December 8, 2020 Hangar Time

The Liberty Gazette

December 8, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Here we are, that time of year again when the Elyminator must go to Dr. Mechanic for an annual check-up. It’s not that different from a human one, really. Our mechanic happens to be male, but not all are. He will check the “heart,” being the compression in the cylinders, like a blood pressure check. He’ll check all the “internal organs,” too, and even the hind-end, although probably not to the extent of a colonoscopy, thank goodness.

This is also the time of year when ceilings often are low, as cold fronts move in, and we wait on the ground for low visibility or high winds, or both, to pass on. Just before the weather hit over Thanksgiving, we landed the Elyminator at the Pearland Regional Airport and handed the keys over to the doc. He and his assistants remove the cowling to unveil the engine and poke around at all the vital parts. Sometimes things like o-rings and other seals need to be replaced. Sometimes there are surprises, like when you take your car to the dealer for scheduled maintenance and they find another problem to address. Except this airplane stuff isn’t like the reputation the auto repair or dealership businesses have. Generally, most aircraft mechanics are straight-up honest and are happy to let their customers work alongside them. This allows the customer to learn more about his or her airplane, and it also reduces the bill. We’ve been fortunate to have the best mechanics around. 

Linda: Meanwhile, here we are with an empty hangar. No time like this for cleaning and reorganizing. We went to work pulling cartons of things from the east wall. Out came the brooms, buckets, sponges, and mops. I especially like operating the five-horsepower shop vac, so the floor is once again clean enough to eat off. After picking up a couple of gallons of paint for the walls, we trapsed to a hardware store and put in the order for industrial shelving. Once delivered, all those items went into new bins, and viola! Organization began! Tools back there where the long workbench is. Cleaning supplies over here. Aviation reading material and DVDs in that spot. Extra parts in the west wing.  

Then, once we have the airplane back, we’ll anxiously await enjoyable winter flying weather, although, governments’ ridiculous reactions to this global flu virus ruined our travel plans this year (not to mention devastating businesses and economies). From our springtime trip to Rome and Sicily via airline, to a summer flight to Alaska in our own plane, to igloo camping in Northern Finland, every trip we scheduled has been displaced. But in a couple of weeks we will be able to claim victory in this hangar overhaul project, and the Elyminator will be sitting pretty—when it isn’t zooming us off somewhere. Someday, we hope the world will find its right mind again. Meanwhile, our fly-and-bike trips have given us fantastic new adventures, and we’ll keep finding ways to deal with irrationalities until the world gets a grip. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

December 1, 2020 Let's Go There

The Liberty Gazette

December 1, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Sometimes flying isn’t about seeing the most celebrated sight or the excitement in planning for specific experiences. Sometimes it’s best when we’re open to unknown adventure that lies ahead and in finding joy in simple things–just getting away from everyday life. 

We’ve especially looked forward to weekends this past month as breaks in Mike’s grueling work schedule. It seems we’ve developed a kind of mantra: In the air, doesn’t matter where, let’s go there. With that in mind, we’ve been keeping the bikes in the back of the airplane so that wherever we end up, we can extend the feeling of freedom cycling around, exploring a new town. Such was the case when we picked Texarkana. 

Mike: Wisps of clouds dotting the sky seemed to sweep by, and multiple shades of green landscape slipped under our wings as the Elyminator mightily trekked northward. The airwaves filled with the chatter of pilots announcing their position in the traffic patterns of many airports that share the same frequency. One pilot was taking off from Livingston’s airport while another was landing at Palestine. Each moment was a breath of fresh air that distanced me from the weariness of intensely focused work. 

Linda: Texarkana’s airport is conveniently close to town, on the Arkansas side. The friendly staff at TAC Air filled our tanks and offered to help us unload, but we’ve got this routine down pat. 

As Nick finished fueling the plane, I asked him about parks. What was the closest? Which was the best? While Spring Lake Park received a unanimous vote for best park, echoed by Michael and Kristina at the front desk, the Ed Worrell Memorial Park would be much closer, only about a ten-minute ride. We opted for the latter, only because of shortened daylight time. 

Mike: Some cities lack bike lanes or wide shoulders, so we study the routes from airport to town as part of our preflight exercises. Texarkana has a few busy streets, but after passing the best campaign sign ever (“Jesus–2020”), it didn’t take long to get to Worrell Memorial Park, which has a paved bike trail. It isn’t the most picturesque area, but the park served the purpose, and there were a couple lovely stretches. The autumn colors were mostly shades of brown. Piles of leaves surrounded bare trees, but the grass was green, and there were some pine trees, too. 

The trail followed a drainage ditch that meandered between neighborhoods. As we sat to eat, we laughed at the thought of traveling two hundred and twenty miles to sit on a rickety old wood bench with no table–because the park’s two picnic tables were already taken. But the munchies we brought still tasted great, we like each other’s company, and the journey itself is what draws us. 

Why fly two hours in the shortest daylight season of the year, just to bike for half an hour, find a picnic spot, and bike back for another two-hour flight? Adventure! Freedom, we say!

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

November 24, 2020 To The Stars

The Liberty Gazette

November 24, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: The young Indian girl, Mary Ross, was good at math. Really good. In the early part of the 20th century. Before calculators. Born of smart stock, her great-grandfather the longest serving Cherokee Chief ever, Mary was never given a list of things “girls can’t do.” Instead, she was sent to school. Teaching other Indian children math and science was one way she spread her encouragement and determination.

She became the first Native American female engineer, and in 1942, the first female engineer in the history of the Lockheed Corporation. I don’t think they had to fill any predetermined minority headcounts back then. She was the star they needed. Not just any engineer. An aerospace engineer, one of the 40 founding engineers hired to work at the renowned and highly secretive Skunk Works. 

A few years after helping design the P-38 “Lightning” jet fighter, she designed rockets and created concepts for interplanetary space travel. Decades ago, she was figuring out how to make Earth-orbiting flights in a variety of vehicles for crew and satellites. Imagine the work it took to get a rocket outside the Earth’s atmosphere. Her contributions benefit both the defense and civilian space industries and laid the groundwork for missions that haven’t happened yet.

And so how fitting when last year she was featured on the Sacagawea gold dollar. Since much of her work is still classified, the team designing the coin chose one of the known equations she would have used. To figure the velocity needed to break free from the Earth’s atmosphere and beyond, she had to calculate the requirements for that distance of interplanetary space travel, determine plane orbit and transfer orbit energy. The formula on the coin is this: 

V2∞ = V2- 2μ / r where V is the speed of an orbiting body.

V∞ is the orbit velocity when the orbit distance tends to infinity.

μ = GM, the standard gravitational parameter of the primary body with mass M.

r is the distance of the orbiting body center. 

Got it? That’s a simple one.

Also on the coin is an image of an astronaut closely resembling American Indian (Chickasaw) astronaut John Herrington. We happened to meet him in Houston in September last year when he joined the Apollo Chamber Orchestra for a night of fantastic space-themed storytelling and music. We had a blast talking airplanes with him after the concert. And to think that so much of his story unfolded because of the work of Mary Golda Ross. It’s satisfying to know she lived to almost 100 and got to see some of the fruits of her labors.

Mary never had a desire to go into space herself. She loved conquering the challenges of figuring out how to get it done. She did, however, believe that women would make wonderful astronauts. She’d just stay down here and analyze all the data.

Was she “one of the guys”? No. She was “one of the engineers.” A darn good one. A stellar one.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

November 17, 2020 Wintersmith Park

The Liberty Gazette

November 17, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Saturday morning the weather looked promising for the day, short as they are this time of year. A return trip to Mustang Beach with our bikes was a contender, but not the one that won this time. We skimmed the aeronautical map to find airports depicted very close to their host cities, and no more than three hours flight time to get to. Pauls Valley and Ada, Oklahoma competed with Mustang Beach for airport-to-city proximity. Ada won the coin toss, so we loaded up our picnic lunches and bikes and departed to the northwest with a tailwind and clear skies at 6,500’. 

The FBO at the Ada Municipal Airport is Heartland Aviation. There’s a young line boy there who will drive the fuel truck over if you call. I think he lives in an RV there on the airport. We were second in line for fuel (we like to fuel when we arrive, rather than wait until it’s time to depart), so while we waited, we re-assembled our bikes for the ride into town. Usually, all that means is putting the wheels on and connecting the brakes. But we had bought new, more cushy seats. Mike’s had gone on last week with no problem, but we needed a different tool for mine. Final action before hopping on and riding off: attach and adjust my new seat. 

One would think that shouldn’t be such a problem. However, as Mike adjusted the bracket, it cracked in two, leaving me seat-less. No worries, they have a courtesy car. A nice Ford Expedition. And the tank was full. We threw the bikes back in the Elyminator and our backpacks in the Expedition, and off we went to Wintersmith Park. And what a beautiful setting it is!

Mike: We stopped first at a picnic table and unpacked our vegan lunch as we surveyed the scene spread out before us. Brilliant fall colors set in stark contrast to the cool blue waters of the small lake and its grassy green banks. Above, a bright blue cloudless sky, and around us, a cool breeze. T-shirt weather without sweating.

A path meanders around the lake, and we sauntered along it, eking the most out of our getaway, crossing bridges that traversed fingers of the lake and one that spanned the brief dam. The rolling hills around the city park added depth and texture, and crunchy-looking leaves flittered across our path. And then there were the ducks and geese, dense flocks of them frolicking. The moments here so lovely, they gave us a brief respite from worldly concerns. 

 

On the way home, we’d cross back over the Red River, with a headwind to slow us, and the sun setting behind us. It would be dark by the time we landed. But an airport beacon and runway lights helped us find the spot where the music of our wheels chirped as we touched down at our home airport.

Autumn offers great flying weather, and we should have Linda’s bike seat ready for adventure next weekend.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

November 10, 2020 Local Sky Touring

The Liberty Gazette

November 10, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: With a beautiful weekend, we had plenty of choices where we could go, what we could do. We could fly somewhere we haven’t been yet with the bikes. We could practice approaches (legal requirements to maintain instrument currency require a minimum of six approaches every six months, plus holding, intercepting, and tracking). Or, we could go sight-seeing. That was the winning decision a couple of Saturdays ago when it was Mike’s turn in the left seat. “Let’s just fly around,” he said (some call it, ‘JFA’). “I think I’ll give you an air tour.” Sounded good to me. No pressure to be anywhere, just up in the sky, looking around with a different perspective.

Mike: I had just finished a mind-numbing and intense two-week, six-day-a-week work schedule. I needed to relax, and the Elyminator beckoned. I wanted to soar above the countryside and enjoy whatever scenes floated into view, my eyes like a camera lens, my mind storing the film I can replay whenever I want. 

Linda: We stayed local, no more than 60 miles around. Over Liberty, we peered down on the high school, with a great view of the baseball diamond, the track, and the tennis courts. Over Dayton, one of the most obvious eye-catchers is the ginormous train parking area.

The construction of 99 in progress was also an attraction worthy of our examination. Lots of it is carved out in the dirt, some bridges already poured, and you can easily see its footprint from the air. 

Mike: Lazily flying along the shore, we were spotting and telling tales of historical landmarks along the ship channels and intercoastal waterway. I made a couple slow turns over Fort Travis Park, checking out the circular foundations where the gun turrets were mounted, and the bunkers. A great place for a picnic. Viewing historical places from aloft adds depth to stories—like having a living, breathing map laid out in front of us. 

Linda: Probably one of my favorite sights on Mike’s tour was the Navy’s WWII blimp facility south of Hitchcock. Brought back memories growing up in Indianapolis where every May, the Goodyear blimp would arrive and hover over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which was near our house. Because the blimp would appear before opening day, it was always a beautiful sign of the fun days to come. There’s nothing like Indy in May. And flying a blimp would be cool. So would sailing. Believe it or not, I have never been sailing. 

Here and there, lovely sails dotted Galveston Bay, seemingly gently meandering, although I know there is work involved. Others gathered in tight groups, clearly students of a sailing school. I suppose if I’m drawn to flying something as slow as a blimp, maybe I would enjoy sailing, too. That’s actually a new thought for me, the one from Indy who loves high speed. 

Mike: This is kind of a gypsy trip in microcosm, going no place, with no need to get there fast, just enjoying the ride.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

November 3, 2020 Birthday Trips, Part 2

The Liberty Gazette

November 3, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Picking up where I left off last week, our birthday trip, a fly-bike jaunt to Lafayette, Louisiana, there were some clouds along the route, so we filed an IFR flight plan. This requires we talk with air traffic controllers, as opposed to flying VFR, where it can be optional.

Anyway, this story is about what it’s like when you come across someone who really stands out. As we scooted east, the first controller handed us off with a frequency change to the one handling the next patch of airspace. It was that moment when I heard the most vivacious, friendly, welcoming voice I have ever heard on the radio. So upbeat, charming, and engaging. And all she did was say the usual things a controller says to a pilot. But after I answered, which gave away that I’m a female pilot, she gave the “secret” handshake we have, we women in aviation. “…And happy Saturday!” 

When I got home, I asked around, who was working that sector that day? My description elicited only one possibility—Anna Mitchell. I had to know more about this lady who outshines the rest. 

Anna takes her job seriously and loves what she does. She’s been doing it 32 years, since graduating with a degree in biology.

“Communications can seem like the hardest part of flying,” she says. “Some pilots are terrified of talking to controllers, afraid they might say something wrong. I want to do everything I can to put them at ease.”

She grew up around airplanes. Getting in one was as normal as getting in a car. Her father had flown B-52s and flew several small airplanes, in which Anna often rode along. She and I have that in common; I call it “Daddy’s little shadow.” Her father and mine had something in common, too. He always told her, “There’s nothing you can’t do that a man can. Do what you want and do it well.” 

Anna’s first job directing pilots was in the tower at a small airport in Columbia, Missouri. Not everyone starts like that, and Anna values that experience because it allowed her to see things, such as the effect of wake turbulence on small aircraft. “I saw a Cessna 172 following a C130, and flip in the air from its wake turbulence. I know how important my warnings are!”

While some may think of her as a nameless, faceless voice, she can never forget how critical her job is. “There may be hundreds of people on an airliner, and what I say to their pilots matters.” 

For some, her voice has been the one that comforted them when they lost their way and became disoriented late at night. “You know, doctors make a difference. Researchers who fight cancer make a difference. I wanted to make a difference, too. When I get off work and head home from Houston Intercontinental, and I look up and see the lines of airliners funneling in from the east, I think to myself, I did that! It’s so satisfying to see it in action, knowing people are coming home safely.”

And happy. Thank you, Anna.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com 

October 27, 2020 Birthday Trips

The Liberty Gazette

October 27, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Happy birthday to us! We have so much in common, even our birthdays are one right after the other. Since we celebrated early with fly-hike-bike trips, venturing west a few times, we figured it was time to point the nose east. 

With the back seats folded down in the Elyminator, we have plenty of room to stack two bike frames, topped by four wheels, with flight bag and backpacks filling the nooks and crannies. Since it’s just us, and the bikes don’t weigh much, we can take on full fuel, which gives us over five hours before we’d use it all up. That’s longer than our sitters can sit anyway. 

The flight to Lafayette, Louisiana in our Grumman Cheetah is slightly over an hour, above the I-10 traffic all the way. I often wonder if the people down there in their cars scowl at us for the sign across the bottom of our plane: “STUCK IN TRAFFIC?” 

Speaking of slower vehicles, we got a chuckle out of the Citation jet that Lafayette’s tower controller sequenced to land ahead of us. Maybe they were on a maintenance flight, as the controller directed me to fly an extended downwind leg while this jet took so long to reach the airport on final. When I finally turned final, the controller gave the obligatory, “Caution: wake turbulence,” and followed up by advising me that the Citation was only traveling at 100 knots. Laughter burst forth from my co-pilot, who blurted, “Can you imagine what that Citation pilot is thinking right now? Thanks for broadcasting my slower-than-a-single-engine-piston-aircraft-speed.” 

Yes, we throttled back for a jet. That’s a first. 

On the ramp, we quickly snapped the wheels on our bikes and pedaled toward historic downtown Lafayette. We considered patronizing a restaurant, but we had brought a picnic lunch, so we rolled on, enjoying the sights through downtown, and ending up on the University of Louisiana Lafayette campus. Girard Park was the perfect place to find a picnic table in the shade and be entertained by frisbee throwers, children, and dogs. 

After swallowing the last morsels, I texted our dear friends who had recently moved to Lafayette from Houston so they could be close to grandchildren when the husband retired from his dental practice. His wife, Rebecca, is a fellow author and has written several excellent children’s books. “The Dry” is one of them. 

They’d weathered Hurricanes Laura and Delta much better than the poor folks in Lake Charles. From the air, Lake Charles is a quilt of blue squares. But our friends didn’t have any damage, and Rebecca picked us up at Girard Park and took us to their new home for coffee and conversation. She has built an enviable hanging fence garden, and they have a puppy named George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart’s character in “It’s a Wonderful Life”). But I’ve run out of space, so I’ll finish this story next week. Till then, blue skies.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

October 20, 2020 Airport to Alamo...bike style

The Liberty Gazette

October 20, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: Last week, Mike wrote about flying and hiking and our steps from historic Stinson Municipal Airport along the Mission Reach trail system. A few days later, we flew back to Stinson with our bikes. We had a lovely time cloud-busting and were welcomed back by one of the friendly line guys with Stinson’s Gate One FBO, who chocked the Elyminator while we tied down the wings. 

After ordering fuel and unloading, we rolled through the beautiful 1930’s terminal, crossed Mission Road, and we were on our way to a glorious ride. Well, at least for a couple of miles, until Mike’s bike broke. 

Mike: At first, I thought I was doing something wrong in shifting, because the gears seemed to be off. I could only shift in a couple of gears. I tried to locate the source of the problem, but realizing we were wasting precious time and getting nowhere, we chose to call it a day and hobbled the old Mongoose back. 

Linda: The timing worked out okay, though, as we drilled more holes in the sky on the return and arrived home a smidgen early for a web conference I was attending. 

While we weren’t super happy about not flying the next day, we took the day to shop for a new bike for Mike and to vote early. The bike shop was running about a week behind on repairs, so if we wanted to ride, he’d need a new bike. Back to the hangar to unload the old ‘Goose and replace it with his spiffy new wheels. The next day’s forecast looked pretty good. Not the early morning forecast, which was fog-laden, but certainly we could be wheels up by 8:30 or 9. With nothing planned to rush back for, we could spend the whole day cycling around San Antonio. 

The picnic lunches and water bottles in our backpacks added a little weight, but it wasn’t too bad. It’s just a little over ten miles along the Mission trails from Stinson airport to the Alamo, with the latter few miles being the bike lanes of South Alamo Street. Unfortunately, the place to secure our bikes wasn’t nearby, and the idea of “required” face masks while wandering the grounds around Alamo was a major turn-off. So, we said hello to Teddy Roosevelt on his horse, snapped a selfie in front of the Alamo, and meandered back. 

We peddled back down the generous bike lanes of South Alamo Street, through the Blue Star Arts Complex and numerous parks. We drank all the water, lightening the load, and enjoyed a picnic lunch in a shaded park along the San Antonio River. The light breeze helped cool us in the 91-degree sunshine. 

Roundtrip, we treaded 20.55 miles. Skies were clear leaving San Antonio, but by 7:30 in the evening, descending to our home airport, the fog would roll in soon. Next time, we’ll go east. We’ve discovered “ridewithgps.com” and some routes from Lafayette Regional Airport, which looks like a great fly-and-bike trip.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

October 13, 2020 Fly, Hike, Bike

The Liberty Gazette

October 13, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Flying and hiking, what a combination. But finding easy access to a trailhead near an airport is difficult. Often, when we land, ground transportation of some sort is needed to get to local attractions. When I read about the Stinson Loop Trail, a feeder trail to San Antonio’s Mission Reach walk along the San Antonio River, it beckoned me. 

For two consecutive day trips, the Elyminator whisked us across the state in about an hour and a half. We contended with storms moving into the area which caused a bumpy ride the first day. Gusty winds met us at Stinson Airport, but on the ground, that wind relieved some of the highly humidified hot air on the trail. The second day, the weather was better, and we scooted across the sky at higher and cooler altitudes. 

San Antonio Missions National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015. The distance between all five frontier mission complexes is about eight miles along the San Antonio River Walk. The northern most mission is the Alamo, and at the south end is Mission Espada. Where the Stinson trail meets the main route is just north of Mission San Juan Capistrano, which we walked to the first day. The next day, we took the path north to Mission San Jose. 

We discovered that regardless of footwear, long walks on concrete takes a toll on the body. Pavement is best suited for bikes, which we plan for future trips. 

We were rewarded with picnicking in a spacious courtyard as a peaceful breeze rustled through the trees, watching the buffalo grass gently wave. Mission San Jose’s stately steeple rose into an azure background punctuated by pillow-like white and gray hued clouds. Stone arches cast shadows on limestone walls painted purple by flowering sage bushes.  

Along the banks of the San Antonio river, benches and picnic areas provide rest stops for contemplating while watching egrets and herons go through their daily routines. Boulders along the Stinson Loop trail did the same. They’re coated with a special sealant that I’m sure is meant to prevent graffiti artists from defacing them. 

Each mission is unique. Mission San Juan Capistrano is small in comparison to Mission San Jose. Many of the walls at San Juan have fallen. The chapel is basic with a flat façade that houses three bells. Inside, the sanctuary is narrow and minimally appointed. Mission San Jose boasts a visitor center with set hours. When we entered the front gate, we were met by a massive walled space occupied by a traditional church. The surrounding wall itself also provided structure for the former residences for the mission’s inhabitants. 

Only a few other folks milled about while we were there, so much of the time, we had the entire complex mostly to ourselves. After completing our three-hour trek, the Elyminator whisked us home. We spent approximately the same amount of time getting there and back as touring the missions and drinking in history. Airplanes are great for making day-hiking trips. 

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com

October 6, 2020 Autumn Flying

The Liberty Gazette

October 6, 2020

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Linda: We’ve had several days of great flying weather. Inside the Elyminator is more comfortable when temperatures are not in the 90’s. In fact, the 50’s and 60’s are great. That’s a big reason why this is the time of year for the best fly-ins in this part of the country. While some have been cancelled (or might ask guests to plaster a cover over their faces), flying, and the camaraderie that comes with it, are still possible.

We recently installed some major upgrades to our instrument panel. These new devices open more opportunities for approaches our airplane wasn’t previously equipped to fly. Not that departure and enroute are unimportant, but it’s the approach to landing that can get sticky in weather. If the ceiling or visibility are too low, well, you’d better have equipment that will get you down to the runway safely, or plan to land somewhere else. 

The Elyminator used to have the old-fashioned instruments we call “steam gauge.” We had a portable GPS receiver, but not an installed one, and that makes all the difference in the world when it comes to what you can and cannot do, legally and safely. So not only did we bite the bullet for the latest model of one of the Garmin aviation navigation units, but we added several other instruments as well that give us important, legal-to-rely-on-in-weather information. That’s a game-changer. It means we’re not restricted nearly as much by the weather now.

However, even with fancy new gadgets, we stay away from big monsters like thunderstorms, hail, and high winds. 

We took advantage of a few days off work recently to fly some day trips to San Antonio’s Stinson Airport. That’s the second oldest (continually operated) airport in the U.S. The city of San Antonio has a tremendous trail system. The Mission Trails take you to all the missions. You can hike or bike around beautiful scenery. And after four years of hard work, the Stinson Trail opened last year to connect Stinson Airport with all those awesome trails. 

We packed a picnic lunch and after landing at Stinson, we walked out the historic terminal and crossed the street to Stinson Trail. Here begins the path to adventures. We made our first one to Mission San Juan Capistrano. It’s relatively small, some of it is ruins, but the walk is only about 3.5 miles. Great exercise! 

The next day, another picnic, this time at San Jose Mission, a much larger mission with more buildings intact. That day, we recorded a seven-mile hike. The bikes are coming out for the rest, since they are farther from the airport. 

We also discovered that San Antonio has kayak chutes. We’re keen on a trip to REI or somewhere for foldable kayaks to fit in the airplane. The real test will be – can we get both, bikes and kayaks, in the airplane? We’ll report back when we find out.

Meanwhile, look for Mike’s thoughts on the awesomeness of San Antonio’s trails next week.

ElyAirLines.blogspot.com