The independent. [volume] (Elizabeth City, N.C.) 1908-1936, 1926-10-22
LOVERS JUST DO NOT
PARK in THE AIR LANES
wv. O." Sets Forth Some of His Impressions OF
Trip Frcm Washington to Elizabeth
Citv Made In Just Four Hours
Hy w. 0. SAUNDERS

Sy w. u. oAlNDEiS0 -
Back in the days of the eigh-
teen nineties my father hitched
the old gray horse to a cover
ed cart at 2 o'clock on a clam
my spring morning and started
TO Norfolk. Va. with load OF
smoked herrings. | accom-
panied him.
We knocked thru Elizabeth Qty
about daybreak, reached South Mills
about II o'clock, rested tho old
horse. ate our lunch of fnt salt
pork. clablnr biscuit and yams.
Leaving South Mills after the old
gray horse had rested we arrived
at Portsmouth just as II boy with n
ladder was running thru the streets
lighting the gas lamps on the corn
prs. | had never been farther away
from home in my life. No Thought
Of the discomfOrts Of the trip occur.
red 10 he.
A few years later l went from
uertforl to Norfolk on Waddyt
train, making the trip In about
three hours. / looked with scorn
upon the covered cart for long dis
tance transportation after that. !
don't think / ever went any place
, in q covered cart again.
Journeying from Hertford to Nor
folk by rail whetted my appetite for
travel Maybe some day I would
travel so far as Washington.
About 20 years ago | went from
Elizabeth City TO Washington. /
! left Elizabeth City on a Thursday,
get to Washington OH Friday, spent
Friday and Saturday in the capi.
tai and leaving Washington Satur-
day evening got back to Elizabeth
/ City Sunday afternoon. The Tar
Heel came out next week and re-
corded the fact that W. y. Saunders
had made "n Flying trip To washing
tom. That's all they knew about
flying in those days.
-Four Hours and Wsrk ~
Bnt actually made flying trip
to Washington this week. T. ate
brea kfast in Elizabeth City Sunday
morning. read my mail. motored TO
Norfolk. had lunch with my mdthert
flew 10 Washington, had dinner In
iva ShingtOn. went TO- theatr
transacted considerable businesg In
Washington Monday morning.
l. left my hotel ip Washington at
10 a. m Monday morning, boarded
the r. II. r. Air Servisr passenger
plane at Hoover Field on The out:
skirts of Washington'at l0:15 a. u;
landing in Norfolk at las d, ms
|, picked up my car. snhtcbrd qhek
lunch and WAS at my desk I'm Elif,
abcth City at 9 o'clock p. H., came
lay. - ...-l
Think df il. Four hours from q
MOTEL in the heart Of Washington to
my desk in Elizabeth City, and the
hardest part Of the journey made by
meteor from Norfolk to Elizabeth
City.
No Curves and No Cops
The time from Washington To
Norfolk was actually one hour and
30 minutes. The distance is AS
miles. BY boat or rail the distance
from Norfolk 10 Washington u
about 240 miles. But airplaneS ny
; straight they make no dctOurs. lose
. no time slowing down for curves
{ and rail road crossings: there are
no danger signals. no traffic jams,
, no motorcycle cops in the skies;
, you 20 straight thru: over the
hOuSctOps. over the tree tops. over
= rivers. over swamps. over towns,
over villages. over the map.
And | pockrd two unlikely days
for FLYING. The weather was thick,
cloudy. blustry We bucked the
wind all the way 10 Washington.
The wind shifted Monday and we
hucked it. again coming back; buck
cd it until the air-pilot stuck the
noSc of his machine in the air and
climbed to an altitude of more than
j.mO feet. 4 mile above the earth
there was no wind: he had left all
the winds below. We sailed serene
" i'm Il clear sky where all was still
and all WAS calm.
And there is nothing more serene
than flight i'm one Of those luxuri-
oils Fnkker three engine planes used
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