Passenger Changes

Friday, July 25th was supposed to be the day I gave a co-worker an airplane ride around Annapolis. She was unable to make it due to an unscheduled family visit. I still wanted to fly so I asked around at work and found another co-worker who wanted to take his daughter up for a flight. With very little planning I arranged for them to go out in the early evening hours. I had planned on what I call my "Standard Annapolis Route," depart from Tipton and climb out to about 1300 ft while heading toward the area between the Severn and South Rivers. After clearing the area around BWI I make a left turn toward the Severn River and once I intercept it fly down the North side bank. My passengers get the view of Annapolis to the right and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Greenbury Point ahead and to the left. We fly over the Rt. 450 and Rt. 50 bridges that cross the Severn River, and them out onto the bay. A gentle right turn takes us over Eastport with views of downtown Annapolis. Continuing the turn we end up near the mouth of the South River and head North. Time permitting we make a three sixty turn some where over Annapolis to see a passenger's object of interest up close. After that it's up the South River and back to Tipton.
As you can see from the FlightAware.com track of our route, we pretty much following it. The only real difference I had to deal with was the wind. It was a little variable and was coming from the East. Instead of my usual departure from runway 28, we launched from runway 10. For departure that was no big deal because it pointed us in the right direction and allowed an almost straight out departure. On the way back is where it caused a slight problem. It had been a while since I flew a righthand approach pattern so when it came time to perform one, my sight picture on downwind was a little off. I had my speeds nailed down pretty well but I had flown to close to the runway on downwind. Combine that with the right turns where the highwing configuration prevents you from seeing very well and I ended up turning from base to final late. This was compounded by the close downwind and a slight crosswind. I was well to the left of the runway and knew not to fall prey to cranking in a hard right turn at 60knots and 500-700 ft AGL. Time to go around and try again. I quickly explained that we were off course for the runway and would be going around. I had a non-flyer on board and as I made the radio call I sensed an increase in the stress level for my passenger. I could tell he seemed concerned with why I wasn't going to land just yet. My go around was timely and smooth but I'm sure that it bothered him just a bit and probably had him asking himself, "can he fly this plane?" --I remembered a flight back from Cambridge back in March when the crosswinds were screaming and I had to use full rudder deflection to land. I also had two passengers onboard. One of them was a first time flyer. I remember that same feeling of concerned passengers. That landing took two go arounds before I got into a stabilized approach. But it left me feeling more confident with my crosswind skills.--
I pushed the possibility of frightened passengers aside and flew the airplane. We could discuss any concerns when we were on the ground. Another time around the pattern and we ended up on final a little high. I pulled back all the power and rechecked that flaps were full. I could tell the approach would still be a little high and steep but not enough to necessitate a forward slip, which can be uncomfortable for passengers. The landing was smooth but not a greaser. After taxiing to fuel and parking the airplane we said our goodbyes. A day or two later I talked to my passenger to find out what he thought. I got the impression that he had recorded the event in his "life experience checklist" and was satisfied with the outcome. I would be surprised it he goes for another flight with me. My hope is that his reluctance to fly is due to a lack of interest rather than any doubts about my piloting ability.