I live in Davis, in California's Central Valley, which is notorious
for its radiation fog which can last for days or weeks in the winter.
Between that and the rain storms, we haven't seen much sun at all for
a two to three weeks.

But today was different. A modest storm had passed through a few days
ago, clearing the air, and Davis was sparkling in a north
breeze...visibility 50 to 100 miles. So after breakfast I headed to
the airport, performed a chilly preflight and longer-than-usual
warmup, and took off to the north, with the intention of flying east,
towards Sacramento, then down the Yolo Bypass flood plain to the
Delta.

Departure on runway 34 at University Airport is a left-hand pattern
and requires an early turn left of runway heading to avoid overflying
housing directly north of the field. So it wasn't until downwind that
I finally took a look east towards where I wanted to go. To my
surprise there was a sea of fog from just east of the Bypass, covering
the city of Sacramento and extending north and south as far as I could
see.

Playtime!

I crossed over the Bypass and turned south, losing altitude to skim
along just above the fog. Small flocks of ducks and geese were flying
too and I had to be alert to avoid them. But what a thrill to float
above this endless ocean of cloud, gently turning back-and-forth to
dodge the small buildups and fly in the cotton canyons.

I wished I had brought my camera and a digital video recorder, because
the conditions and opportunities to fly them are rare. Once again I
was reminded of the great privilege to possess and fly my own
airplane, when and where I wanted. A good day today.