01.08.05 -

We took a trip to South Texas for the weekend to visit my 82 year old grandfather. My Dad and Mom were there visiting also. With my five year old daughter along, we represented four generations of Page's. Lookout world! I brought my flying gear in hopes of getting up in the air sometime over the weekend.

My Grandfather, Ralph Page, was a pilot for many years and has great pictures and stories from those days. He once built a "Pitts" biplane from just the plans. It took him four years to complete the project. The FAA inspected the plane and passed it to fly acrobatics. He flew it many air shows, entertaining the crowds and pushing the envelope.

The weather was not cooperating, clouds and drizzle is what we woke to on Saturday morning. South Padre was an hour away. We loaded everyone up and headed toward the island hoping for a break in the weather. We arrived about 1:00 pm and it had finally stopped drizzling, and the sun was trying to break through.

We ate some lunch and waited for it to dry up a bit. The sun broke through as we pulled up on the beach. I hurried to unload and pre-flight. Right before take off it was clouding up again but I decided to go for it. Grandpa Ralph and company were all smiles as I took off and did several fly by's. I only flew for about 20 minutes or so, but it was a day we'll all remember. More to Come...