We actually used some Omi transmitters as visual references as they show up real well. I learned a lot on that trip. One thing was don’t get lost in the Appalacian Ridges when there is turbulence at every elevation from 30 Angels to the ground. I meant we had to land at Allentown which was no fun with turbulence all the way down.
That night we were riding a bus to Newark and the bus broke down. When the other bus finally arrived to get us they said downtown Newark around the bus station was on fire due to the Martin Luther King, Jr. assassination and they would take us to Newark airport which was not where her parents were headed to pick us up.
The next day I am driving her and her mom on Manhattan island in her Dad’s new Mercury Wagon and the transmission goes out at 4:00 in the afternoon at 55th and Avenue of the Americas.
Transportation on that trip was not my friend.
My parents flew to Charleston, SC a bunch of years ago from the midwest. In order to clear the mountains, flight altitudes were +10K feet. My dad got caught up in an unexpected snow event while crossing the Appalachian mountains. His IFR rating came in handy at the time..