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!

Summer Vacation {Boston, part 2}

There is so much to do in Boston that I cannot possibly post it all in two blog posts, but here's a small glimpse into our 2nd day in Boston. It's such a fun city to explore with something for everyone. I love how much American history is there and how family friendly it is. It's definitely a city I recommend either as a vacation spot, a long weekend or even a day trip. Go visit!
Our second day was a full day. We started it by visiting the U.S.S. Constitution as I posted here. Then, we headed over to Old North Church on the Freedom Trail. We had 5 kids with us and really didn't have time to walk the entire Freedom Trail, but if you have more than one day in Boston, I highly recommend you walk the Freedom Trail. Here's a view of it.

We decided to hit a few of the highlights by walking some and then taking the T to others. I walked the whole trail years ago and it's really fun and informational.

The midnight ride of Paul Revere has always intrigued me, so walking the route that he took on his midnight ride was pretty cool. My daughter thought it was awesome. There's just so much history there!

Be sure to take a walk through Little Italy while you're downtown. It's really cute with pretty store fronts and a wonderful aroma! You'll love walking through.

The Boston Common is like the Central Park of NYC. I love it. There's a great walking path, many benches, fountains and you can sit and relax or people watch. You have to ride the Swan Boats ($3) while you're there and experience that fun. Visit the Make Way for Ducklings statues and pick up a copy of the book while you're at it. I could have spent a couple of hours in the Boston Common.
We had a fabulous time in Boston! Next time, we'll plan to spend a little more time. There's so much more to see and do.

I'm sharing this with some of these friends.

Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Vacation {Boston}

As I mentioned here, we recently returned from a great family road trip and I'm finally able to weed through some of the pics. Our first destination was Boston. My husband grew up in the Boston area and we'd been wanting to take our kids for a stroll down memory lane and to show our oldest some of the great, historical places she's already learned about in school. She's our history lover and Boston was a highlight of the trip for her!
Our first big site when entering Boston was a quick view of Fenway Park. Home of the Boston Red Sox. {Our favorite baseball team, of course!}

After finding a parking spot {which wasn't too hard considering it was a Friday night at dinner time}, we meandered on down to Faneuil Hall, but not before passing the Old State House where just outside its doors in 1770 the Boston Massacre occurred. My 5 year old loved the golden unicorn that stands on top of the building. She's not all that into history, yet.

{Faneuil Hall in the evening}

{Faneuil Hall Marketplace}

{Inside Faneuil Hall the next day. This is where town meetings would be held.}

The next place we went after watching some street performers and waiting on the rest of our party to arrive was Durgin Park. It's a yummy restaurant that's been around for a long time. It's one of the places we look forward to going when we're in Boston. Definitely stop and have a bite to eat when you're in town! I recommend the Yankee Pot Roast.

 {Located in Faneuil Hall Marketplace}

 {Inside Durgin Park}

It was late when we left Durgin Park so we called it a night and got up early the next morning to do most of our sightseeing. After catching the T, we rode into Boston to spend the day hitting a few of the sites we could see since it was our only full day to spend there. First stop, ferry ride to see the U.S.S. Constitution.

{It was probably the hottest day of the year in Boston that day. We were all dying from the heat, but still had a great time!}

{The U.S.S. Constitution - still a commissioned vessel in the Navy}



You can tour the ship for free, but do not ring the brass bell on board. That's reserved for officers entering/leaving the ship. We were not able to tour the bottom level because of the heat that day. It's still a beautiful sight to see.

Don't forget to stop by the museum, too!

 

More on Boston later! There's just so much to see and do in Boston. If you ever get the chance to visit, do! You won't be disappointed.

 

Sharing with some of these friends.

 

Thank you for stopping by!

 

Summer Vacation {a road trip}

Just got back from a wonderful vacation full of adventure! I can't wait to share some of the highlights with you, but for now enjoy a little taste of our vacation. We had a beautiful view of God's creation...

 saw the most beautiful, clear lake water I've ever set foot in...

 swimming...

 relaxing in the great outdoors...

 kayaking...

 and great times with cousins...

We spent a week with my husband's side of the family at Square Pond in Maine. It was a great road trip with adventure and memory-making all along the way. There is so much beauty in that part of the country! All of you should visit!!

Thanks for stopping by! More on great places to visit in New England coming soon...