Ken and I flew out to Florida and back for Christmas and New Year's. We visited my sister in Palm Beach, then down to Key West for New Year's. Big flying trip: 8 solid days of travel, some 5500nm and 45 hours. Lots of photos. Some of the highlights:

• Flying around Texas where I grew up. We landed at 06R in Bellville, TX, where I was born. Tiny little airport but adequate, also had fun circling the town looking for our old house. On the way home we also stopped at KJDD near Mineola, TX where my grandfather was from. While at that airport I met Wayne Collins who knew my family and had flown a little Bonanza all the way to Adelaide, Australia.
• Visiting St. Mark's, Florida, a beautiful wet part of northern Florida with a surprisingly rich history. Totally worth a visit if you're in the area.
• Hanging out in Key West for New Year's. Ken and I were surprised at how much we liked it; beach towns aren't usually our thing. Key West is just busy enough to be fun without being overwhelming, it's laid back, there's great restaurants, and a definite non-conformist streak to the town. Would be glad to go back.

Our full route was

KSQL San Carlos, CA
KCRQ Carslbad, CA
KSDL Scottsdale, AZ
KPEQ Pecos, TX
KAUS Austin, TX
06R Bellville, TX
KNEW New Orleans, LA
KCTY Cross City, FL
F45 Palm Beach, FL
KEYW Key West, FL
KBFM Mobile, AL
KJDD Wood County, TX
KLBB Lubbock, TX
E80 Belen, NM
KSDL Scottsdale, AZ
KWJF Lancaster, CA
KSQL San Carlos, CA.

Pretty much all those places worked out pretty well, I was pleasantly surprised by both Mobile and Lubbock. The big disappointment was New Orleans, we didn't have enough time to enjoy the city and Bourbon Street has gotten pretty unpleasant. Next time around I'll head to Frenchman St for music. My only real regret on the trip was we were in such a hurry to get across the country we didn't see much of the country; I'd love to do a trip like this where I only need to fly three or four hours a day.