After 5 nights in Clearwater we loaded up the plane to fly farther south to Key West. The plan was to fly the coastline all the way down, over the Everglades and on to the Keys. It was a wonderful flight. We climbed out to 5500ft to get out of the heat and worked our way down the coast. We stayed over the water for the most part as all the clouds were building inland. It made for some wonderful colours.

The water was so many shades of blue. We soon approached the Everglades and decided to deviate a bit to stay with in glide of the one road we could see. The interesting part was that much of the everglades looked dry and grassy. Not what I was expecting. It wasn’t long and were heading south again for the blue water. The everglades soon turned into shallow blue water of the Florida Bay. There was Islands everywhere. We connected with the highway to Key West just east of Marathon. We had gotten below the clouds once over the ocean for better scenery. It is a beautiful place.

The only real obstacle is the 14000ft cable tethering the radar balloon. Stay south of that and you are golden. We soon got clearance through the Airbase and was on with Key west tower. On final there was a 737 then a Stearman and a Lear waiting to go. Every airplane you can think of was flying in the area. We taxied in and got a cab to the Hotel. It was a great 2 hrs flight and was great to be as far from home in the RV10 than we ever have before!

After five nights in Key West, we turned the plane around to start our way north. We only planned to go as far as Crystal River because there was a huge storm skirting Alabama, north Florida, and Georgia.

We climbed out of Key West in a right hand turn to get above the scattered clouds and to give time to get clearance through the airbase. Once cleared we were on our way out of the heat. It was amazing how hot it was on the taxi for departure. We were sweating buckets! It was so nice to get above the clouds into cooler air. We cruised along over the scattered clouds in smooth air watching all the islands go by.

It wasn’t long and we were over the Everglades. Not much to see from the air. The desolate area soon changed as we neared Tampa. We received clearance through the Bravo and kept on direct to Crystal River. We also overflew Sun N Fun to at least say we were there! Several day too early at that.

Once over Crystal River, we circled the area to get our bearings as we had swam with the Manatees the week before. That was a wonderful experience for the whole family, especially when they hug you and you think it is your son! The wind was strong out of the south and I did my best to save a wide drifting turn to final. Not the best landing in the tough 90 degree cross wind conditions, but we had arrived.

The plan was to spend one night and see if the weather would improve. One night turned into two. That was fine because we went kayaking to see if we could find some crocodiles! None were to be found and I was thankful for that. We did see some more manatees though. Being stuck in Florida was not a bad deal at all. When the main storm hit, the trees were really bent over and the rain was falling sideways. I was glad I used all my gust locks before leaving the airport.

The plan was to make as many miles as we could to get home in a reasonable amount of time. We were quite clear that there was to be no complaining. First leg was direct to Millington just north of Memphis. 540NM. We had brought food for the day, so stopping was just be for fuel and a quick snack. That leg was close to four hours as we had such a strong head wind all the way. The ride was mostly smooth until landing.

Next leg was direct to Omaha. 460NM. This leg had strong head winds again and lots of bumps. At least it was a bit shorter distance wise. I motored along in the bumps while most everyone else slept. My headset really started to become annoying. I had the Zulu 2’s on. Lucking my wife had her Halos on, so I stole the Bose A20’s. It was night and day comparison.

Seven hours with the Zulu’s on was enough and the Bose made for a fresh new start. Much less clamping pressure and much quieter. They are the winner in my book.

We planned our overnight in Millard which was very close to hotels. They treated us well and we got to the hotel in time for supper. We relaxed for the evening in the pool.

Almost forgot the best part of our arrival! Remember I mentioned we had snacks for the day? Our son, Gavin, had way too many snacks and started complaining about a sore stomach. So bad that he said he needed to be sick. Perfect. Three mile final and puking is about to commence in the cabin! My wife grabbed the quilt her mom made and quickly put it in front of Gavin. I will tell you one thing, isolate is the best thing ever in an airplane! Our daughter ripped off her headset and plugged her nose.

She had no interest in hearing or smelling it! I still pulled off a decent landing in the bumpy strong cross wind with a puking passenger! I did my best to get off the runway to park quickly because our daughter was now shouting that she really needed to get out. She could not handle the smell and said it was going to make her sick. I got the plane shut down and everyone out.

Welcome to Ohamha!