She flew in with her father, Jim and uncle Stan for a long weekend to see the Mystic Seaport and the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in upstate NY.
Two years ago a group of 914World members helped Mary finish the restoration of Buttercup which had belonged to her brother Lee.
He had started the restoration but passed away before he could fulfill his dream.
The restoration was the subject of a long thread here a couple years ago.
I met Mary and her husband Ron at MUSR last fall when they trailered Buttercup to Tennessee from Garden City to take on the Tail of the Dragon.
After spending a couple hours hanging out at the shop we went to a local seafood restaurant for dinner. A great time was had by all!
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From Left to right: Ed, Uncle Stan, my Dad, Mary, Jim, Me. The picture was taken by my wife Mary.
Mary and my Dad are both avid pilots so they had plenty to talk about.
In addition to looking at the 914s currently at the shop Mary was excited to see Dad's 1939 Ryan STA restoration project.
At dinner Dad shared a story about flying into Garden City (where Mary and Ron Shortridge live), many years ago.
Mary's uncle Stan lives in Minneapolis, where a number of my uncles, aunts and cousins live.
Stan is quite a character and had us in stitches more than once.
Jim was carrying around a nice Nikon camera.
He and I got into a discussion about quantum physics after Jim mentioned something about the way photons interact with digital cameras.
The dark beverage you see in the foreground is the award winning Ten Penny Ale, made at a local brewery, Olde Burnside Brewing Co.
Definitely some of the best beer I've had the pleasure of consuming,
and my new favorite. I think it's only sold in half gallon growlers and kegs.
It was really great visiting with Mary again and meeting her father and uncle.
I guess this means there's a trip to Garden City in my future.
