Looking past Ōgimachi Park to the downtown skyline of Osaka and beyond to where the Yodo River empties into Osaka Bay

Hands up! Down the hill we go! Wait no, hands on the controls!

The Little Colorado River bordering the Painted Desert

Some cities, like Montgomery, AL, are big enough to use as waypoints as well

Turning base onto final past the downtown metro of Utsunomiya

Cotubanamá National Park with a nice stretch of tropical waters between it and Parque Nacional del Este on Isla Saorna

Some build-up of cumulus clouds signaling the formation of a few stronger storm cells

Approaching central Adelaide, wonderfully enclosed by green spaces

The northern tip of Sanday

Heading south down the eastern shore of Sanday

Some stunning cliffs on the west side of Fair Isle, looking at the air strip I will visit on my way back south from the Shetlands

Looking over the second-largest island of Eysturoy as I complete the turn back south

A nice rollout for line up on final, dropping the gear. A bit high on approach but far enough out I can drop down fast enough still

It's the south. Golf courses as far as the eye can see...

Looking down upon Grand Prismatic Spring, largest thermal feature of its kind in the world. Also the Turquoise Pool

Rolling out onto final - glad for my digital map display showing me where the airport is because with so much urban build-up around it you almost can't even see it

The rest of New Caledonia stretches far off to the north

Twentymile Bend pumping station, the start of the VFR flyway around Miami

More fog rolling in off the water as I pass by Santiago de Cuba

I "cheated" a little bit here by seeing behind me as I jumped into external view - that island just under my tail with the fort on it made me sure I was just passing over the river into Delaware and was a bit south of my intended track

Cruising past the Preikestolen - Pulpit Rock - that juts out over the fjord and provides hikers with a great view and a place to picnic

Leaving behind Cedar Point and the mainland as we head out over the lake towards Kelley's Island

Making a final pass of Cedar Point, which was also under threat of thunderstorms. Don't think many rides are operating at the moment

Keeping eyes out for any traffic from Tokyo Haneda

Reaching the northern stretch of the HIda Mountains looking out over the peaks of Myoko-Togakushi Renzan National Park

Some nice lake houses

Trying to figure out how to get where I wanna go with the autopilot has me banking left, then right, then left - if I had any passengers they'd be all like WTF by now

Airliner on approach flies overhead. At no point did ATC talk to me to confirm traffic sightings so I guess I did a good job staying out of everyone's way

Scattered rain clouds over the ocean

Starting to get some nice terrain relief as the sun continues to set

Descending towards Moriyama and Kusatsu

The Maze Sea Circuit within the mountains on the coast. Cool!

Have now turned westward towards Mount Iide, the peak in the foreground

Shiny plane, shiny moon

Exit of the Otoge Tunnel, completed in 1985

Another look at Mount Bandai with sun glinting off the lakes of Hibara and Akimoto

Looking back towards Utsunomiya and the mountains while lined up for final

Passing Mount Chōkai

Sticking to the highway as I continue towards Niigata

Looks like I may in fact have timed my departure perfectly as the rain shower blows past with no immediate follow up

Preflight on the tarmac as the city's skyscrapers almost hide in the haze. Flying solo on this day

Had to keep an eye out for these pylons sticking up out of the water - from what I dunno - an old bridge? Wharf?

Looking out over the Ikara-Flinders Ranges park area

Traveling along Copalis National Wildlife Refuge and crap are those clouds getting lower?

Oh hey look - more power lines!

No need for the compass to get to my next waypoint - Mount Hayachine stands tall among the Kitakami Mountains

Greasing the landing, thankful the rain stayed away

Found it! Aeroflex-Andover (12N). Was just about to turn around and find some better ground references when I spotted the beacon. *phew!* fuel is down past 1/4 tank

Not too low yet, the ceiling for the Delta airspace over Ormond Beach Muni is 1,200'

Second attempt at water skating was pure success! I was able to hold it for over 30s and voluntarily added power and pulled back up into the air. It was sooooo coool