I've been flying for an hour and am ready for a break.

I'd left Front Royal at 4:45 concerned that the flight would be unpleasantly bumpy because of the afternoon thermals. To my great relief, they turned out to be mild and pillowy. And, of course, they're softening and dying down as the day fades.

In a further stroke of luck, the winds aloft are calm. No tailwind, but no headwind, either. And therefore there won't be any turbulence when I cross the mountains.