Seattle Aviation Museums - November 2014

Panoramic Douglas DC-3 at Historic Flight Foundation

This post is devoted to the aviation museums in the greater Seattle area. The aerospace industry is very big in Washington centered around the Boeing Company. There are several massive museums dedicated to airplanes and various aircraft, and over several trips I have visited most of them. I have always loved airplanes, especially commercial aircraft like the Boeing 747 or the Concorde. Even today I still feel like a kid when I enter the plane and feel the exhilaration of taking off and landing. On my most recent trip, there was a bit of snow which allowed me to take the unique picture of the DC-3 shown above.

British Airways Concorde at Museum of Flight

Speaking of Concordes, they have one at the Museum of Flight. Located in south Seattle, this massive museum houses many special airplanes including the Concorde, and early 747, and an old Air Force One. This museum houses a large number of commercial aircraft in addition to an extensive display of military aircraft. They even have several spacecraft and a replica of an early airplane workshop. If you are headed to or from the SeaTac Airport and have a few hours, this is a great place for all ages.

Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk at Flying Heritage Collection

The Flying Heritage Collection is another museum in the northern suburbs of Seattle in Everett. Several museums and exhibits have developed around Paine Field which is also home to the Boeing assembly plant making new commercial aircraft. The FHC houses primarily military aircraft with a focus on World War II. A surprising amount of enemy aircraft is on display. Some of the collection can be seen flying during regular events. Tanks and rockets are also available for your viewing pleasure. They also sell pretty good wine too!

Aircraft under restoration at Museum of Flight Restoration Center

Just around the corner, the Museum of Flight Restoration Center not only works hard to restore classic aircraft, they also are open to the public. This is rather unique to see the inner workings of the aircraft and the work necessary to keep them in operational condition. Donated aircraft come here for restoration efforts with volunteers happy to answer questions about their labor of love. There is even a cat wandering around the workshop keeping an eye on the "birds"

Welcome Sign at Historic Flight Foundation

The Historic Flight Foundation is only a short distance from the Flying Heritage Collection, but you must leave the airport and drive all around the perimeter to find the museum hiding in plain sight. The FAA really does not like people driving across the runway! This museum is on the main road to the ever popular Boeing factory tour, but I do not think most people notice. They pack a massive amount of beautifully restored aircraft into a rather cramped hangar. This sounds overwhelming, but you can really get up close and personal with the collection - including a few bumped heads if you are not careful! Outside, they have a lovely DC-3 that you can enter as long as the door is not iced shut.

Paine Field from Future of Flight Tour Center

Finally, there is the Future of Flight Aviation Center & Boeing Tour. They have a tiny museum, but the real draw is the factory tour to see the massive commercial jetliners being built. I went here several years ago just as the new Boeing 787 were introduced and saw several at various stages of construction. The facility is massive, requiring special environmental controls to prevent rain clouds from forming inside! Unfortunately, photography was prohibited during the factory tour portion. This is disappointing due to the astonishing number of leprechauns, unicorns, and dragons used during the construction process. Just kidding, they really just do not want people to see all the hamsters running the jet engines.

Really cool picture

If you are really into lift and accept drag with your flaps held high, you will love visiting the various aviation museums in the greater Seattle area. Even a bit of snow and ice will not impact your visit. There are plenty of coffee and food options for you all over! Please enjoy the rest of my pictures below.

Interior of Concorde at Museum of Flight

Concorde Restroom at Museum of Flight

Older Air Force One at Museum of Flight

Replica of Classic Airplane Factory at Museum of Flight

Collection at Museum of Flight

Can cars actually fly?

Future of Flight Tour Center Exterior

Interior of modern jet engine

Interior of Future of Flight Tour Center

Classic aircraft under restoration at Museum of Flight Restoration Center

Old aircraft cockpit at Museum of Flight Restoration Center

Backyard with snow

Panorama interior of Flying Heritage Collection

Interior of classic military airplane at Flying Heritage Collection

Close-up of military airplane exterior at Flying Heritage Collection

Massive radial airplane engine with actual airplane in background at Flying Heritage Collection

Restored airplane and tour bus at Historic Flight Foundation

Modern seaplane on display at Historic Flight Foundation

Napa Valley Wine Train - November 2014

I like wine. I like trains. I loved the Napa Valley Wine Train. Since 1989, the Napa Valley Wine Train has been serving lunch and dinner while gently rolling through the vineyards along Highway 29. The ride takes about 3 hours with additional time for boarding and departing and includes appetizers and wine and a three-course lunch. It just happened to be an incredibly gorgeous late Fall day with beautiful clouds and colored trees and grapevines. Weather reservations are not available.

There is a little more backstory on this trip. Growing up, my father had many train sets in the house and even a garden railway. One of his collections was a model train set with the Napa Valley Wine Train livery. The restored streamliner passenger train was often seen barreling down the track in our backyard, meandering through the citrus trees heading to destinations unknown. In the boarding area, there was the above set reminding me of why I had to take the trip!

The above video is a walkthrough of the train starting one of the lounge cars and heading through the open-air Silverado car. The train was only about half full, so these compartments were empty. Passengers are split into two groups - early and late lunch. Those with a late lunch begin their journey in the lounge car and are served a welcome glass of wine and a generous appetizer plate of antipasto and cheese. You can purchase additional wine. The selection was nothing unique, but you can choose several tasting flights to sample many different types.

Lunch is served in the dining car. Lots of china and silver with huge picture windows compliment the meal. The dishes were very nice and tasty with a surprising amount of effort put into the meal. On this trip, I had a pumpkin bisque, bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, and creme brûlée with blueberries. They also have dinner trains, but this time of the year it would be much darker.

One nice feature is the ability to walk all over the train during the trip. Not too many people did this, which allowed me to take a nice video of the locomotives pulling the train north towards St. Helena. There are observation cars on each end of the train, so half the journey you get a view of the business end of the train. The trip starts in the City of Napa and heads north to St. Helena. There, the locomotives decouple and move to the other end of the train to pull everyone back home on a one-way track. Not the most efficient, but it is still pretty cool. They converted one of the locomotives to run on natural gas - obviously not the one smoking directly in front of the camera.

I have been down this road many times. The train passes by some of the best wineries in the world - Robert Mondavi, Opus One, Cakebread, Far Niente, BV, Beringer, etc. This was a very fun and unique way to see the valley from a different perspective. For most, doing a standard Napa Tour is enough, especially with a limo or bus. This option would be perfect if it actually featured wine from the wineries that it passes, but sadly the selection is fairly basic and lower end. There is a premium option on the train for meals in the dome car. Nevertheless, this was a trip long overdue and something I will remember for a long time. Please enjoy the rest of my pictures below.

Levi's Stadium Tour - October 2014

Welcome to Levi's Stadium, the new home of the Santa Clara 49ers! Actually, they are still called the San Francisco 49ers, but they now join the Arlington Cowboys, East Rutherford Giants, and Anaheim Angels as one of the few professional sports teams playing outside their namesake city. The new $1.2 billion stadium opened for the 2014 season and is loved by everyone in the club tower. Mixed reviews are coming in from the players and the fans who are roasting in the ever sunny Silicon Valley. Santa Clara can get very hot during the season, and most seats get direct sun all game.

Very quickly, the tour takes you into the inside club area. They moved most of the expensive seats to the west side of the stadium in a tall tower - much like a fancy hotel in Las Vegas. This is a very high end stadium. The days of freezing with blue collar workers at Candlestick Park are long over. They cater well to the extreme wealth of the Bay Area and offer fancy digs at a very fancy price. Interestingly, they make most food onsite instead of standard foodservice with all the modern foodie options and the good old junk food for a real football experience. Even the nacho cheese is made in the stadium. They just put regular cheese on the seats for about 18 minutes to melt it!

This is a cool shot from the press area. The 49ers host several hundred journalists and on-air talent for each game, and some of the club levels include the television area where you can mingle with the various broadcasters and see if Joe Buck's voice is really that deep in person. They give the reporters lots of free food and drink during the day, but it does not affect their journalistic integrity. In an unrelated subject, the press loves the stadium.

The stadium is LEED Gold certified meaning it is very environmentally friendly. They have a living garden on the roof of the club tower that cuts down on energy use and yes you can get tickets up here! There are LED lights everywhere, but they cannot use them on the field or else the uniforms would turn pink and the field would have a weird glow. They use recycled water in the toilets and generate enough solar electricity to offset their 10 game season of games. All of the steel in the construction was recycled - except the trophies.

I am writing this entry during halftime of the 49ers-Rams game after an 80 yard touchdown play just before the end of the 2nd. We are not winning yet, but this game you cannot blame the turf. The maligned playing surface is pictured above. The 49ers have not been happy with the grass and had some major issues early in the season. It is working now including the sprinklers as shown in the picture. The tour takes you to field level through the ultra-exclusive investment bankers club level. If you have to ask how much the seats cost, you cannot afford them!

Gotta love that new locker room smell! This is the visitors locker room which is very basic but a huge improvement over other fields. The tour guide told us the 49ers locker room is twice as tall with carved wood lockers. The stadium has two home locker rooms, one visitors locker room, cheerleader locker rooms, and two guest locker rooms for non-NFL games like soccer or high school sports. The stadium was built to host two NFL teams including a gift shop designed to split in two. The Oakland Raiders are an obvious choice if they do not mind the red seats. The NFL also can use the stadium as a temporary home for other teams that lose their stadium to disasters.

The stadium is also home to the 49ers Museum and Hall of Fame. This technologically advanced museum showcases past and present players and a good selection of memorabilia. There are replicas of Bill Walsh's office and the original locker room at Kezar Stadium. Interactive exhibits allow you to step on the field and make some plays, and yes you can walk in the giant helmet. Concussions are optional, but not recommended.

If you are a 49er fan, you have to come here. They also play other teams. If you are a fan of the other team and live in the area, you have to come here. If you cannot afford the $1,000 needed for a Sunday afternoon with the family for tickets, I highly recommend the tour instead. The stadium is right next to the light rail and Amtrak/Caltrain stations for easy access. Time will tell how this stadium works out, but as long as the Super Bowl trophies keep coming, the fans will like it. The place is very nice and fancy and should take care of my team for a long time. Please enjoy the rest of my pictures below (without the express written consent of the National Football League).

Go Niners!