Awake: 4:45am Temp 62 sleep 5+05 overcast overnight @ Nicktown, PA.
Barry & Bonnie pick us up @ 5:30am. Barry reminds me to bring our own lawn chairs. Next, to the Krumenacker farm to pick up Barry’s sister, Susie; then the Buick La Saber responds to Barry’s gentle accelerator foot & the miles wiz by. Our 1st stop: Middletown, PA for a bathroom break & coffee refill. 2nd stop: breakfast @ the Frangakis Family restaurant in Shillington, PA. Another some 40 miles slide by, on then off the PA Turnpike, & we arrive @ today’s destination @ 9:30am; the 17th annual WWII weekend in Reading, PA, approx 200 miles.
There are lines for everything: 1st getting a parking spot; 2nd getting on the bus to take us to the entry point; 3rd standing in line to enter the airport grounds; & 4th paying the entry fee, getting our hand stamped, & entering through the airport gate. That probably took a good (45) min.
The French, German & U.S. troops are represented here in period uniforms, military equipment, automobiles, tents, artillery, (20 ) different types of aircraft, etc. The military ladies & civilians were also dressed in their 1940’s style dresses & hair-dos.
Kathy & Bonnie enjoyed the old radio shows: the Shadow Knows & Abbott & Costello. That’s when the guys would make all the background noises & sounds into the microphone to make it like the real thing. They were invited to enter the 1940’s style house complete with period furnishings and women, men, & children wearing period clothes and engaging in activities of the day; i.e. listening to the radio, playing the piano, ironing, crocheting lace doilies, etc. There were so many things to see….so little time.
Barry, Susan, & I were completely consumed by the aviation activity: flying demonstrations of fighters, bombers, transports, seaplanes. We were close to the active runway by the fence taking photos. The temperature was HOT; humidity HIGH & the sun BRIGHT; perfect conditions for dehydration, sunburn & sweat. But hey, it was more than worth it! Kathy & I were here with Bonnie & Barry in 2003 but we got rained & chilled out all that day. Today was so much better. Next time though, we may have to hang around for (2) days to be able to tell: “the rest of the story.”
We attend 5:00pm Mass as it was said in 1942, from a tent & in (Latin), but the Priest did face the people instead of having his back toward us. There were over (40) people @ Mass. Barry told us that when he 1st visited this operation, about ½ dozen people attended 5:00pm Mass.
On our return trip to Nicktown, we make (2) stops: Hoss’s Restaurant for dinner: K & I share a Philly Steak & the salad bar; & a fuel stop @ Bedford, PA. We are back in our camper @ 11:15pm.
Lights out: 11:58pm
Leave a comment