I haven't been there in a few years, but I've been going off and on since I was a child.
My extended family jointly owned a dilapidated shack in the Catskills that we affectionately called "The Bungalow" when I was a kid. It was kind of like a family-owned, time-share vacation home, and we used it as a base of operations for all sorts of excursions until we sold it when I was about 8 or 10. Because my dad always wanted to be a pilot (but never earned his ticket), a lot of these activities were aviation-related.
My father is also a history buff who took me by the hand when I was little to visit many historic sites in the region, some little-known to the general public. So I guess I owe my love for both aviation and history to my dad.
Later on, as a teen-ager, I worked summers at a bungalow colony in Rosendale, NY (right across the Hudson from Old Rhinebeck and just south of Kingston) and I often would hitchhike to the Aerodrome on my days off. I was attending Aviation High School by then; and being an endearing youngster with some knowledge of aviation but little money, I managed to wheedle the occasional free airplane ride.
The rides were ostensibly given in exchange for chores that, in retrospect, were more busy work than anything especially useful; but they made me feel important and part of the crew. I did the same thing at other small airports. Things were different back then, and no one really thought twice about giving a teen-aged kid with an interest in aviation some chores to do in return for a free ride. I imagine nowadays, the insurance companies would put the kabosh on that in a heartbeat.
Old Rhinebeck suffered a sad loss last year when
Vinny Nasta died. I'd met him a few times over the past couple of years, and he was one of those people who you just liked immediately upon meeting him. Very encouraging, never a harsh word, always willing to stop and talk. I meant to get back up to the Aerorome to see him fly, but unfortunately, I never did make it back there before Vinny made his last flight.
I'm thinking that maybe I should take Kimberly with me to Old Rhinebeck to see the airshow, and maybe visit some of my old stomping grounds while we're there. She loves anything that has to do with airplanes, and I'd get to re-visit a few pages from my youth. I think she'd also get a real kick out of a biplane ride, but I wonder if the open cockpit might be a bit much for her. Probably not, though; she does fine with both airplanes and roller coasters.
In any case, if you're anywhere near Old Rhinebeck, I suggest you not miss it. If you're a history buff, make a weekend of it; there's an awful lot of history in that neck of the woods, going back to the colonial era, especially in Kingston and the little towns to the north and south. I think I learned more about the Revolutionary War by reading historical markers in that region that I ever did in school.
[ / reminiscing ]
-Rich
