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"Airplane Ride" is one of the things on our Summer List this year. Fortunately, we know a couple of pilots, both of whom would likely be up for a joy ride. This morning, Chris agreed to take us to breakfast at the historic Beaumont Hotel. Here, Chris is seen pulling a Beech Bonaza out of its hangar at the Beech factory.
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"The view is going to be great," Maddie exclaimed as we taxied down the runway. The boys took turns asking, "Dad, can you hear me?!!" That's Chris' son, Theo, sitting next to Nate in a photo taken by Maddie, she would like you to know. Tommy was adamant about not wanting to go on an airplane, so he stayed home with Angie.
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Maddie was right about the view. That's Beaumont with its grass landing strip on the far right. If you can see it, that tan rectangle at the T intersection is the hotel. Planes taxi down 116th Terrace to get from the landing strip to the hotel, making sure to stop at the stop sign. That's a photo I would love to have gotten had I not been inside the plane!
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| Pilots and their passengers are given a 10% discount on meals. When the waitress confirmed if we had flown in, another patron said, "I flew in, too. On the highway." As we left, several of the guests came out to watch us taxi down the road to get to the runway. We had been the only plane to fly in. |
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On the return flight, I sat in back with the kids.
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| And this was a neat find. The inside of the hotel is an aviation tribute. On the wall, prominently displayed near the hotel guest buffet line, is a Topeka Capital-Journal centerpiece story on a restored Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat that I had photographed while working at the paper 10 years ago. I was surprised to see it as Beaumont is well outside the Cap-J's circulation area. For a brief moment, I missed newspapers again. Then Nate called out from the bathroom, indicating to me and others within earshot that he was "done" and I quickly realized I'm much more lucky to be making my own memories than recording those of others. |
