After departing on runway 26 (to the west), I turned southeast on a course that would initially take us over Six Flags Great Adventure. Before we arrived, though, we noticed that traffic was already backed-up on the New Jersey Turnpike heading south. Ahead and on the horizon, we could see the roller-coasters that adorn Great Adventure's skyline, and I set-up the plane for a slow CCW circle of the park and Safari. We noticed that the parking lot was about 1/4 full with only a handful of buses, and the lines for most rides were rather short. The parking lot entrance, on the other hand, was backed-up and the lines were growing, a sign that the park would be packed later on in the day.
Next up was a continuation of our course, this time east-southeast, towards the Jersey Shore. The air was quite choppy and was not as predicted. We arrived parallel to the Manasquan Inlet near Point Pleasant and noticed something we had never seen before. Long streaks of what looked like algae/pollution being churned up by the boats that were in the area. It looked very strange and somewhat eerie, and those streaks parallel to the shoreline were not waves cresting, either, as the tide was out:
Turning to the south and following the shoreline, the air of course became smooth due to the even heating and cooling of the air thanks to the Atlantic Ocean. We were soon passing Seaside Heights and noticed many folks packed on the beach. Most rides on the two amusement piers there were all running as well. Continuing further, we overflew Island Beach State Park and passed just west of Barnegat Lighthouse:
Next up was the bustling, gambling metropolis of Atlantic City. We flew east of the city, then I turned back north and flew west of the city, circling The Borgata, The Water Club, Harrah's and the Trump Marina complex as seen here:
And while circling this giant complex of casinos, I couldn't help but notice an array of what I assumed were light posts on the upper level of one of Harrah's parking decks. It looked like a field of red and blue pinwheels, all laid out flat and parallel to the parking lot....How Interesting:
Finally, I turned back on course over the now closed Bader Airfield. I happened to look down and see Lucy The Elephant in the town of Margate as we were now flying parallel to the shoreline. Ocean City was up ahead, and just as with Atlantic City, we turned back around and flew north past the city and boardwalk areas to get a better look at the packed beaches:
Ocean City airport is only a few blocks southwest of the boardwalk / amusement area and it looked quite busy with folks flying in for the day. Continuing further south, Stone Harbor was up ahead followed by Wildwood. And as we passed each beach community there were droves of people packed onto the beach, but not a soul was in the water except for a few waders since the water temps were only in the low 50's. I was checking-out the amusement piers at Wildwood and was pointing out to Dad that come Summer of 2009, there are rumors of a new roller coaster to be built here that would span two piers. Only time will tell if this project will ever pan out.
Cape May was the last town along the Jersey Shore, and was not as crowded as the previous beach areas, though just as pretty with its Victorian-Style homes and quaint, tree-lined streets. After flying past the Southern tip of New Jersey (picture) and the Cape May Lighthouse (picture) we turned northward and overflew the Lewes Ferry terminal (picture). Cape May County airport was just to the northeast of our course and I called in and announced my position and intention to land. We set down gently and into a direct headwind blowing right off of the Delaware bay.
We parked next to the large hangar on the field and ate our picnic lunch inside the plane due to the cool breeze from the west. After a leisurely stroll to the operations hangar/office, we chatted with a rather interesting individual and looked around a bit. Another leisurely walk back to the large hangar, which also houses the Naval Air Station Aviation Museum, we took a peek inside. I shot some photos and videos around the hangar, then we made our departure to the west, followed by a turn to the north as we flew along the shore of the Delaware Bay. Both wanting to see the progress of the New Jersey Motorsports Park Raceway that was under construction adjacent to Millville airport, we headed in that direction. The air was still "butter smooth" until we made our way past the bay area and over land. Then the choppy air began once again. Upon arriving at Millville, we saw that another track had been constructed along with some buildings, though the complex was still far from accepting paying spectators. The airport itself was not very busy, and only one of the two major runways was open.
The next leg of our flight took us northwest towards Cross Keys airport to enjoy some parachuting entertainment (as spectators; NOT participants). It was at this point that we noticed the wind at the surface was from the south, yet us, while flying to the north, were feeling the effects of a headwind and our ground speed was reduced. Yup, the winds aloft were still from the north, and is why the parachute jump plane was letting it's adventure seekers out north of the field. Winds aloft from the north and surface winds from the south....Ah, Mother Nature !!!!
I landed at Cross Keys airport and parked near the operations building, but there was not a soul in sight. We took a walk along the runway/taxiway to the parachuting operations area and noticed only one of two DeHavilland Twin Otter (picture) aircraft were being used due to the reduced number of parachutists. Nonetheless, we bought some ice cream, took a seat and enjoyed watching them float down. Back at the plane, I manually checked the level of the gas in the tanks and determined that we would need some additional fuel to fly home safely. Unfortunately, Cross Keys does not have a 24/7 fueling station, so I called an airport just north to check availability and hours of operation. Lucky for us, they were open, but we had to get there within a half an hour. Quickly we made our way north to South Jersey Regional airport where we met up with the fueling personnel who filled our tanks with some much needed "liquid gold" (read the first paragraph).
Departing once again, I headed the plane north-northwest on a course that took us northeast of Philadelphila, PA and west of Trenton, NJ. We overflew Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA, then over the lush, green fields of lower Bucks county in Pennsylvania. Traversing the Delaware river for what seemed like the 10th time, beautiful Hunderdon County in New Jersey was now in front. We spotted several private, grass airstrips just as we always do and we wished one was our very own. In addition to these aviation enthusiast havens, there were a plethora of horse and cattle farms, each with their own distinctive scenery.
Our home base airport could now be seen in the distance, and once there, I set up the plane for landing and touched down gently, bringing the nose up for a full stall landing. We topped-off our fuel tanks once again to reduce the likely-hood of condensation forming and taxied back to our parking spot. It was an awesome flight this Memorial Day weekend of 2008, and one that presented us with many interesting and intriguing views....
Thanks for Flying Along with Dad and I !!!
