August 3
My back was kinda kinked from sleeping in the papasan, but that didn't spoil my mood at all. I was gonna fly another long flight, and then I'd be ready to go to Chicago.
And the weather was perfect for it. It was nice and clear outside, and I turned on my computer and looked and there was no chance of rain today.
I'd already figured out where I wanted to go on the map. First, I'd thought about going to Holland, 'cause it was about fifty miles each way and I thought that would avoid all the airports, but there was one on the south side of town, and I didn't want to have to wait around getting approval to fly into their airspace.
But there were some roads that looked like they'd be pretty easy to follow, and when I measured them out on the map with a piece of string, I could get my hundred miles. A little bit of the route was going to be unfamiliar, but I'd be making my final turn and coming back from South Haven, and I knew where that was and what it looked like.
So I made oatmeal for breakfast and I made it extra mushy because one thing I'd learned from my last long flight was that I was going to run out of water before I was done flying.
I also had a can of anchovies to give me more energy, and I changed the batteries in my flashing light just to be sure that it wouldn't quit before I was done flying. Then I put on my flight gear, except for my weather radio, because I wouldn't need that.
The grumpy man was directing airplanes, and he probably would have let me fly higher above Kalamazoo if I'd asked nicely, but I didn't want to bother him and make extra work for him, so I told him that I wouldn't go higher than a thousand feet before I got to the other side of the 131 Highway and he said that would be okay.
I jumped off my balcony and then climbed up over the wires and trees and started heading west.
I cheated a little bit on my altitude, 'cause I'd been making a nice, slow climb all the way out to the 131 Highway, and when I got over Drake Road I was already at nearly a thousand feet, and I didn't want to break my rhythm, so I just kept climbing after making sure that there weren't any airplanes around, and I was at about a thousand one hundred feet when I crossed the 131 Highway.
Now that I knew that there was a grass airport off to the south of Main Street, I paid special attention for airplanes coming that way, especially since it was such a nice day for flying. I did see one airplane on the ground near the runway, but it had a cover over its windshield, so it wasn't going to be flying anytime soon.
When I got to the M40 road, which was where there was a greenhouse full of cars, I turned north and followed that. I knew that it went through Gobles, and I knew what that looked like because the Kal-Haven trail also went through Gobles, but after that I was going to be in completely new territory for me until I got back to South Haven.
I spotted the Kal-Haven trail when I was a bit south of Gobles, because it looked just the same as train routes. It went where it wanted to go, even if that was cutting through the middle of someone's fields.
There was also another grass airport off to the west. That one was even easier to see, because the wires that ran by it had big red balls on them that I could see really easily. The people I'd seen fishing in South Haven had red and white buoys on their fishing line that bobbed when a fish took the bait, and at first I thought maybe they were for something like that, but then I realized that they were so the airplanes could see the wires and not run into them.
On the north side of Gobles, there was kind of a cluster of lakes I was flying towards. I think that it was a little lower and swampier out here.
The road curved off to the east, and I followed it, past a big open lot that had a squiggly dirt trail in it, and more lakes. If I hadn't been carrying my camelback, I would have been really happy seeing all these lakes.
There were a lot of fields out here that didn't have regular sides at all, and sometimes it was pretty obvious why—I didn't know a lot about farming, but I did know that you couldn't plow a swamp, so you avoided it—but other times the woods were left in a jagged edge along a field for no reason I could determine.
Farmers were smart, though, so they must have had a reason.
I found the Kalamazoo River again in Allegan, which was where I had to change roads. I'd intended to fly all the way to the intersection, but now that I was getting closer to town, I wasn't sure that I would be able to tell where the M89 road ran through town, and I could clearly see it.
I'd cut maybe a mile off my trip if I flew over to it now, and if I got lost looking for it, I might add a mile. I decided that was worth the risk, because even if I followed the wrong road through town, I could go to the right one when I was outside of town.
I did lose it in town, and so I flew all the way to the river and over a big dirt oval on a spit of land that was around a bend in the river, and then turned and caught up to the road after it had crossed over the river. I could see that the river kind of broadened out into a lake and at the very end of it I saw what I thought was probably a dam.
The next turn was a bit tricky because there weren't any good landmarks, and I wished that I'd had a map of some sort with me. I knew that I had to turn due west, but I wasn't entirely sure which road to follow, and I wound up going too far north, because the road I was flying over stopped when the ground got swampy.
But I could see the one that I did want, just south of me, so I angled along until I got over it.
I could see Lake Michigan ahead of me pretty clearly now, and I guessed that I was a little more than ten miles from it, so navigation would be pretty easy from here on. Even if I lost the road I was supposed to be following, all I had to do was fly to the lake.
The last town I went over before I got there was called Fennville, and it was a strange town. There were lots of houses that just went along the main road with nothing behind them, and little neighborhoods that stretched off north and south a ways out of town. And they also had a collection of square ponds with fountains that I thought could be fishponds, but I was too high to see if there were any fish in them.
I crossed over the 196 Highway, and then right beyond that was the lakeshore. That brought back fond memories of driving along it with Aric on our road trip, and now I had a completely different view of it.
Lots of little boats were out, most of them pretty close to the shore but I could see some further out in the lake, too. I didn't see any big freighters, and I thought that they would probably be out in the deeper part of the lake, away from all the little boats. It had been really nice to see them going by so close when I was with Aric and when I was at the Tall Ships Festival, but those passages were really too small for them. I knew that the bigger ships at home had to be really careful when they were going into harbor, and they couldn't have very many sails set or move very fast, and I think that if they didn't have to come into port to unload their cargo and to get new supplies, they would rather stay out at sea where they had room to maneuver.
I liked having the whole sky to play around in, rather than having to stay low and watch out for trees and tall antennas and wires.
I flew a ways out over the water and followed the coastline south, and once I could see what I thought was probably South Haven, I angled out even more over the water.
Besides the boats, there were lots of seagulls flying underneath me, and every now and then I saw a shadow in the water that could have been a really big fish, although it was probably just my imagination.
I don't think that there are any really big fish in the Great Lakes. There aren't any whales or dolphins or sharks at all. Which is too bad. It's really fun to see a pod of dolphins playing in the waves.
I also kept looking over towards the other side of the lake, hoping that maybe I could see the tops of the buildings in Chicago, but they were just too far away to see, even though it was still really clear.
When I finally got to South Haven, I turned inland once I got over the harbor, and then flew southeast over the city until I found the M43 road. There's another road that goes almost due east, and it has a big, easy-to-find intersection with the 196 Highway, but that's not the right road. I probably could have followed it back and found Kalamazoo once I got far enough inland, but that wasn't the plan.
It was pretty easy to spot from the air, as long as I didn't look for it in town, 'cause it ran diagonally away and all the other roads were pretty straight.
A electrical wire path ran alongside it for a while, and I finally noticed that they really stood out because they would make really sharp turns, almost at random. If I knew where all of them were, I bet it would be possible to follow the big wires from place to place.
By the time I got to Bangor, I was starting to feel a bit of flight fatigue, and I had to keep reminding myself to pay attention to the things around me and not just focus on the road, so I started to play little games with myself to keep myself sharp. Following cars with my eyes wasn't as easy, because the road wasn't as wide or straight, so I would lose them in the trees, plus a lot of them would stop at houses or turn down other roads, which they mostly couldn't do when they were on the highway.
And there weren't any railroad tracks, either, so I couldn't watch a train or even watch for a train.
So I tried to spot the furthest away field that I could tell what direction the rows went in, and that helped me keep my head and eyes moving, which meant I was more alert.
I was really happy when I crossed over the M40 road, because that meant I was getting pretty close to town. Close enough that it was time to start thinking about descending, and this time instead of trying for a smooth descent, I did a more stairstep descent, where I'd glide for a little while, then flap my wings, then glide, and so on. Which put me a bit too high as I was getting close to Meijer, so I just glided until I was across the 131 Highway, and by then I was under nine hundred feet.
Just like last time, when I got inside, I took off all my flight gear and went right into the shower. I really needed to figure out a way to carry some extra water with me when I flew over Lake Michigan, because that would make the trip a lot more pleasant.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, though, because it would probably be cooler over the lake.
When I'd rinsed off all the lather and cooled down some, I went to the kitchen without drying off and had a light lunch, then I went back into the shower to wash properly.
I preened out my feathers and brushed my mane and tail and then I went outside to go to Meghan's so I could meet her for our salon appointment. I really didn't feel like flying all the way there, so I just flew across Main Street and landed on the sidewalk in front of the Dollar Tree.
I'd been inside and they hadn't had any trees at all.
On my way there, I did make a couple of short glides, just to work my flight muscles a little bit so that they wouldn't cramp up.
Meghan had to get changed once she got home and I should have gone upstairs to help her, but I'd found a nice sunbeam on her porch and I was enjoying it too much to move, and she promised she'd be right back down anyway.
She sat on the porch with me while we waited for an Uber-Car to pick us up, and asked me what I'd been doing, so I told her about my flight and she said that I really deserved to be pampered after flying all day like that.
Maura was really happy to see us both, and Meghan and I got to sit next to each other while we got groomed, and even though I'd already washed my mane and tail, they did for me again.
She looked at my hooves, too, even though she didn't know how to trim them. She said that they were looking pretty good, and I said that was because I'd been doing more flying and less walking on cement. I said that I still thought I'd want them filed the next time we came to the spa, just to make sure that they were in good shape.
My tummy was pretty growly by the time we were done in the salon, because I hadn't eaten much for lunch, and Meghan heard and said that instead of making a nice dinner that would take a while we ought to just have the rest of the leftover casserole and brownies and a bottle of wine that she'd bought for us yesterday and I thought that sounded like a really good plan.
It had tasted better the first time, but it was still really good, and the wine she'd picked was perfect. Maybe a little too good, because I had more than I should have, especially after a whole day out flying. It didn't really make me feel drunk, just really, really sleepy.
And then Meghan said that she thought what I really needed to relax was a good massage, and I thought so too so we went up to her bedroom and I lay down on her bed and she started to massage my wings and barrel and I think if it was possible to melt with pleasure I would have. I couldn't even move when she'd finished and I told her when she got undressed that she was just going to have to roll me out of her way and she said that I might get cold not being under the covers and I said that I would worry about that if it happened.
So she got a new sheet out of her dresser and lay down on top of the blanket next to me and put the sheet over both of us and I stretched a wing out over her belly and told her that it was all her fault for relaxing me too much,then tucked my head down against her side and closed my eyes.
7618545 too long. And I got a feeling earth dwellers aren't going to have as much luck visiting Equestrians, so I'm not willing to continue the sliver I read. A shame overall it looks good.
Flying to Holland is a long way, but if she headed out west south west from Chicago she would get to Peru and Oakland.
Always be careful when booking a ticket, you really want to end up on the right continent.
I wouldnt think an Orca wouldve been able to get through the canal locks without being spotted and I thought Id seen photos of a sub going through someho. Still think its for training.
those villages are weird, I was following the line of a disused railway on Google satelite view from where a Power station coal loop branched off, and one field it crossed, the line was so obliterated, that the underlaying geology was more visible in not just shades but colours as well. then it went over a massive river crossing and flood plain bridge, that even given the extremely low numbers of crossings and the good quality roads wasnt repurposed, and just on the other side ther was this whole collection of equal shaped, sized and arranged objects. I thought at first it was a mobile home park, but tehre wasnt any changes in colours, the roofs wernt flat and there wasnt any gardens. After moving around abit a lable came into view. It was a retirement village. It was one of the most depressing Equalsville sights Ive ever seen. At least they had public transport to the nearest town, ten miles away, with repurposed garden sheds for shelters.
Still got to watch it with those roads, what with their sneaky twists and turns. As for not seeing Chicago accross the water with teh altitude and not wanting to try it at night to follow the lights, might be the only time it would be worth trying a laser lighthouse, at least for teh first section till the city came into view, if not a carefully ajusted mirror reflecting the sun?
Im now waiting to see how long before certain aircraft are fitted with the equivalent of a dye balloon HARM. If the target going to illuminate itself, might as well paint it back?
i wonder just how many squads are going to be on holiday on Silvers expected flight path, given the timing, if Silver has mentioned an exact date as yet, or what kinds of arguments Mr Salvatore is getting into with Bucky OHare, Senior controller of Chicago International Airport?
I've seen maps of electric corridors before. Could be interesting.
I loved that fligth, it just remind me so much of doing cyclotourism. Long distance, steady pace, less travelled road and a lot of satisfaction.
I just love some of these kind of store's name. Personal favorite is "The Dollard's Invasion" near my aunt's, formerly named "Cosmo-Dollard".
Travel is broadening. In Canada she could meet her 1st Scotsman in a kilt. If she mistakes him for a woman, she will learn the word "Sassenach". She will also hear many other Gaelic words but will not be able to learn them because the translator function won't have any Equestrian equivalent. Probably all for the best, it's technically illegal to use words like that on the phone (AFAIK, that law isn't enforced but was never repealed)
7619371
Eh? How do you figure?
Also, too long? That's a silly thing to say. Just don't try to marathon it, read two, maybe three chapters a day and you'll be caught up in no time.
NNNNNNG
7619371 try reading Austraeoh :) I'm currently roughly 7000 pages into that series and still another 2 or 3000 left to catch up. This isn't too bad, so long as you enjoy it so far.
I believe in you!
some refill system like for firefighting planes hahaha
bet she said the same about Aric
7619625 Austraeoh has a couple years on this so that's a tad unfair.
Silver had me a tad worried there, no spotter and flying over the lake like that? I was half expecting a cramp. Now I'm half expecting it during her actual attempt.
I hope she picks the right one because the European one is a bit more than 50 miles away.
7620098
"Actually what I think you mean to say is that a star trek villain happens to do a passable impression of me. After all I was here first. "
It occurs that Silver might enjoy learning about hand gliding or microlights. Humans that she could fly with in relative close proximity and safety.
Also, this may have come up before, but how is Silver paying for everything?
7618441 Haha yeah you are right.
Oh Silver, such a rebel!
Pony logic resembles 5-year-old logic.
7620347 The U.S. government gave her a plastic money card.
Can't she just drink directly from the lake, since it's freshwater? (I now have the adorable image of her swooping down for a drink like a pelican.)
I knew that the bigger ships at home had to be really careful when they were going into harbor, and they couldn't have very many sails set or move very fast, and I think that if they didn't have to come into port to unload their cargo and to get new supplies, they would rather stay out at sea where they had room to maneuver.
Don't worry, Silver Glow. Ships actually like ports!
It had a cover over its windshield, though, so it wasn't going to be flying anytime soon.
Something is missing.
7619371
As a student exchange program, for every 1 pony who comes to Earth, 1 human goes to Equestria.
Now, since this is Silver Glow's Journal and not Kate Dybek's Journal, of course it doesn't focus on the human in Equestria. But you can be assured that there is a human student in Silver Glow's stead. The exchange is 100% equitable.
7619405
I've been to Peru (Indiana) before. They have a circus museum there.
As I've said before, Indiana stole all their city names from someone else. Only in Indiana would you find a road sign pointing you to Mexico, Paris, and Peru.
I'm not convinced that a laser lighthouse would be any more practical than the normal type. At night, you can see those from a good long ways . . . ditto the green and white lights for airfields; IIRC, from the ground you can see them from 20 miles or so, and obviously the light is aimed up so that airplanes see it . . . how much more visible is it from the air?
Or good old-fashioned smoke signals work, too. I once went 40 miles to see a fire, just because I could see the smoke.
Mister Salvatore's best argument is going to be "here is where she's going and when, and if you don't like that routing, I'll instruct her to declare an emergency and request your vector her in to your longest runway, and then you can tell your supervisors why a hundred jumbo jets were delayed."
7619408
Even without specific maps, they show up really well on Google, at least in Michigan. You totally could follow them. Pipelines, as well--their routes are pretty visible, too.
7619411
Those are some of the best trips, where it's not the destination but the journey. I've been on a few, and I think it's about time to have another one.
We haven't got any creatively-named stores in my town, but I only live one county over from Hell, which has (among other attractions), the Dam Site Inn and Screams Ice Cream.
7619422
She's been to SCA events, so she's had her chance to meet Americans in kilts, too. Although I will say that when I was in Scotland, I met my first proper Scotsman in a kilt, and he taught me how to say something in Gaelic.
True fact: one of my college friends married a man from Aberdeen. When I'd call her on the phone, if she didn't answer, rather than try and understand what the person on the other end of the line said (because I legit couldn't understand it), I just asked for them to tell her to call me back when she had a chance.
7619591
7619839
He hasn't yet managed that feat. Not yet.
7619841
She didn't go all that far offshore, maybe a kilometer tops. Easily within gilding distance if something went horribly wrong.
7619923
That would be the worse navigation error ever. "On the paper map, it looked really close, but i've been flying east for the last month and I'm still not there according to the GPS."
7620126
"I taught Q everything he knows."
7620347
That's also why skydiving is on her bucket list.
She has a credit card.
The longer answer is that as part of the exchange program, she get a reasonable allowance, which is basically grant money, so she doesn't have to account for it or justify what she spent it on. All the ponies have similar provisions as part of their program, and so do the humans in Equestria.
Overall, the ponies are probably instinctively more frugal than humans, which keeps the costs down, and the humans don't have as much opportunity to spend their money on dumb shit, which keeps the costs down.
7620809
A hundred feed doesn't seem like much, until that's how much lower your course was than the actual terrain.
In a world of magical butt-tattoos, why wouldn't it? Fruit bats are literally fruit, and pies are a legitimate weapon. Dollar trees ought to be real things, too . . . where else would paper money come from?
7621266
She can, yes.
The biggest penalty is the loss of altitude. If she's flying over the lake at 6000 feet, she'll have to dive down, come to an almost complete stop to drink, and then fly back up again, which will take an enormous amount of energy. That would be like if you were running a marathon, and they had free water kiosks, but you had to run a mile off-course to get to them. You'd carry the water, and only stop at the kiosk if you had no other choice.
7622149
When I lived near Port Huron, I can attest that they didn't like the current in the St. Mary's River. One of them bumped the shore by mistake and while it was fine, the shore wasn't. Until then, I didn't know that ground could crumple.
7623484
Rather than admit that i somehow missed a transitional sentence, i'm going to blame that on gDocs.
7628155
Kate's Journal:
For an indeterminite period, I was in a fugue state, seeing taking pegasi and unicorns speaking gibberous. Now I am lucid, but my body feels like it is on fire and a vomit and shit myself continuously. ¡The talking horses speaking gibberous are real!
7628842
Yes, unfortunately that's going to be Kate's fate for the next little bit. At least with all that to distract her she won't really notice just how weak her hand is, or why the skin feels so tight and sensitive on it.
I spy something that isn't there.
8135985
Technically, anytime is legit, although rather casual.I don't think SG has used it before, though, so I changed it.EDIT: and now I see what you meant me to correct.
The benefits of working together, more time for morning snuggles!
How many people at work assume Meghan has a dog or cat because of all the pony hair on her clothes?
Yes, those are good ATC's, protect the pony and keep those stupid old airplanes away from her!
"I had assumed the border... would be pretty obvious"
Lol NOPE! Borders, unless they are decided on my bodies of water, are wholly in peope's heads. Unless it's Jersey, then you can tell by the sudden smell that you've crossed the line.
Out of water.. NOOOOO! Now I'm picturing mid-air pegasus refueling, a team swoops around the main flyer, carefully detach the camelback from a harness, slip a fresh one into place and extend the fueling pipe (straw) into place. Meanwhile another set is refueling the pilot by holding up an open tin of anchovies.
"Pegasus One is on the ground and heading into the hanger for refueling!"
Sore wings, some one should get her some Icy Hot, another thing to add to the 'why didn't you tell us about this' list.
Awwww why no want wake up to birdies in your mane, it would be adorable!
Well, some places, it could feel like monsoon season. Had about three weeks straight with only one or two non-rainy days
Yes, yes, Gusty would be disappointed at a lost Pegasus before her big play.
Hmmmm, being unsettled at flying without all her gear.. one could almost say she feels, naked?
Again, god assumption that no place you go has many ponies shopping there.
Ponies seem to be easily addicted to pancakes.
"Only 2% milk" Well, she's wrong, but that stuff is very, very baldly named if you don't get told what it means. Also i's disgusting.
"These are brown, get brown sugar" Oh... oh... oh Silver.. sweetie... wow. Still not the worst idea I've seen That would have to go to a recipe calling for 'brown sugar' so you try to turn regular sugar brown.
However, maple sugar.... for pancakes.... I know this should be wrong and yet, it feels so right. Silver my have just discovered a new culinary craze.
Store baggers not knowing how to balance out the loads for saddle bags. #ponyproblems
Go get those fresh foods Silver! NOM NOM NOM!
Good call on not checking out those stinky ponds Silver.
Having pre-equiped croquet mallets #ponyperks
Having a ton of birds now showing up in the neighborhood, the joys of having a pegasus move in next door.
"I caught the same kinds of clouds a lot" Why do I find that phrase so funny?
Another glaring omission here, why no Batponies!? Batponies are awesome! Other then whatever town a batpony was in having a sudden mango shortage.
Wow, someone really needs to teach Silver how to use these maps if she's using string to measure them out.
And she is still a smart pone at times for things that make obvious sense, like big, easy to see markers for wires near airports.
Great Silver, now I'm picturing a flock of pegasi over the waves, playing with a school of dolphins, and I'm going to need some insulin now.
"Dollar Tree doens't have trees" Oh Silver, still such a precious cinnamon roll.
Unwilling to move because you found a comfy sunbeam..... yup ponies are at least 50% feline.
Meghan, pony deserves to be pampered everyday, just for being pony, but I'm betting you already agree with that. Since she's such a good slave and massaging her owner to help her relax.
9093074
Agreed!
Apparently, horses don’t shed much (and presumably ponies don’t, either) with the obvious exception of their winter coats. So Meghan probably isn’t covered in pony fur . . . and since it’s blue, it should be recognizable to most people as not coming from a normal Earth animal, although that might not be obvious right away depending on what Meghan’s wearing.
That’s right, clear space for the ornithopter.
On some occasions, they are (border fences and whatnot), but yeah, usually there’s no demarcation from one side to the other. And I can say from experience while major roads often have markers saying when you’ve crossed a state boundary, dirt roads certainly do not.
Oh, man, that would be awesome. Something that they could to, too, if they wanted to. Might actually be good for an airshow, or when ponies get better at using cameras, to mock some of the airplane midair refiling videos.
I wonder how well that would actually work on pegasus wing muscles? It seems like it would, but I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve ever tried it myself--is it really that awesome?
Adorable until they take a crap or start pulling out hair to line their nests with.
The longest stretch I can remember was about a month of rain every day, and the only reason I really remember that was because that was the year my brother got his bicycle. And then didn’t ride it for quite some time . . . .
She’d cry for sure, and nobody wants a sad pony.
Yes, very much.
Probably some of the big tourist places for ponies do have dedicated pony stores, but for the most part, yeah, it’s just Silver Glow.
Ponies love pancakes. It’s canon.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/4/11/871693__safe_twilight+sparkle_castle+sweet+castle_alicorn_female_mare_pancakes_pony_sleeping_twilight+sparkle+%28alicorn%29.png
I’m trying to remember what kind we usually drank as a kid. I think it was 2%. I never really liked milk all that much. . . .
I think in most cases, you probably can sub brown sugar in for white sugar. As for turning regular sugar brown, I have no idea how you’d do it. Fire, maybe, or paint. Probably neither would improve the food it was going in.
Why would it be wrong? Put that maple right in the pancakes, just like the buns on a McGriddle.
I bet that’s something that ponies know how to do. Especially in cities like Cloudsdale.
It’s always better fresh.
You know, I don’t think that Silver Glow ever tried to use frozen veggies in the story. I could see her getting hungry and nibbling on frozen peas or something. . . .
The nose knows.
It does make me wonder why they have polo sticks in comic canon, when they could just be kicking the ball around.
Birds are pretty, though. Although I suppose not so much if they like to roost above your car. She should organize them, and then do formation flying with the birds. That’d mess everyone up.
She’s not wrong, though. The ones she’d normally go for are all pretty much the same kind of cloud.
Mostly ‘cause I didn’t really think of it.
That’s a perfectly acceptable way to do it on a paper map. It’s not like she’s got a pair of dividers just lying around.
It took me a while to figure out why there were bobbers on power lines near airports. Probably longer than it should have.
Wouldn’t that be amazing?
It’s false advertisement, that’s what it is. I bet a store in Equestria named “Dollar Tree” would have trees.
At least 50%. Good sunbeams are the best, tho.
Let’s be honest, Meghan would do pretty much anything Silver Glow asked.
What makes this even funnier is that it doesn't even come from wood pulp the way normal paper does.