Return from AirVenture

Having heard that the Blue Angles would arrive at 9:45 AM Friday morning
and perform for 15 minutes, I delayed my deparature to watch the show.
9:45 came and went. No one seemed to know when the Blues would arrive.
At 10:05 AM, I tuned in the Departure ATIS and mounted up to depart.
I taxied to the end of my row, crossed the road, turned 45 degrees and
did my run up. Then I got in line and taxied east to the departure end
of R27. Half way down the runway, still monitoring Departure ATIS, the
message changed to, "Oshkosh Airport will be closed from 10:30 until
10:45 for aerial demonstration." I thought the Blues were supposed to be
punctual? :-))
Oh well, departures are going slow enough, I may have to shut down
beneath the runway for a good view of the show. Didn't happen. ATC put
on a big push to get as many aircraft out as possible in those remaining
12 minutes. I received my "cleared for takeoff" instructions at 10:29:32
AM.
Clear of the CCAS, I turned south and climbed to 5500 MSL. 35 miles
south of OSH I called up Milwaukee Approach for flight following. The
sky was clear, the air was smooth and cool.
14 W of Waukeshau, I spied a few puffies forming. I then advised
Milwaukee that I was descending to 3500 MSL in preparation to transit
the lakeshore south to Chicago. Bases of the puffies were 4000 MSL.
Feet wet and talking to Chicago Approach, I descended to 2500 MSL. The
clouds were becoming scattered and the bases were down to 3500 MSL.
Visibility was still 8 miles.
Abeam downtown Chicago, the clouds were not broken, bases still around
3500, and visibility still about 8 miles.
Coming up on the south end of the lake, visibility is down to 5 miles,
the ceiling is 3000 broken.
Following the lakeshore north of Gary Airport, the ceiling is at 2500
broken to overcast, visibility 5 miles.
Heading inland 5 east of Gary, the ceiling is at 2000, visibility is
down to 3 miles.
The GPS is set to Valpariso. 18 miles, no towers, I am down to 1500 MSL.
I spot VPZ 3 miles out and land R18. Ceiling is 700 AGL.
About a dozen pilots and pax are in the FBO. 8-9 planes are on the ramp.
It is 11:30 AM.
Some had left OSH on Thursday and gotten only as far as Joliette IL.
Friday morning they had made it only 50 miles. They all said the same
thing, two miles east of the airport there is a wall. Those that had
tried going over the overcast said they were at 9500 and the cloud tops
were 8500. You couldn't go under, you couldn't go over.
I had taken my laptop on this trip. VPZ has free wireless.
aviationweather.gov was helpful. Especially the visual satellite photo
loop. VPZ was under a cloud mass that spread about 25 miles in all
directions. As the afternoon progressed, the clouds thinned. Different
pilots left, only to return reporting the same "wall" of low visibility
to the east.
Finally around 3 PM, the last pilot to take off didn't return.
I waited another hour to allow the weather to move farther east.
Radar imagery showed a small line of cells popping up along my route
east of Fort Wayne.
A student in the pattern reported cloud bases at 3500 and visibility to
be 10 miles at 4 PM. I climbed aboard and cranked it up.
Cruising eastbound at 2500 with flight following from South Bend, all
was right with the world.
Before Fort Wayne cut me loose, I inquired about weather along my route.
I was advised of two moderate cells and given a vector to fly to avoid
the weather.
Unable to hear Dayton Approach, I contacted Indiannapolis Center.
Vectors for weather were again requested and received. As I turned south
to pass between two masses of cells, I spotted two Stearman's at my
altitude flying eastward. As I turned to fly behind them, I spotted a
third Stearman straggler about a mile behind them.
Forty miles northwest of Colubus, Columbus Approach issued traffic
advisories. One at two o'clock and one at 10 o'clock. The one at 10
o'clock was moving away and was not a factor. I was overtaking the one
at two o'clock and it was an odd shape, colored blue and yellow.
As I got about a mile from it it turned perpedicular to its previous
course and I realize it was the Goodyear blimp!
I landed uneventfully and taxied to the hangar.
It was hot and humid, but I was home.