Just about a year ago my childhood friend (and maker) Andrew came and spent 10 day helping me build N241VP. It was such a blast working together and it only seemed fair to make a visit out to his home in North Carolina. First, it is a haul to get there from Steamboat, so we opted to break the flight into two days. First day included a fuel stop in Ellsworth, KS and an overnight in Dexter, MO. This left just an easy 90 minute flight into Rutherford county, NC.
The Smokey mountains surprised me with their height (relative to the surrounding area) and after the quick hop over we were soon on the ground and giving Andrew his first glimpse of my completed airplane. It was beyond cool to be able to see him inspecting the parts that he fabricated and built.
Since Jean and I had not been to Asheville before, and we arrived a couple days earlier than planned to avoid weather, it seemed like a great idea for a day trip to Asheville to explore the Biltmore Estate. Not the cheapest excursion but I’m definitely glad we made the visit. And to cap it off we found an amazing sushi restaurant before braving the narrow twisty roads back to Lake Lure in the pouring rain.
We spent five days exploring the area with Andrew and his family. This was a new part of the country for me and it was impressive. Definitely not enough time to see/do everything but we squeezed in a lot, including helping Andrew with a few projects on their lake home that he is remodeling. Andrew’s wife Elizabeth had reserved a spot for a beautiful hike with views of the absolutely peak fall colors. We also managed some bouldering. Of course the girls showed up the adults but with age I don’t mind. And we all still earned an ice cream afterwards in Chimney Rock.
I was surprised to arrive at the airport and see another RV-10. And better yet I knew the plane, it was Leo who actually provided me with the control stick bushings on my plane! Better yet again, we ran into Leo and his wife. They are from Michigan but building a hanger and home on Rutherford county. So cool to cross paths, next year maybe we will cross again at Oshkosh!
Two RV-10s sharing the tiedowns
Of course it would not be fair to not give Andrew and his daughters a ride. So finding a break in the wind one morning we took to the air for some exploring and more fall color spotting. We even squeezed in a touch and go at nearby Selby County.
Sadly we had to say goodbye and leave to visit our friends in Hilton Head, SC. But hopefully the Theissen family will take us up on the offer to come explore Steamboat!
Asheville is a very cool city! I saw the Biltmore estate when i kayaked post on the river. It looked amazing from there.
We really enjoyed Asheville too, great food, great vibe, and great views. Hope to get back and see it from the water some day!