Birthday Adventure! Flying to Catalina to Live Out One of My Dreams and Accomplish One of My Goals

This is the first in a series of four videos I filmed to document my first ever flight in real life to Catalina Island. I'm dedicating this video series to my dad, Jack Sogomonian, who passed away on March 9, 2022. We start our adventure at Livermore Municipal Airport in the California Bay Area and we head south to Fullerton Municipal Airport in Southern California to use it as our staging point for a potential flight to Santa Catalina Island on May 14 - the date of my 40th birthday - in an attempt to accomplish an aviation goal I've had since I was around fifteen years old. My dad and I had a little... we'll call it a wager although it was laid out as less of a challenge and more of a prediction for how my first attempt flying (and specifically landing) at Catalina would go. He guessed that it would take me more than one approach to land there, and I felt I would be able to nail the landing on the first try. I've been flying to Catalina Island in X-Plane and Flight Simulator since I was fifteen. Not all of my attempts have been pretty, and some of them have even been completely unsuccessful... now I have an opportunity to give it a shot for real. On my actual birthday. Turning 40 years old. Awesome, and yet bittersweet considering my dad's passing earlier this year. Whether I land on the first try or whether it ends up taking me multiple attempts I hope you'll join me on this aviation adventure to Santa Catalina Island!