Flying Kentucky, June 7, 2012
It was a great weather day in Kentucky so we got the Luscombe L8E out of the hangar and took to the skies. Flying a small plane like this “low and slow” is a completely different experience than riding in a jet airliner. You feel every little gust of air and the whole sky is just right there at your fingertips.
We took off from KLOU Bowman Field in Louisville. "Clear"
Our shadow
Downtown Louisville
Chasing a barge boat down the Ohio. I think it’s getting away…
The green hills of Kentucky
This is the beginning of our approach into Dwayne’s farm. Can you pick out the runway?
Clearer now?
Dwayne restores airplanes. Behind this Cessna 175 are two Aeronica Champs and the carcass of a Cessna 120. Dwayne is a UPS aircraft mechanic and it took him three years to get the Cessna 175 from a bare metal bucket of bolts to the beauty you see now.
Time to go.
We decided to try to find Taylorsville Lake just by dead reckoning. Although we had a Garmin, we thought it would be more fun to hunt for it. We found it and went in low just to bug the fishermen.
The sun was going down and the Luscombe doesn’t have instrument lights, so it was time to head for home.
Landing at KLOU. Great, fun day.
Louisville Bats Pre-Season Warm Up at Slugger Field, April 2, 2012
This wasn’t a game, just an opportunity for the “VIP’s” to see the new Bats roster practicing prior to the season open. There weren’t many people down at Slugger Field, in part because the NCAA basketball championship game is also tonight, the University of Kentucky will face Kansas University, UK vs. KU, hmmm. Anyway, I don’t care that much about basketball, and this was the first opportunity of the year to be down at Slugger Field to be serenaded by the crack of ash wood on horsehide.
The Louisville Bats are the AAA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. There is an undertone of tragedy with AAA ball, in that only a few want to be there. Most are either being groomed for the major leagues or they are in the twilight of their careers and are on their way out. Some have had a shot in the major leagues, and perhaps have not done as well as was expected, and have been “sent down” to AAA to re-tool and heal for another shot at the big show. AAA players always seem to be “just passing through.” This was virtually a new team to me. There were a few guys there who played last season, but most of them were strangers. A bunch came up from the AA Carolina Mudcats, because the Reds moved the Mudcats’ manger, Rick Bell, to be the new Bats managers and he appears to have brought a bunch of his favorites with him.
Anyway, here are the pix. Click on the photos for a larger view:
Butchertown, St. Patrick’s Day
Butchertown is an historic area in Louisville. It was once the regional hub for meat processing and livestock transportation, hence the name. Click on the photos for a larger view.
Winter Colors
Willow Lake at Cherokee Park in Louisville, Kentucky
A Warm Winter Day
I went walking down my favorite street in the world, Bardstown Road in Louisville. Click on pictures for larger view.
Sanctuary
Sanctuary, New Goshen Presbyterian Church, 8/24/2011
Click on picture for larger view
The Dream of Flight, 8-18-2011
My friend, David, took me flying in his Luscombe L8E and Col. Joe’s Piper Cub J3. I have wanted to do this my whole life. Here are the photos: (Click on picture for larger view)
