Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum

The other day Mason and I visited the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville. I had been wanting to take him there for a few months and finally decided to just do it.
I had heard it was expensive to get in, so before we left I called and got some prices. $20 for adults, and kids 5 and under are free. (There are special prices for youth and seniors.) This seemed high, but since it was only us I decided to go.
Upon arrival he was already in "awe" before we ever parked the car. Airplanes and jets rested on the lawn surrounding the museums, looking like they could take off for flight at any minute.
An interesting display of the solar system in the sidewalk gave us something else to look at as we walked from the car to the main entrance.  As I pulled the big heavy door open and pushed the stroller in I heard Mason whisper, "Woooowwww" as he caught his first glimpse of all the airplanes we were about to look at and explore.
Twenty dollars and two bracelets later we were inside with our map, ready to go. Most people were headed to the left, so I decided we would go right. First stop, a bright lime green small plane perfect for a first picture.

We then took our time looking at all the different planes. Going through different eras of time, and seeing how airplanes have changed over the years. Throughout the museum there were old airline seats placed everywhere so you could sit in them if you so desired. Mason in fact, desired to sit in EVERY  SINGLE seat in the museum, even though they were all the same...

There was a lot of history and interesting facts to see and read about, however I decided this was Mason's day. I just let him look at things as long (or short) as he wanted. It did mean I didn't get to read about the different planes, or learn anything about the pieces they had from Pearl Harbor, but that can wait until next time we go. It was strangely relaxing to not be on a time schedule or worry about anyone else not getting to see what they wanted to see. It was just all about seeing and enjoying airplanes from a toddler's point of view.
My favorite part was the Spruce Goose. I had seen it from the road dozens of times, and knew it was the largest plane in the world, yet when I saw it, I literally could not believe how HUGE it was!!! Amazing to see in person! I'm not big into airplanes or cars etc, but the Spruce Goose definitely impressed me and interested me. I wish I would have had an extra $25 to take the tour inside the plane up to the cockpit. We could have also had our pictures taken up there, AND they have Howard Hughes' hat up there as well. I can not explain how enormous this plane is, you really have to see it in person to understand, but to help I took a pic with Mason standing next to the front of the plane. Apparently he also can not believe his eyes.

After looking at all the airplanes, we took a trip to the gift shop to get a little souvenir and a post card to send to great grandma. The gift shop was full of wonderful items! All quite over priced, as expected, but great things non the less. We chose a soft stuffed plane, like a stuffed animal but a plane instead. I thought this was perfect because he wouldn't brake it within the first few seconds of having it. Good choice, he loved it AND we still have it!
After the gift shop we traveled back over the solar system outside and into the space museum. Not quite as exciting for Mason. There was a ton of interesting exhibits and amazing photos from throughout space history. I could have looked around for quite awhile, but this was Mason's day. Toward the back of the museum there were rockets, jets and helicopters. Very interesting for Mason. Also, we ran into another set of airline chairs in front of a movie about helicopters, and there we sat for 3-5 minutes (long time for him). As we headed toward the cafe for some lunch there was a real life airline pilot flying a toy airplane around. This was maybe the best part of Mason's day because he was able to help him fly, and "clear him for take off". Basically he said, "ready, set, go go go go!!!".
Lunch was not good at all. It was really expensive and practically inedible. If I were to go again, I would just bring a lunch. There are places outside to sit and eat, and there is a wonderful playground outside for the kids to play on.
Another great thing for kids was an airplane ride. It was closed but when a guy saw us looking at it he came over and opened it just for Mase! I knew there was no way he would actually ride this thing without me and/or a total meltdown, but I thought, hey why not try? So I buckled him in, acted super excited and slowly back away. He was doing great until he realized what was really going on, and immediately wanted out! No ride for Mason.
That was ok though, we were on our way out to head home for nap time.
All in all it was a wonderful day! I highly recommend visiting if you have the chance. As a little side note, they also have a new water park called Wings and Waves which looks AMAZING! I haven't gone yet but would love to! Evergreen also has an IMAX theatre if you have the chance to catch a show I'm sure it would be worth the time....and money :)