I finally had to depart Boston and got to cross the pond for England. It was a great flight and I got to see this as the sun came up
The fun part about this segment of my trip was that I was going to get to see Scott and Karyn and their new twin boys, Tyler and Colin. I had not seen Scott and Karyn since they left the states about 2.5 years ago. When I did see them it was a surprise and they didn't know I was coming, Scott's parents called me one night and told me to head up there and surprise them so I did, 8 hours later :) This time I was going to surprise Scott's parents as they were up visiting and seeing the new babies as well.
It worked out well, they were pleasantly surprised when KC walked in the front door. We had a great trip, from feeding babies to walking the town and checking out a beautiful church.
These are some of the pictures from a large church in Ely, we climbed to the top and it only took 288 steps!
We ate soo good this trip, everyone helped out and made amazing meals like this.
But now I am back on a bus heading for London to depart back to Boston. Why Boston? Well I am told that I have more chores to do at Amy's new house... Hopefully she will let me out of the house to check out the fall leafs this time ;)
My Dad finally made it to Arkansas! Yep he flew out to visit and check out he new place. I don't know if you can tell but I think he likes it....
This is Dad driving my Big Orange Tractor! I know the mower is not down, the grass is starting to grow a little slower and then it rain for a few days so he never got the chance to mow.
You can't see it but Dad is smiling ear to ear sitting in the back of SAMs J3 Cub, and the coolest part is this is my back yard! I don't think this will ever get old!!!
So after about 4 days of eating and riding around on the golf cart we decided to head to Amy's new place and check it out. It is a really nice place as well, even though there is no porch swing or hammock (yet) it does have ocean views and is only a house away from the beach!
Have no ear Amy put us to work during our short 5 day trip. I don' think I can even come close to naming all the projects she had for us but here are a few that come to mind: Install ice maker in the freezer Install track lighting Mount 6'x5' picture 10' about the ground (yes it was a big picture) Change out kitchen sink Replace light fixtures in both bathrooms Put door stops on all doors Make all doors work and not squeak Install a stand by generator for the house Swap out countless switches so they work with all the new fluorescent bulbs we installed Fix the dinning room chairs Hang blinds over sky lights Move dressers Mount extra heavy mirrors on dressers Hang black out curtains And the list goes on and on
It's a wonder we had time to cook steaks twice, go to both Home Depot and Lowes each no less than 5 times, take the duck tour around Boston, see Plymouth Rock (see below) and manage to drink case after case of beer!
Dad and Amy admiring the incredible investigative work that was required to know exactly which rock the pilgrims stepped on first... Thankfully someone was smart enough to carve 1620 on the rock and put a fence around it so we would not get it confused with the other rocks surrounding it.
Well Dad had to leave back to Hawaii to work... Ahh never mind he is furloughed... Yea so this vacation that he took will end up being paid time off with out being charged any leave, wow I must be standing in the wrong line!
Now I am off to go see some dear friends in England, I know I know my life is not that bad either.
Wish everyone happiness and good health and I'll chat from the other side of the pond. Aloha!
I am sorry I didn't get any pictures from my flight but I took this after we landed...
I did about 6 touch and go landings in a J-5 Cub during sunset, I am not there yet but this tail wheel thing is starting to come together. Don't worry I am not complacent nor will I ever be but I am starting to feel more comfortable with it.
I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be surrounded by some of the nicest people in the world, they have opened there lives to me and I am forever grateful for the wonderful experiences and friendships that have been established. I never would have thought in a million years that I would be able to jump on a golf cart, ride down a runway and get into a Cub to watch the sunset... Master card has it all wrong, THIS my friends is priceless!
So there I was, sitting in a hammock in Hawaii, watching the waves crash against the shore as the sun sets into the sea and thinking to myself "I need to move home to Hawaii". Well not but a week after returning to Arkansas I bought another home, but not in Hawaii...
I decided that life is about being happy, and not that I was unhappy but I had just realized that your surroundings have a huge influence on your happiness. I was home around family and friends and the beauty of Hawaii and I was truly Happy, so why not move back to Hawaii? Well... I found this "little piece of heaven" as my new neighbor Bev likes to say, right here in Arkansas.
"KC are you sure about this?" My sister Amy said, "You spend more time thinking about what color couch to buy than this, and this is a HOUSE!"
Well Amy was right, it was just 3 days after I had this wild idea that I had an accepted offer. Even a realitor friend that had looked at the house with me said "now why do you want to move? You have a nice house and what's so special about this place?" Not but 10 seconds later I whipped out my phone and took this short video
And this is why I want to move!
So not even 45 days later my mom was out and helping me pack up and move out to the country. I can't possibly thank my mom enough, she and I moved all my junk 20 miles down the road using nothing more than a Jeep with a 5x10' trailer and her Jetta. Ok we did use a Uhaul and some buddies to make one trip with all the large stuff, but other than that it was trip after trip after trip getting the house moved.
Then once we got to the new house it was full speed ahead on fixing up the house. You wouldn't think that a 4 year old house would need so much TLC but it did. We have been so busy this last month working on the house that i have been off the grid. We painted the entire interior, replaced all the carpet, mowed the lawn, had the biggest 4th of July party the neighbors had ever seen (after only living in the house for 3 days), changed all the blinds, mowed the lawn, ran 2 gas lines for a dryer and new gas stove, hung the TV along with inside and outside speakers, wiped down all 23 interior doors (thanks mom!), mowed the lawn, changed 2 broken windows, cleaned all the closets and kitchen cabinets, changed door locks, hung curtains, mowed the lawn, replaced all towel hangers and toilet seats, hung a hammock, cleaned out the hangar, started building a workshop and even mowed the lawn! (All 3 acres :)
So after all this work is it worth it? You betcha! I honestly couldn't stand the house when i bought it but I really didn't care, all I wanted was to be able to live with my plane (when I finish it) and the house is just a place to live. Well let me tell you, that has changed 100%! I still want to live with my plane but after the massive face lift that the house got, wow, I love this house! Being able to see plane come and go from the master bath, living room, kitchen and patio isn't thing short of amazing. I feel like a kid in a candy story, I get all excited every time I see a plane taxi/fly by.
Ok, ok show me the pictures already (yes I can read minds) well here you go.
This is the view from the cul-de-sac,
And here is from across the runway
This is the hanger before I bought it, as you can see you could easily fit three airplanes in here and that's an apartment in the far back that is approximately a thousand square feet
How's that for a view while you mow the yard?
This sure beats my old push mower!
There's mom, she sure loves to clean!
Bringing my baby home, next time she leaves she will be under her own power!
Here is the living room as we paint it
I will load more pictures soon but it's bed time and I wanted to load something for you all to see. But I'll leave you with these last 2. First I can't explain how incredibly nice everyone is out here, they have open there homes and shared their lives with me and I am nothing more than a new stranger. I can't capture with words the sense of community and family that this little piece of heaven has but it is absolutely one of a kind.
And this is the reason I moved, getting to watch the sunset from a J3 Cub that took off out of my own back yard, priceless.
Well I had a great weekend visiting Amy and Brendan! I don't know why I can plan trips better but these short notice ones are just as much fun.
It was sad that the Pats lost as Brendan now does not get to attend the Super Bowl, and also the city was not in the partying mood that I was. Amy and I did manage a pretty long pub crawl along the freedom trail during and after the game. It was sad to watch all the excited fans slowly realize that their beloved team was not going to win. Most of the bars were empty by the time the game finished but we kept the bartenders company, hahaha.
Then on Monday Amy had to travel out of the state for work and Brendan had to work so I drove around and checked out the city by myself. It was really nice and I had never thought about living in the north east but maybe that will be something that I consider one day.
As I look out of the window here at 38,000' I am reminded how small this world has become. Even though we all live thousands of miles apart we can be together in a matter of hours. Life is unfortunately way to short and precious to wait and see and that is why I feel so lucky to be able to jump on a plane and see family and friends. Now I just need to save up a little leave so I can do this again and see everyone else :)
So I woke up today and thought I should get some chores done around the house so I start by screwing up my fence, literally! It was nice to be outside in the warmth of the sun and doing something productive, reinforcing the fence!
Then when it was time for a break I had some guacamole and Amy called. She said Brendan and a bunch of people from his news station were going out tonight and she said she was excited to go out with them, I thought that does sound like fun so in pure KC fashion I bought tickets for a flight to Boston that was to depart in one hour and 45 minutes. Sounds like plenty of time till you think about it... I have to be at the airport 1 hour early!!! Than it takes 25 minutes to get there.... Hummm I now have 15 minutes to shower get dressed, (dressed to party as I land at 10:30pm and there is no time to change) pack a bag and get on the road.
Well it was close but it worked, I am typing this as I sit on a plane headed for Boston! It should be a good time and now I get to see Amy's place.
Time to try and rest up as I am afraid that this night will not be a short one, lol!
I love being me! I hope you enjoy your holiday weekend to the max extent possible as well!
