Day 60 - Eugene to Medford

Tony Cacciarelli • Aug 13, 2020

Eugene, OR (KEUG) to

Medford, OR (KMFR) - August 13, 2019

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Jacked up

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Parked at Million Air Medford

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Original Instagram Post

Got the front tire repaired, but it took longer than expected so I wasn't able to get out of Eugene as early as I'd hoped. That meant only making it to Medford, OR instead of all the way to Vacaville. But, just a few hours in the morning and I'll be there. Looks like another early start.

I almost didn't get a room in Medford. Apparently, @thepianoguys are in concert here tonight and they draw a heckuva crowd. If I'd known, I would've planned to be there.

😀👍🏼

The replacement tire was delivered around 11am. It's a tubeless tire and it took the mechanic two tries to get everything seated properly. As a result, I didn't get in the air until about 6pm.

So, I had two options:

Fly about 2.5 hours to Redding
Fly about 1.5 hours to Medford

I probably had enough daylight to get to Redding, although there was a decent headwind which would've added about 30 minutes to that flight. Plus, I'd be flying over a stretch of mountains in setting sunlight. But, it would've put me closer to Vacaville, which meant a shorter flight in the morning.

Medford was a shorter hop, which almost felt like it wasn't worth it, but again the winds would add 15-20 minutes to that so I'd be arriving around 8pm.

I decided to go to Medford. I had a 50-hour maintenance scheduled in Vacaville, so the reality was I didn't need to rush to get there first thing in the morning. I'd be there by noon, which was plenty early.

The FBO in Medford wouldn't let me take the courtesy car overnight, so I called a taxi over to the hotel.

I didn't end up seeing much of Medford. I really wanted to grab dinner at Elmer's/The Purple Parrot Lounge. It wasn't a recommendation - I just liked the name. Plus, it was right next to the hotel. Unfortunately, they weren't serving food and it looked like they were closing up.

My only other option was Pizza Hut just next door. Glamorous for sure, but I didn't care. I was really hungry. At least they had beer.

I was really starting to feel the end of this adventure approaching, and I had mixed emotions about it.

As I mentioned, I'd had enough of eating in restaurants and jumping from one hotel to another. And I was ready to get back home.

At the same time it was such a thrill to wake up, get in the plane and fly away knowing that I wouldn't be coming back to the same place again but I'd have new adventures and sights to see.

A part of me enjoys living on the road and experiencing different places all the time. I didn't want that to end, but I also DID want to be back home. It was a very confusing set of emotions.