Some good news to my old friends here at rec.aviation
Congratulations! I hear Mustang is worth a weather check for the
sometimes foggy arrivals...
Brian W
Jay Honeck wrote:
I'm not sure if there are any folks left here from "the Golden Age of
Rec.Aviation", but -- just in case -- I would like to share some great
news with y'all.
For those who don't know, back in 2002 members of this group were
instrumental with helping Mary and me decide to make the leap into an
unknown realm by endeavoring to create an aviation-themed hotel in Iowa
City, Iowa called "The Alexis Park Inn & Suites".
At the time it was a run-down old residence hotel, and we were just a
couple of pilots who wanted to somehow break into the "aviation world"
without actually BEING in the aviation world. We didn't have a clue
what we were doing, so -- virtually every step of the way -- I bounced
ideas and questions off of the members of these groups, and was always
rewarded with sage advice and remarkable contributions of ALL kinds.
Those contributions weren't limited to well-wishes, but consisted of
some remarkable donations of artwork and memorabilia that have helped to
make our aviation theme suites unique and very popular. Quite frankly,
we could not have created the Alexis without help from those who once
populated these groups, which has made the demise of rec.aviation doubly
hard to watch. But I digress...
The good news? Mary and I have just closed a deal on a motel located on
Mustang Island, Texas, in the town of Port Aransas! This area is
commonly known as "the Texas Riviera", with miles of white-sand beaches
and lovely flying weather year-round. The island has a terrific little
airport (KRAS -- Mustang Beach Airport) within a mile of the new motel,
which is currently called "Harbor Inn". We take possession on 4/19/10,
and you are ALL invited to the grand opening!
But don't expect to see the aviation theme right away. We will be
taking over at the start of the high season, so we don't think we'll
have time to start the conversion until Fall of '10. By Spring '11,
however, we expect to have the conversion complete, and the property
will re-emerge as "Amelia's Landing", with 22 rooms that are themed to
place an emphasis on float planes and flying boats, in deference to the
maritime traditions of the island.
We will, of course, continue to provide the unique amenities that have
made us successful -- many of which were first suggested by members of
this group. Our signature service is a DELIVERED breakfast, and that
will continue at the Harbor Inn. And, of course, our courtesy vehicle
will be parked at the airport with the keys under the mat for you to use
during your visit to the island, just like we do here in Iowa City.
We even plan to host a "Pre-Oshkosh Fly-In Pool Party" on Mustang
Island, too -- although I don't think we'll be leading the flight into
Oshkosh from there! But we might aim at Sun N Fun? Who knows -- the
sky truly is the limit, and we're only at the beginning of the planning
stages. But, wow, are we excited to have another "blank slate" upon
which to write!
Once again, I can't express my gratitude enough to the old rec.aviation
"regulars" who helped to forge our success. I can only hope that
eventually this group will shrug off the trolls who have destroyed what
was once a tight-knit group of like-minded pilots, united in their
dedication to aviation, and that our two aviation destination hotels
will serve as a beacon to remind those who come here of what was once
possible when everyone was actually focused on aviation.
Blue skies and tailwinds, all!
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