Daytrip: Dayton, Ohio

Our family loves daytrips, weekend trips, and traveling of all sorts. We've always tried to fit in day trips here and there over the years whether it was a drive through the mountains, a hike, a picnic, exploring nearby cities, etc. We love spending our time together finding new places.

This past weekend was no different. We decided on a whim to drive to Dayton, Ohio to visit the Wright Brothers Museum and The Wright Cycle Company. So, after running some errands and visiting another great place (for a later post), we headed to Dayton.

The original cycle company of the Wright Brothers

We only had two hours to spend because we got to the Wright Brothers Museum around 3 and they close at 5 right now. However, it was the perfect amount of time to go through the museum and visit the cycle shop next door.

When we arrived, we were greeted by friendly, informative staff members who gave us an overall idea of the museum and where to start. The first thing we did was watch the 30 minute video on how the Wright brothers got started and how they endured failure after failure and then small successes here and there to become the very first people to fly an airplane. It was fascinating and inspiring and I was amazed at how they never gave up. They both lived to see their dream become reality. Little did they know just how far their invention and dreams would go. Orville actually lived to see interstate flights, then WWII planes and the great advantage planes were to the war. He also saw passenger flight become reality in the States and even internationally. Then, he witnessed NASA's aerospace flights before he died. It must have blown his mind!

A replica of the grocery they used to shop at.

Did you know the Wright brothers started out in the printing business and then owned a cycling shop? Their original bike shop building is still there and you can go inside it where it has been recreated on the inside to look like what they think it may have looked like back in the day. There is only one picture of the shop from its glory days and in that picture, the building was in the background of a picture of a lady holding kittens. Historians took the photo and used the picture to recreate the facade of the actual building. The family lived just around the corner from the shop.

 Upstairs is a parachute exhibit. Pretty cool!

We are fascinated by the Wright brothers mainly because aviation is a big part of our family due to my husband's job. We have visited Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk, NC where they did some test flights of their planes. There is a monument built there, as well as, a museum documenting their time in NC.

If you have a chance to visit Dayton, Ohio, I'd definitely recommend this inspiring little museum and cycle shop. You can also visit a couple other locations like the air field where they did their many trial runs on a few of their prototypes. There are tours available and we hope to go back very soon to see the sights we missed this time!

Day Trip Destination: Asheville, NC

This is the time of year where I start itching to go on day trips/weekend trips. I don't know about you, but Spring does that to me. Beautiful weather - not too cold and not too hot; sunny days, flip flops. Yep, I'm ready to pack up and go somewhere! Thankfully, I'm married to a man that loves doing this, too. Now, if we can just get the kids to love it as much as we do...

Several weeks ago, we visited one of our favorite places to go in Asheville. Besides the Biltmore Estates, the Tobacco Barn Antiques is one of our favorite places to go. We usually visit a few times a year. Depending on your mood (or how many kids you have with you), you can spend quite awhile in this place just looking around at all the treasures it has to offer.

 I love these colored metal letters! Haven't bought one yet, but one day I will have just the right place for one of these!

They have just about everything here. Antiques, vintage, retro stuff, glass, metal, wood, furniture, shelving, decor, pictures, and the list goes on and on and on. Really unbelievable what you might find there. I love going just to look around. It's so much fun!

These are the hours they are open. If you haven't been yet, and love a good treasure hunt, go visit them! You will not be disappointed. *TIP: Take a jacket with you, it gets a little chilly in this huge warehouse*

Visit their website for more information and directions!

*This is NOT a sponsored post. Just wanted you to experience this fun place!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, Monday {Making Memories}

Life gets to be so daily sometimes and it's always nice to step away from the mundane tasks of life and spend real, quality time together as a family. Making memories is important! I want my girls to grow up and be able to look back at their childhood as having lots of fun times together as a family. I want them to view family the way I do - that apart from their relationship with God, their family relationships are the most important ones and these relationships need to be cultivated and protected. We love to take day trips or just drive around on beautiful, sunny days and this weekend we had a couple of gorgeous days. We didn't have a lot of time so we decided to stay kind of close to home and drove about an hour away to Cowpens, SC. My 9 year old is a history buff. She loves everything that has to do with history, especially when it comes to American History. I love that she soaks in every detail down to specific dates and names of people and battles, etc. She's just like her dad in that area. We've lived in this area her whole life and have driven past the sign for Cowpens Battlefield many times and just never have taken the time to visit it. Much to our surprise, there is a visitor's center, a walking trail, a driving trail, and lots of info about this significant battlefield. We had a great time together and my big girl was in her element! I'm pretty sure she'll never forget our little trip to Cowpens Battlefield.

We had to stop at every sign and read all about everything.

These two enjoyed hanging out the window while riding around the trail.

Standing in the footprints of a real Revolutionary Soldier.

Learning to shoot a wooden gun.

Thousands of peach trees blossoming! Beautiful sight!

Getting windblown. Lots of laughs.

Exhausted from a few fun hours of family fun.

What's your favorite day trip?