Going around the whole country - where would YOU go?

Half Fast said:
I tried to visit a few months ago and it was closed to civilians. “Temporarily” but it’s been that way for a couple of years.

As an alternate, the USAF museum at Elgin AFB is quite good with many aircraft on display, from a P51 up to an SR71.

You might also consider Key West. Fun to walk around, and sunset from Mallory Square is pretty cool. Lots of snorkeling, scuba, and fishing charters if that interests you. And there’s nothing better than dinner at an outdoor table in Key West - a bowl of conch chowder, a pound of peel-&-eat shrimp with a cold beer, then a piece of (real) Key Lime pie with a cup of black coffee. Sigh......
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Yeap. Strange that only DOD CAC holders can get in. Normally any Fed Employee can. Oh well. Unless you know somebody who is a DOD card holder that will escort you.

I have not done Eglin museum, but have heard good things.

I was thinking Key West for GF and I for New Years. Then I priced hotels. OMG they are insane.

There is also Kermit Week's Fantasy of Flight. Not open until November 2022. But an AMAZING place
 
Head up to Alaska. That's good for at least a month. If your aircraft has the range, you can make it in one hop, Bellingham to Ketchikan is only 516 miles.

Grand Canyon. Death Valley, before they shut all the airports down.

First Flight was mentioned, but also fly the outer banks of NC and up along the VA coast.

Did anyone say Oshkosh, last month of July?
 
Pinecone said:
There is also Kermit Week's Fantasy of Flight. Not open until November 2022. But an AMAZING place
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It’s not what it once was. The main attraction portion has been closed for several years. Nowadays they just open a portion of the museum on limited hours. I talked to Kermit at SNF a couple of years ago and he said he planned to upgrade and reopen, but there have been no signs of it.
 
Half Fast said:
It’s not what it once was. The main attraction portion has been closed for several years. Nowadays they just open a portion of the museum on limited hours. I talked to Kermit at SNF a couple of years ago and he said he planned to upgrade and reopen, but there have been no signs of it.
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Sorry to there that. It was a very good museum, and the behind the scenes tour was amazing.
 
Why not Bahamas? 56 NM from Fort Lauderdale, and a Caribbean diversion that can be done on BasicMed too.
 
Pinecone said:
and the behind the scenes tour was amazing.
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:yeahthat:

I did the shop tour one time with @2-Bit Speed . It was impressive. Real craftsmen, many volunteers, hand-fabricating parts for 100-year-old planes. I wish Kermit would get the place going again, but I'm not sure he's interested any more. The Constellation out by the fence has been rotting away for a long time now without being touched. I don't think they're doing anything but mowing the grass and unlocking the museum once in a while.
 
I second Sedona and add in the Grand Canyon...

After you leave Mackinaw stop in at Kalamazoo, MI. The Air Zoo museum there is excellent and you can park your plane right there and walk in. Every aircraft in that museum is a showpiece. They have both a SR-71 and a F-117 too.

I'd also recommend Kennedy Space Center. Get to be up close and personal with a Space Shuttle.
 
Half Fast said:
Pop up from the website:

  • The National Naval Aviation Museum is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. to current Department of Defense (DoD) ID cardholders. Access to NAS Pensacola is limited to Department of Defense (DoD) ID card holders (active duty service members, retirees, and their families). For Veterans Health Identification Card (VHIC) holders please visit cnrse.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NAS-Pensacola/ for base access information. DoD ID card holders can escort guests, but must remain with them at all times.
Doesn’t give the reason. I doubt it’s COVID since other military museums are open.
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It’s closed because of the mass shooting on the base…..
 
One never knows how such an adventure might turn out.
I retired in 2000 and went back to school for 2 years. I then looked for the next way to occupy myself.
I decided to fly around the country with no definite destination just going from one stop to the next.

I signed up for Classmates.com looking for people from my past who might like a visit.

I got an immediate reply from an old flame. (Actually a red hot flame that I had always regretted letting get away)

We're coming up on our 19th anniversary. Life is great. :D

I never did make that flight around the country.
 
Half Fast said:
:yeahthat:

I did the shop tour one time with @2-Bit Speed . It was impressive. Real craftsmen, many volunteers, hand-fabricating parts for 100-year-old planes. I wish Kermit would get the place going again, but I'm not sure he's interested any more. The Constellation out by the fence has been rotting away for a long time now without being touched. I don't think they're doing anything but mowing the grass and unlocking the museum once in a while.
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He's got a pretty good YouTube channel. There's 3 or 4 guys working on planes there, and he's got 3 or 4 others at various shops around the country being restored. He mentioned in a video a while back that's there's only a couple that are in annual now. He claims to be working on a new, bigger better FoF. I believe it when I see dirt start moving.

The "museum light" as he calls it is still worth a visit.
 
Jim K said:
He claims to be working on a new, bigger better FoF.
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He told me that at SNF a few years ago, and he said he was trying to figure out how to do it so it would earn enough. I suspect that operating expenses are tough to meet with the few paying visitors he gets.
 
All I have to say is that I thoroughly endorse this effort, and it'll be an amazing trip no matter where you go.
America is vast, and full of places to explore!

I made a round-the-country trip in 2019-2020, and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done.
I won't opine on my favorite places here, because I wrote the whole trip up on a blog as I went:
http://www.beetlejuiceadventure.wordpress.com

Since I brought camping gear, some of my favorite destinations were the camp-in airports (like Arcadia FL, Oceano CA, Payson AZ, Columbia CA, Benchmark MT, etc.)

If you can catch any local events (like fly-ins, pancake-breakfasts, etc.) along the way, this is great. It takes a little research ahead of time, unless you're very lucky.
 
If you’re over Iowa on a third Thursday of any month during your trip, stop at Mason City (KMCW) for the monthly airport BBQ. Spend the night there. Thank me later.

- Martin
 
Near Cleveland you must stop at Burke Lakefront (KBKL) Beautiful airport and walk over to the Rock and Roll hall of fame.

Near DC, stop and visit the Udvar-hazy aviation museum.

Charleston for food.
 
Half Fast said:
How many years ago was that? And the freakin’ US Navy can’t figure out security?

The USAF seems to handle it and keep their museum open.
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True but the USAF was smart enough to build their museum on base in a way that it separates it from all the real mil activity. The museum in Pensacola is right next to the primary runway. I don't know how they'll work it out but they need to.

As far as the question at hand, Def need to hit up the coast of Maine and the White Mountains of NH.
 
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