Jay Honeck
Touchdown! Greaser!
One of our favorite flights, from our Mustang Island paradise, is to the Lone Star Flight Museum, located on the airport in Galveston, TX (KGLS).
What makes this place so special? Other than the world-class collection of airplanes, this museum is somewhat unique in that they allow you to park right behind it, and walk in from the airport side. Better yet, they are located within walking distance of the restaurant at Moody Gardens Hotel.
Yesterday's flight was typical. From Port Aransas to Galveston is about an hour's flight in Amelia, our RV-8A. The controllers at sleepy Galveston couldn't be more accommodating and friendly, and -- after a gorgeous flight up the island chain, we were cleared to land on Rwy 18.
Taxiing in, there was no need to go to ground, as we were the only ones there on a slow Wednesday afternoon. We told them we wanted to park "at the museum", and they cleared us across the enormous ramp without delay.
Going inside from the airport side, you enter the museum directly, circumventinig the cashier in the gift shop. Therefore, we walked through the museum, into the gift shop, and told the nice lady behind the desk that we were off to lunch, and would pay when we came back. This worked for her (it always does), and off we went.
Moody Gardens hotel is an easy stroll, just past the giant Schlitterbahn water park. The restaurant has been rebranded several times in the last five years, but one thing they have ALWAYS had is their world-renowned lobster bisque soup. This soup (the recipe must start with "add two sticks of butter"), with good-sized chunks of lobster tail in it, is the only soup I will happily pay $10 a bowl for, and whatever we eat with it is always secondary. This time around, we split an excellent Cuban sandwich and fries, which left enough room for one of their amazing desserts. We opted for the raspberry cream cake this time, and weren't disappointed.
After lunch, we strolled back to the museum, paid our admission, bought some stuff at the gift shop for the hotel, and then spent 45 minutes happily perusing their amazing collection of aircraft. They are working feverishly to get all the Vietnam era aircraft ready for the big Wings Over Houston airshow in November, and they have obviously all been waxed and polished.
The flight home was gorgeous -- it was just a spectacular day to fly on the Gulf coast. Here are some pics:
What makes this place so special? Other than the world-class collection of airplanes, this museum is somewhat unique in that they allow you to park right behind it, and walk in from the airport side. Better yet, they are located within walking distance of the restaurant at Moody Gardens Hotel.
Yesterday's flight was typical. From Port Aransas to Galveston is about an hour's flight in Amelia, our RV-8A. The controllers at sleepy Galveston couldn't be more accommodating and friendly, and -- after a gorgeous flight up the island chain, we were cleared to land on Rwy 18.
Taxiing in, there was no need to go to ground, as we were the only ones there on a slow Wednesday afternoon. We told them we wanted to park "at the museum", and they cleared us across the enormous ramp without delay.
Going inside from the airport side, you enter the museum directly, circumventinig the cashier in the gift shop. Therefore, we walked through the museum, into the gift shop, and told the nice lady behind the desk that we were off to lunch, and would pay when we came back. This worked for her (it always does), and off we went.
Moody Gardens hotel is an easy stroll, just past the giant Schlitterbahn water park. The restaurant has been rebranded several times in the last five years, but one thing they have ALWAYS had is their world-renowned lobster bisque soup. This soup (the recipe must start with "add two sticks of butter"), with good-sized chunks of lobster tail in it, is the only soup I will happily pay $10 a bowl for, and whatever we eat with it is always secondary. This time around, we split an excellent Cuban sandwich and fries, which left enough room for one of their amazing desserts. We opted for the raspberry cream cake this time, and weren't disappointed.
After lunch, we strolled back to the museum, paid our admission, bought some stuff at the gift shop for the hotel, and then spent 45 minutes happily perusing their amazing collection of aircraft. They are working feverishly to get all the Vietnam era aircraft ready for the big Wings Over Houston airshow in November, and they have obviously all been waxed and polished.
The flight home was gorgeous -- it was just a spectacular day to fly on the Gulf coast. Here are some pics:
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