

Easter Sunday; Topeka KS --

Today most of Niece's children came to celebrate this Easter Day with their Dad and Mom and all of their brothers and sisters (and in-laws!!) with a conglomerate of children that can only be comprehended if you were there. The Hosts, ably assisted by their daughters and daughters-in-law, were Kathy and Lou of course.

We dined on baked ham, all kinds of vegetable dishes and two or three different kinds of potatoes. Of finger food there was also a great plenty. All were satisfied -- then the outdoor fun began!

There was some kind of relay race in which kids of all ages partook, with a some-time coach who carefully selected the competition from among the wide variety of athletic talent available such that nearly equal ability was obvious on each side. The final round of the relay was run by none other than two of the Hurla brothers.

For old-time's sake, remembering when we had most of this group seated on the right wing of the Mooney as small children, we posed seven of the one-time kids in a row on the sidewalk. The original "crew" consisted of Karen, Joe, John, James [missing here because he hadn't yet arrived], Kristi, Katie & Kimberly (not in the original photo because she was born later).

The spouses (or "to-be" spouses) of each of these were then asked to join this crew and a group photo was taken. There was Karen & Lewis Leonardo, Joe and Shanda, John and Audrey (to-be), Kristi and ?? Puttz, Kelli & Tony ??, and Kimberly & ?? ??(to-be). [Note that I have forgotten some names already -- can anyone blame me?!]

I also took some photos of four or five family groups (including of James & Laura), but somehow missed capturing all. However, here is a representative sampling, starting with the oldest (Karen)and two of her four children: Adalyn and ??. Her other two are Landon (her oldest) and ?? (next oldest). Karen is a 7th Grade teacher and husband Lewis is the coach at the same Middle School.

Somehow I missed John and his rambunctious bunch (twins Anthony & Aaron, and Michael). But here is James and Laura with their three [and every name escapes my wandering mind!!]. Bob and I jumped into the photo at the invitation of an opportunistic photographer.

 Lastly, among the family groups that I was able to corral was Joe and Shanda with their four boys: Langston, Lincoln, Grant and ??.

Finally, the newest member of this burgeoning family (born just a day or two before) is Arianna with proud parents Kelli and Tony.

As the days go by and my memory improves [with considerable assistance by reminders from members of this family!] I will update this POST with more (or corrected!) names.

Stay tuned.

Ward's Wanderings, Chapter 2 -- April 18-19

Out and About Topeka; April 18 & 19---

This morning [Friday], with encouragement via an e-mail from my Great Niece Kristi Bobek, Bob and I took off from Ankeny Airport to fly in a Southwesterly direction to Topeka KS. The weather looked perfect -- a "marginal VFR" icon over Topeka looked out of place -- but we decided to fly anyway and divert to an alternate if it was really that bad. [A later telephone contact with Niece Kathy confirmed that blue skies prevailed over Topeka!]

A one-hour thirty-six minute flight brought us to a smooth landing at old, historic Billard Airport. We were met by Kathy and Great Niece Kristi Bobek! We all found a restaurant open to have lunch together until Kristi had to leave in time to pick up her children and get home.

Adalyn, Karen, Grayson

Kathy invited us to stay in her nearly-empty home [only youngest Jeremy is still at home, finishing up High School]. We gladly accepted, with hopes that tomorrow and Sunday we will get to see almost all of the kids -- and Grandkids! -- of this exemplary family.

As we arrived at Kathy's house, we were met by husband Lou, and then soon by Great Niece Karen's children [Landon, Grayson, Owen and stunningly blue-eyed baby Adalyn], and Karen's husband Lewis.

The next day (Saturday), Niece Joan and her husband dropped over to say hello. I saw Joan when she was about five days old in Hartford City IN, in 1945; at the time I was stationed at Glenview Naval Air Station, just north of Chicago, and another Navy Cadet who lived in Hartford City, offered me a ride down and back as he was going to visit his folks on a "long weekend".

Tomorrow promises to be even more interesting [with many Hurla descendants in attendance!]. See continuing "Wanderings" for what happens next!

Ward's Wanderings; April 14-17

Mid-April; Seattle WA to Des Moines IA ---

Uncle B and I took off from the Mooney Base at about 0830 Monday morning (14 April) for "points East". Flying at 13,500, with a tail-wind sometimes in excess of 50 knots, we arrived in Billing MT about noon-thirty to refuel. We landed on a 5,000 foot runway rather than the "regular" one which was 10,000 feet. This minimized the cross-wind -- and associated gusts -- so that I made a decent landing.

After refueling, I was instructed by Ground Control, to taxi to the long runway for Take-Off. The wind had not subsided -- in fact, if anything, it had grown stronger and more gusty! As the Mooney gained airspeed down this long runway, I suddenly became aware that it was being pushed toward the right turf! A quick sequence of logic, and a glance at the airspeed indicator, led me to instinctively pull back on the yoke and prematurely "lift" the aircraft into the air; the stall warning screamed at me, but the Mooney continued to accelerate as I eased off on the yoke and allowed it to remain airborne.

In retrospect, [and next time!] I should have used the left rudder to steer into the wind, instead of steering toward the skid [automobile tactic!].

With continuing blue skies, we landed in Spearfish at about 1500 that afternoon -- again aided by the tail-wind at 13.5k. We rented a car [A Subaru, Heidi!!] and went to our motel from where we contacted our Cousin, Bitsy. Another Cousin Kay was there, and after a short visit, we all went out to dinner at a casino/restaurant where they served pot roast and delicious Rib-Eye steak -- medium rare!!

Jack, Bob, Bitsy, Jim, Ann, Kay

The next day, Tuesday, Bitsy had arranged for a "Cousin Party" which included Cousins Jim and Ann, and Ann's husband Jack. We all returned to Bitsy's place to have a delicious German-Chocolate style cake with ice cream. More visiting until Jack and Ann had to leave for their home at about 1800 that afternoon/evening.

Wednesday morning at sunup found Uncle Bob and I up for an early breakfast and a study of the weather. It had turned overnight into a gray day, not unlike Seattle. However the clouds were fairly low at about five thousand feet with an obviously sunny day above. After fueling up -- now with a little sunshine coming through the breaks in the clouds -- I took off for Des Moines. Bob vectored me around to remain in sight of I-90 and other identifiable points on the ground below. We topped out at 15.5k to clear the tops of all the clouds below us and giving us a smooth flight. In just over four hours we landed at Ankeny IA; a tail-wind at that altitude helped us along.

Ankeny Airport is NNW of downtown Des Moines. The winds on the ground when I landed were about 25-35 knots, but almost directly from the South -- runway 18, on which I landed, is magnetc South, so there was little cross-wind with which to contend. However, there were eddies of wind as I approached touchdown which moved the airplane left and right making the landing (on the runway!) an interesting challenge. Bob says I am a better pilot than he, but I don't believe it; he has much more experience, both in the Mooney and in the air.. Nevertheless, any landing from which the pilot and co-pilot walk away smiling is a good landing

We rented a car [a 'miniature "baby buggy" of a Chevy -- you would stick out all over, James!] and drove to Aunt Hazel's house where we were welcomed royally -- and with her typical "left-handed" chiding me about not calling when we landed so she could come pick us up.

Today (Thursday), we did some shopping and thought about where we fly tomorrow -- or Saturday. The winds have subsided and this afternoon in Des Moines has blue skies again.

More in coming days!!

I landed at Ankeny IA -- a few miles NNE of downtown Des Moines.

Free Ride Down to Estacada to see Six Great Grandchildren

5 April 2014; Estacada Oregon --

Late this first week in April, my oldest daughter, Su., invited me to accompany them (Her, Her Husband, Stn., and their youngest daughter [my Granddaugther], Ra., aka, "Piano-Fingers") on a one-day trip to visit my Oldest Granddaughter, Ay. Since Ay. is the Mother of six of my 31 Great Grandchildren, how could I say anything but a hearty "YES!!"?

Leaving Grumpy's Castle at the unholy hour of six a.m., we ventured South hitting the Interstate -- with my Granddaughter Ra. at the wheel!! 

Since I was instrumental in giving Ra. her first opportunity to drive on public highways in Nebraska and South Dakota, I felt proud of the excellent job she did in navigating the on and off ramps at the interchanges and ignoring the distractions, but avoiding the hazards, of other traffic passing on either side and sometimes pulling into her lane in front. Her Dad and I meanwhile rested peaceably in the back seat, with nary a word of alarm or advice needing be emanated from either.

Enroute, we stopped at "Country Cousins" restaurant in Centralia for a late breakfast. This was a welcome stop in this nearly four-hour trip; we were able to empty and refill our coffee reservoirs, as well as update our nourishment needs. Our cooperative waiter agreed to take this photo of our little group.

Upon arrival at Ay.'s place in mid-morning, we were greeted by lots of Great Grandchildren -- all handsome boys except for the beautiful Elianna. Here she is, adoring and lovingly holding Su.'s smallest Yorkie -- the only child among this troop with whom this little dog would abide!

The youngest, Sam, attracted -- and demanded! -- much attention; he is an exploratory crawler and promises to be a real hand full for all when he starts walking [The oldest, Malachi, announced that he had witnessed Sam stand!] Mother, Ay., took this news with total aplomb; she had seen it before? Certainly at least with the other five.

Here he is with his Grandpa Stn. with the very happy face he presents to all who meet him.

And here he is greeting Ra.'s young Chesapeake *Newfoundland, Erard. Both were curious about the other. This exchange was both friendly and supposedly "delicious" -- they both wanted more!

And, lastly, but not leastly, here the young Sam delights in the arms of his Grandmother Su.

Before we left, Great Grandpa had to play a little "catch" with Malachi. The opportunity was too short; next time, I will have to engage in this little exercise earlier in the visit; at the rate he is growing, his pitches may soon be too "hot" for Great Grampa Z's hands to hold!

*Note the correction to the breed of dog to which Ra. "belongs"!!