I finally was able to give my mother her first ride in 14D.
We took a short flight over to the coast...here she snagged some photos on departure of San Francisco Bay just east of Palo Alto.
We swung over to the coast...
...and found an island somewhere off the coast of Ano Nuevo where there were supposedly lots of sea lions or something like that.
My mother is at least as anal as I am, and she corrected me... ;-)
Actually... Ano Nuevo State Park is a the largest mainland breeding colony in the world for the northern elephant seal. http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=523 The buildings on the island offshore were taken over by the seals (which was fine with the park service) in 1948, when the five-story lighthouse (built in 1890) was replaced by an automatic buoy and the lighthouse no longer required a full-time keeper. The lighthouse in the other pictures is Pigeon Point Lighthouse Station five miles up the coast from Ano Nuevo. http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=533 You can actually stay at the hostel there and reserve a private half hour in the hot tub at the top of a cliff overlooking the ocean with complete privacy. It's a cool place to watch the sun set. :-)
We flew back up the coast a bit before cutting over the peninsula to Palo Alto.
Back over to the hazy bay.
Entering left downwind for 31 at Palo Alto...
A shot of the 101 freeway...
A golf course just west of PAO...
On downwind at PAO...
Lots of planes tied down outside in the elements there at PAO. Four planes waiting to depart. Palo Alto is pretty busy on weekends.
Rolling out on final for an "RV Approach." I've mentioned it before, but here you can see what I mean. I come in high and then drop it in like a rock. I frown upon those huge patterns you see student pilots being taught to make lately. If at any point in the pattern I can't glide to the numbers if the engine dies, I'm too far out or too low. You could argue against this, that during most flights I'm not within gliding distance of an airport, and you'd be correct...but during major transitions, and when you do have the option, why not?
