Maybe a Little too Confident a Little Too Soon!

I have been practicing with the Drone for a week or two now and have been doing a lot of studying on the computer to learn the rules and regulations, but I just discovered that if I don't want to crash it in the Ocean, the Forest or anywhere else I need to do a lot more flying.

A couple of days ago, I took the drone down to the ocean to fly it on the beach and get some neat pictures and video. All went well until the wind started picking up and I realized the battery was running down a little faster than normal fighting the wind.

The video covers it pretty well, and although it makes me look a little foolish, I learned a good lesson and realized I need a lot more practice flying and learning all of the features of the drone. While I work on learning some of these things, you can enjoy the video. 

It looks pretty easy on video, but even though it is a drone and it has lots of features, you can still loose it or crash it if you aren't paying attention.

ENJOY

Practicing with the Drone

I have had the drone for almost a week now and it really is fun. I have discovered that there are a lot of restrictions flying the drone though. The main one is that if I am within 5 miles of an airport, I have to contact the airport manager or control tower to let them know I will be flying my drone in their air space. That is a big pain in the backside. as there are airports everywhere.

If I get a commercial drone pilot license, then I don't have to do a lot of these things as I can simply check the aviation charts and locate the restricted or controlled airspace and stay out of that area. That is much easier as most restricted airspace is above the 400 foot ceiling that drones are allowed to fly in, so except for airports in really big and busy areas, I can fly most places. There are still quite a few other restrictions, but I should be able to figure them out and follow the rules without too much trouble.

It will take a month or two to get certified but hopefully I can get it done and keep flying the drone as it is a lot of fun and as I get a little better at flying it and operating the camera, I can film some really nice video since we are in such a pretty part of america.

Enjoy the video, and I will work on getting my license and more video while we are here in the Pacific North West.

Having Fun in the Pacific Northwest

We have really been enjoying life in the Pacific Northwest. The temp has been perfect and the rain stopped once we arrived. I heard it is in the 110 degree range back in Las Vegas area and the folks are really suffering but not here.

Lance smoked up some Salmon for dinner a couple of days ago and it was great, he even cooked the corn on the cob on the smoker and it was excellent. I couldn't be more proud of that young man even if most of the credit should go to Lisa and those 5 kids. The grandkids got a fathers day card for Lance and one for me and each one of them wrote something personal on my card and it caught me off guard a bit and really made me feel good to read it. I am not a big card type guy but that is one I will save along with a couple from Pearl and some notes from the kids when they were young.

We have learned a new game called "Spike Ball", and if it doesn't kill us (Pearl has a broken or at least bent toe from it) it will definitely help burn up some of the calories we have been indulging in. You can't really tell how much fun it is with Pearl and I playing, but there is a couple of videos with the kids playing where you can kind of see how it works and how much effort it takes to win.

I got my drone a couple of days ago and finally got a little video with it. I only fly it up about 20 feet so far and just in our camp site but once I get to a clear spot and get a little more courage, we should be able to start getting some impressive video. It is definitely a lot of fun to fly but my old flying experience didn't help a bit.

We were talking about the house we sold in Vegas and asking each other if we missed it and we both agreed it is a non issue and we are loving this RV lifestyle where we can go and see the kids more regular. I asked Alex to try and get a couple of his buddies and come visit us in Oregon and we would rent one of the cabins for him for a day or two or three. He seemed to have an interest and if he can get some free time, I am thinking we just might see him up here in the next month or so. We sure hope so.

Steve and Jinxi own a condo in Eugene (or somewhere around there) so I am thinking we might be able to see them or maybe a kid or two or three sometime over the summer up here somewhere. The plan is to go down the coast and stop in to see Pearl's sister and other family around Sacramento this fall as the temps start falling as we head to South Texas for the winter. We are planning to hook up with lots of Texas family also in the November December time frame with just a little luck.

Enjoy the Video and feel free to leave your comments

We made it to Spring Creek without many issues except for a rain shower. The trailers were tarped down pretty good so no water damage in Nevada, but by the time we got to Bend Oregon it was raining hard and the tarps had started to loosen up causing things to get pretty wet and a little dirty. Hopefully things will clean up pretty good though.

Melissa had a great dinner made when we got to her house and it was delicious (we were starving) and plentiful. Pearl and I went to bed early since we have been on the go for several days to get moved out, and loaded up for the trip.

The second day in Spring Creek was pretty relaxing, and we got to go out to dinner at Ronnie & Melissa's favorite restaurant (a sushi restaurant) and we all had a delicious meal. Alex wanted to go to McDonald's but changed his mind after tasting how good the food was, I wish I had thought to take some pictures of it as it was that good.

Unloaded some stuff in Spring Creek and headed out to Oregon. The video shows part of the trip up to the Thousand Trails campground we stayed in (Bend/Sunriver RV Campground). It was a great trip and the campground was very roomy and nice but the next leg up and over the mountain on highway 22 to Salem Oregon was really magnificent. It rained and rained hard, but the road through the mountains was simply Outstanding. I haven't checked the video yet but it has to be really good. I will post it in a couple of days.

If I can remember, I will also get some video the kids and grandkids while we are here. I totally forgot when we all met and unloaded the trailers. I have totally forgotten every time someone has come over to visit and Sunday we are all meeting at Lance and Lisa's for a home cooked Salomon feast that Lance is preparing for Father's Day. Hopefully I won't forget again but it is certainly possible.

Until next time, enjoy the video and just remember that I am just learning how to do this stuff so it is still pretty rough around the edges. Hopefully I will get a little better at it and Pearl will still approve the drone purchase and I can have a really fun time flying the drone with the camera and editing my aerial photography....

We are getting real close to being moved out of the house and this afternoon I am hoping we can finish up moving into the RV and hitting the road about the time the sun comes up tomorrow.

Our application for the Thousand Trails camping pass is almost finished and we were able to make a couple of reservations up in the Pacific Northwest. It appears that it is just about the peak of the season up there (which is a good time to be in Oregon or Washington) but we may have some trouble getting into the parks we want as they are full.

Now that we have the pass we can make reservations up to 180 days in advance so I am thinking we may be able to stay ahead of the crowd for most reservations in July, August and September if we get started planning out our route.

Hope to post an update on our location and what all is going on in Spring Creek after we have had a day or two to visit with Ron, Melissa and Alex. My understanding is they may have some interesting news to share so stay tuned to see just what is going on up in Northern Nevada.