A Twenty-Four Hours Out: The Commemorative Air Forcefulness Museum - Camarillo, California

For years, I'd drive through this Ventura County town on my agency to Santa Barbara or on my agency dorsum from San Luis Obisbo, together with encounter a stunning Lockheed Constellation parked at the due south terminate of Camarillo's aerodrome from the freeway.

I vowed to receive got a closer hold back but never did. Eventually, the Connie went away but I all the same made it a mission to someday encounter the air museum here.

That twenty-four hours has come upward every bit I've vowed to larn the identify unit of measurement out of the solid to a greater extent than oftentimes together with produce to a greater extent than of these day-long adventures.

Camarillo sits only over the colina from the mega-sprawl of Los Angeles. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 sometimes hair-raising descent over the Canejo Grade from Thousand oaks deposits y'all here. This city, Oxnard, together with Ventura are making their ain piffling sprawl but miles of farmland all the same environment the trio of cities.

It's likewise expire dwelling to refugees of the giant congested urban substance to the due south alongside thousands of residents commuting daily via their cars, Metrolink's railroad, or buses to their jobs inward L.A. The telltale sign is the congested traffic coming downwardly the degree this morning.

We crawl our agency across town on the 101, making our agency over to the airport. It's a quondam Air Force base of operations together with then old, armed forces mode buildings point the grounds. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 duet of schools together with the Sheriff's facility receive got moved into some, aerodrome back upward services occupy the others.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 brilliant yellowish Huey helicopter, alongside the signature 'whoop whoop' of the rotors eases it's agency downwardly to it's pad at the Sheriff's Search together with Rescue facility piece nosotros hold back for the museum.  It's only past times the deputies' landing pad.

The docent manning the front end counter lets us know that one-half of the planes are missing today because they are appearing at an air exhibit inward El Centro. To compensate, he alone charges us one-half cost (usual donation is $10 to larn in, today it's $5).

Before setting out onto the tarmac, nosotros browse the interior alongside displays of weapons, bomb sights, uniforms, together with fifty-fifty this slice of the 'Enola Gay,' autographed past times the crew.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 duet of planes are within the hangar alongside us, a trainer covered alongside a tarp together with this P-51 Mustang that was getting a novel engine installed.

We caput exterior together with outset looking at or together with then of the arts and crafts when a docent comes upward together with asks us "where's George?"

I allow him know that I don't know, together with don't fifty-fifty know who George is. He tells us that nosotros must survive escorted at all times on the tarmac. No 1 told us but he goes off to larn George, or together with then other docent.

Once George shows up, alongside a duet of High German tourists inward tow, nosotros larn a tour of the tarmac. There's a C-47 (the armed forces version of the DC-3) that saw service inward WW2 together with every bit a gunship inward Vietnam together with a Huey that was likewise a gunship inward Vietnam (pic at the occur of this post).

The 'China Doll', a C-46 carry that was built correct at the terminate of the state of war together with then it saw no armed forces service but planes of this type flew resupply missions over the Himalayas.

In a hangar adjacent door, George shows us a B-25 undergoing restoration past times or together with then other grouping unaffiliated alongside the museum.

With several planes inward the collection gone...including 1 of the few remaining truthful Japanese Zeros left inward the world...it's a fairly brusk visit.  We're on our agency but non earlier I snap a film of this docent-owned classic Chevy Bel Air (by the way, the docent told me the Lockheed Connie that used to survive at that topographic point is straight off at the Yanks Air Museum inward Chino).

Once exterior the gates of the airport, we're dorsum inward the middle of prime number Ventura County strawberry country. Some of the best strawberries inward the Blue Planet come upward from this region.

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 modest farm stand upward sits inward a champaign across from the aerodrome gate, we'll pick upward or together with then berries here. They were delicious together with most didn't larn inward all the agency home.

We likewise picked upward a purse of local oranges.

Over the colina inward Thousand Oaks, nosotros expire to the local mall to receive got dinner at Stacked.  This is a novel chain, nigh one-half a dozen locations at the moment, started past times Paul Motenko together with Jerry Hennessy.

We're big fans of this pair, going agency dorsum to their days of buying upward or together with then other modest local chain, BJ's, which they turned into a nationwide powerhouse.

Paul together with Jerry were bought out together with forced out of their positions at BJs and, every bit before long every bit their no-compete clause expired, they were dorsum at it in 1 lawsuit to a greater extent than alongside Stacked.

You tin social club via an iPad at your table...or y'all tin social club via a server the old fashioned way...and customize your nutrient to your preference, the cost changing on the iPad to reverberate additions or subtractions to your entree.

Tim together with I had bacon cheeseburgers...mine alongside onion straws, his without...and Letty opted for the to a greater extent than good for y'all choice of this salad.

One to a greater extent than halt inward Simi Valley for a trip to Costco for groceries together with gas where nosotros spotted this beauty...a brilliant yellowish 57 Chevy to expire alongside the cherry together with white version nosotros saw at the airport.

Darryl Musick
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