Archive for the ‘Flying’ Category

Fireworks from Above   Leave a comment

Leah and I decided to go fireworks hunting over Durham this 4th of July. The show didn’t disappoint; it seemed like every little neighborhood had some rockets going, the Durham Bulls stadium had the biggest show in Durham, and we could see the big Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill shows on the horizon. Great way to celebrate Independence Day!

Posted 4 Jul 2021 by John McManigle in Flying

Blue Ridge Parkway   Leave a comment

Looking for an escape from the covid pandemic that didn’t involve crowds or cities, Leah and I took a day to drive and hike the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic highway that runs from Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, running along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

For a quick day trip, we flew out to the Asheville Regional Airport, rented a car, and drove north. We took in the scenic views driving, and stopped along the way to take a few hikes. The most notable was Mount Mitchell State Park, the highest point east of the Mississippi River. After exploring a little bit of nature, Leah and I returned to Durham rejuvinated.

Click for a few more pictures…

Posted 11 Jul 2020 by John McManigle in Adventure, Flying

Operation Airdrop: Hurricane Florence   Leave a comment

Although Durham was inland enough that Hurricane Florence was felt mostly as a few days of heavy rain, it was devastating to southeastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks. Although the storm surge and winds were in line with other Carolina hurricanes, its lingering path across the eastern portion of the state dropped 35 inches of rain in some places. This caused severe flooding and power outages, closed thousands of roads, and disrupted the transport of food and supplies to the eastern swath of the state.

Operation Airdrop is a nonprofit organization formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to deliver supplies to inaccessible areas after natural disasters. I was lucky enough to be able to fit one Airdrop mission between a week of neuroanesthesia and a week of night call. Erin, a combined internal medicine / pediatrics resident, and I delivered a batch of food, bottled water, batteries, bug spray, and childcare supplies to Columbus County, North Carolina. It was rewarding to have the opportunity to help out in this small way, and the story got picked up by the Duke Anesthesia newsletter.

 

Posted 22 Sep 2018 by John McManigle in Flying

Quick Escape from Durham   Leave a comment

After an overnight labor and delivery anesthesia shift, sometimes you just need to dip your toes in the Ocracoke water before heading back home to get some sleep.

Posted 20 Jul 2018 by John McManigle in Flying

Fly-in Barbecue   Leave a comment

One of my constant favorite local landing spots is Carthage, North Carolina, where the Pik-n-Pig barbecue place sits on an otherwise sleepy little airstrip. On a sunny afternoon, though, planes fly in from all over to get a tasty lunch, and locals drive in to watch planes takes off and land while they eat. This weekend, my parents visited, and we went with my sister to grab some barbecue! The opportunity to get a few pictures was too perfect…

Posted 9 Sep 2017 by John McManigle in Flying

New Years 2017 in NYC   Leave a comment

To celebrate New Years, and a few days free from the trials of intern year, Leah and I flew to New York City to watch the ball drop in Times Square. While we were there, we managed to catch showings of Waitress and The Book of Mormon on Broadway, wander through Central Park, and of course grab some bagels and dumplings!

Click for more pictures!

Posted 1 Jan 2017 by John McManigle in Adventure, Flying, Travel

Eva and Jerome Wedding   Leave a comment

Just in time for Halloween, Jerome and Eva of Penn MSTP fame, and possibly the nerdiest couple known to man, were married in the planetarium at The Franklin Institute. Appropriately enough Jerome walked down the aisle to the Star Wars theme, and Eva to the song from Disney’s Anastasia. The wedding cake toppers were from Disney’s WALL-E.

I flew up for the occasion, and was also able to reunite with Penn State Company 20 friends, Cecilia and Lauren, and take one more Hudson River corridor flight.

 

Click for a few more pictures…

Posted 30 Oct 2016 by John McManigle in Flying

BBQ with the Dream Team   Leave a comment

Probably the greatest thing about the Duke Anesthesiology internship year is getting to know and work with fantastic physicians throughout the hospital. My internal medicine team — Jenny the senior resident, Jenny the MD/PhD student, and Erik the PA student — was no exception, and so after we finished up our work a little early on a pre-call Thursday, we snuck out to some fly-in barbecue.

Posted 15 Sep 2016 by John McManigle in Flying

Hudson River Flight, Take 2   Leave a comment

As one last pre-residency adventure, I took a quick northeast visit-flight tour. I set off from RDU to Pittsburgh to visit Katie from Penn State and Priya from Duke, now both residents at UPMC. After good visits (including a trip to the zoo and aquarium), I set off for New York City, to visit Léa from Blair and Natasha from Oxford. We were joined by Zach, and took a flight down the Hudson River and out to Block Island for the afternoon. On the way back, I stopped in Maryland to see my parents for Fathers’ Day before settling back in to Durham for the start of intern year.

Click for a few of the pictures!

Posted 19 Jun 2016 by John McManigle in Adventure, Flying, Travel

Flight to Ocracoke   Leave a comment

One of my first fun flights from the Durham area, many years ago, was to Ocracoke, a small town on the North Carolina Outer Banks. It has remained one of my favorite destinations: The remote beach can be reached by air in a little over an hour, compared to the 6-hour drive. This relative isolation makes it easier to explore the beautiful town and shore, somewhat removed from the bustle of other tourist beaches.

My latest flight from Lake Ridge out to Ocracoke was around beautiful cumulous clouds on an otherwise sunny afternoon. I filmed the trip and sped it up to just a few minutes; enjoy the view!

Posted 21 Apr 2016 by John McManigle in Adventure, Flying