The UCF / Navy game represented a special opportunity to plan a trip to Annapolis, Maryland to experience a different culture of football. With (4) seats in the RV-10, Brandon, Darren, and Hugo (that’s right… 751 pounds of people) joined me on the adventure.
The nearest runway for us to get to the game was Lee Airport KANP. This airport requires that you take the FAA’s D.C. SFRA training prior to flying into it as it is within the outer ring of the SFRA. When you call for your briefing, the briefer will also ask if you are familiar with the SFRA. The training teaches you about the special lasers they will hit your aircraft with to warn you of your impending violation before the F16s come to meet you. This stuff is best seen on a video online and not out the windows of the plane you are piloting!
After departing Orlando Apopka Airport my plan was to take on some fuel in Rocky Mountain (KRWI) North Carolina before landing in Annapolis so that we would land light with only required fuel reserves but not unnecessary weight.
Lee airport has a quant 2,500′ x 48′ runway with 321′ displaced threshold on runway 30. On one end there is a strip mall and on the other there are tall trees. The weather favored runway 30 when we got there. We landed, took on enough fuel to get us back to Rocky Mountain, tied the plane down, and took a short walk to Chipotle for lunch. After Chipotle we hailed an Uber that dropped us off just short of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
After a short walk through the tailgate area we did a lap around the interior of the stadium before taking our seats on the visiting side 45 yard line, front row. These seats put us squarely behind the UCF bench. Never having watched a game played at Navy before I had no idea what it would be like. The production they put on was pretty cool. Prior to kickoff what would appear to have been all 4,000+ Naval Academy Midshipmen came out on the field, turned toward the visiting side and said something in unison like K-N-I-G-H-T-S good luck before taking their seats. The stadium was filled with names that appear to have been large battles the Navy and Marines had fought. During the game the stadium screens played History Channel style clips of battles the Naval forces had fought. Having traveled to a few football games with Brandon over the last 15 years I can say this stadium’s culture was different. The fans had class and lots of it. The stadium also had a two ship flyover of F35s and a single skydiver with a huge US flag hanging/flying below him pregame. The continuous triple option play calling was a bit lacking for excitement but the game play was not why we planned the trip!
After the game we took the recommendation of one of the folks at the airport and headed for Buddy’s in downtown Annapolis for some crab cakes. The crab cakes did not disappoint and the blue crab was equally exceptional. After dinner we caught a ride to the hotel Hugo booked. After waking up the next day we got another ride after skipping the continental breakfast for some Dunkin bagels. We get dropped off (near Lincoln Park) on the East side of the US Capitol. We walked about 10 miles and saw the Library of Congress, US Capitol Building, US Botanic Garden, Jefferson Memorial, George Mason Memorial, FDR Memorial, MLK Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, World War II memorial, and the Covid 19 memorial with over 700,000 flags in the ground. When we came up on the Covid memorial you could see lots of flags. A daunting amount of flags. As we walked up the hill towards the Washington Monument you could see 3 or 4 times the number of flags you could originally see. It was staggering. Some of the flags had hand written notes on them or pictures taped to them. After that we walked to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (the only museum that did not require previous reservations). After spending an hour in the museum we got a ride back to the airport where Brandon, Darren, and I got lunch at the Giant grocery store next to the airport before our departure. A quick pitstop back at Rocky Mountain and we landed back in Apopka. 36 hours from start to finish.
Departing X04.
Darren taking a nap in comfort at 9,000 feet.
Lee airport KANP.
Tied down and fueled for departure at KANP.
Hugo and Brandon in the center of Navy tailgating.
Not sure if the midshipmen in blue are enlisted who are attending the academy?
F35 2 ship flyover.
Pre-game continues.
Maryland State House while walking from stadium to downtown Annapolis for dinner.
Really good food. The recommendation was spot on.
These crab cakes don’t look like much… but they are amazingly awesome.
Tasty blue crab.
Karaoke at its best. Really neat experience seeing young people with solid self respect. Heard lots of sirs, and ma’ams etc. One of the best parts of the culture we saw seeing these kids with their parents. Super cool energy.
I can’t imagine trying to storm that building.
One of my favorite architectures. This is at the Jefferson memorial.
Covid 19 memorial. You think you see them until…..
you crest the hill and see them all.
A little more personal when you read flags like this.
The week prior to the trip London was asking if mummies exist? I showed her this picture I took at the Natural History museum and she wants to go there!
A little IMC on the way home. We had smooth air there and back.
Brandon getting after it on his way home from the airport.
10 hours round trip with the engine running,
112.08 gallons of Avgas burned,
1.1 hours of IMC,
1,616 miles flown.
