Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

Ian and I had exchanged a number of emails over the last few weeks in preparation for today. Our plan was to have Ian take the kids up for a glider ride. Ian is a glider pilot and I have been up for flights with him in the past so I knew that the kids would love it. Everything was looking pretty good right up until we arrived at the rural airport to find that the tow pilot was not there. For those of you less familiar with gliding, or soaring as it is properly called, it can only be done with the help of some type of tow system to get the glider into the air in the first place. Gliders require a tow because they are basically planes without engines. They are designed to soar through the air on their own, much like a hang glider does. So to get started you typically need an airplane with an engine as well as a tow pilot. Ian had called the tow pilot earlier in the day to confirm that we were going to the airfield and that we would need his services. Apparently this message was misunderstood and the person though he said he was NOT coming out for a flight this afternoon. Hence, no pilot. Actually, when we arrived, there were no people at the airfield at all. Bummer. We had kept this a secret from the kids up until now so they were really wondering what the heck we were doing all by ourselves at a grass airfield. We told them what we had planned to do and that we would not be able to do it unless we could get a tow pilot. We decided to have our picnic lunch at the airfield anyway and think over our options. Then an option materialized out of thin air … literally. A plane was flying by and then turned and landed. Unfortunately, it was not the tow pilot but it was a fellow pilot, Jim, who was a friend of Ian’s. Although Jim was not certified to give us a tow he could see the disappointment in our faces and asked Ian if he would like him to provide a tow anyway since he had done it in the past. Jim and Ian agreed that it would probably be best not to bend the rules in this case. Then Jim generously offered to take the boys up in his plane for a ride. Cool! They both jumped at the chance to take advantage of this felicitous offer. And the best part is that since there was an extra seat, I got to tag along for the ride too! He took us up for a little spin and the kids and I loved it. I couldn’t believe that this gentleman, who barely knew us, offered to take the kids for a little spin in his plane. If you have an interest, you can check out the video I took while we were landing. So a good time was had by … well, at least the three of us. Then, on our way home, we passed a field with some long-horn cows, and a horse to boot (that’s an expression, ok) so we stopped to take some photos. We even got to pat the horse thanks to Ian’s actions to get them to come over. You know, free grass. Then we made our way back to Ian and Kristi’s place for a lovely meal and a mellow, relaxing evening before retiring to a “real” bed for the second night in a row. Talk about the lap of luxury!

Today’s word:

felicitous \fuh-LIS-uh-tuhs\, adjective:
1. Suitably applied or expressed; appropriate; apt.
2. Happy; delightful; marked by good fortune.