{"id":8456,"date":"2019-06-13T16:23:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/?p=8456"},"modified":"2019-06-13T16:23:34","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T16:23:34","slug":"houston-to-san-diego-days-5-and-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/2019\/06\/13\/houston-to-san-diego-days-5-and-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston to San Diego &#8211; Days 5 and 6"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Solo return to Houston<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My return to Houston would be much faster paced than the outbound flight, with no stops for tourism. I headed back to San Diego early on Saturday morning, performed a careful pre-flight and departed, headed back to the east. As I took off, I flew over Sea World, getting great views of the park down below. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-1\" data-gallery_id=\"8484\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-1\" data-gallery_no=\"1\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.05.04.jpg\" title=\"Departing from San Diego\" data-rl_title=\"Departing from San Diego\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.05.04-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Departing from San Diego<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.06.33.jpg\" title=\"Sea World San Diego\" data-rl_title=\"Sea World San Diego\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.06.33-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Sea World San Diego<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"874\" height=\"403\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/San-Diego-to-Hatch.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/San-Diego-to-Hatch.jpg 874w, https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/San-Diego-to-Hatch-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/San-Diego-to-Hatch-586x270.jpg 586w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 874px) 100vw, 874px\" \/><figcaption>High-tailing it across the southwest<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I had requested a &#8220;VFR-on-top&#8221; clearance, which is designed to take you up through an overcast layer into good conditions above it. This kind of clearance is ideal for the west coast, where a low marine layer with no cloud above it is a very common occurrence. As I passed the coastal mountain range, the cloud disappeared; it tends to get blocked by the hills; and I was cruising in perfect conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-2\" data-gallery_id=\"8486\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-2\" data-gallery_no=\"2\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.30.18.jpg\" title=\"The clouds give way to clear skies\" data-rl_title=\"The clouds give way to clear skies\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.30.18-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">The clouds give way to clear skies<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.32.10.jpg\" title=\"The marine layer pouring over the mountains\" data-rl_title=\"The marine layer pouring over the mountains\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-11.32.10-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">The marine layer pouring over the mountains<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The wind was blowing hard today in the southwest, 40 knots or more. Luckily, it was coming from behind me, giving me a nice speed boost. In Arizona it had whipped up the dust into a sandstorm that fell away behind me as I passed. It did make things rather bumpy and challenging on landing!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-3\" data-gallery_id=\"8488\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-3\" data-gallery_no=\"3\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-16.58.29.jpg\" title=\"Outrunning the sandstorm\" data-rl_title=\"Outrunning the sandstorm\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-16.58.29-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Outrunning the sandstorm<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-16.04.25.jpg\" title=\"On the ramp at Safford Regional\" data-rl_title=\"On the ramp at Safford Regional\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-16.04.25-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">On the ramp at Safford Regional<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I made two stops along the way for fuel. At the first, I took the time to buy some books. I had recently been given an e-book for my birthday, and was enjoying the novelty. I was able to connect it to the internet through my phone, and download a few new novels, all while sitting in the pilot seat on a deserted desert airport ramp. How cool!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-4\" data-gallery_id=\"8490\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-4\" data-gallery_no=\"4\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-19.28.03.jpg\" title=\"Camp set up in Hatch, NM\" data-rl_title=\"Camp set up in Hatch, NM\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-19.28.03-1038x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"388\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Camp set up in Hatch, NM<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-19.53.53.jpg\" title=\"The runway in Hatch, NM\" data-rl_title=\"The runway in Hatch, NM\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-19.53.53-1038x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"388\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">The runway in Hatch, NM<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-20.12.17.jpg\" title=\"Camping in Hatch, NM\" data-rl_title=\"Camping in Hatch, NM\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-20.12.17-1038x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"388\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Camping in Hatch, NM<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-20.20.38.jpg\" title=\"Time for a gourmet dinner\" data-rl_title=\"Time for a gourmet dinner\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-4\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-06-20.20.38-1038x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"388\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Time for a gourmet dinner<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At my second stop I borrowed the crew car and went to a gas station to buy some provisions. I restocked with ice for the cooler, firewood for camping out that evening, and a few in-flight snacks before returning to the airport and departing for my overnight stop of Hatch, New Mexico. Hatch is a perfect overnight stop for the self-sufficient camping pilot; a little way from the town, good camping ground right next to the ramp, and entirely deserted! I set up my tent and got a fire going as light rain spat down. Dinner that night was a little less fancy than previous nights; hot dogs, cooked on a stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>The final day dawned sunny. I packed up and departed for a long day of flying. An initial short hop took me to Dona Ana County airport. As I approached, I passed over an enormous train full of military tanks, which was something I don&#8217;t often see! The airport itself was great; but the parachuting operation (Skydive El Paso) thought they owned the entire airfield and were rudely shouting on the radio at anyone else who had the temerity to fly in. Not a very professional group! The unconnected FBO was excellent, however, and I was soon fueled up and on my way east.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-5\" data-gallery_id=\"8492\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-5\" data-gallery_no=\"5\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-09.39.52.jpg\" title=\"Tanks by rail\" data-rl_title=\"Tanks by rail\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-09.39.52-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Tanks by rail<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-10.53.01.jpg\" title=\"Agriculture in the desert\" data-rl_title=\"Agriculture in the desert\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-5\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-10.53.01-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Agriculture in the desert<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"854\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Hatch-to-West-Houston.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8494\" srcset=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Hatch-to-West-Houston.jpg 854w, https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Hatch-to-West-Houston-768x518.jpg 768w, https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Hatch-to-West-Houston-400x270.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 854px) 100vw, 854px\" \/><figcaption>A full day of crossing Texas<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I stopped for lunch in Odessa, Texas, a major oil and gas location. Hundreds of oil wells were visible all around it. The rest of the journey has very little to say about it &#8211; another fuel stop, and a landing back at home base. Hours and hours of flying over Texas and it really all looks the same!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"rl-gallery-container rl-loading\" id=\"rl-gallery-container-6\" data-gallery_id=\"8496\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery rl-basicgrid-gallery rl-hover-effect-2 rl-hover-icon-2\" id=\"rl-gallery-6\" data-gallery_no=\"6\"> <div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-11.01.26.jpg\" title=\"Mountains in west Texas\" data-rl_title=\"Mountains in west Texas\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-11.01.26-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Mountains in west Texas<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"rl-gallery-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-12.03.58.jpg\" title=\"Oil wells around Odessa\" data-rl_title=\"Oil wells around Odessa\" class=\"rl-gallery-link\" data-rl_caption=\"\" data-rel=\"lightbox-gallery-6\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/2017-05-07-12.03.58-1024x576.jpg\" width=\"700\" height=\"394\" alt=\"\" \/><span class=\"rl-gallery-caption\"><span class=\"rl-gallery-item-title\">Oil wells around Odessa<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"text-align:right\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/adventures\/\">Click here<\/a><\/strong> to return to the adventures index.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Solo return to Houston My return to Houston would be much faster paced than the outbound flight, with no stops for tourism. I headed back to San Diego early on Saturday morning, performed a careful pre-flight and departed, headed back to the east. As I took off, I flew over Sea World, getting great views of the park down below. I had requested a &#8220;VFR-on-top&#8221; clearance, which is designed to take you up through an overcast layer into good conditions&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/2019\/06\/13\/houston-to-san-diego-days-5-and-6\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-san-diego"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8456"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8519,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8456\/revisions\/8519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/katamarino.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}