(888-925-3947)

Proud Members of:

Iowa Bed & Breakfast Guild

Iowa City Chamber of Commerce

Iowa City Convention & Visitor's Bureau

Monday dawned just as hot as Sunday, but everyone on the field knew that big storms were brewing out west.  The usual thunderstorm/hail/high winds of OSH were coming -- it was just a matter of when.  

In the meantime, however, we made hay while the sun shone, and hit the Fly Market -- hard.  Anything that even remotely looked like hotel decorations went in the cart, and we spent the entire day cleaning out the vendors.   With friends driving their van back on Wednesday, we knew we had to shop for the big stuff quickly -- and we did.  

Cool stuff for the upcoming "Oshkosh Suite", "Piper Cub Suite", and "Apollo Suite" were all found -- what an amazing cache of aviation memorabilia!   Over the last three years the Fly Market has truly become one of our main sources for suite decor.

The air was hot and heavy, but the storms held off long enough for the afternoon airshow, which  was fabulous.   White Knight and SpaceShipOne -- the first private space craft in the world -- performed a series of stunning fly-bys, wowing the standing-room-only crowd.

That night a bunch of us hiked to the nearby Charcoal Pit for Wisconsin Lake Perch (Canadian now, actually), keeping a wary eye on the sky as a "tornado watch" had been issued for the area.  After a marvelous meal and an evening of relaxation, we decided to head back to the tent.  Immediately after deciding that we could make it back before the storm hit, it dumped in all its fury, instantly soaking all of us.  

The rain was being flung horizontally, and our umbrellas and rain-suits weren't up to the task.  The wind and rain were so loud that we could only communicate by shouting into each others ears.   Luckily it was a very warm rain, at first -- but it was a long, soggy hike back to the tent.

That night over 3 inches of rain fell on Wittman Field -- an almost unbelievable deluge.  No tent in the world could withstand that kind of gully-washer, and it rained so hard that our new tent actually leaked from the BOTTOM.  Luckily, Mary and I were high and dry on a queen-sized air bed, but our poor kids were sleeping in puddles "down in the valleys" on either side of us.   It was a miserable night for them, and the very next day we bought them two twin-sized air beds, thus ensuring that it never rained that hard again...

Here are some pix from that day:.

The view from my wing, first thing in the morning...	Aircraft, aircraft, everywhere...	...as far as the eye could see....	First morning wake-up call...
Joe emerging from the tent...	Our traditional Oshkosh family photo...	Jay & Mary with the world's busiest control tower...	Joe & Bec with the tower...
White Knight (with SpaceShipOne) does some fly-overs...	What an amazing thing to see!	The gang at the Charcoal Pit while the storm builds outside...

Go to Tuesday Pix