As I was finishing this post, Brian put on Sentimental Journey in the background. It’s a great soundtrack for the post, so feel free to click here and listen while you read…

Dad came to visit for my birthday!

Growing up, if there was a battlefield, historical site, or museum within twenty miles of where we were, you better believe we’d be visiting. Dad loves history. His father was a flight trainer out of Harlingen, Texas in WWII, so he grew up around planes and the military.

My mother’s father was also a pilot. You would think I wouldn’t be so terrified of flying.

Riley had never been to the CAF, so this was the perfect time to introduce him to the planes.

(Aren’t they adorable?! Their love for each other is amazing.)

Riley had a blast. His great grandfather was an executive for TWA. So, planes are definitely a part of his family history.

I crawled through the B-17 trying my hardest to keep up with Riley. He was so excited. He didn’t speak a word, but I kept hearing him gasp. His eyes were so wide with wonder. As soon as we were out, he wanted to crawl back through. That time, Grandpa got to keep up with him.

We walked over to the C-47 and he stared at the cockpit for the longest time. He was amazed by all of the buttons and levers. He kept asking which button did what, and it made me wish my Grandpa was there to answer him. He would have loved that!

Do you remember those flight simulators that you would play on computer that were so popular? When my grandfather was forced to retire his plane, my father wanted to help him fly again.

He bought him a computer, loaded flight simulator software, set up a joy stick, and programmed the details of his plane into the game. Grandpa would call me and say, “Well, I’m flying over Phoenix. I’ll wave at you as I pass, but I’m gonna have to land in Tucson for some gas.” I loved that he kept his hobby going. He would pull grandma up next to him and fly her to Paris. If you ever listened to their conversations, you might actually believe that they went to Europe for the weekend, not just the study with a recliner pulled next to his office chair.