Orr's Check Property

  Back in July Tom and I visited with Dr.'s Steve and Ami Orr when they stayed in the Traverse City area (Long Lake) to get a start on plans for their eventual home after they retire. It's on the Leelanau Peninsula northwest of Traverse City. The nearest town is Northport.

 I wrote about our vacation there and you can read about it here.

 Now, almost exactly five months later one structure is built on the property and plans are progressing for the rest of the construction. The trouble is, many things are not available with the current COVID-caused supply chain issues. For instance, power hasn't been installed because the power company cannot get meters.

 So while things are at a  standstill - it's winter, too - Steve and Ami made a whirlwind trip to northern Michigan to check with the builder and architect.

"Ami and I are flying in a small plane with a local dermatologist," Steve said. "We will rent a vehicle to drive to our property." They rented a condo from the architect's wife. 

 They flew out of Findlay, Ohio Friday (12/09) afternoon in this Beech A36 Bonanza. Since I had the aircraft registration, also know as a "tail number", I was able to follow their flight in real time with an program called FlightRadar24 on my phone.

 Here they are having left Findlay and flying north. The trip was estimated to take about 90 minutes.

 And here they are arriving in the Traverse City area. The pictures below are nighttime views of the city as they prepared to land.

 Over the weekend they visited their building site. So far just a guest house/barn has been constructed.

 A Starlink dish is already in place for Internet at the site. Steve said he'll add cameras and a weather station so the property can be monitored remotely. Of course when they're there this will provide their link to the world. The site is very remote.

 On Sunday's flight home, the pilots flew them over their property.

 They own a bluff directly on Lake Michigan. Check out my linked blog for summer views.

 Back to FlightRadar 24 for a view as they flew home.

 Steve took this picture of the cockpit.

 Flying sure beats the long drive, especially on winter roads.

 So the building project has begun even if delays could total several months. Tom and I hope the visit again next summer.