Valentine's Day Flights?

So where'd you take your honey? Or are you waiting for the weekend?

Mary and I took today (our normal day off) to fly to the little town
of Decorah, IA, to visit the Hotel Winneshiek. USA Today recently
listed this property as one of the most romantic hotels in the Midwest
-- and we simply had to go see what it was all about.

The flight itself was absolutely marvelous. With the outside
temperature at 10 above zero, Atlas climbs like a rocket. We
maintained 1200 feet per minute all the way to 6500 feet, with full
tanks -- something we can only dream about in summer.

The ride was so smooth that it was easy to imagine that the earth was
turning beneath us, as we hung motionless in the sky -- and the
visibility must've been 200 miles. With yesterday's heavy snowfall,
the entire world was blindingly white, giving the fields and forests
of Iowa a fairy-like atmosphere.

All was right with the world, as that big ol' O-540 thrummed along to
the beat of Fleetwood Mac. (On-board XM radio rocks, let me tell you
guys!)

The airport in Decorah is very nicely done, with a single (but wide
and long) runway, and a spacious ramp. The FBO facility is typical
small-town Iowa, with a nicely appointed pilot's lounge, full of lots
of pictures and magazines. Being mid-week in February, we were the
only plane on the ramp, and it took a bit of looking to find anyone
home. We had called ahead -- so we knew *somone* was there -- and we
eventually found a couple of mechanics wrenching planes in the
maintenance hangar. They directed us to the courtesy car -- an
ancient Ford Bronco -- with the keys in it.

In fact, the keys could not be removed -- I tried. The steering
column had been physically altered so that the keys were a permanent
addition to the vehicle, which certainly solved the problem of pilots
flying off with their keys! (This has happened to us a couple of
times, with our courtesy van....)

The gas gauge was below empty. In fact, it was so far below empty
that I figured it must be inoperative. However, just in case, we made
a bee-line for the nearest gas station. I put $19 in that tank, and
only brought the gauge up to half full! I doubt we would have made
it to town, had we not stopped for gas first...

We found the hotel easily -- it's the biggest building in downtown.
As with all 19th century hotels, it had fallen into disrepair and
converted to apartments before a rich benefactor -- in this case, a
wealthy heiress -- bought it and lovingly restored it to its original
grandeur.

The interior is stunning, with a three-story open atrium-lobby,
fireplaces and gorgeous woodwork. The railroad tracks used to go
right behind the hotel (the old station is just a block away) and
those trains originally provided most of the hotel's business. As a
result, the restored "main entrance" is actually facing AWAY from the
main road, which is quite unusual nowadays.

Being Valentine's Day the single lady behind the desk was quite busy,
so rather than becoming the annoying people who walk in on Saturday
night wanting a tour (we get them all the time!), we simply walked
around with our mouths open, marveling at the money that had been
spent on this financially untenable venture.

We then went for lunch at Ruby's, a nearby restaurant that had wisely
placed a menu in the FBO. It turned out that Ruby herself was there
(one of her waitresses had called in sick), so we spent the next hour
talking with this marvelously entertaining lady. (We ended up trying
to talk her into opening a restaurant next to our hotel -- her home-
made food and service are AWESOME!)

We got to hear all the dirt on the hotel's background. The heiress
who saved the place sunk $10 million into the restoration before her
children cut her off. Of course the hotel can't bring in more than
$1500 per day, on a good day -- plus the restaurant and bar take --
and we know the expenses of running a hotel half that size.

Let's say the place brings in $3K per day, on average. Do the math --
after expenses, it would take a hundred years to amortize $10
million!

So, of course, the hotel went belly up after a year or two of losing
fists-full of money, and it was sold to some out-of-town hotelier who
is now trying to make a go of it. Inevitably he's had to raise prices
while cutting amenities and staff, so the downward spiral has begun
anew.

Decorah is a very nice town, with a really neat downtown -- they still
have a DOWNTOWN J.C. Penneys store, thanks to no malls -- but they are
WAY off the beaten path. Little Luther College is nearby, and there
is some local industry, but there is simply no way this gem of a hotel
can long survive in such a market. It's a very cool place, and we're
going to try to spend a night or two there before the inevitable
demise takes place...

We then walked around downtown, exploring the antique shops and
stores. It was a terrific way to spend V-Day.

Our flight home was just as nice as the flight out, but with a
tailwind. Mary greased the landing into Iowa City, and as we taxied
past the huge mounds of new-plowed snow, we waved at one of our FBO's
planes taxiing out -- departing with some lovebirds on one of our
hotel's "Ultimate Valentine's Day" scenic flights! We had three of
them scheduled for today, with more to come this weekend...

:-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"