1. Although not as many folks showed up as we would have liked, those who did attend had a great time, and good food. There were a few club members who donated their time and money. Julie Butler headed up the day, organizing the effort and putting in a lot of time to make everything enjoyable for the members who attended. Thanks Julie.

2. As you can see from the photos, there were quite a few sailplanes aloft including our regular members and a surprise visit by Al Leffler, a long time member of our club and one of the airport stockholders. Nice to see Al here again and he had a really good flight, up mostly between 8500 and 9000 msl.

3. The Snyder Family arrived about noon, set up a picnic table and celebrated John Snyder's birthday with a gift glider ride from his wife, Julie. John's father and mother were on hand, Jim and Mabel, as well as Julie's dad, Charles Meyer. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves on our patio and watching the glider operations. Unfortunately John's ride wasn't quite as long as I had hoped. The fickle nature of soaring weather made its presence known today. About an hour after John and I went up, another ride in the 2-33 produced about an hour flight. It's frustrating but something over which we have very little control.

4. James Beckman did very well during his training flights today. He managed to snag a whole series of good thermals, most of which were 4 knots and above. He's getting near to solo flight and I suspect it may come within the next two weekends. He's progressing nicely.

5. Chris Karapostoles is practicing for his upcoming checkride, now scheduled for May 8 in the morning. He's a talented young man who flies for the U.S. Navy, having recently returned from combat flying in Afghanistan. I know Chris will do well on his testing.

6. Just a note to all of you who couldn't make it to Avenal today. The steak, prepared and cooked by Pancho Herrera was absolutely delicious. I think I could have consumed much of what he cooked but I graciously allowed others to partake of that juicy, mouth-watering, repast.

7. Andrea Mersino put on a show for us this evening. She commandeered a pogo stick and did quite well, staying on, and going airborne each time, as you can see in the photo.

8. Paul Hanson brought his good friend, Juhani Smith, out to Avenal today. Later on they both went aloft in the Blanik for a nice flight to the mountains.

9. Lest you think that Pancho Herrera was just the chef for today, he flew the 2-33 solo and had one of his better flights, snagging and remaining in some pretty good thermals. Nice going, Pancho, and thanks for that great steak.

10. Alex Caldwell and I flew three flights early this morning for my Biennial Flight Review, a necessary two-year ritual that is required even of Flight Instructors who are teaching all year long.