Airplanes and more airplanes

On Sunday we visited a vintage aircraft museum located at Meacham Field. The folks had done a very good job with it. They highlighted the roles of minorities in WWII, meaning females and blacks. They had segments on the Tuskegee airmen and Rosie the rivitor as well as the women who flew the new planes from the factories to the war zones. There were lots of photos and gosh, the women of the 1940's had to be the most glamourous of all. Out there in a factory building aircraft and looking like a million dollars.

Steve keeps his Cessna 170 at Meacham and so next stop was his hanger. This plane had belonged to his father and Steve hunted it down, locating it in Florida. He flew it home, although discovered later that he should not have as the condition was worse than he thought. He meticulously restored it to its former glory. It is shiny, shiny silver with red trim. He took it to Oshkosh (fly in) in 2007 and won the Grand Lindy, which means that his plane won the top prize. This is huge in the flying world. The trophy is a statue of Lindburgh, hence the name.

We are on a tight schedule and hurry to a grocery store to get some essentials, then home to stow them and fluff up a bit before heading out to Cousin Betty's for dinner. Betty and Ken downsized about 5 years ago and now live in a small gated community arouund a little lake and next to a golf course. Their daughter lives down the street. The golfer, Jason Day, is a neighbor and I told Steve and Gene, "If you were golfers, I would impress you by telling you I saw Jason Day playing ping pong in his garage." They said in unison, "Who???"

We had a great dinner, got introduced to their two dogs, a chocolate lab and a Golden Retriever. And we went down the street to meet her daughter, who I had never met.

By Monday, we are all bored and anxious for the beginning of our journey. So the plan is to have lunch at a BBQ place near Alliance airport, then go to the hanger and work on the plane. As we arrive at the restaurant, we get a call telling us that the plane has gone to the washing rack to be cleaned and we cannot have access. Well, that was a wasted trip! No, not really, we had a great brisket meal. We recover and do some clothes shopping so we will meet the dress code for San Francisco. Then we have time to spare, and amazingly, the cold and damp has receded and the sun is out. So we went to the Ft. Worth Stockyards and learned a lot about the old days there. We went into a famous bar called The White Elephant which was very authentic old west. We were glad that almost no one was there, because even empty, it reeked of smoke. The walls and ceilings were covered with cowboy hats with names next to them. See photo of the ceiling above our table. Then we went to a nearby shop with VERY high prices but lovely things. Instead of a bench for husbands, they had a bar with free beer for waiting husbands.

The two meat companies, Swift and Armour, had a lot to do with the development of this area and the old processing plants are still up on a hill moldering and for sale. I am posting several pictures of that area.