Life 3.0: Fulfilling some dreams for not only myself, but my personal hero.. My Dad.

I have made it a point to take advantage of this season in my life to accomplish things I always feared I couldn’t, or wouldn’t be allowed to.

For years, I always talked about wanting to take a fall drive through Wisconsin’s beautiful Glacier Lands, capturing nature at it’s most pristine and beautiful. No better season would achieve that but the fall. What I discovered was nothing short of absolutely breathtaking! But I digress for a moment; for me, photography has always been a way for me to personify life. I can tell you how beautiful something looks to me, or I can show you what my eyes see, and the emotions my heart feels at that moment in time. That is what Photography is to me.. an outlet for when my command of the English lexicon fails me.

The problem is, that in this case, even my photography can’t capture the raw emotion of what it is to climb up onto some of these bluffs, or towers, and see the raw splendor God created. Just imagine closing your eyes, and being far away from the city.. far away from the white noise that is our life, and just hearing the wind, the cry of an Eagle miles away, echoing over the valley, and the sound of surf crashing onto rocks hundreds of feet below you.

Those are some of the places I discovered across hundreds of miles of fire roads, country routes, and places truly off the wayward path that no rear drive roadster should ever try to reach… But the effort was so worth it!

http://gallery.projectwrx.com/6691680_7719469#imageID=225282213 <-- This video compiling some of my trip doesn't even do it justice.. but I'm sure you'll get the idea! This is now going to be a yearly pilgrimage for me. I didn't even scratch the tip of what I had hoped to see or do.[caption id="attachment_465" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Celebrating my Dad’s 68th birthday – 10/06/2014[/caption]Several days after that, I got to celebrate the birthday of my Father. Having just turned 68, you’d think he’d start slowing down? No.. This is my hero. He’s the man I try and be, the person I hope to make proud, and the person who has taught me all I know about trying to be the most honorable and loving person to others.

So, at 68 what does he decide to do? Go flying for the first time! Well.. I shouldn’t say that, because my Dad has flown every version of Microsoft Flight Simulator since the late 80s, and has logged thousands of hours in them.

For Father’s Day I had gotten him his first flying lesson, to see what he’d think. He wanted to wait until now though to use it. Why? Well in typical fashion to how knowledgable he is, he knew the atmospheric conditions would be more ideal for flying in cooler weather. So here then I find myself picking him up at 7:30AM and off to breakfast we go.

By 9AM sharp we’re sitting in Naperville at the Aero Club waiting for Ron Sachen, our instructor. Now, normally, it costs extra for any guests, but Ron surprised us, and offered me a free trip up with my Dad. I absolutely wasn’t going to turn that down!

After some class time on the basics of lift, wind correction and compensation, and the basics of flight we head out to our Piper. It was a tight fit, but we all got cozy and got to work.

Our flight plan took us from Naperville to Morris IL, where we were using major roads and intersections as practice grounds for learning the difference between paying attention to the nose of the plane, and the destination on the horizon (they don’t want you looking at the nose), and then how to judge and line up turns. Why? Because my Dad was then to line us up and take us in for our first landing in Morris. Went off without a hitch. He’s a natural at this!

Then, after a debrief and rest we then took off on the return back to Naperville, repeating the same exercises and enjoying the scenery.

This day couldn’t have been any more beautiful and ideal for flying! We had an absolute great time and I’m so proud of my Dad! I’m honored to be here with him on a very special day in his life.