Niagara Falls with the Millins

We decided to meet  Andy and Theresa Millin up in Niagara Falls for a weekend getaway. The plan was to drop the kids at my mother's in Doylestown, about 50 miles from home and then proceed direct to Niagara Falls International. I planned to leave at 9:00 but woke to a low, solid layer of clouds. We put things off for an hour and a half and ended up with nearly clear skies but very windy conditions with winds at 20-25 mph.

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Here are some shots of the quick trip to Grandma's. It was very turbulent. 

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Here is a quick video of the flight to Doylestown.

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Landing at Doylestown (KDYL) in a 20 knot crosswind.

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Here is a video of the landing at Doylestown.

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After landing, we taxi to the terminal to drop off the kids with Grandma. 

 

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Grandma is there waiting to pick up the kids for the weekend. Thanks Mom!

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Here is a quick video of the takeoff from Doylestown. Very gusty!

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We take off from Doylestown and turn on course. The winds are high, it is bumpy, but visibility is great.

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Here are some shots taken en route. Visibility was great and we had no turbulence once we climbed above the clouds.

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Here are some in  flight videos en route to Canada.

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After only 90 minutes, Niagara Falls comes into view. We contact Buffalo Approach and fly directly over Buffalo at 200 knots, then let down for landing in Niagara International for a straight in approach. The extended center lines on the GRT screens make it really easy.

Almost there. We see Buffalo and Niagara Falls

We go right over Buffalo with Niagara Falls in sight

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This is the landing at Niagara Falls International. It was a great landing after we were cleared for a long straight in approach, but the runway was pretty bumpy, so I got ribbed by Nancy anyway.

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We land, taxi to the FBO and find Andy and Theresa waiting for us by N114MV.

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I tie the plane down next to Andy's and we take some pictures of the planes on the ramp.
Very cool.

Made it! I tie down the plane.

Andy and Theresa with their plane

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View of the planes from Calspan FBO

Our traditional toast to a successful mission

We check in at the FBO then head out for a late lunch at a local Italian place in Niagara Falls.

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A quick drive to the Rainbow Bridge and we cross the border into Canada.

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Next stop, Niagara Falls. They are beautiful and we took way to many pictures. Here are just a few.

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Everywhere I looked was a great photo op. I took too many pictures, but I really like how they turned out.

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Just a few more. The seagull was too funny to pass up.

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Next up, a ride on the Horatio Hornblower, the Canadian version of the Maid of the Mist. It takes you right under the falls. It is a very scenic, but very wet ride. Lots of fun.

Nice face Nancy!

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After the boat ride, it was off to Niagara on the Lake, where we were to stay in Danner House, a Bed and Breakfast. 

Danner House

Our hosts, Dave and Helen, with their puppy, Sophie

Nancy and Sophie hit it off

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We had an unbelievable meal at Ravine Winery. We were beat so we headed home and turned in.

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Breakfast at 9:00 in the dining room. A roaring fire, pumpkin pancakes, juice and fruit. A great start.

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We decided to check out the town of Niagara on the Lake. On the way there we pulled over to check out this great vista in the gorge below the falls.

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Niagara on the Lake was a gorgeous little town with lots of shops, restaurants, boutiques and people to look at.

Andy sees a target rich environment

A wealth of hot sauces. This one is called the "Colon Cleaner"

Sooooo sleepy. Don't know why.

Oooh, shiny.

That's what I'm talking about.

Abbey Road- Canadian style

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After we finished checking out the town, Andy wanted to check out a place called the Pie Plate he found on TripAdvisor. Pie is basically crack to Andy and this place was reputed to be top notch. As it turned out, it was.

Andy barely keeping it together as he views Pie Heaven

Andy in his "Happy Place"

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After lunch we toured some wineries. It was a lot of fun.

Wine wisdom

Let's get some!

What? I've only had 12 samples.

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After the winery tours, we changed and went out to a great restaurant called The Old Winery.

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Not very inviting view for departure.

The next morning was not at all the nice day that had been forecast. We woke to low clouds and strong winds. The briefer told me to expect low ceilings, 40-50 knot winds and moderate turbulence.

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The wind was very strong, but right down the runway. We decided to give it a try.  After takeoff, we had to level off at 3,000 feet due to the low ceiling. It was very bumpy. As we got into the mountains, the terrain got higher. We were able to stay 1,000 feet above the ground, but got a very good view of the wind turbines. I was reassured by the fact that there was no precip and we could see for at least 50 miles. 

Plenty close to the wind turbines

Up 1,000 fpm, down 1,000 fpm, repeat. Working hard.

Low but good visibility.

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As we got into Pennsylvania, the skies cleared. It was still very turbulent, so we kept the speed at the 140 knot maneuvering speed. With the tailwind, this still netted 165-170 knots over the ground.

Check out that MPG!

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We flew to Doylestown to pick up the kids, but were advised by Unicom as we approached that there was a 35 knot direct cross wind. We decided to head to the bigger runway at Chester County, then drive the hour to pick up the kids. As we approached Chester County, the winds were at 53 knots, the most I had ever experienced. This is a shot of us turning base to final. We descended like a helicopter, as you will see in the next video. I was proud of the landing.

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It was a great trip with challenging flying both ways. I feel like I sharpened my skills on this one. I can't wait till the next adventure trip.