WIX Archives

Champlin visit yesterday

Posted by jaybird on Fri Apr 18, 2003 04:47:26 PM

The museum is open until Memorial day. This being my 2nd trip turned into something a little scary, but alot of fun to look back on & laugh. Here's the story: The museum was open until 4:30, but due to my business trip in town, I could not get there until 3:30, so needless to say, I was rushed to take it all in. Well, the elderly employees there (God bless them - after all they are the generation of my favorite airplanes) are not the quickest physically/mentally anymore (& yes I know I'll get there myself someday if I'm lucky) but at 4:20 I was in the WWII hangar when I realized the old gent had dissappeared. Well I went over to the glass entry doors & discovered he had locked them when he left! Now the prospect of an overnight stay with all those premier airplanes would be incredible - it certainly would not be without authorization or the fact that my plane home departed later that evening. Luckily the doors are unlockable from the inside & I was able to walk the hallway down to the main building, but unfortunately that was locked & I was stuck in the hallway. So there I am locked in a museum at 4:25 that's supposed to be open until 4:30. I was frantically dialing the museum on my cell phone & pounding on the door. The view to the gift shop was dark & it looked like the employees had split to catch the early bird special somewhere. I then realized I could climb the hall wall & look out an open air cutout to the parking lot in which I was lucky enough to flag down one of the employees climbing in his car (although that took 5 attempts from 30 feet - I guess he didn't have his hearing aid turned up). Finally the lady from the gift shop let me out & I told her about the doors needing relocked. She said she heard me pounding on the door, but that somebody was actually in the gift shop and she "couldn't leave her post"! Geez, I don't think the visitors drawn there are the type that are going to steal from the gift shop!!

I have to laugh, but am certainly happy for the good ending. I wonder what a night stuck sleeping in an F2G would be like though?? :)

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