Day 48
April 17, 2002

THE FINAL TRIP

After 21,000 Nautical Miles and 62 hours in the air, the "Great African Adventure" will soon be coming to an end.

During this trip of a lifetime, we successfully flew the circumference of Africa, stopping at some of the most interesting cities and countries in the world.

Each day was started with prayer; over 75 Gideon Bibles were given out; and several individuals were led to the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, including a crew member.

We met Christians on our trip to the Ngorongoro Crater, in Mombasa, Kenya and in many other cities. We were able to help one family finish a home that has been under construction for over 5 years; another family was just finishing their home. Both families were Born Again Christians in Tanzania.

It was a thrill to see the 5000-seat church that was built in Mombasa by Bud and Fay Sickler, both of whom have been called by the Lord from Labor to Reward. We met with the new Pastor of Elim Evangelical Church, Joshua Akali, and his wife Margaret.

Bobbie was able to see animals and to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Bush. She had a wonderful time.

In Luxor, we had a Muslim tour guide, Mohamid. After a week of witnessing to him, Jerome and I led him to the Lord. At one of the sites, the Valley of the Queens, we had the honor to meet the President of Egypt, Mohmid Mubarak. We had our picture taken with him, and wound up on CNN, Egyptian television. Bobbie had a personal picture taken with the President. We later learned that we were the first American Tourists to arrive in many parts of Egypt since September 11, 2001. After this meeting, when we arrived in Cairo and later went on to Alexandria we had armed guards wherever we traveled. To our knowledge, we are the only people who had 9 armed guards with automatics at McDonalds' (where we stopped for a quick lunch).

Gibralter was an interesting stop over - seeing the baboons and caves, and experiencing the history of the area. At the Easter service at the historic Anglican Church, the sermon was right on!

Barcelona was a prize stop! The hotel was first class; the Botafumeiro Restaurant had five stars; the City was clean; and the Gaudi Cathedral (under construction) was a marvel.

It was special experience in Saumur to meet up with my friend and fellow pilot Francoise and meet his parents Marie Louise and Claude. They warmly welcomed us into their home. We also visited the winery next to their home, which was located in an underground cave over 1000 years old. The winemaker Christian gave us a private tour.

The Saumur Valley was one of the highlights of the adventure, along with Marrakech, Cape Town, the Diamond Mine in Johanessburg, the first class hotel in the South African wine country where Melanie and Jerome were remarried after 31 years…where a very romantic occasion was had by all.

We were fortunate to change our plans and fly to Normandy, landing in Caen, France instead of Calais. Caen was very close to the World War II battlefields of Utah, Omaha, and Sword Beaches. We will long remember the War Memorial Museum, the rows of white crosses on the Omaha Beach Veterans' cemetery, and the grim remnants of the pill boxes, guns and off shore concrete loading piers.

Who could not forget the town of Sainte-Mere-Englise where citizens memorialized the paratroops that liberated their town, by hanging a real parachute with a "model" World War II paratrooper from a pinnacle on the church roof. The original soldier became snagged on the church roof and hung there, playing dead, until the battle was over. Later, he was safely rescued and is alive today to tell the story of his ordeal. He belonged to the 101st airborne.

From France, we flew to the U.K., and visited the walled city of Chester where we stayed at an old English hotel, the Chester Grosvenor. Bobbie's birthday, the Cathedral, the river cruise, our first American style dinner at the "Old Orleans" restaurant – all of these events were so memorable.

On the subject of food and first class restaurants, a few that come to mind: the Italian restaurant Hillabrand's in Cape Town, La Couronne dining room in the South African wine country, the Italian restaurant Amalfi in Caen, the Great Wall in Edinburgh (Chinese food out of this world), the Lakjarbrekka Restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland.

And, of course, there was the camaraderie with our fellow travelers…the kidding…the fun…the celebrating. We thank them all for being our guests on the "Trip of a Lifetime".

-Jim and Bobbie Knuppe

The "Dream Machine"

N488CP

KNUPPE'S AFRICAN ADVENTURE

AFRICA - EUROPE, THE FINAL LEG 4/17/02

The Dream Machine departed Kaflick, Iceland at 10:05 UTC for a fuel stop at Goose Bay, Canada - on our way to Toledo, Ohio. In Toledo we would drop off my flying buddies Gene and Phyllis Paul. We all spent the night with them at their home. Phyllis, Bobbie and Dennis added their special touches to a delicious, pre-prepared bean soup dinner. Jerome, who was designated purser for the entire trip, finalized his computer financial report, while his wife Melanie, finished the running bibliography of the African Adventure.

We departed for our home base on Wednesday, April 17, 2002, encountering heavy winds all the way. We stopped for fuel at Cheyenne, Wyoming and landed in Hayward, CA at 1:05 PDT. Holly Polito, who left the group in Chester, England in order to return to work, was waiting to greet us with Dennis' Mother, Mary.

We all had a fantastic flight around the circumference of Africa, Europe and the Atlantic. We give the honor and the glory to the Lord, Jesus Christ, who was the pilot of our aircraft. We were just his co-pilots.
The aircraft flew flawlessly!

The following statistics are for the record:

Total nautical miles flown: 22,484

Total hours in the air: 68.1

Total fuel consumed: 13,541.8 gallon

Average air speed: 330.16 KTs