Just a few more EAA pics. The big yellow plane is named Duggy. That ones for you Doug!

A few more EAA pics.

Monday, July 30, 2007

I did it! I survived an entire week of work. Manual labor. A full 6 hours per day. Wow!

Here's the breakdown: 80 miles of driving/day, 1 hour each way, 4 gallons of gas per day @ $3/gallon equals $12/day x 7 days = $84 in fuel. Two new white collared shirts and two new slacks for work = $30. An impressive $7/hour wage x 42 hours = $294 before taxes. Take home after taxes, fuel, and clothing = $142 Being able to cook 8450 brats on the worlds largest grill and attend the largest airshow in the world = PRICELESS!

One more picture of the MasterGriller (self-proclaimed)

Friday, July 27, 2007 (still)

More EAA pics. A sad and tragic day at the show when two warbirds collided at 3:15, while I was working. One pilot was killed. I think the other survived, but the news will cover it later tonight.

Two more days and another 2000-3000 brats to cook. The weather looks great for the final days, so that will keep the Master Grillers busy.

Friday, July 27, 2007

More EAA. I passed the 6000 mark on number of brats cooked at EAA. Never guess what I'm having for dinner tonight?

I arrived at the show about an hour and half early and after submerging my exposed skin in spf 50, twice..... I headed towards the planes. Enjoy!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

More EAA highlights. I noticed on the white board this morning that the F22-Raptor was going to make an appearance. So cool! Let me explain the one picture that you have to struggle a bit to find the F22 in the photo. Hint, Look between the lines. It turns out that these planes fly really fast and my camera, no me, is not. Hey! To my credit, I was working. Flipping brats. (wow, did that sound weird) There were two of the raptors that screamed through the show today, making several passes.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

1300 brats today. Today's photo has one of the master grillers posing. (purely pride)

Ok, with that brief bout of humility, I shall display some more planes.

(or not) Note the Michael Jackson glove. My moon walk is shaky, but practice with improve.

(or not)

Tuesday, Still writing about the EAA show. This is the main entrance that welcomes me every morning. I'm still working on the best way in and out. I'm taking the side roads to get to/from the show. After todays brutal work day, I got permission to exit the 'short' way. Through the campgrounds. The huge numbers of campers is, well..... huge.

Later this week the U2 spy plane is scheduled to make an appearence. I've also gotten a chance to see the F22-Raptor makes some passes, between the blinks. I hope to get up close to this one. Stay tuned for more pics and stories from Oshkosh.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

A few more pics of today's action; instrument panels. Absolutely amazing. Enjoy. Many of you probably have attended a few airshows. Not so for me. This is my first. It truly is a treat to attend this one. (free)

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Day 2 at the EAA AirVenture2007 show. Do you know what EAA stands for? (like I can hear your answer)

1100 brats were cooked today, just slightly less than yesterday, Day 1. Got a bit smarter and put some #50 on my tender skin to keep the color bright red from the previous day. Wore a large brimmed hat, also, and drank even more water. Not to bad today, but standing for over 6 hours straight is taking it's toll on my leg muscles. 5 days to go.

Today's photos are actually of planes, Really! For those that know their aircraft, you might be able to pick out the '97 Williams V-Jet II, a float plane, and the 82 Rutan Grizzly N80RA. (or they can read)

Enjoy. I did.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Work! That's what I call it. I have never worked so hard in many years. (few will argue that one) It was day 1 of the huge, not big, huge EAA Venture 2007 in Oshkosh, WI.

It is by far the largest gathering of airplanes I have even seen, and I've been to Ohare and London Heathrow airports.

The Johnsonville Brat barbeque is the worlds largest and yes, I was the one of two cooks operating it, today. (and tomorrow, and every day this week)

I thought I might be a team of 8 or 10 to cook the brats, but nooooo. 6 hours of cooking and no breaks. Bob, my cooking partner, and I grilled 1200 brats today. That's my new record. We also grilled about 100-200 cheesy brats in addition.

The Johnsonville rep and truck driver was there the first hour to lift the lid (huge hydraulics) and fire it up. He gave me a few minutes of instructions and said...."go for it".

This grill is impressive. It has 4 grills on it each of which are about 6' wide by 3' deep. We only used one of them today. One grill, 1200 brats.

The grill uses propane and there is a huge tank located behind the grills. It has a huge fridge to keep the brats cold and holds about 1000 brats.

It has 4 sinks, three of which are used to sanitize the utensils, and one for washing your hands.

It has at least 2 large steam tables to keep the brats warm after they're cooked.

I was happy to receive an official Johnsonville apron and tee shirt from the driver. (I'll remember his name tomorrow)

The cooks stand on a stainless steel deck that extends the length of the trailer, 40 feet. It has a smaller observation deck so that the curious can gander at this masterpiece.

On top of all that, a fantastic airshow happens each day at 3pm and the roar of the engines is quite deafening. Pics of planes will appear later this week.

I'm absolutely beat, bedtime for bonzo! After the CMA awards.

And the last of July 21, 2007

In this series, I tried to capture some humor. Should be self-explanatory. For those that are wondering, the beer was a really nice Amber Ale from Rowlands Brewere in Chilton. Ollie, their dog even approved it.

Yet still more of July 21, 2007

This set of photos are what I label "Art". Ok, it's my attempt to take some really cool pictures. All of these were taken early on Saturday morning. The neighbors raise elk, and I got as close as I could before they ran off and laughed. Enjoy.

More July 21, 2007

Moving on to the group photos, you have many of Sharon's sisters in these pics. I also didn't finish my story of why this gathering. The Stenz family has an investment group that gets together about once a month. Dan & Carol agreed to host this one, and some of the food was even provided by their broker. (I like this investment group, they like to have fun at their meetings)

July 21, 2007

What a weekend! The location was the country home of Dan & Carol Stenz, one of Sharon's brothers. The food was great and plentiful, the company was wonderful, and the beer was cold, just ask Ollie, their dog.

There motorhomes, vans, tent campers, tents and sleeping bags strewn over the beautiful park-like setting. I'm not sure of the total number of funsters, but at one time there had to be almost 30. All ages, from 4 to 40 (plus some).

Tons of dingle-ball challenges, four-wheeling, campfires, grilling, and even some bike riding.

I've tried to capture some of the highlights, but this was difficult, there were many.

Let me start with the RV's.... note the fantastic garden in one of the pics.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is aviation’s family reunion and seven days of aviation’s best!
There’s an opening day concert by the incomparable Beach Boys, daily world-class air shows, nightly outdoor screenings of the best aviation films, all-star speakers at Theater in the Woods, hundreds of workshops and forums, over 800 exhibitors, and the popular KidVenture area for youngsters.
See the amazing F-22 Raptors, the U-2 spyplane and many other military aircraft; celebrate milestone anniversaries of Beechcraft, the Bonanza, and the U.S. Air Force; get up-close to the Goodyear Blimp; see Warbirds fill the sky; reminisce in the Vintage Aircraft area; learn about building your own airplane; get swept up in the sport pilot movement; or light the spark at the Learn to Fly Center.
AirVenture is calling you! There’s more than you can see in just one day… or two… or three…
That was one small piece out of the EAA website. It is a huge event. With over 100,000 in attendance each day and an expected million plus people for the week, it is the largest airshow in the world. Not just Wisconsin, not just the USA, but the world. That’s big.
However, want to know what’s even bigger?
I stopped by the Top of the Ledge (my current address) lodge last night and announced that I had some bad news. With a sad look on their faces, the owners asked “what happened?” My response:
I got a job! No way! That is horrible news. In fact, it’s true. So here’s what happened just prior to this tragedy. (coffee break)
I’ve always been interested in attending this huge EAA show held in Oshkosh. (hence the brief introduction to it) Last Sunday afternoon, before Pete and Sharon took me out to a fantastic birthday dinner, I was reading the Sunday paper. (classified section, of course) Pete mentioned that he saw an ad for the need for EAA workers, and the light went on. (ok, rarely a bright light, but nonetheless a light) Applications were going to be accepted at the Oshkosh American Legion club on Tuesday, and that is where you could have found me that morning.
After completing the short application, an interview was given. It has been almost 30 years since I’ve interviewed for a job, but I wasn’t worried about this one. The guy laughed when he saw my previous job and salary and then asked if I liked to grill bratwurst. Sure! “I’ve got the job for you!” He said the second most photographed item at the EAA show, of course besides the airplanes, was the huge Johnsonville Bratwurst semi-trailer located right in the middle of the EAA grounds. You guessed it! I will be working on that trailer for 7 days. Not a long term job, but I never said it was. But a job. The cool thing is that I get to attend the show, every day. (a week-long pass to the show is almost $200 this year) I suspect that I will also have my fill of this fine Wisconsin culinary treat. I also learned of their dress code of no sandals, no shorts, no hats, and no tee-shirts. Besides a tuxedo, that’s all I own. So… I’m off to Wally World to update my wardrobe.
To those that have never heard about the EAA, just google it. They have a great website. Of course I will post some pictures during and after this huge event.
Hint for Jamie & David, take note of this asset vs. liability strategy.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

With my extremely busy schedule, I forgot to post my pictures from the July 4th celebration that I, Pete, and Sharon attended. Cedar Lodge, my favorite restaurant in the Midwest, is owned by Dale and Candi, fanatstic people. (shown relaxing on a double lounge chair) Their daughter, Kellen, and recent son-in-law, Casey, hosted the 4th at their beautiful property overlooking Lake Winnebago.

The sunset was gorgeous that night and we enjoyed fantastic views of the pyrotechnic shows from Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, and Neenah (Wisconsin) all at the same time. The private fireworks were pretty cool also.

Good food, cold keg beer, and great company were all ingredients of a recipe for a good time.

Warning, the one photo looks like a small nuclear explosion over Oshkosh. It wasn't.