Arrived In Seattle Wednesday; Currently En Route To Denver

ANN REALTIME REPORTING 06.21.07 1300 EDT: It's been an incredible journey... and it's almost at an end. Barrington Irving, the 23-year-old pilot who took off from Miami on March 23 in his Columbia 400 aircraft, dubbed "Inspiration," for a round-the-world flight, is nearing the finish line. On Wednesday, Irving returned to the US mainland with a quick stop in Seattle, WA; he is currently en route to Denver, CO.

Prior to his arrival in Seattle, Barrington spent some time in Anchorage and Juneau, AK, after what he described as a "challenging" trip across the North Pacific with a stop at Shemya, in the Aleutian Islands.

"What can I say? It feels good to be back in the USA," Irving wrote in his online blog June 19, from the Alaskan mainland. "I know many of you are wondering about my experience crossing the treacherous North Pacific -- I assure you it was a challenge. I saw cloud formations I’d never seen in my life and saw winds shift from almost every direction, gusting to 80 knots (92 miles per hour).

"Thanks to the great teamwork with Universal Weather, I was able to shorten the distance by 100 miles, but the flight was definitely a greater challenge than the North Atlantic," he continued.

Irving says a bit of good fortune aided his trip to Shemya. "God opened up a window between two low pressure storm systems. Visibility was very poor and the ride was a bit turbulent, but there was just enough visibility for me to land at Shemya. During this time of year it is normally zero/zero visibility," he added.

As he has during his other stops throughout the three-month trip, Irving also took some time to appreciate the local scenery.

"Just when I thought I’d seen enough earthly beauty, Alaska offered a most exciting view from the sky," he writes. "The weather was similar to crossing the North Pacific, but I was able to see a few inactive volcanoes and the beautiful coast and mountainous regions of Alaska about 260 miles south of Anchorage. It was beauty beyond words that lasted though the evening -- sunset occurs there around midnight."

When Irving lands in Miami, he will have attained his goal of being the youngest person ever, and the first person of African descent (Irving was born in Jamaica) to ever fly solo around the world.

The trip has taken a bit longer than planned -- Irving originally intended to return home at the end of last month -- but from the sound of it, he's enjoyed the journey!

FMI: www.experienceaviation.com