Airventure 2024 | Day 14

July 30 | This will be the epilogue to my trip to Oshkosh and back. It will cover a few days home since I’m writing it Thursday morning after arriving home Monday around noon.

I unpacked the airplane, loaded everything into the Miata that I had left in the hangar, and headed home. Catherine had left her car on the street, so I was able to drive into the driveway, through the gate and directly into the garage behind the house. It wouldn’t matter whether I unload this afternoon or over the next few days.

I’m masked but get a joyous greeting from all; a careful hug from Catherine, Tillie jumping up to lick me in the face, and Odie just jumping all over me when he came home from doggie day camp in the afternoon. At least Catherine didn’t lick me in the face.

Catherine had just made a pot of chicken rice soup, so she dished up a big bowl and made some toast to go with it, and I sat down at our granny unit kitchen table for the first good meal I had in three days. The casino chicken noodle soup in Elko didn’t hold a candle to what I had before me.

After unloading the car and spreading out the tent and ground and airplane covers to dry, I took in my bags and moved into the upstairs bedroom for the next few days until I tested negative for COVID. I was halfway through the Paxlovid, so was hopeful that I would test negative by Thursday. The good news is that I did.

I had two weeks of newspapers to go through, so I started those while having lunch and just continued through the afternoon and next morning until I had caught up with all the important comics. Especially Prince Valiant. That boy gets into all sorts of trouble.

I was amazed at how isolated I was during the last two weeks at Brodhead and Oshkosh, and flying to and from them. It was two weeks of no newspapers or television, and the people both places talked about flying and airplanes instead of current events. I did hear about Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race, but had no idea of the events leading up to and after that announcement.

I relaxed upstairs and watched the new version of “All Quiet on the Western Front”, since I had seen about fifteen minutes of the 1930 Lewis Milestone/Lew Ayres version in one of the hotels. Catherine doesn’t enjoy the violence in those movies, so I thought I would make good use of my isolation and watch it myself. The new one doesn’t compare.

After a light dinner, I realized that I was done for the day, so I told Catherine goodnight and headed up for a shower and bed.

Tuesday was a busy one because Catherine had to take Tillie to a vet ophthalmologist in Santa Rosa for eye surgery. Lolly and Zac, my daughter and the son-in-law who did the lettering on our Chapter sign, stayed home from work to help her.

I finished unpacking, then started catching up on my Oshkosh blog. I hadn’t finished the one I was doing two years ago because I had COVID on the way home then also and just didn’t feel well enough before I had to go back to work. I was babysitting Odie, so I would go downstairs to play with him a couple times, then he would come up and keep me company, lying on the floor beside my desk while I worked.

Tuesday didn’t consist of much more than reading the newspapers over a snack and lunch and working on the blog. Catherine returned home with Tillie wearing a “cone of shame”. We had been anxious about her being distressed by it, but she is a mellow little girl, so she was smiling and banging into things with the cone as she walked around the house. Two weeks and she’s free once again.

Wednesday Odie went to day camp again, so I took Tillie out for a short walk and just continued organizing the things brought home from the trip. I always buy flying t-shirts for the granddaughters and great-grandkids, so I put those aside until they are here again.

I took my extra flight line orange vest and had my granddaughter Norah’s name embroidered on the lapel, and bought a WASP mascot patch, the female gremlin Fifinella, to grace the other lapel. Norah turned eight last October and has flown with me during our Young Eagles rallies, as well as flown with me to Ashland, Oregon to visit my other daughter Jenny and her family. On the way back from Ashland, she asked me if she could go to Oshkosh with me, so I’ll work on figuring out how that could happen before next year.

Today, Thursday, I woke up early again and laid in bed for a while so I wouldn’t awaken Catherine and the dogs. I finally got up and dressed, then did a COVID test. Fifteen minutes later, it was a big negative!

I went downstairs and had breakfast with Catherine and the pooches for the first time since getting home. A big bowl of Cheerios and a cup of coffee. Delicious.