Welcome to episode 135 of The Journey Is the Reward!

On this episode, Micah and Brian are back together to recap an incredible milestone celebration—Momma Coleman’s spectacular 91st birthday party—along with a fantastic combined aviation meetup in Toms River, New Jersey.

Because the airspace is completely packed, the guys are temporarily skipping the listener feedback segment. However, they did hear from their favorite frequent flyer, Listener Lu. Micah thinks she might be stuck in a bit of a holding pattern, though, because her question sounded suspiciously similar to a previous one!

Before we get into the weekend's festivities, a quick reminder that Brian is packing his bags for EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, WI this summer. If you are planning to head out to the big event, please drop him a line—he would love to connect with listeners face-to-face.

To get out east for Momma Coleman’s big celebration, Brian suffered the ultimate frequent flyer tragedy: his United Airlines PlusPoints upgrades failed to clear, leaving him stuck in the back of the bus. But a little economy-class turbulence was a small price to pay to celebrate with Mom, family and friends.

The trip got even better on Sunday with a combined aviation meetup. It was wonderful to catch up with old friends and welcome some new faces to the group. The travel and aviation community truly is full of the best people.

And finally, while the catering on the plane and the spread in the United Club left a lot to be desired, Brian found culinary redemption on the ground with a classic New Jersey pork roll sandwich… NOT Taylor Ham!

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the stories. Because around here, the journey is the reward.

As always, our ears are blessed by the utterly soul-stirring, goosebump-inducing sounds of the Madalitso Youth Choir! Their Welcome and Goodbye songs, recorded straight from the Royal Livingstone Hotel in Zambia, are pure magic.

You can always find the audio recording at ⁠⁠⁠www.thejourneyisthereward.org⁠⁠⁠.