Monday, June 14, 2010

DRAM: Aviation Day


It a time of impressive achievements - the era of the automobile, electricity, Einstein, Freud, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, art nouveau and Edwardian Baroque. It's hard to believe that 100 years ago most Angelenos had never seen an aircraft in flight. Today, passenger jets and cargo planes take off from every corner of the city, their contrails blazing long after they pass. I can't go a single day (or night) without hearing a helicopter fly overhead.

Here's what you missed:

-classic old cars (Model Ts, 1912 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce) and planes (Bleriot 1909 replica, 1883 Glider)
-lots of reenactors and period costumers
-military flyovers - they all started on time with precision accuracy
-vintage ragtime dancing with Yesteryears
-commemorative postage stamps and philatelic envelopes and cancellations
-Kogi & Tommy's truck, an authentic 1910 box lunch
-kids activities too numerous to name (though I did find lots of lost wooden gliders around the grounds)

Here's what you didn't miss - Mother Nature:

-too windy to have tethered balloon rides. A shame, really. Most people made do with the ferris wheel instead. Just ask one of the parachute jumpers that hit a tree.
-it was incredibly muggy and tempers ran a bit short, especially since the adobe has no air conditioning. The house never had a chance to cool off with tours running all day.
-on-site parking was too limited, so most people had to be shuttled in from CSU Dominguez Hills for $5, but the shuttle company was pretty terrible.

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