Truth be told I don’t know how to start this one, so here goes. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Dave and I were given the opportunity to fly in a 1927 WACO Biplane with Marc Hightower, owner of this sweet little aircraft.
This trip was sponsored by Visit Sevierville. All opinions and experiences are my own. Please note, there are also affiliate links in this post.
I’m way too practical to “geek out” about anything but truth be told this opportunity had me grinning like a kid who was just told they can buy anything they want in a candy store. I love history – especially the era of the world wars (which is why I had so much fun editing this series for Hallee Bridgeman).
And flying. I’ve always been intrigued by aviation. So when I saw that my husband and I were booked on a trip with Sky High Air Tours on a 1927 WACO Biplane (be still my heart) I was a little nervous but a lot excited. It wasn’t until we were headed to the Pigeon Forge – Gatlinburg Airport that I discovered my husband had no idea what a biplane was. He loves history too but leans more toward the Civil War so historical planes don’t really get a place there. Let’s just say his face changed a little bit when I showed him a picture of one.
We walked in and met Marc Hightower who owns the biplane and chatted with him a little bit about his history with flying and all the work he’s done restoring the biplane. (if you’ve frequented the Jersey Shore for many years you may have seen him towing a banner ad.) Then we headed out for a photo shoot and instructions on how to get into the biplane.
Before we knew it we were in the air. The morning was gorgeous and so perfect we couldn’t even tell when we left the ground. Marc took us on an aerial tour of the Sevierville area, pointing out landmarks like Dollywood which seemed strangely empty until I remembered that Tennessee starts school a little earlier than we do in the Northeast. I took millions of pictures. Then just like that we touched back down and the ride was over.
And now I really want to learn how to fly. There’s nothing like soaring high above the ground hearing the putter of a biplane engine, smelling the fuel fumes to take you back to an era long gone – the days of Amelia Earhart and Charles Lindbergh. Of the Wright brothers and Kitty Hawk. And realizing just how we far we’ve come from wooden gliders to the jets of today.
See more great things to do in Sevierville, Tennessee.
And my husband? Well he’s a believer now. It’s been such a great experience to be able to go on this trip with him; to reconnect as a couple doing fun luxury things we can’t do with the kids, and well, sometimes acting like kids ourselves, like when we went to the trampoline park. Most of all what this trip showed us is just how much we need to focus on making time for ourselves as a couple with our busy lives full of church, kids, and work.
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