It was a wet, wild, and at times windy ride this afternoon as I rode to McMinnville, OR to see some accounts. McMinnville, more commonly known as "Mac", is home to the Howard Hughes Spruce Goose.
The H-4 Hercules Flying Boat was moved to this site from Long Beach, CA in February of 1993 by Evergreen Aviation. If you enlarge the photo above and look through the glass you can see her.
Evergreen has built a nice
aviation attraction around the Spruce Goose centerpiece. The jetliner above was recently added on top of this building which is an indoor water park. This summer you'll be able to slide out of the 747 into a pool.
Next on the plans for this popular attraction is a resort. Whether you're an aviation buff or not this museum is a must see if you're in the Portland area. In fact, the BMW International Rally last year had a kick-off visit and luncheon here before the Rally. It was well attended by many motorcycle enthusiasts.
The Spruce Goose is about 3 miles east of town. Here is downtown Mac on 3rd street. As you can see, the afternoon traffic here is almost unbearable. Both sides of the street are lined with quaint shops along with unique restaurants and pubs. This is a college town so Friday and Saturday nights are busy here.
When I see one of these I can't resist stopping.
I think almost everything they sell is healthy and it's very good. These fruit bars are irresistible for a hungry traveler.
After I took this photo it would have been nice to get in the blue rig, twist the key and take off. I had all the gear on so it was doable. I guess I'll just have to settle for dreaming about it.
God's speed.
Posts
Nice report and set of pictures, made me think of my old 1150RT and the visit to a nearby air museum here in Denver. Good times.
ReplyDeletedom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
Oh Wow! How cool would that be to slide out of a 747 into a pool?? Fabulous fun there...and dreaming about flying a Blue Angel is good. The part where your tummy gets sick when you are in one - not so good!! ;o)
ReplyDeleteYou guys have the most amazing musumns, some body elses blog also covered this musumn, it is really amazing. I love the 747 on the roof!! Just great blog MIke. SOunds like a great day.
ReplyDeleteMike:
ReplyDeleteAW Shucks ! The last time we were on the coast we passed this museum. The weather was not so good on the coast, lots of fog and nothing to see so we headed to Eastern Oregon to get some heat. Next time we will stop
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
Dom,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I've always liked museums. The Smithsonian would be nice to visit.
Stacey,
I'm thinking my grandkids will want to do that 747 slide. Thank you for stopping by!
Roger,
Thank you for your comment!
Bob,
ReplyDeleteIt's on the way to the coast from Portland. Easy access too. Next time you're here you can try the 747 slide!
That looks like a wonderful place to check out. Love the soon to be ride off the 747!!
ReplyDeleteEve,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
I was at the BMW rally last year and did make a stop in Portland on the way to Mt. St. Helen but didn't know about the museum. Oh well, next time. I did see the Goose a long tome ago while visiting Long Beach. I would loved to see this museum, love the pic with the F-14 and Mig-29 outside.
ReplyDeleteGeorge,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! Next time you come out west maybe you can check this out.
Thanks for sharing the trip. We should actually take time to go inside together, sometime. I'm at the airport across the street a couple of times a year with police training. I look over there but have never been inside. I just park my bike by the planes and take photos.
ReplyDeleteHope you're doing well these days!
Dan,
ReplyDeleteThank you! We should go there together and if onlookers can come to the police training, I'd be interested in watching that.
Take care...