I’m Visiting One State That Still Welcomes You!

Aug 2020 I’m Visiting One State That Still Welcomes You!

I tested negative for the Coronavirus antibody a week ago, and yet Covid-19 is still getting the best of me. Physically, I’m great and healthy as ever. Mentally, the isolation and lack of interesting life options is depressing as heck. Add to that weight gain from way too much time spent in places it’s still legal to go, grocery stores and my kitchen, and, well, no surprise things are turning out the way they are.

OMG, what’s happening to me? I love to fly but with few destinations and friends  anxious for visitors, I’ve stuck closer to home than at any previous point in my life.

So yesterday I decided it’s time to get out of my kitchen and into a taildragger, and make a beeline somewhere. Somewhere out of the pattern and way further than my Decathlon has taken me in recent times. Boyd, being the good, adventurous guy that he is, happily agrees!

• The big question is where-oh-where will welcome us? Ideas aren’t a problem, I always have a short list of destinations calling my name; some new, others favorites from the past, all deserving of a visit!

But traveling now by general aviation, or any means, presents new challenges. We, and I include you as well, are not welcome in most places. Only a few states have their “Welcome” flags waving high and that list is very short. Where to fly?

Mask wearing sucks. It’s hard to breathe and glasses steam up. A reasonable person would say, “Just stay home”. But I’ve reconciled mask wearing by telling myself, “Fine, I can finally skip the💄 lipstick!”

So where am I tonight? Six hours flying an RV7 into a strong headwind can still get you a long way from Indiana. Tonight I’m not in Florida, along the Atlantic Coast or even Texas.

Tonight we’re in what seems to be the most welcoming state in the U.S.A., South Dakota!