Don't Let Your Sons Grow Up to be Cowboys...
...They May Turn Out Like This
May Dinner Meeting
Joe and Mitch with Speaker Nissen DavisThe May dinner meeting was the last DAF dinner meeting at Los Verdes Country Club (beginning in June, our meetings will be held at Palos Verdes Country Club). The presentation was by Nissen Davis who, alarmed by the high suicide rate among active and recently-discharged veterans, helped organize two inspirational tours among military bases in Europe and the Middle East. The first group was headed by astronauts Neal Armstrong, Jim Lovell and Gene Cernan; the second included celebrities from the racing world including Mario Andretti. Attendance at all of the tour stops was standing room only, and seeing the conditions in which our military live and work reminded everyone of the enormous sacrifices these men and women make every day.
Outback Flying...
...and Wings for Doggedly Trying
April's dinner program was a video presentation from Mitch entitled "The Great Circle Air Safari." Some nice shots of the outback and formation flying - thanks to Jessenia for editing the video down to a manageable length.
Joe Cogan also made a presentation on the upcoming November trip to Alamos, Mexico. If you were on the fence regarding this trip, Joe's presentation definitely made the case that this is going to be a unique, fun and relatively easy adventure.
Wings were awarded to Jerry Stephens for his determined efforts to get his medical certification reinstated. After endless rounds of bureaucracy, Jerry received the FAA's blessing and is now back in the air. Congratulations, Jerry!
Cambria / Hearst Castle Fly-In
Saturday brought much nicer weather and a chance to appreciate the magnificent scenery surrounding our hotel (which was also very nice). By Saturday afternoon, 32 DAFers in 11 cars and 4 aircraft had converged to attend the evening tour of Hearst Castle. After an earlier-than-usual Happy Hour, the group had an excellent dinner at the nearby Manta Rey restaurant and then proceeded to the Castle.
We reached the Castle just before a stunning sunset. Divided into three groups, we toured the pools, guest house and main house. The docents guiding us were quite knowledgeable and entertaining - everyone learned something. (On a personal note, this editor thought the decor was a little spartan. With all that money, you'd think that Hearst could've afforded to 'zazz things up a bit.)
Thanks to Lisa Hahn for all of the planning and organization that went into this. Everyone had a great time.