Aim High with the Air Force

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was bitterly cold and gray. Our truck needed a tune up and had to go into the terminal outside of Dayton Ohio. We had time to kill and luckily the husband of my friend, Diana of the Lake of Shining Water, had suggested we explore the National Museum of the US Airforce. It was wonderful!


This free museum was not only fascinating, but it was also beautifully arranged! Like a well placed flower in a vase, each plane has been placed close enough to one another to strike one with a sense of awe and yet each plane stands out individually as though it were a piece mechanical art.

Each gleaming plane caused me to marvel at its beauty and imagine the horror that must have stopped the hearts of those who fled from the airstrikes many of these plane took part in.

It was easy to imagine the GIs who cared for and flew these planes to protect their country, trusting in the plane to bring them home safely.

We walked through one of the planes and I had to pause to smell it. Paul thought I was crazy, but tears were in my eyes as my mind recognized the smell. The smell of aged leather immediately reminded me of my Grandfather (my Dad's father). I never realized that the my Grandpa smelled like old WWII airplane, but I think he would have liked to know that my mind connected that smell with my memories.

My Grandpa Brindle was a wonderful man who taught me to jump rope as a little girl. He had been a soldier in World War II and had owned his own plane. After he passed away I kept his very large flannel jacket to wear around the house, because that soft fabric smelled like that special man. His scent has long faded from the jacket, but standing in that plane I felt the closeness of my Grandpa.

The museum holds over 450 airplane and numerous artifacts from early air ballons to modern space exploration. We only had time to make it through the first three of four massive air hangers. Their galleries include Early Years, Air Power, Modern Flight, Cold War, Missile & Space, Presidential, and Research and Development. They also have multiple smaller exhibits.

There is a lovely picnic area outside with monuments. An airstrip with a handful of planes outside. They even have an Imax theater (not free), a cafe and a surprisingly large giftshop with truly interesting books, dvds, music, artwork and models.

What little boy (or big boy!) wouldn't love to check out a stealth plane like this??? :D

If ever in Dayton, I HIGHLY recommend a visit! Of all the museums and sights we've seen while travelling these past two years, this was one of my favorites!

Can you guess???

Here is a teaser for my next post. We spent MLK Day here...

Can you guess where we were???

Here is a clue- It was FREE! :)

And my hubby liked it a lot even though I had to twist his arm to take me!

Dedicated to Road Runner, Boy Wonder and Norm

Last weekend we spent a fabulous 15 hours in the sandy duned village of Avon, NC with several members of our "Eternal Song" family. My husband, Paul, or as he is know in some circles, "Gecko", and I live the somewhat bizarre and always interesting life of truckers. Long weeks driving over the road make our time with friends and family a special blessing. This visit was nothing short of a miracle!

We were supposed to have traveled from Indiana to North Carolina on Tuesday of that week. Instead, the trucking company sent us from Indiana to Illinios to Ohio to four different locations in Tennessee. From Tennessee we were sent to deliver a load in Virginia. And finally, on FRIDAY morning we left Virginia and began the three hundred mile trek to Avon. We were so anxious to be with the rest of my husband's brothers and their families at the beautiful beach house in Avon that we could hardly sit still!

The drive to the Outer Banks of North Carolina was a welcome sight for eyes that hadn't seen sandy coastal beaches in far too long. Over the dunes we would catch peeks of kite boarders gliding over the waves. Sand blew across the road in serpentine movements and large beaked pelicans flew by with their smaller sea gull cousins close at hand. It was heavenly!

We made a quick stop in Rodanthe for caffeine. The bottle of homemade rootbeer that Paul bought me was so good! I would love to try making and bottling my on soda someday.

After having seen the movie based of Nicholas Sparks book Nights in Rodanthe, I did hope to see the house from the movie. With little time and so many tall sea side mansions, I couldn't pick out the house, but I did fall in love with almost every house I spotted! Paul has always wanted to live in a tree house and he agreed that the tall porch bedecked houses were the next best thing.

It was nearly 5pm when we pulled up to "Island Time" and backed the cab of our truck into the drive. We made our way up the stairs to the first deck and found Paul's brothers in the hot tub. At last, the brothers were reunited and we all were free to relax! While the boys did the "manly bonding" we women enjoyed catching up and cuddling the babies.

We hadn't all been together since Road Runner's wedding in the fall of 2007. Now he and his wife have the sweetest little boy. Boy Wonder and his wife were there as well with their handsome little leprechaun and a new little bun in the oven. Norm had brought a friend whom I discovered was another kindred spirit. Gecko and I were so happy to be surrounded by dear family and friends and immediately jumped in to catching up on all we'd missed out on.

Earlier in the day, the residents of "Island Time" had tried their hand at crabbing. The result of which was a feast of four dozen fresh crabs. How many had been caught and how many were purchased from "Red Lion" (or was it Risky Business)? I'll never tell. What I will say is that the Crabber of the Day Award went to Boy Wonder. His crabs were by far the best. Yes, the sunburn was well worth it.

Not only does Boy Wonder have a knack for catching the tasty little monsters, but he is also an excellent teacher on how to eat them. He gave use all instruction on Crab Eating 101. Mrs. Road Runner was less than impressed by the amount of food and the "mustard" that it came with. Norm's friend was also on less than good terms with the crustaceans. This was lucky for the rest of us since we were still able to down 46 crabs without much help from the two of them. Only two crabs were left after the several hour feast.

We played a rousing game of a dominoes called PDA (whose turn is it?) while swapping stories of life, love and the pursuit of happiness. Gecko and I shared stories of life on the road that amused everyone so much that they encouraged me to start a blog. It is to them and their wonderful families that I dedicate this entry to.

The evening flew by far too quickly. And morning came even more quickly. Before we knew it everyone had left for the airport and Paul (seperated from his brothers, Gecko had once again returned to being Paul) and I were left to wander the beach on our own. Road Runner's son had left us a special gift in our truck to remember our time together. Many, MANY thanks!

In a novel-like euphoria, Paul and I wandered the beach hand-in-hand searching for shells and tiny sand crabs. We soaked the bottom of our jeans as we chased waves in and out and snapped pictures. Here was yet another chance to discover the awesomeness of God's creation while appreciating the joy of spending your life dedicated to one wonderful person.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around. Paul was as happy as a boy in a toy store (ha!ha!) when we went to Kitty Hawk Kites. He had the look in his eye of a child on Christmas morning! It was one of the most fun stores I've been in in years. I've never seen so many different kite designs. I personally added the Wright Bros. Plane kite to my own Christmas wish list.

There is a winding staircase on the outside of the building that leads up to an observation deck where you can watch people learning to hang glide and kite surf across the street on the dunes of Jockey Ridge park. From the observation deck there was an enormous goofy nylon cow flapping in the wind. The cow was interesting. The view was great.

After wandering around Jockey Ridge's dunes and taking picture by what remains of a mini-golf castle that was taken over by the dunes, we drove to the Wright Brothers National Monument. Paul is not the type of person whose attention can be held by museums exhibits, but he was captivated. Compared to most museums, the Wright Brothers little museum is rather small, but for an airplane enthusiast, it is quite interesting. I would especially recommend the 30 minute video they show about the development of the Wright Brothers original planes. There was also a fun collection of metal figures on the back side of the monument. This was a perfect photo spot. Kids had climbed all over the metal version of the Wright Bros. plane and parents were snapping pictures. Paul and I posed for a few of our own fun pictures.

After only 24 hours on the Outer Banks we were worn out and decided to call it an early night. We picked up pizza and a movie and settled in for some R&R. The perfect way to end a perfect weekend!

God bless the Brothers of the Eternal Song!