The common response to a disclosure that you’ll be at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is, “But what if it RAINS?”
Hey, it’s not an “if”, but a “when.” A weeklong, mostly outdoor event has to accommodate a soaking at some point. The fact is, there are plenty of options to pursue at the show, should it get showery.
Rain is a perfect reason to do indoor shopping or conduct inquiries you’ve been delaying. The exhibit buildings are full of vendors you might never discover unless you’re driven inside. Make notes of where you saw the Genzu knives or plane-shaped jewelry because it’s easy to mistake Hangar A for the D building. The EAA Wearhouse deserves a visit, as do the FAA and other Federal exhibits.
The EAA Museum is always on our gotta-do-that-sometime list, so why not move it up if the sky is darkening? You may have been through the museum before, but you probably haven’t seen its latest expansions and the exhibits are constantly rotating.
The workshops and seminars are all held undercover; check out the listing in AirVenture Today and go learn something while you’re not walking the grounds. Speakers and demonstrators love rainy days because their bright-weather crowd of a half-dozen can swell to a much fuller house.
If nothing else, a spell of precipitation gives you a pretext to scroll through the news or do a little Googling. It’s also a fine time to search for a company you’ve been meaning to check out or look at the layout map to see who’s where so you can resume your trek without backtracking when the skies clear.
A little downtime isn’t all bad. We tend to think we have to be in charge of every screen-driven minute, but sometimes nature reminds us that our plans are subject to revision, at its whim. Enjoy the rain.