15 - The Wright Brothers & Cousin, Dayton & Cincinnati, OH

THE PLACE WITH AN "O" IN IT:

As we left Chicago I wasn't sure what to expect from Ohio. For one thing I couldn't remember where we were heading, "Are we in Idaho, no, wait, Iowa, right?" Dave kept shaking his head wondering, "Isn't she she supposed to be the navigator?"...

WELCOME TO LEBANON, OH:

And you wonder why I get geographically confused when we keep staying at places that belong in other parts of the world?! To Lebanon's credit, it is a very pretty town with a lot of character.  Lebanon has just one main street of shops & services, the houses nearby are all well kept with well maintained lawns, nothing run down here in this town!  We selected Lebanon since it was conveniently situated between Dayton (home of the Wright Brother's museum) & Cincinnati (home of Dave's cousin Janice).

THE WRIGHT STUFF:

This takes kitplanes to a whole new level...would you want to fly this?

The Museum in Dayton puts on a great 30 min movie telling you about the lives of Wilbur & Orville. I learned they were enterprising printing press operators before owning 3 bicycle shops before pursuing their passion of conquering the air. It was interesting to learn about these type A personalities; self taught engineers, and human guinea pigs (piloting something no one had ever tried before). It was also a little sad to realize they spent every waking moment towards flight that there was no time for flight of fancy, (ie. romance).

One of many hangars at the museum

Near the Wright Brother's Museum is the Air Force Museum, one of the largest collections of aircraft from all eras. I think I would have appreciated it a little more if I hadn't spent the last 10 days in Oshkosh.  After 3 hrs, my saturation level for everything and anything aviation was spilling over...

My expression after 3 hrs....  :)

To balance things out a bit we did spend a day hiking through Caesar State Park and on one trail it led us to an old fashion town, called Pioneer Village. The waterfalls listed on the trail map were mere trickles, but at least it was tick free!



Pioneer Village in Caesar State Park, don't think Catalina cares for what Avril's eating!



HIGH FLYING COUSIN:

Ault Park, a beautiful place to picnic & for wedding pictures ...
which is what Janice's daughter Vanessa did in June!

We spent our last day in the area touring Cincinnati with Dave's cousin Janice who works for Delta Airlines. Janice rolled out the red carpet for us, taking us throughout the city, showing us the sights, then treating us to her gourmet cooking and prized margaritas - we'll be coming back for sure!!!

FAMILY TREE:

Family was on our menu this week and  since both Dave & Avril have family in the Toronto area we figure that will be our next destination as well as Dave visiting the place he was born, East of Toronto...way East - or should I say Est....Quebec!