I've had my private pilot license since I was 19 yo in 1967. My father bought a Mooney and I started to take lessons in it, but switched to a Cessna 152 at the urging of my instructor. Got my ticket after about 45 hours flying time, then thoroughly enjoyed flying the Mooney.
During college years I took lessons and flew sailplanes in S. California. Soaring, as it is called, really taught me how to fly. I had some nice flights that lasted 2+ hours from a tow to 2K feet which, without finding lift, would have lasted only about 15 minutes.
What a sweet flying machine the Mooney was! Retractable gear, variable pitch prop, fuel injected and cruising at 160 knots burning 8 GPM. I flew with my family to many different places including from Arizona to Nassau in the Bahamas. It was an easy 2 day flight and interesting crossing the coastal ADIZ. (An air defense identification zone {ADIZ} is airspace over land or water in which the identification, location, and control of civil aircraft is performed in the interest of national security. They may extend beyond a country's territory to give the country more time to respond to possibly hostile aircraft.) I had to time that crossing plus or minus about 10 minutes.
Later, I joined a partnership with 2 other pilots and bought and flew a Cessna 182. I called it my Cessna station wagon since it could hold my whole family with our luggage. I made several trips from N. California to S. California to visit family, as well as trips back to Arizona to visit my folks. Made one trip from N. California to Portland to visit my brother.
Sadly, I had to give up flying because I could not justify the expense while raising my 2 daughters. Now I just have fond memories of slipping the bonds of gravity for a time.