Monday, June 1, 2009

Flying to the Beach

Husband and I made a quick trip down to the Outer Banks this weekend. Some friends of ours had a beach in Corolla for the weekend and invited us to join them. We had hoped to get out Friday-- but a combination of factors (me needing more sleep to recover from a cold, Husband having some additional meetings to get through, and then several lines of severe thunderstorms on our route) kept us from getting airborne until Sat morning. We took off (after a few last minute delays) at 6:40am, and touched down in Manteo right at 8:40am. Husband had the leg (I was still feeling the effects of the cold) and did a great job. The FBO there (great folks!) supplied us with a rental car and we were on our way up to Corolla. Expecting a 1.5 hour drive (GoogleMaps), we were pleasantly surprised to be at our friends' place by a little past 10-- even with the obligatory stop for doughnuts and coffee!

The beach was great. Flyer (yes, we took him with us) had a fantastic time. Our friends also have a dog and the two get along great. Plus, we took Flyer out to the beach with us and he lay on the sand with us-- and also chased balls through the waves. By the end of the weekend, he was jumping over the waves and paddling out to get the ball, then riding the waves back in like a true surfer dog. Maybe we should change his name to "Dude".

We had a hard time leaving paradise, but managed to pull ourselves away in time to have a leisurely drive back to the airport, stopping on the way for awesome seafood at Sugar Creek. Yummy. Then we did a little flight-seeing up and down the coast before pointing toward home and calling up ATC for our IFR clearance. Husband had fun poking through the wisps of clouds that floated along our route (I still couldn't kick that cold!).

All of this weekend fun leaves us wanting to do another flying beach trip this summer. Any suggestions out there for a good place to go from the DC area? We loved the atmosphere in Corolla, but could do without the 1-1.5 hour drive after a 2+ hour flight. Write in if you have suggestions of where to fly next.

2 comments:

Gary said...

Yummmm...sugar creek has great food!!!

Sounds like you both enjoyed a great get-away. We loved Dare County too, nice folks working the terminal and fast service. Did you see all those geese on the approach?

Other beach get-aways...Cape May is nice and they have a car rental on the field. Mary and I also enjoy OCMD, car rentals and taxis available but there is a boat load of people there all the time unless you stay north of 54th or 56th street (the no boardwalk area).
Lewes delaware is also on the top of our list, quiet beaches on the Bay, 15 minutes from KGED that has a great restaurant and car rentals. The cape may ferry is 5 minutes away from Lewes and you can walk on and go over to cape may. The sunset cruise is very nice watching the sun set over the bay.....I took Mary on that run while dating.

I think our favorite is Nags Head, its quiet, plenty of great places to eat (for me) and shop(for mary)and the beach is very nice.

Great write up!! Enjoy the summer!!

Gary

Colette said...

Does your dog fly in the plane with you? I'm looking for information on flying with a dog in a private plane and I found your blog. We are wondering if anyone actually flies with their dogs and what type of harness they use.
If I've confused your pet "dog" with your plane "dog", my apologies.
Thanks!