After one last Minnesota breakfast (cheesy scrambled eggs, sausage, and caramel rolls), Darren drove us (and the golf clubs) over to the Brianerd Regional Airport (KBRD) about 8:30 a.m. He was able to drive onto the ramp and unload bags right beside the airplane. We quickly loaded up, using pretty much the same plan we figured out for the trip up.
We took off to the east and circled back at 2000 feet AGL for a look at Maddens and East Gull Lake about eleven miles east of the airport. It was a bright clear morning, so the resort was easy to see and photograph.
After a slow, low turn over Maddens, we turned east and picked up our flight plan from Minnesota Center. Just about exactly three hours later, after crossing Lake Michigan at 7000 feet -- thirty minutes over water, we landed at Jackson, Michigan (KJXN).
Jackson is a welcoming airport with two long, wide runways, cheap fuel delivered by truck, easygoing and helpful tower controllers, and a very friendly little restaurant that overlooks the field. The restaurant caters to both pilots and airplane watchers alike.
As I commented on the DC Pilots forum, this is a great stopover point from the DC area for northwest-bound pilots.
An hour later we were fully fueled and on our way back to Leesburg. It was an easy flight, with a few diversions to go around some towering cumulonimbus clouds that threatened turbulence. We landed right on schedule at 5:45 p.m. at KJYO and put the airplane away.
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