Tuesday, May 6th - Palm Springs

We spent the morning at the Palm Springs Air Museum which I covered previously, but I gleaned some new information -
 
* In season, they may have as many as 800 visitors a day which requires 300 volunteer docents.  In the off-season they get maybe 100 visitors a day, but they still have all of those volunteers so they're put to work maintaining the place.  A behind-the-scenes peek - one of the male volunteers was dusting the tops f the wings and fuselage with a really long-handled dust mop - similar to a car brush, but 'way longer handle.  He did have a little step stool but seemed to find using it unmanly in some fashion. 

* Many of the Pacific war planes had huge, garish shark jaws (plenty of teeth showing) painted on the plane's nose.  Reason?  The Japanese were largely fisherman at the time and, as such, they (rightfully, it must be said) feared sharks.

* All but one of the planes in the museum are flyable - except for the one that spent 55 years underwater, a B25 SBD "Dauntless."  

*A black Packard limousine, white wall tires and all, built for the Japanese ambassador, San Francisco, was impounded by us after Pearl Harbor day.  Post war, a Northern California farmer bought it and drove it for 40 years and taught all eight of his children how to drive it.  Take that! Japanese ambassador!

Museum done; off to lunch.