How does one bring out the 12-year-old AVgeek in a bunch of Delta flyers? Reasonably simple. You respond to a request to find a mileage run all in first class at a really good price and to a neat place where we can at least have dinner.
I decided to take it up a notch.
I found a very good first class fare out of Chicago to Phoenix. I was able to drive over but most of the rest of the group positioned to ORD. Dave was kind enough to help guide one of the group to where we were all waiting (made good use of the business center in the Sky Club)!
We flew the best route possible, that is, VIA Salt Lake to get the most MQMs. We had outstanding Delta service from our FA Ophelia, and I and another of “DeltaDesertDiamonds” (as we called ourselves) had time for a quick XpressSpa treatment since it is right outside the SLC Sky Club waiting for our next hop down to PHX.
To make this really fun, we rented a pair of Silver Cars. We got brand new ones. I mean they both had less than 1000 miles on them. Perfect for a quick drive down to Tucson where PIMA is located.
It is amazing how fast a drive can go in a sweet ride. I say “fast” but we did stop along the way for an important part of the trip (Walmart – wink, wink 😉 ). On the way back we even hit the Simon Mall and just about cleared them out of VDGCs (sorry TUS readers). 😉
So what is PIMA all about? Here is what they say on their web site:
The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world! Featuring over 300 historical aircrafts, from a Wright Flyer to a 787 Dreamliner. Sitting on 80 acres the museum opened its doors to the public in May of 1976. Over the past forty years, the museum has grown immensely and today encompasses five indoor exhibit hangars (two dedicated to WWII).
Docent-led walking tours and museum ground Tram Tours are offered daily. The museum is the exclusive offeror of bus tours of the 2,600-acre “Aircraft Boneyard”/U.S. military and government aircraft storage facility, Monday-Friday, non-federal holidays only.
For full information, see the Visit page. <-LINK
It is hard to put into words just what the above means. The place is massive and just amazing. If you have ever been to Rome and know everywhere you look you see history, then this is sorta like that but for an AVgeek. Rather than include 100 photos look at this short video I tossed up of our visit:
It is amazing how much you can see in one long day as most of us did a redeye back home that night at near midnight (yeah, even first class redeyes are meh).
Overall everyone had a blast, got to enjoy a day in the desert sun surrounded by jets of all kinds, and picked up a nice chunk of MQMs along the way. Now to start planning the next “fun run”. Where shall we go? You want to join us next time? Happy to have you along (if you can stand it)! – René
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