This was a highlight of our road trip. We met up with Gene Spainhour and Pat in Hickory NC. We hadn't seen Gene for over 32 years. For the period 1976-1980 we would seen Gene and about a dozen other soaring enthusiasts every flyable weekend in Chester, SC. This was an amazing time. There were the younger crowd like us, just out of college and the "experienced" crowd that included notables like Ben Green, Joe Giltner, Gren Seibels and George Squillario. Those were most memorable and fun years. We had a great evening with Gene and Pat and plan to stop again some time because Hickory is along our route from Houston to see the kids.