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A Long Day’s Journey Into Night

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • An author's plan for a quick flight to a friend's dinner party was derailed by holiday traffic and a late start, forcing a safety-conscious decision to abandon the intended destination due to impending darkness.
  • Rerouting to an unfamiliar Mather Airport for a night VFR flight, the author navigated challenges including visual disorientation, reliance on instruments, a difficult approach, and unlit taxiways at the former Air Force base.
  • Despite post-landing frustrations with confusing ground control and poorly lit facilities, the author ultimately found satisfaction in significantly beating ground traffic, affirming the unique advantage of aviation.
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“If we don’t start moving soon,” I find myself thinking as my frustration simmers into overboil, “I swear to God I’m going to scream.”

I’m sitting in the middle of the I-580 freeway, which currently looks more like a big valet parking lot that just happens to be four traffic lanes wide. I’ve been on the road for over two hours, trying to go a distance that normally takes a third of that time. In the past 20 minutes, we’ve moved no more than 100 yards. And as I watch helplessly from a sea of cars in a canyon with no other exit or options, the sun is moving steadily lower and lower in the sky.

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