Back from the Bahamas 

I just had a dream fulfilled...My husband and I flew our own little Cessna 172 to the Exumas in the Southern Bahamas. If you have never done this flight-do it! I was amazed at how easy it was to fly over to Freeport, check in with customs and be on our way to some amazing views and wonderful people. We left out of Fort Pierce Florida and the folks at Volo Aviation could not have been nicer. They helped with all our paperwork, life raft rental and life vests. Any questions we had, were readily answered along with the numerous pre-flight e-mails I sent their way. We flew into Staniel Cay, a small strip in the Exumas. The strip was in great shape and the approach was beautiful. Unfortunately, not a single weather report was able to warn us of the strong gusty crosswinds we encountered. My husband and I had decided to alternate legs, so lucky me-this was my leg. I have decided that although this was not my prettiest landing-it was truly my best. The winds were probably in excess of my crosswind component (not something I would have planned on had the weather reports been accurate!)  I went around the first go at it because I was blown away  from the runway. The second attempt was a charm, but not without a little hopping on the mains-first the windward wheel, then the downwind wheel, then back and finally down for a windy rollout. I was pleased that the voice of a dear friend was in my head the whole time saying "You never stop flying the plane until the key is out of the ignition!" And so it was... I wrestled my baby to the ground and we were all safe, invigorated and glad we had done it. The return flight was a bit less eventful and of course my husband had a perfectly calm day for our departure! If you have ever considered the trip-do it! It was amazing and I can't wait to do it again.


Fly safely and remember that it is great to be a Pilot in Pink!