Devastation in Iowa City Tonight

("Skywise" wrote)
I guess I'm used to living in the LA area where I can drive for hours and
tens of miles and never 'leave' the city.



We were surprised how big San Antonio is. It's as if you took everything,
suburbs too, in the Twin Cities and rolled them all into one city. San
Antonio isn't as big as the Twin Cities metro area but the idea is the same.


Montblack

"Skywise" wrote in message
...
My first thought upon seeing this graphic was, "Is that all
the bigger Iowa City is? It's just a little town!!!"

I guess I'm used to living in the LA area where I can drive
for hours and tens of miles and never 'leave' the city.

Awh, come on, it's IOWA, what did you expect? I was up there awhile back on
a contract for Rockwell Collins and got to experience it for 6 months... I
was in Cedar Rapids, a short drive north of there... Other than the various
widely seperated small towns, you will find lots and lots of corn fields,
interspersed with an occasional bean field... And not a decent BBQ joint in
the entire state, of course...

Jay Honeck wrote:
Trust me, I felt pretty stupid, especially after Mary told me not to
leave because one of several tornadoes were approaching.

Trouble was, I seriously thought that I had the superior weather
instrument, being in the weather room at the airport. The radar there
was showing that the worst of the storm had passed.

I won't make that mistake again.

Phew, for a minute, I thought you were going to say you were looking at
Pilot Mycast on your cell phone. I have this strange dream where you're
showing this to a bunch of us, we're in a nice restaurant (under a
Tornado watch), we're done with dinner and walking back to
camp...when...wham, instantly soaked. Poof, then I wake up in a cold
sweat...no, wait, it's not sweat, it's a tent dripping on me :-)

Seriously though Jay, very interesting the difference in what you were
seeing vs. what Mary was seeing.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Phew, for a minute, I thought you were going to say you were looking at
Pilot Mycast on your cell phone. I have this strange dream where you're
showing this to a bunch of us, we're in a nice restaurant (under a
Tornado watch), we're done with dinner and walking back to
camp...when...wham, instantly soaked. Poof, then I wake up in a cold
sweat...no, wait, it's not sweat, it's a tent dripping on me :-)

Man, that WAS a storm, no? Actually with much harder rain than this
tornado produced.

(Thankfully, no hail in *that* one, or we -- and a billion dollars
worth of planes parked at OSH -- would have been toast! Can you
imagine how much the insurance adjusters must sweat during OSH week?)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

It's only 15 miles from the Alexis Park Inn - most of that (70 mph) freeway.
Is a max distance clause a by-law for the club?

Yeah, but the important thing is distance from our home. It's over 30
minutes away, which is JUST beyond what we're willing to drive for an
after dinner, spur-of-the-moment flight.

http://www.greencastle-aeroclub.com/location.htm
Is the house in this picture? Bummer on the out-bid!!!

See the fir trees in the upper center/left? It's the house nearest
those, just a smidge down and to the right.

The house itself is gorgeous. Unfortunately, it was repossessed by the
bank during a VERY bitter divorce, and the "wronged woman" took out her
wrath on the house. She took light fixtures, built-in wall appliances
-- even the toilets and the central air conditioning!! The house was
just a shell.

Then, to make matters worse, the sellers over-priced it (by, like,
100%!), so no one would even bid on the place. It sat vacant for years
as a result. When the bank eventually repo'd it, the former owners
were long gone, had left windows open, and (worst of all) had not left
a dehumidifier running in the beautifully finished basement.

There was thick mold up to shoulder height throughout, and insect
carapaces so thick (after the winter killed them) that it was like
walking on popcorn.

That house would have taken $20K worth of refurb, so we low-balled our
bid -- and got beat. We were in Nashville (on our way to Sun N Fun
'04) when we got the word that we'd been out-bid -- and we have never
been so relieved in our lives! It was for the best, since we really
did not have time or resources for ANOTHER project, in addition to the
hotel rehab...

Still, to wake up on your own air strip is every pilots dream...
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Where is the hotel on that map?

Find the approach end of Rwy 25 (it's covered with a text box). We're
just north of it.

Closest structures badly damaged were Wal-Mart and Menards to the west,
and Hartwig Dodge and Dairy Queen to our north.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

My first thought upon seeing this graphic was, "Is that all
the bigger Iowa City is? It's just a little town!!!"

I guess I'm used to living in the LA area where I can drive
for hours and tens of miles and never 'leave' the city.

I'm sorry, Brian. Having lived in big cities, I really do feel for
you.

Nothing here is more than 15 minutes away -- yet we have EVERYTHING,
thanks to the University.

It truly is a marvelous place to live...for now. (It's growing so
fast, it's scary!)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Skywise" wrote in message ...

My first thought upon seeing this graphic was, "Is that all
the bigger Iowa City is? It's just a little town!!!"

I guess I'm used to living in the LA area where I can drive
for hours and tens of miles and never 'leave' the city.

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

We have acclimated so much that a 45 minute drive up to Grand Rapids is a really big deal - never used though much of
driving an hour down to LA to go to the Getty or something similar. Living in the midwest does sort of shrink the world
view, at least as far as driving is concerned....

Jay Honeck wrote:

Man, that WAS a storm, no? Actually with much harder rain than this
tornado produced.

Ah yes, the Oshkosh memories. That night will be recounted for
generations to come...I can just hear the embellishments..."There we
were, strolling back from the Charcoal pit when, wham! Rain, hail,
*and* a funnel cloud were seen. Amazingly, the hail missed the N-40.
The ultralights, however, were creamed. And the twister managed to take
out the Hilton...wiped it clean off the foundation, creating a perfect
spot for the Alexis Park Inn & Suites of Oshkosh."

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL-Instrument Airplane
Arrow N2104T

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Jay Honeck wrote:
Trust me, I felt pretty stupid, especially after Mary told me not to
leave because one of several tornadoes were approaching.
Trouble was, I seriously thought that I had the superior weather
instrument, being in the weather room at the airport. The radar there
was showing that the worst of the storm had passed.
I won't make that mistake again.

In article ,
Jack Allison wrote:
Phew, for a minute, I thought you were going to say you were looking at
Pilot Mycast on your cell phone. I have this strange dream where you're
showing this to a bunch of us, we're in a nice restaurant (under a
Tornado watch), we're done with dinner and walking back to
camp...when...wham, instantly soaked. Poof, then I wake up in a cold
sweat...no, wait, it's not sweat, it's a tent dripping on me :-)

Jack, your dream sounds incredibly like AirVenture 2005!
In my version, I believe you were in the pizza joint across the road
while Laurence and I were enjoying a fine meal at the Hilton while the
rain was sheeting the western windows. It stopped raining long enough
for us to saunter back to our campsite and retire to our respective
tents.
Shortly thereafter, the wind and rain returned. It is the only time I
have watched wind driven rain force its way through the interlocked
teeth of a closed zipper.
Yes, I stayed dry, but I didn't get to sleep until the storm blew
through.