The Madeline Island Birthday Flight

Birthdays are supposed to be celebrated.

For me, New Year is a chance to reflect on all that happened in the world in the last year, but it's not really about just me. Remembering another successful trip around the sun on my behalf acknowledges my small achievement and gives me pause to think about all that has happened to me personally in the last year. Favorite bits, lessons learned, things I'd do again and things I certainly would not.

On July 19th, 2014 I turned 40. I know, right? Those first 20 years took an eternity to tick by, but the last 20... they seem to have disappeared in the blink of an eye. It's like my grandmother used to say, "as you get older, time passes quicker".  I don't remember her being wrong about much.

Every year I take my birthday off. I like to celebrate me.  This year, I asked Mark if we could celebrate together in northern Wisconsin at the cabin on Nice Lake. We decided to include a flight to Lake Superior and over the Apostle Islands. Great idea!

It was an unhurried start to the day. Sleep in, breakfast, bird watching... lazily check the weather forecast and current conditions in Hayward, WI (where Bonanza N303B had been tied down since the 17th).

Wind: 200@something not alarming. Essentially straight down Runway 20.

Mark took off and I sat right seat, armed with my camera.  We flew north about 50 miles to the very tip of Wisconsin then strayed a few miles from shore as we peered out into what looked like ocean. Great lake indeed.

Zipping around, taking in the islands, their lighthouses and secluded beaches was a highlight of mine. We landed on Madeline Island with the wind pretty much the same as in Hayward, on Runway 22.

 Madeline Island... Supposedly at the peak of it's summer tourist season.  Harboring a lively but small population of year round folks, vacation home owners and renters, and visitors for the day or the weekend.  Nope, they didn't appear to have flown in!  Major Gilbert Field was quiet. So quiet. A couple of aircraft tied down and no signs of life in the air, on the runway (except us of course), or at the FBO.

We mentally prepared ourselves for the 1.5 mile jaunt down the main road from the airport into town and headed in the approximate direction. Pilots are chatty, friendly people and it was all of 2 minutes before we stopped to admire a beautiful A36 in it's open hanger and ended up in conversation with owner, Mitch.

And 15 minutes later Mitch took pity on us and we became his appreciative hitchhikers.  That stroke of luck put us in town fairly quickly and more importantly, with recommendations on where to eat - and what to eat!

Fish tacos at the Beach Club with a view of the outbound ferry to Bayfield across the way. Not to shabby.

"Town" was a quick exploration. Getting the scoop on the real estate market from a local agent was eye opening and then we self-toured the plentiful art galleries.  Did we stop for ice cream? Don't we always?  (Mark is a Wisconsin boy, I'm a kiwi girl. We brake for dairy!)

We walked off that ice cream, taking pictures of wild flowers and funky for sale signs all the way to the airport. I flew us back from Madeline Island.

My first "over the water" flight. My first 10 mile final, straight in to Hayward.
A spectacular day.

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