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Twelve
PT Cruisers met at Shari's restaurant in Sacramento to cruise to the old
McClellan AFB site and the McClellan Aerospace Museum of
California. We were going to see the old planes, some old and new
technology, and The DaVinci Experience. This exhibit had been in Sacramento
for months and we had heard very good reviews of the exhibit.
Leonardo DaVinci invented many things and rumor had it that the original
idea for the PT Cruiser had come from none other than Leo himself.
We set out to find the truth. |
Short Meet-n-Greet |
Rain "damage" |
Bob welcoming Al back |
Al's new (old) license plate |
Lined up at the museum |
Aerospace Museum of California |
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The
weather was fine in Sacramento but some of our Delta Cruiser friends had
to drive through some very nasty rain before they got to Sacramento.
This was the first time ever that we had seen "dirty" cruisers
from The Delta Cruisers on a cruise. In fact, I don't think we've
ever seen one dirty at any time. This time it was bad. It
reminded us all of one of our Disneyland Cruises where we hit rain and
tomato sauce on Interstate 5.
During
our Meet-n-Greet at Shari's, Bob Damico presented a 1941 California
license plate to Al Shroyer (1941 for his date of birth). The
presentation was to welcome him back home from his short stay in
Colorado and to honor him as one of the veterans in our PT Cruising
community. We headed out for Interstate 5 and the Aerospace
Museum. |
All lined up ready for the tour |
The bicycle |
The helicopter |
A Parachute |
A paddle-wheel boat |
Andrea building a bridge |
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A
short cruise later, we arrived and took front row center of the parking
lot. They gave us special treatment in allowing us to begin the
tour prior to anyone else and we had the manager of the museum as our
personal tour guide. He introduced us to the history of the
museum, showed us the various areas that he felt would be of interest
and then turned us loose in the Da Vinci exhibit. |
Spring-powered cart |
Shoes for walking on water |
A revolving turret |
Armour |
We lined up in front
of one of the planes |
Michelle in a helicopter |
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When
he wasn't painting masterpieces such as "the Mona Lisa" or
"The Last Supper," Leonardo was busy conceptualizing
inventions no one had ever dreamed of before. Fascinated by the prospect
of flight and other scientific feats, Leonardo's notebooks contained
over 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. So far ahead of his time was
Leonardo that the technology of the day did not allow for the
construction of many of his blueprints. Leonardo da Vinci designed them
more than 500 years ago—Yet, he never saw them come to life. |
GO NAVY |
Inside the building |
Hello... Terry |
Little planes |
Drones |
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Many
centuries later, a group known as The Artisans of Florence took Da
Vinci's ideas and actually built working replicas of his
conceptualizations. Now, for the first time ever, these models have made
their way to California. The models that will be on hand include hang
gliders, a bicycle, a double-hull boat, an air-screw (precursor to the
helicopter), a fly wheel, an early tank, a robot, a chamber of mirrors,
and a movable bridge among others. Now you can see, touch and feel more
than 60 models of Da Vinci’s remarkable inventions—many of which are
prototypes for machines we use today. |
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After
touring the exhibit, we made our way outside (a bit cool on that day) to
look at the many airplanes, helicopters, and other items from our
military history. We climbed into planes and helicopters. We
listened to stories told by some of the veteran pilots who were serving
as docents that day. We went inside to see more and more and more.
We never did confirm that rumor about Leonardo dreaming up the PT
Cruiser but he surely did have some good ideas. Lots of them are
in use today.
We
finished the day with a wonderful lunch in the old Officer's Club.
This was the original "O" Club from when the site was an Air
Force base. They restored it to its original beauty. It was
a very nice tour, a nice lunch, with good friends, thanks for joining
us. |
