He Flew It!
Making a Beeline to California!
Making a beeline to the West Coast to attend the Celebration of Life for Norm’s aunt could have been just long drive days with not much fun in between. We wanted to make the best of it and we found some gems that we would not have otherwise visited. The Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, OK was one of those places. For those of you that don’t know, Norm’s dream as a child was to become an astronaut. In college he was offered a full-ride scholarship and a guaranteed officer/pilot spot in the Air Force. He attended officers training camp in Lompoc, CA and had the exciting opportunity to fly a jet. In the end (unknown to me at the time), he declined these opportunities as he didn’t feel like it was a good way to raise a family (we were married with no kids at that time). The Stafford Air & Space Museum was a Harvest Host stop that we just happened upon. Norm was in “Seventh Heaven” at this museum!
A little history of this museum:
The museum is named in honor of famed test pilot and astronaut Lt. General Thomas P. Stafford. Stafford was born in 1930 and raised in Weatherford, OK. His mother came to Oklahoma in a covered wagon and lived to see her only child fly to the moon. Stafford was selected by NASA in the second group of astronauts in 1962.
Stafford would fly 4 historic space missions (Gemini 6, Gemini 9, Apollo 10, and Apollo-Soyuz), three of them as mission Commander. For his efforts as Joint Commander of the U.S. and Soviet Apollo-Soyuz mission, Stafford received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Stafford is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, and the Oklahoma Aviator of the Century award.
Named a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2011, the museum houses over an acre of exhibits under one roof and showcases thousands of items representing the evolution of aviation and spaceflight.
We absolutely love getting out there and meeting new people. We encourage all of our Mountain Beaches friends to shop small, shop local and to always be on the lookout to give a helping hand to those in need!
~Tomorrow is Never Promised~