We are staying at Olde Stone Village RV Park in McMinnville, Oregon for the last few days. The RV park is reasonably priced at less than $30/ day with a Good Sam discount. The park has nice paved sites with full hookups including 50 amp and good free Wifi and cable TV. There's a playground, a sports court where we played pickleball, and a pool. For garbage, the park has a trash compactor, which we've never seen at an RV park. 
The best part about this RV park, however, is its proximity to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. There's a path leading from the park to the museum, which we took this morning when we went on an all-day visit to the museum. 
The museum admission price is a bit steep at $27 per adult, which includes admission to the aviation museum, the space museum, and one IMAX movie. With our AAA discount, though, we only paid $20 per person for the two of us. 
This museum houses the Howard Hughes' infamous Spruce Goose seaplane which flew only once. Sometime in the early 1980s, Dave and I visited the Spruce Goose at its old home in Long Beach, California, next to the Queen Mary luxury liner.
We moved from California to Washington in January, 1993, and during 1993 the Spruce Goose made its way by barge from Long Beach, CA to Astoria, OR, then up the Columbia River, and up the Willamette River until it finally arrived by truck in McMinnville. The Spruce Goose was reassembled, painted, and installed at its new home at the newly-built Evergreen Aviation Museum. 
This was our first visit to this fine museum. We chose to watch the noon showing of the 3-D IMAX movie about the Hubble Space Telescope. Dave and I always enjoy IMAX movies, and this one was definitely worth seeing!
The newest addition to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum is an indoor waterpark called Wings and Waves. The waterpark opened yesterday and looks to be a hit with anyone liking water slides and wave pools. The difference between this and any other waterpark, is that the slides in this park originate in a 747 jet on top of the roof of the waterpark. The waterpark admission charge is $30 per adult and $25 per child.
An actual piece of the Berlin Wall
Rhododendrons outside the museum
Carol, I bet you guys walked a lot at the Aviation Museum...there were so many planes to see. I liked the big prop plane that it appears you could walk in. We went to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola and walked ourselves tired.
ReplyDeleteNice to be camped only a foot trail from the museum.
hey, we have driven by that museum and I even remember the sign for McMinnville!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a great place. We almost decided to spend a night there but their website said you MUST have a support for your sewer hose and we don't have one. When we left Spirit Mountain Russ took Hwy 22 like we always do to go home, instead of 18 which wouldn have made for a shorter trip, so we didn't go past McMinnville. I think he was on auto-pilot!! We love IMAX movies so this is definitely in our future.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Carol, aviation museums are so much fun. I would really like to see the Spruce Goose; I have been fascinated by the whole story for many years.
ReplyDeleteJohn
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Wow, have they ever added on at EVergreen since we were there last. We toured twice, and the last time the Space Museum was just being added on. Yes, the price is a little dear, but very much worth it. Thank goodness Suzy has Big Red to get around on! Couldn't take it into the Spruce Goose, though. The water slide looks delightful! There is another piece of the Berlin Wall displayed at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi, CA. The information there explains that the colorfully gratitti painted side was on the west, while the eastern side was painted white so the guards whould have a better target to shoot at when anyone tried to climb over the wall.
ReplyDeleteJerry and Suzy