Lone Star Flight Museum (Galveston, TX; September 2013 -- Part Three A)

DAY THREE – 10 SEPTEMBER 2013:

We started the day with a full breakfast at “The Egg and I,” and bonus coupon we drew knocked $10 off our bill.  I enjoyed the hearty meal of scrambled eggs (with pepper jack cheese), turkey sausage, and wheat toast (with peanut butter), washed down with a big glass of chocolate milk.  I was now fueled for the day.  Our objective today was Galveston, which was only about 20 miles to the south.  I’d spent a week here back in 2006, but didn’t have the chance to explore too many sections of the island.  I was hoping to see things I knew I missed the first time, refresh on things forgotten, and have some new experiences.

As we got on the Gulf Freeway (IH-45), we discovered that Pappa’s BBQ was just a short distance south from where we were (we didn’t find it because we’d gone north along the access road).  Well, we knew where we were going to dinner tonight.  Even though this was on the tail-end of rush hour, the drive was very easy, and traffic wasn’t too bad.  We passed a dog racing track, oil storage tanks, and some swampy low lands before we hit the bridge to bring us over to Galveston.  Looking across the bay to the right, I told my parents to look for the three pyramids which made up Moody Gardens, as that would be near out first stop of the day.

Located next to Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn Waterpark was the Lone Star Flight Museum, and we timed it perfectly so we arrived just as it opened.  Since this was something I wanted to see on my first trip here (and was out-voted), this was high on my “to do” list.  When we’re getting our tickets, I always like the sign which shows different prices for “children, adults, and seniors,” because I ask what about the cost for “adults that act like children.”

This began as a private display of historic aircraft back in 1985.  I wish I had the money to do stuff like this.  One of the displays inside was talking about the recovery project which was done to repair the damage when Hurricane Ike kicked the stuffing out of the island back in 2008.  Pictures showing how things looked in the aftermath were a good juxtaposition to how it looked now.  There was an American flag hanging on the wall with a dirty spot about a quarter up, which served as the “water mark” for the flooding the museum received.  They’re looking at relocating the museum further inland (near Houston), as to avoid any future hurricanes.

The planes inside had suffered some damage, but you couldn’t tell that now.  I like looking at the bombers, because they usually have the interesting nose artwork, like this B-17G “Thunderbird” here…

…“Uncle Ho’s Nightmare” on this Douglas A-1D Skyraider (which I found greatly amusing)…

…Or this Cobra attack helicopter (which was used in Southeast Asia in the late 1960’s).

There was even a whole display on some notable nose artwork (like the Enola Gay and the Flying Tigers), and an informational card about how these were done by the bomber crews with whatever they had on hand.  Other than the marking of “kills,” bomber art was purely an American thing, and it wasn’t done by any of the other countries.  The artwork was what pulled the crew together on these missions (which they might not return from), and while certainly inspiring and patriotic, much of it’s not “politically correct” by today’s standards.

These were the products of a different time when such a large threat loomed that people weren’t going to get bent out of shape about some suggestive paintings on the side of a plane that might get shot down the next time it went out.  While there was none on the display, it was mentioned that Walt Disney contributed quite a bit during this time.  I’d love to see a picture of Mickey Mouse bitch-slapping Hitler.

One of the best pieces here was a B-25, which was decorated to commemorate the Doolittle Raid of 1942.  While any of the other planes here saw action, you might not always know in what theatres or when.  This marked a specific point in time, and I felt that increased the historical nature of it greatly.

Also known as the “Tokyo Raid,” this strike against the Japanese mainland in April 1942 was lead by Lt. Colonel James Doolittle.  While it had little effect on Japan’s military, it served more as a rallying point for the Americans, and as retaliation after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The museum even had a mock-up for the carrier the raid was launched from, as well as an informational card.

There were some other interesting pieces here, like a P-51D Mustang, and the Renegade Spirit, which was on loan from it’s pilot, Gene Krantz of Apollo 13.  One of the more interesting pieces (considering my line of work) was the TBM-3U Avenger which General Motors built under license from Grumman Aircraft during WWII.  Not long after the Battle of Midway, this model plane served as torpedo bombers, and in some cases taking out submarines.

Lone Star Flight Museum was essentially two large hangars placed next to each other, and had about twenty or so aircraft.  This was smaller than I’d expected it to be, and we got through it pretty quick.  It wasn’t even close to lunch yet.  Seen Moody Gardens was pretty much next door, we decided to hit there.

(Continued....)

For more information on the places visited or mentioned:

            Schlitterbahn Waterpark:  http://www.schlitterbahn.com/gal/

            Lone Star Flight Museum:  http://www.lsfm.org/

            Moody Gardens:  http://www.moodygardens.com/

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