Something entirely new and foreign happened to me this week. I found myself at an enormous (10,000 people) fly-in at the Lakeland County, FL airport. Met home-built pilots, vintage plane pilots, lots and lots of veterans of three or four wars, young soldiers, Royal Air Force cadets from Canada. All had everything from teeny teeny planes to enormous jets. All were airplane zealots (junkies). And everyone was happy talk with me and anyone who listened.

It was a friendly, laid-back group, no thievery among pilots. Saw aerial acrobatics, blue Angels, precision teams and more. There is airplane noise from about 6 a.m. To long past dark. Yup, ready for some quiet. Laughed till my jaws ached. We camped in an live oak grove of trees with a mixture of tents, motor coaches, pull-behind campers. Showers nearby. All of the comforts of home.

I hitched my first ride and will post pix next week when we have wifi again. Thanks for reading.

The newly-minted airplane junkie.