12 November 2014

Susan was up before me today, I didn’t get up until 7AM. Dragging a little, I may have had too much of Laissez les bons temps rouler!

But we had big plans for the day, so I got my hot chocolate and some freshly baked orange rolls. The good part of Susan getting up early is fresh baked goods! I finished packing the box I needed to ship and we were out the door.

First stop was the National Naval Aviation Museum aboard NAS Pensacola. I had been aboard to watch the Blue Angels 4 days ago, so I knew where the Museum was.

The Museum is huge and chronicles the history of aviation from the Navy’s side. There are a ton of planes and exhibits. We spent the first hour walking around looking at the planes. One of the great things is there is a balcony around the exhibition areas. So rather than just seeing the wheels and undersides of the wings, you can walk the perimeter and see the upper part of the planes. You also have an eye level view of the dozens of aircraft that are suspended from the ceiling.

Four of the planes are the Blue Angels in a diamond formation. They say they are spaced the same way they fly the show, which is pretty close together. A very impressive display.

We started off our second hour with the IMAX movie “The History of Flight” It’s a great movie showing humans love of the air, the first attempts at flight interspersed with flying with the Blue Angels. It’s a great movie, highly recommend it.

The museum did a great job in the static exhibits but really shined in the interactive displays. We got to ride in a simulator of an aircraft carrier flight deck and two different sets of flying with the Blue Angels. One is a computer animated version in 3D. The seats move and shake, so they call it 4D. We did pass on the one simulator that actually moves you around in 3 axis, that seemed a bit much.

I liked the aircraft carrier exhibit. Inside was a full projection wall and you sat on benches that vibrated with the movement of the ship and the launch of each aircraft. There was also a set of fans, I got buffeted when the helicopter took off. There was also the smell of jet fuel in the air.

One of the exhibits was a street from WWII, there was a store, barber shop, restaurant and a home. Inside the home was a Hoosier Cabinet like I grew up with. It’s all there, it even had the flower mill and sitting on top was Mom’s mixer and white bowl. The grocery store had items from that era. There was a collection of canned goods, boxed items, notions, etc. My father loved Pep cereal, he would have been pleased to see the boxes lining the shelves. (Side note, we did a trip to Canada when I was in Junior High, we did a tour of a Kellogg plant in Canada, they were still making Pep. I can remember him getting boxes to bring home)

We had lunch at the Cubi Bar Café. The Cafe’s decor and layout duplicates the bar area of the famous Cubi Point Officers’ Club in the Philippines that was a major source of enjoyment for Navy and Marine Corps squadrons, ships and units as they passed into the Western Pacific. There were a ton of squadron and unit signs all over the place. It was really cool and the food was good too!

Our last hour was spent in the last building that covers aviation and space since WWII. I was surprised at the number of Navy aviators that were part of the space program. There was also a good display outlining the number of aviation jobs that are now open to women.

If you are in the area, this is a great place to stop.

We then started the dash to return the car with stops to mail my package, JoAnnes Fabrics to pick up some quilt components, drug store, etc. We got the car back without incident and got a ride back to the marina.

We arrived back at the Quo Vadimus about 4 PM. We both collapsed, it’s hard work doing all that sightseeing. Thursday has bad weather in the forecast and we will both be happy to have a rest day.