Travels with The Rayman

Today we were to play golf but nature intervened by producing a cloudy, cold morning.  We decided that golf would not be much fun with the weather at hand so we opted out for a trip down to McMinnville, OR to visit the Aerospace and Air Museum.

I saw and read about everything from a plane much like the Wright Bros. invented, to the latest dazzling aerospace wonders.

The Spruce Goose was there and looking fine.  She towers over all in the great hall.  And then there were the Titan missiles, the cockpit of the astronaut’s capsule, and everything in between.  It was interesting as much as it could be for a woman of a certain age.  Guys get all goo goo over this machinery.  I look at all those tax dollars and just moan.

However, I did learn that Oregon was bombed by the Japanese in WWII.  The only place in the U.S. that was hit by the enemy.  And I found out how they deal with human waste in the Shuttle.  There were many pictures of good looking astronauts.  All white men.  I didn’t see Sally Ride.  I didn’t see Amelia Airheart (mispelled intentionally).  They also left off the part of story where Howard Hughes goes bonkers.  And what about that woman astronaut that wore diapers so she would not have to stop on her quest to find her man?  That was interesting but they left that story out of the museum.  So many ways to spice things up to give people a laugh.

They did have pictures of a Soviet woman that went into space.  And because the Russians beat us to the punch initially, their history was in clear view.

I did not see a monkey.  Didn’t a monkey go airborne for the good of the order?

There was a section of planes that all painted black.  AeroNoir if you will.  Rayman worked around SR-71s when he was in the Air Force and one of those black planes was an SR-71.  Quite stealthy looking, if I may say so myself.

There were planes used for training.  Planes used for bombing.  Planes for reconnaissance, planes for snatching capsules out of the sea.  Planes for spying.  Planes for droning.  My, oh, my.

As we were getting ready to leave, there was an exhibit quoting the second amendment about the right to bear arms.  Really?  It had to get political?  That was a turn off.  As a person that grew up around guns and took a hunter safety course, I think it is reasonable to expect that some people should not own guns.  And I see no reason to own an AK-47 for anything other than killing people.  I also think it is a public safety issue to let anyone own a gun.  But, let’s not ruin the tone here like that exhibit obviously did for me today.

After we visited the first terminal of planes (giant hangers is a better description), we walked Beau for a while and then went to La Rambla, a Spanish tapas restaurant in McMinnville.  We eat there every time we visit that cute little town.  Had fish stew.  OMG.  And green beans with blue cheese and hazelnuts.  Oh, and the wine.  Broke down and had wine with lunch.  Muy bueno.

Then we went back and visited the space hanger.  I found it more interesting, I think.  More contemporary, certainly.  It occurred to me that there are people that deny we ever landed on the moon.  Conspiracy theorists.  Can’t understand that.  These are some of the same people that swear you cannot trust the gov’t to do anything right.  But, wait.  if they can’t do anything right, how is it that they would be able to perpetrate the hoax so effectively?  Just sayin’

So, that was the day of flying machines.  Tonight we will watch movie in the Dog House.  Watched an old Gene Wilder movie last night with Donald Sutherland, Start the Revolution Without Me.  It was a gas.  It was a rip on the French Revolution.  King Louis the XIV dressed in a rooster outfit, mumbling that he thought it was a costume party.  One of the bad guys was Count Escargot.  Silly, funny, silly.  In keeping with war time motif, we will watch Syriana tonight.  Rayman will follow the plot line, I will stare at George Clooney!!  Yes, ladies, you know what I mean.