Family Mellmann

Today was a productive day.  I have checked out our trailer (the primary reason for returning to Vermont) to make sure the tires are good (flat tires won't travel well on the interstate) and that I have all the right keys for the locks (well, maybe I thought I had lost them while we were in Grand Rapids and wasn't sure that the keys I...found...were for the locks on the trailer...maybe, could be...but I'll never tell).  I took care of some rental business.  And I got an oil change to keep my car happy for the journey west. The highlight of this day, however, was lunch with some friends.  Katherine came along (a requirement for being fed) and spent the entire time in a shady spot outside reading while I did some major league chatting with some very dear friends.  Oh, and for those of you who like to keep up on what the family pilot is up to, I received word this evening that he (successfully) completed his "maneuvers validation".  It's back to the simulators fo

After four months of "crashing" with my mom and Marc in Grand Rapids Michigan, Katherine and I are back on the road.  We took the Canada route this time as we journeyed back to Vermont and during our second break at an "OnRoute" pit stop, we realized that they are all designed the same way.  When you're doing long travel days, this kind of consistency is surprisingly helpful in keeping your stops quick since you don't have to hunt for anything. We made it to Vermont in time to check into our hotel and relax for a bit before turning out the lights.  Tomorrow I start on the checklist of activities to accomplish while in Vermont for what is likely to be the last time for quite a while. As for Grand Rapids, my time there was wonderful on so many levels.  Spending time there came on the heels of five months of hard driving schedules as we tackled rental projects (one renovation and the sale of a unit), not-so-little property projects (have you ever painted a five

Happy Mother's Day! (for what it's worth, I think every day is a good day to appreciate one's mother) I know that this post is a bit delinquent but I was scrolling through the photos on my phone and found this great photo from Mother's Day in Grand Rapids (and, NO, that's not me on the edge of the frame with all that grey hair!  Why would you think that?!  😳😆)

While things are generally quiet and fairly normal in Livingston MT (where Joerg is) and in Grand Rapids MI (where I am), Patrick has been “flying” through his SkyWest onboarding and training. He has been through corporate training, systems training, and procedures training (he sent this picture from systems training) bopping from Dallas Texas to Salt Lake City Utah to Denver Colorado…with short jumps back to his Tempe Arizona home here and there. The last leg of his training journey is to St. Louis Missouri for simulator training. He and his training partner have done well so far and should be done with this wave of training (pilots are regularly required to do “continuing education“ training throughout their career so this is just the beginning) by the end of May.

In mid-March, Patrick began his journey into the world of commercial aviation with regional airline SkyWest.  He was accepted into SkyWest's Cadet Program while he was still in college with the understanding that he would have an opportunity to interview for a pilot position once he had achieved the requisite milestones.  That interview took place a couple of months ago and the process began; corporate "onboarding", uniform measurements, and lots and lots of training.  So far, so good.  Here he is in front of the SkyWest hangar, and with his "classmate" peers.  

As long as I'm in Montana, I might as well be productive. I met with our draftsman in Billings to make some changes to the exterior of the house plan and talk about some interior changes.  Once I was done there I was able to schedule a meeting with our builder to meet at the property to discuss house placement and orientation on the lot.  Joining us was our excavator. As I drove from Billings to Absarokee (pronounced ub-ZOR-kee), I thought I would document how long it takes to get from the highway to our property.  No sooner had I hit the stopwatch, I encountered an obstacle...one of Montana's (and the west in general) extremely long freight trains.     A few minutes down the road (after the train passed and I could make my turn) I cross the Yellowstone River.  This river runs straight through Livingston (where we will live while we build the house) as well. In Vermont, we had an art installation known as The Whale Tails.  In Absarokee we have a tall white cross.  I haven't