Tillamook, Oregon

Next we headed to Tillamook, Oregon, where we boondocked at the rv park adjacent to the airport. We had a pleasant surprise, because there is a very nice museum, the Tillamook Air Museum, at the airport, and the admission fees were much more reasonable than at the McMinnville one that we had decided to forego. This one was housed in a huge, wood-framed hangar that was one of two constructed at the Tillamook airfield during World War II to house huge blimps that were used for patrol and escort off the west coast of America during the war.

There was an entire network of similar installations, and they did serve their purpose, as there were enemy submarines offshore.

In between the war and becoming a museum, the hangars housed lumber milling and, after that, hay storage. In the early 90s, there was a huge fire in one of the hangars where hay was being stored, and that hangar was destroyed.

Now, there are informative exhibits of World War II history

and, of course, lots of airplanes.

This was an enjoyable, worthwhile museum, and we were now glad we had decided to give the pricey air museum at McMinnville a pass. At the entrance to the museum is a cute cafe and a nice gift shop, where we found a couple well-priced jackets we very much needed to cut the wind on all those beach walks.

Next, we stopped in at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Unfortunately, they were done for the day, and there was just one worker doing some cleaning. However, the place is very visitor-oriented, with displays, free samples, a couple of gift shops, a cafe, and an ice cream bar. The company also makes wonderful ice cream. Dairying is an important part of the Tillamook economy.

Tomorrow we head for Washington state.