Jay,

We are as much of flying fools as you and Mary ;-) In the last 4
months, we have made 3 long cross-country trips totaling close to
7000nm. The hassle I referred to was all the transportation logistics
booking commercial flights, getting ground transportations etc.. and
certainly not the flying by ourselves part.

It only costs you $1000 to reskin? Is this the whole aileron?
There is no way of knowing how much airplane parts would cost. We had
to replace our wingtips and had terrible time finding the shields.
Only one supplier has them in stock and wanted $550 for two little
pieces of aluminum. I checked another one and they said it would have
to be made-to-order by Cessna for $350 a piece. A place in Canada has
the right part for $30 but no left part. We finally found a used pair
from Wentworth for $35 a piece. When it comes to certified aircraft
parts, it feels like skyway robbery sometimes!

I had stayed at few H.I.E and they were all decent. The H.I.E near
Little Rock airport looked much newer and nicer than the Days Inn which
was definitely worth the extra $5 ($60 vs. $55). I telll you, the
filthy chairs they had in the Days Inn room definitely belonged to the
pigsty. Not sure whether the fact that they had to house some
semi-permanent guests had something to do with it. If I was the
manager, I'd haul them to the dump. I don't think that any guests would
want to return to their hotel after seeing such chairs in their rooms.

While traveling, we just want a clean room, a comfortable bed and a
working shower. Extra things like coffee pot, hairdryer, newspaper,
breakfast etc. are nice but not essential. It can be annoying if there
are too much nonessential stuffs in place of essential items. Our most
awful experience was a swanky hotel in Quito in our Galapagos diving
trip. The hotel had spacious lobby filled with art works, huge vases
of fresh roses everywhere. Our immense room was also tastefully
decorated with art works and fresh cut flowers. Plush bath ropes and
slippers were provided. At night, waiter brought expensive chocolates
and roses to put on pillows. We just got back from a week of diving
and therefore were quite mindful of high altitude effect. Quito was at
10,000'. Hydration was essential. After having a bout with Montezuma
revenge at the beginning of the trip from eating an unpeeled peach in
another swanky hotel in Guayaquil, I would not even want to brush my
teeth with tap water. The only water availabe was some tiny Evian
bottles at $3.50 each. That was the most stupid thing that a hotel
manager could possibly do. We told our tour organizer/tour guide never
to book any guests at the hotel.

About the paint shop choice. I had done as much research as I could
checking out the shop reputation and customers' feedback. Just cross
our fingers that no surprises will come up.

Hai