Our Trip to San Luis Obispo

Paul surprised me with a special gift for Valentine's Day. A trip for the two of us, to fly in a small plane down the coast to San Luis Obispo, Ca for lunch. So today we got to celebrate and take our trip. I dropped off the girls at the Kramers and then headed over to NPS to pick Paul up. We then headed over to the Monterey Airport to meet the owner of the plane. Paul helped him pull the plane out of the hanger and then we all boarded and got prepared for take off. We could not have picked a more perfect day for a flight. It was warm and clear and just beautiful. As we headed along the coast with the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other, I was enjoying the beauty so much. Some of the mountains were capped with snow while others were green from the recent rains and warm weather we have been getting. We were flying along and I noticed some movement in the front. Next thing I knew the pilot turned around to me and raised both arms in the air. He was letting me know that Paul was now the pilot. He did a great job flying and I know this is going to make him want his pilots license even more now. As we flew along I noticed quite a few sights that we have seen from the ground. One of them was Hearst Castle and it was even more beautiful from above. We also saw Point Lobos, Garrapata State Park, Point Sir Lighthouse, Naval Postgraduate School, Pebble Beach and even our house. After arriving in San Luis Obispo, we landed at the airport there and taxied over to the Spirit of San Luis Restaurant. This is a place where people fly to just to eat lunch. It was not a fancy place but very good food. The really cool thing is that it sits right along the runway so as you sit on the patio and eat, you can watch all the planes coming and going. We saw some stunt planes, some military helicopters, and some private jets. It was interesting to see the airport workers pull out the red carpet when some of these small jets landed. After we ate and enjoyed some time there, we headed back out to the airplane. On the way out, the pilot asked me if I wanted to ride up front this time. Of course I wanted too. I was hoping to fly the plane as well. Sure enough, after a little while he asked me if I was ready to take over. It was a blast!! He asked me if he could take a nap but I wasn't quite up to that yet:) He showed me what all the gages were for and how everything works. Before we landed, I had to turn it back over to him. He thought I might not be ready for that yet. Ha!! We had an awesome day!! I have a wonderful husband and wonder how he can ever top this date!!!