A friend of mine and I flew his club's Cessna 172 through the skies of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. Taking off from Gaithersburg, Maryland (GAI), we did some pattern work at the very small airports of Davis (W50), the 1800 ft. runway at Clearview (2W2), the grass strip of Hartford County (0W3), and then east onto Atlantic City/Bader, New Jersey (AIY).
After a brief walk on the boardwalk to pick up some saltwater taffy and a meager loss at the casino (I'm down two bits...lol), we returned to the airport for our next leg to New York City. As we got to the ramp and were doing our preflight, we were greeted by an Eurocopter which flew in and hovered to a landing right next to us. A gentleman came over to tell us that the band members of KISS were boarding the helicopter for their trip back to NY since he thought we would know who KISS was. Not that I'm a KISS fan, but you never know who you'll run into while zipping around in an airplane.
Off we went to run the VFR (Visual Flight Rules) corridor between New Jersey and New York. What a rush. Overlooking the site where two skyscrapers once towered was a moment I won't forget. I was fortunate enough to have seen those towers standing only months before they fell. After trolling north we reversed course and flew back through the corridor letting me see the New Jersey side. The Palisades were beautiful. As we flew past the Holland Tunnel we pondered the plight of the motorists waiting to cross into New York, stuck in a backup that stretched for miles into New Jersey.
As the haze became too thick for a regular VFR night flight, we opted to land and file an IFR (Instrament Flight Rules) flight plan back to Gaithersburg Airport just to be safe. The stop at Old Bridge (3N6) was interesting as the runway parallels a drag strip. The quiet evening was interupted multiple times with the growling of Corvettes, street bikes, and other domestic and foreign cars testing their quarter mile times and speeds. What else could top such a great day.
After getting our IFR clearance, we flew back at 6000 feet (nice and chilly up there) to Gaithersburg as planned, right over the city lights of Baltimore. We even got to see two firework displays during the evening leg.
"Oh I have slipped the surly bonds of earth..."
Did I mention....I love flying?!