This is a vintage WWII tent that a fantastic group of re-enactors brought - they brought their truck too! It's apparently (and logically) called a "half-track". It was quite funny to see such a hard core vehicle crawling down the main thorough-fare with all the regular cars and then catch a glimpse of the NYS plate tacked to the back. Lol.
The group did an Army Air Corps (early Air Force) bombing run briefing that visitors were allowed to sit in on. I wasn't able to make it, but I heard it was awesome!
They also brought a bunch of vintage training models and front lines maps, decoding books, etc. My favorite was a spinning spice-rack style holder with a series of stamps saying "secret", "top secret" and "classified" - how fun would it be to have one of those in your office?!
Dinosaur BBQ (relatively new to Albany) attended, offering up pulled pork sandwiches, beans, coleslaw and drinks. Absolutely delicious, as always! As a Rochester native, long acquainted with Dinosaur, I was delighted to introduce my Albany friends to them.
Out in the Air Park, the restoration team cracked open the cockpits of our Huey (Bell UH-1 Iroquois Helicopter), our F-5 and the A-7. Kids and adults alike had a blast climbing into real, decommissioned planes and getting their pictures taken.
We gave rides in the museum's parade plane, too, which was drastically more popular than I anticipated.
A friend from a local day care center made a bunch of aviation-themed kids' crafts and did them in the kids' tent alongside stick rockets. My favorite was this super-simple but adorable candy plane.
I am so thankful that everything came together!
(ESAM's resident photographer took a bunch more pictures of the event (tours, presentations, flight simulator, etc) - if you'd like to see them you can check out the facebook page. )
I'm so glad that everything went so well! It can be quite nerve wracking to be running around during the event, making sure that things are going smoothly, and then when it's all said and done you finally take a breath and realize that it went off without a hitch! Congratulations! Would you have any interest in running a support group? ;)
ReplyDeleteThat is so neat. I love the pictures of the planes. My favorite picture was in the tent with the maps.
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