Tampa, Florida
0400hrs local
There is something amazingly clean and peaceful about Tampa in the pre-dawn hours, something you cannot see in this city at any other time.
There is a silence, a serenity, that exists at no other time here.
That is, until the burgundy 1998 Chevrolet S10 flareside rolls down Kennedy avenue, Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” pumping out of the speakers.
Knowing his friend is already in Columbus, as he had checked the tracker on Jye’s bike before leaving the house.
By the way, the S10 was mine, of course, and I was haulin’ down Kennedy at about 55.
I made it to the airport parking people I use, and they had an issue with the shuttle bus, so had to go get another one. Once that showed up, I was off to Tampa International.
I arrived at the airport with just enough time to check in and jog my happy ass upstairs and board the plane.
Yeah, My plane was scheduled for departure at 6am, we actually rolled at 5:50.
However, I ended up being the middle seat of three. But the brunettes on either side were hot, and quiet, so it was a great flight into Atlanta.
Figures, we land in Atlanta at 7:20, my next flight is supposed to leave at 8:15. We land at gate D3 or some shit and I had to chuck all the way to C2 to catch the Dayton flight. Tall ass bald white man chuckin' like at a track meet through Atlanta airport.
You KNOW I got some looks!
Got to my gate just as they called my flight.
Wander back to my seat, gorgeous redhead sitting in my row.
Of course, I’m in the middle again. About this time I’m starting to think this might be a pretty good trip.
I should know to keep my mental mouth shut.
Big ol’ mamajamma with a cute little baby was the window seat, and he shows up at the absolute last minute, of course.
However, the FA took one look at the situation, and, since there were only 85 people on the 737, she offered him his own row.
Valerie, I know you’re married, but I love ya for that! AirTran has AWESOME FAs!
So the flight taxies out, and the redhead dozes off.
I’m reading Rickenbacker’s autobiography when I notice something out of the corner of my left eye. I’ve scooted over to the window to give the redhead and I some room. She wasn’t short either.
I look out the window and can see another aircraft. SouthWest. Probably a good 1500 feet or more below us. Knowing FAA guidelines, he was probably more like 2000 below.
Grabbed the camera to take a shot of him, but he was going faster than we were, and was under the wing by the time I got the lens cap off. So I shot the wing, see?
Flight was uneventful, and e landed in Dayton early.
Bonus.
I wander over to enterprise, and I tell ya, that little woman behind the desk was as chipper and cute as a damn kitten. But she had bad news for me. They didn’t have anything left in the class range I had reserved. Someone had wrecked another car in that class, so they had given mine to them.
Would I mind taking a different car? They only really had this one left, they’d just got it in.:
So I took it.
Oh yeah.
For you non car people, this is a 2010 Ford Mustang convertible that had 200 mi on it when I took possession.
I think I’m in love.
So, I pulled out of the rental lot and found a quiet place to park and fiddle with all the bells and whistles.
Then I hit out for the Air Force Museum…..sorry, they changed the name a few years back. It’s the National Museum of the United States Air Force now.
Whatev, it’s still a lot of fun.
Today I managed to go on the exclusive Restoration and Research and Development tours. The Research and Development tour held many one of a kind aircraft, and was definately a highlight that I am glad to have hit. The Restoration tour was also amazing, but extremely close held, as was evidenced by the fact that once we were in the hangar, they padlocked the doors.
I also made it through the Early Years and Air Power Galleries, and halfway through the Modern Flight Gallery before my stomach reminded me that all I’d had for sustenance since dinner at 1830 last night was a couple of bottles of Mt Dew and a Venti White Mocha from Starbucks.
Oops.
So now I’m cross-loading the 1137 photos I took today and waiting for the Meier boys to get here, after having killed off a family size Lasagna at the Pizza Hut near the hotel, the Days Inn nearest the Museum.
So, enjoy the photos. Ben, Jim, Geoff, some of your requests are in here.
Tomorrow, I‘m finishing off the Modern Flight Gallery, hitting the Cold War Gallery, shooting the Dawn Patrol Rendezvous. And trying to do a Wright tour in the a.m., hitting the bike shop and Huffman Prairie, if I haul my butt out of bed early enough, plus whatever Jye and AdamBob want to do.
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