FRIDAY THE 13TH.....!
A full moon the evening before, Friday the 13th approaching and Bob (Steinhauer) wants to hover! As we left the shop on Friday to meet Bob and Gloria at the Muscoda boat landing, Vernon says: "You know it's Friday the 13th, don't you?"
Well, that's how crazy hovernauts are. Who cares what the date is. If the weather is perfect, you just go!!! And go we did.....on to Muscoda WI for a day of full hovering!
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The weather was just what you would like to see for a great day of hovering on the Wisconsin River......and no black cats crossed our path on the way to the river, nor did we need to hover under any ladders......so forget the rumor of the 13th! | |
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| Gloria and Bob Steinhauer live only
about 3/4 of a mile from the Muscoda boat landing, with
access immediately to the river from their lawn. Bob
aptly calls it 'his chute'. That's their palace in the
upper right photo. Snickers goes along for this trip! Never know when he might need to chase a black cat! |
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| Our first pit stop......give the seat a rest! We know we'll put in at least 96 miles, maybe more..... | Always a chance for a driftwood shot! | |
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| Ah gee......you guys....not another pit stop! | This time, the gulls descended for a snack. Click on the picture for a good close up view! | |
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| Our destination is the dam.....Bob wants a picture up close and personal with it...... | Verdon wants to hover around the falls inside the dam..... | |
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First, a look around.......note the warning on the walls of the dam! | |
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| The dam is quite an impressive structure....even from a distance. What with all the rocks and boulders lying around, a hovernaut usually thinks hard about his approach. |  |
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| It's a go! Verdon heads for 'no man's land'. Fishermen nearby are in awe of what is going on.....obviously no one has ever done this before! | Getting closer....... | |
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He's up and flying on the watery slip.....a waterfall is coming thru the dam and altho I didn't get a picture, the craft went under the falls and the lift engine died......but Verdon got it running quickly and proceeded with his further amusement. | |
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Headed back out.... | |
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Friday the 13th.....no problems,
yet.....! However, on the way back to Muscoda the winds picked up quite severely, and gave us all a test of our driving skills! We still made it back in 1 hour and 5 minutes..... |
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A calm now surrounded the landing.....Verdon went out for more hovering, and I left for home. The Steinhauers pulled into their retreat as we drove by......a great day. Whereas, Bob reported he had 97.5 miles on his GPS, Verdon stayed around and hovered until he achieved 110 miles on his GPS. | |
| Driving home was a beautiful sight as the sun set over the hills and all the glorious color of autumn took over in the fading hours of sunlight! |  |
Verdon repaired his craft today.....Friday the 13th didn't leave him unscathed.....but he said he flew very well all day and into sunset and the needed repairs never slowed him one bit!
There's a group of us who have our own egroup on the Internet. At first it seemed that only one of us had come down with Hoveraholism......but then I realize we all have the same disease! Isn't it great!!!! Below is a copy of Scott Sodervick's note in satire to us all:
Hello New StarCruisers to our Group:
Hello, I'm Scott S. (HI SCOTT)
I'm a StarCruiser owner (CROWD STIRS)
This is my story (CROWD SETTLES BACK FOR STORY)
I led a clean life until I was 41, then I started StarCruising. At first, I only StarCruised a little. I was in control of my StarCruising. I only StarCruised on weekends and I never StarCruised alone. Somehow my StarCruising started getting more frequent...it was every weekend plus a few week nights (CROWD SMILES) I still thought I was in control. In the end, I was StarCruising almost every day. I would even go to church on Sundays, then rush home and start StarCruising. I still thought I was in control (CROWD SHAKES HEADS). People began telling me I had a problem. They would notice that I had put 10 hours on my StarCruiser yet I couldn't remember where I'd been during that time. I was now an every day StarCruiser. I could easily StarCruise 80 miles in just over two hours (CROWD GASPS). I hit bottom with my StarCruiser. I Lost my family, the respect of my dog and two Goldfish that starved to death while I was on a 4 day StarCruising binge. I just don't think I'll ever be considered a recovered StarCruiser. I can't be helped now. All hope is gone.
Please, don't let this happen to you.
(CROWD STANDS AND CLAPS AS SCOTT S. EXITS....HIS VAN IS OUT BACK...HIS STARCRUISER IS THERE...THEY ALL KNOW WHERE HE IS GOING...YET, THEY ARE POWERLESS TO STOP HIM...A GOOD MAN, LOST TO STARCRUISING)
Thanks, Scott, for being so honest! To meet Scott via the internet, write Scott Sodervick! He's also our Indiana Ambassador!
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