Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Twice to Portland

While this blog was hiding under a rock, I had two trips to Portland for the monthly medical adventure. The October 6/7 trip was an Angel Flight magic carpet ride. Multo thanks to southbound pilot Norman Rittenhouse, and northbound pilot Paul Danis, and to the whole AngelFlight organization.

Port Angeles airport was fogged in all morning, so Mr. Rittenhouse suggested we fly out of Sequim Valley Airport (adding another airport to my collection of "little airports everywhere") and on down to Hillsboro. We parked at Premier Jet Fuel, and the nice fellow behind the desk in the FBO office offered me a ride down to the lightrail station, I didn't even have to make the 15-minute walk. Lightrail, streetcar, into the motel...

October 6, 2013. Sequim Valley Airport in a bubble of sunshine. Olympic Mountains on the skyline. (Click for larger image.)
In the Piper Cherokee. (Click for larger image.)
Arrival at Hillsboro (Click for larger image.)
Heading downtown on the Max Blue Line in Sunday afternoon quiet. October 7, 2013 (Click for larger image.)

In the morning: streetcar to OHSU, appointment with Big Medicine, taxicab back out to Hillsboro (time was tight), and flight back to Sequim Valley Airport with Paul Danis.We flew IFR (instrument flight rules) almost all the way, in and out of clouds, hugging the eastern margin of the Olympics. Angled down through the ceiling and there we were. Whee.

Kind of beautiful out, Hillsboro Airport, October 7, 2013 (Click for larger image.)
In the Piper Comanche (Click for larger image.)
Mountaintops appear for a moment. (Click for larger image.)
Back at Sequim. (Click for larger image.)
It was getting late. He flew away immediately. (Click for larger image.)

Thank you to Angel Flight and to my pilots, for helping make the monthly trek to Portland (and my continuing participation in the clinical trial) possible.


KF came up from Marin County for the November 3/4 trip. It was just glorious to have a friend to talk to for four days. Southbound on November 3rd, we entertained ourselves with portraits of the HammaHamma River's pair of rainbow arch bridges. KF got better pictures but I can't find them right this minute. After settling in to the motel, we took the streetcar to Powell's, spent money on a pile of books, supper in the noodle shop I fancy when making my pilgrimage to the cathedral of books, streetcar back. In the morning, November 4, the medical business (somewhat complicated this time, and a good thing I had a second pair of ears along, it had been a hard month). Then before we hit the road, a joyride to the top of the tram, which KF had heard about. Then zip for home. Explored a new exit for bathroom and food break along I-5. Once again blew past Falls View Campground along Hood Canal; one of these trips I will remember to stop and see what the Big Quilcene River looks like falling out of the mountains there.

Thanks to KF too, for making the clinical trial journey a do-able thing. I really can't do this alone.

South Hamma Hamma bridges, along Hood Canal, November 3, 2013. (Click for larger image.)
Thanks to OHSU for the free ride on the Portland Aerial Tram :-) November 4, 2013 (Click for larger image.)

1 comment:

Martin Frederich said...

It was an incredible adventure, mainly because it was done to help someone else with an angel flight. Indeed, people flying are special people but when they are angel pilots are evn more special.