Colorado Springs – May, 2001

June 8, 2014

The Way I saw it
or…

COS Signage

The Adventures of a Non-pilot spouse of a Babe

By Carleen
Sitting at dinner across from Moxie can be hazardous as she has “volunteered” that I write the story of the Colorado Springs Babes Adventure of May 2001.Balcony ViewFirst some history. Yes, I was there at the first Babe trip for six people at Reading, PA. November ’97. I flew passenger seat into Burke Lakefront for the Cleveland chaos (12 people) in June of ’98.

View from a hotel room balcony
(click on images for larger view)


By New Orleans, fall of ’98, I felt like a veteran–eating, drinking and partying with over 40 crazy pilots and family. These adventures led to Nashville (spring, ‘99), Santa Fe (fall, ‘99), and St. Louis (fall, 2000). (See previous adventures for details.)

I remember the anticipation of each event, sitting at an airport or hotel lobby, watching people stroll in each warily wondering how to greet and meet people they’ve never seen before. Do you start out by saying, “Are you a babe?” Boy, that could get a person in trouble! I watched CarolT. She started out with hugs and kisses and then said, “I’m CarolT”. I like that. Who could argue with that approach? Yep, hugs and kisses first are definitely the Babes way!Cog Railroad
After the initial greetings at Colorado Springs, we did the usual Babes thing…we took to the local sites in various groups. We climbed over rocks in the Garden of the Gods. We aimed for the heights of Pikes Peak via four-wheeled vehicles and cog railway. We picnicked (thanks to Strawberry) at the Royal Gorge. Some rode the Gorge railway, some tried the tram.

Babes in ActionSome shopped in Old Colorado City or Manitou Springs. The Seven Falls , the Anasazi Cliff Dwellings, the Air Force Academy were also sites visited by Babes. Several pilots took lessons from Ken or Craig in mountain flying. How can you come this far and not get a tee shirt saying “I landed in Leadville”?
EagleEye and PennyMeals with the Babes are always events. After the super picnic Friday afternoon (what scenery), we dined in the LeBaron hotel (where we stayed) for their Friday nite surf & turf. For future reference, do not get between Leapie and the crablegs.(Ed Note: Okay, so I pigged out… but I shared!)

Saturday night we managed to find Cheyenne Mountain Road and Joseph’s Hatch Cover. (There are many similar roads with Cheyenne i.e., Cheyenne Meadow, Cheyenne Blvd., Cheyenne Rd. as some of the Babes discovered.) Joining the Babes were some Colorado 99s whom we had the pleasure of meeting thanks to Kelli. The group was great! We had phenomenal meals, numerous bottles of Merlot and passed deserts of baked Alaska, cherries jubilee, chocolate decadence, strawberry parfait cake, and bananas foster. Needless to say we were all extremely full, but no one wanted to leave any of this wonderful food behind.

Looking South towards COSAwards were passed out. The infamous “OOTG” awards (One of the Girls) went to Kelli for her efforts in planning the Santa Fe and Colorado Springs gatherings. Bruce, “Gamma”, did his Babes initiation—three spins with his “wings” out making airplane noises. Sunday morning plans were for the Champagne Brunch, but by the time it was happening Dave & I were airborne. The flight from Colorado Springs to Troy, Michigan was about twelve hours. That’s lots of time to go over the events of the previous days. Friends, Flying, Food and Fun, what more can you ask?

Blue on Pikes Peak(For the aviation-challenged spouses, there is a lot of talk regarding DMEs, ADFs, ILS approaches, CFIIs, Dave Clarks, etc. But don’t be scared off of joining this group. They are definitely friendly. Just be prepared to smile and say. “Of course as soon as I get back home, I’m going to look into taking a lesson or two at my local airport.”

Valk, Blue, and SamThey can always talk weather with you. They are not one-dimensional people in the sense of flying or otherwise. They are just hooked on flying…treat them as you would any addictive personality. For heaven’s sake please, please don’t try any interventions—they’re really, really GREAT just the way they are!)
Carleen (spouse of Dave, sometimes referred to as Duckman)

 

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