Last night I sent a text to a friend of mine, Troy Fitzgerald, who likes to fly and asked him if he wanted to come along with me to a fly-in to NC. He replied yes with no questions asked. I'm glad I had the company on the flight but even more so that I had company at lunch! Due to weather? no one else made the trip. The 1 1/2 hour flight from Waynesboro, VA was smooth as silk as many of the valleys were covered in fog. By Roanoke the fog had burned off and the trip was uneventful. ForeFlight showed a thunderstorm off to the west but it was no problem. Once in the FBO, I checked my IPAD and discovered that everyone else had bailed. I went ahead and called Shatley Springs Inn and the manager Keitha came out and picked us up. On Sunday, they don't open the restaurant for lunch seating until 12 noon so we sat outside on the porch and listened to bluegrass and gospel music performed by a local resident. Pilots are treated like royalty at Shatley Springs. The wait without reservations was well over an hour but being that we had flown in, they literally sneaked us to the front of the line! The manager came out and told us to nonchalantly follow her and she would seat us first! Lunch consisted of a Family-Style dinner with Fried Chicken, Country Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, Cabbage, Pinto Beans, Baked Apples, Slaw, Biscuits and Sweet Tea! Bet you wish you had flown in now don't you? During lunch, that aforementioned thunderstorm hit so we took our time eating. Once done, we told the manager that we were in no hurry to leave so she could take us back whenever was convenient. We returned to the porch and listened to a bluegrass band play some tunes. After a while, the rain stopped and the skies began to clear so the manager, Keitha, took us back to the airport. She said that if we fly in again, let them know ahead so they can make sure someone is available to come get us. Upon arrival at the airport, I checked weather again as there is no service at Shatley Springs Inn and found an immediate window of opportunity to leave. We departed immediately and stopped at Twin Co., and VA Tech airports so Troy could collect some passport stamps before getting back to Waynesboro. A storm had just departed the Waynesboro area when we arrived so our timing all day was perfect! This is definitely a must-do when we can find a CAVU day with no wind, no solar flares that's not too hot or too cold so the rest of you can go too!
