All I Ever Wanted

I'm a very lucky guy. Seriously. I have an amazing family, an amazing job, and I am surrounded by things that just bring joy to my life. Lucky. Like I said.

There are some things that I always wanted when I was growing up. There are some things I still want. (And yes, I'm still working on the growing up thing.) One of those things I always wanted as a kid and still want as a semi-adult is a life full of flying. I love to fly. Seriously, I really, really love to fly. I've always wanted to fly, and I've always wanted to have a family of my own that shared my love for flight. Like the other lucky aspects of my life, I've got that family.

My little sister, Bethany, recently delivered her first baby, Colter Ray Drummond. He's a cutey pie! More on him in a second. The girls and I obviously wanted to go see him, but we all have complicated schedules now. Driving to Alabama is an 11-hour proposition for us, which would amount to two wasted days in a car going up and coming back. With limited time in the first place, that just didn't seem like something we wanted to do. But flying commercially at the last minute is a super expensive proposition. We were looking at $1,200, just in airfare! No bueno. What's a guy with a fleet of airplanes, a pilot certificate, and a love for flying supposed to do? Yep, we flew that bad boy!

We took one of my favorite all-time small airplanes, the Tecnam P2006T, on our cross-country trek. It's got twin engine redundancy, huge interior space, and super-low fuel consumption. Our stuff and our people fit in easily, and then we were off. The trip up was 3:45 and the trip home was right at 4:00. We made an intermediate fuel stop both ways, not because we needed to, but just to stretch out and visit the facilities (young kids, you know). All in all, it was a lot of fun, and we got some quality time with our new little man. Photos follow. Feast your eyes!
  

So, to recap, I'm a very lucky guy. I'm not saying that to brag or throw anything in anyone's face. I'm just stating the simple fact that I feel exceptionally blessed to have what I have. I realize that I probably don't tell my loved ones that enough. If you, like me, find yourself bogged down by life, work, etc., take a moment to reconnect with your friends and family. Reinvest yourself in other people. This last week has been one of the best I can remember. I got to do just that. Now I'm recharged and ready to go tackle more life, work, etc. At the end of the day, a group like this is all any sensible person would want.

Live well, my friends!