It's been a while since I took the Cheetah out of the state of California. So last spring, I started thinking about taking another cross-continental journey with the plane, once the weather got nice. My original thought was to time the flight so I could stop in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with the plane for the EAA AirVenture convention. But a fuel leak axed that idea and pushed the schedule back into August. (For a more thorough discussion of the joys and frustrations of flying an "older" plane like the Cheetah, including schedule changes due to inconvenient fuel leaks, check out my column in the upcoming October issue of Flying.)

But, the fuel leak has been fixed … along with an electrical problem that surfaced after that, and, just this past week, another problem with the o-ring on one of my fuel sump quick-drains … and so, I am about to depart (God willin' and the creek don't rise) on a very literal cross-country adventure with my trusty Cheetah.

Garmin has loaned me both a 496 and a 696 GPS to try out on the trip — both upgrades from the non-weather-capable portable Garmin 295 that I use on a regular basis. So stay tuned to see how I think the higher-tech equipment affects the safety or enjoyment of the flight.

But the biggest difference in this adventure, versus most of the Cheetah adventures I've had in the past, is that I won't be alone. My boyfriend Ed's teenage son, Connor, thinks he wants to learn how to fly. So I invited him along as a co-pilot. If nothing else, this low-and-slow flight across America should answer the question for him of whether he wants to continue on and get his license. As we speak, he's taking a few introductory flying lessons with an instructor in the Cheetah, so he has at least a fundamental understanding of how to handle the airplane.

But sometimes we see the world, and ourselves, more clearly through someone else's eyes. So having Connor along will be an adventure, in and of itself. And a very new kind of adventure, for me.

Adventure, of course, is what happens any time we step out of what is known and comfortable into a place where our footing is a little less certain, the outcome is a little unpredictable, but the possibilities are suddenly wide open. It is where we find ourselves challenged to grow, and to see the world, and ourselves, with a new perspective. That doesn't mean it's always comfortable. But as long as we keep our eyes open, it is always educational. And, we always hope, a lot of fun, besides. If we didn't believe all that, we wouldn't fly airplanes.

So if you're somewhere on the winding, many-stop way between San Francisco and Boston and you see a brown and white Cheetah pull up at the gas pumps, come up and say hi. We'll let you know how the adventure is going. And, of course, stay tuned for more details and adventure stories from the trip in my column, in the months to come.