Saturday morning, July 1, brought a very slick slide presentation from Mark of his 1999 "Flight 48: An Aeronautical Journey Through 48 States" at the Wings of History Museum, whose hard-working volunteers afterward furnished an excellent picnic lunch.

Jim Marsters (left) chats with Sigmund Loza (center) at the picnic outside the Wings of History clubhouse.

This large shade tree was much appreciated in the heat of day.

Then came the joyous high point of the week--Jay Kowalczyk's flight in Tom Lambrick's colorful Stearman.

Tom Lambrick carefully steers his magnificent Stearman out to the runway, with Jay Kowalczyk in the front seat.

The members assembled on the ramp to welcome Tom and Jay on their landing-and Jay's smile was almost as wide as the Stearman's wingspan. And guess what? Jay came away with a set of the captioned private pilot training videotapes donated by Sporty's, won in the raffle first by certified pilots Tim Coffman and then Jim Marsters, who gave the tapes to Jay.

A beaming Jay signs "I Love You" from the Stearman's open cockpit.

Kathy Sussman, director of the Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf in Redwood City, Calif., won the free round-trip tickets to anywhere in the United States donated by American Airlines. The raffle raised well over $500 to cover fly-in expenses.

The afternoon was a fitting windup to a wonderful week, for which we all owe Mark Stern's attention to detail three cheers.

EPILOGUE: Even though the fly-in officially ended at the Saturday afternoon picnic, not everyone wanted to go home just yet. Mark Bresler, a hard-of-hearing pilot who flew in for the picnic, took Mark Stern, Celeste Cademartori, Bobby Sogolow, Jay Kowalczyk, and Rebecca DeShetler in his twin-engine Cessna 310 for a formation flight over Monterey Bay with Sherif Fathy's Comanche 250. We all then gathered at Mark's hangar for second helpings of the previous night's fine chocolate cake and more hangar flying. A spontaneous dinner at the Golden Oak lasted well into the evening.

On Sunday morning, July 2, another handful of lucky passengers went up for a short flight in Mark Bresler's Cessna 310, and Henri Corderoy du Tiers squeezed in one last cherished flight with five passengers to Napa Valley and back. Those still on the ground bid farewell to Kent and Morna Power's Cessna 210 and the Coffman/Fraser contingent in their Cherokee Six/300. The two Marks helped Alec Naiman plan his solo flight through the Rockies and onward to the East Coast. After a last helping of chocolate cake, we walked Alec's wingtips out of the ramp area, and stood along the taxiway to watch his takeoff. Mark Bresler, in his Cessna 310, chased Alec through his pattern climb, and drew abeam Alec's plane for a memorable wing-wave before Alec turned on course for Reno. What a sendoff!

A few days later, word arrived that Kent and Morna made it from South County to Juneau and Anchorage in Alaska, where Kent did a light-gun landing at the Anchorage Class C airport. Kent is believed to be the first deaf pilot to fly from the continental United States to Alaska, as well as the first to reach 49 states. We hope for a full report from Kent in the fall newsletter.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We would like to thank the following fly-in boosters:

Hummingbirds ($5 and up): Becky Center, Tim Coffman, Randy Fraser, Kendra Keller, Jack Kelsey, Philippe Marti.
Purple Finches ($25 and up): Paul Adams, Jean Hauser, Daniel Sonnenfeld.
Red-Winged Blackbirds ($50 and up): Martha Redden Ozer.
Blue Jays ($75 and up): Nancy Frishberg, Debby Kajiyama.
Harrier Hawks ($100 and up): Henry Kisor, Darol Nance, Kathy Sussman, Charlotte Toothman.
Bald Eagles ($150 and up): Celeste Cademartori.
Wild Turkeys ($200 and up): Jim Marsters, Alec Naiman, Bob Nicol, Mildie Oberkotter, Mark Stern, John and Mary Yeh.

We would also like to thank these interpreters, who donated a portion or all of their services: Priscilla Alden, Nancy Frishberg, Jenny Harris, Debby Kajiyama, Patrick Seamans, Sherry Thannisch and Charlotte Toothman.

Also, thanks to these volunteers: Penny Atlee, Barbara Baer, Julie Batz, Valorie Beer, Scott Benson, Kerrin Brigham, Jim Brune, Celeste Cademartori, Nancy Frishberg, Susan Gonzalez, Ami Gordon, Kelly Harrison, Dan Langholtz, Tom Lambrick, Bob Nicol, Mildred Oberkotter, Tom Ramler, Terry Ridgway, Pat Rockwell, Lori Steed, Kathy Sussman and Judy Viera.

And thanks to these California organizations: American Airlines and American Eagle, San Luis Obispo; Best Western Country Inn, Morgan Hill; Central Coast Council of, by and for People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, San Luis Obispo; Guglielmo Winery, Morgan Hill; Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf, Redwood City; Pilot Getaways, Glendale; Optima Publications, Mountain View (publisher of the Pilot's Guide to California Airports); RapidText Inc., Newport Beach (for captioning the ASF safety videotapes); Two Genes Aviation, San Martin, and Wings of History Museum, San Martin.

Thanks also to Sporty's Shops, Batavia, Ohio, for the private pilot video course.