EAA, A Home Away From Home

October 12, 2016 - October 10 was my first day back in the office after a weeklong vacation. My friend and colleague Kris Baumgartner and I decided to hit the open road for a week to recharge.

Kris and I headed by car to Savannah, Georgia, nearly 1,200 miles south of Oshkosh where I didn’t expect to hear much talk about EAA. To my surprise, that just really isn’t possible. We made it to Savannah at 10:30 p.m. the second night of our trip, quickly making our way to a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint. At the restaurant, a local seated himself close enough to chat and during our conversation we learn that he builds airplanes for a local manufacturer. We told him we work at EAA in Oshkosh and despite not recognizing EAA right away, he was familiar with “that place all the planes go in the summer.” That was the beginning of an interesting few days.

While enjoying our continental breakfast the next morning, we shared our table with a friendly couple from New Zealand. The wife had a cousin who had been to AirVenture many times and her family was very familiar with EAA. That same evening at dinner, Kris and I sat next to a couple from Vancouver, British Columbia and the husband had a brother who taught at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh decades ago and so he knew all about “Oshkosh.” We ended that evening wondering how many more happy coincidences could take place on one trip. Our fourth day into the trip, sure enough, as we waited at a bus stop in the middle of Savannah, I spotted a gentleman walking across the street wearing an AirVenture 2016 T-shirt. Again, Kris and I looked at each other somewhat amazed. What are the chances?

What I did not anticipate on this trip so very far away from home was to continuously meet people so closely connected with EAA, AirVenture, Oshkosh, or even airplanes. This may explain why I never really felt homesick during our week away. When you belong to EAA, no matter where you are, you are part of a community. You are always home.