Five Five Two Romeo Alpha

Meet N552RA - or "Five Five Two Romeo Alpha" as she's introduced over the air. I had the priviledge of a private flight in this beautiful little plane with a very hot pilot through the sunny skies of our flawless Easter morning. I wish I could tell you that I took photos of the Genessee River as it wound along below us, ribboning its way among the golden patchwork quilt of fields and trees. Or that I had neatly snapped some pictures of Letchworth's deep gorges and the incredibly perspective we got of the trestle bridge as we circled above it. Alas, I cannot. Between sweet memories of previous flights with my beloved pilot and the distracting knot my stomach twisted into (I'm a little out of practice with my cessna riding), I failed to take a single picture. I guess you'll just have to take my word for the fact that it was literally a perfect day for flying, and a delightful trip.

I will save the various rants that come up when I think about planes (how the FAA is equivalent to the FDA in relevance and usefulness, how much safer we would all be if people put a fraction of the effort into maintaining their cars that pilots put into their planes, why we never learned anything useful in school (did you know there's a civilian air patrol?) for another day and instead tell you about what we did after we flew. When 552RA was safely tucked back in the hangar, Eric and I headed to the shores of Seneca Lake to have Easter brunch at one of our favorite pieces of heaven on earth.

Again, distracted = no camera. Borrowing official pics istead... sorry...

Wagner Winery's restaurant, the Ginny Lee, had a festive Easter brunch and were kind enough to let us sit outside on their sunny deck. The pungent smell of grapes on a sweet spring breeze is like music for the soul. Delicate and fragile, but able to permeate to one's core. Where better to reflect on the amazing richness of God's love and the power of His hands, than taking in his creations from a new perspective and embracing the sights and scents of spring at their lushest. This was a new way to celebrate Easter for us and, I hope, the beginning of new traditions.