Museum trip!

Today, a friend and I went over to Dayton to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

There is a special place in my heart for this museum. For about four years when I was growing up, we lived in the Dayton area. That means we went to the United States Air Force Museum many times. This was back before the name changed and there were only two hangars. When we moved from the area, we didn’t go as often since it would be quite the trip.

Way back when we first went, my parents bought my sister and I metal pencil sharpeners that looked like fighter jets. Mine was a F-16. I always think of that pencil sharpener when I see the plane.

A couple of years ago, I decided to go. So much had changed since my last visit. The name had changed and a third hangar and a space/missile ‘silo’ had been added. I’m not sure, but it’s possible the Presidential and R&D Galleries weren’t accessible before then either. Or my parents decided it wasn’t worth trying to take us out. Either way, the changes were many but cool.

Evidently it had been over ten years since my friend had gone, so the changes were new to him. But it’s not like the museum was exactly the same as when I was last there either. They had moved some planes, some coming down to rest on the floor, some being hung from the ceiling. It was as much fun as always.

But this time I realized something. I always start out in the Early Years gallery and go chronologically forward. I think I know why. It’s not just wanting to see things chronologically. It’s that I feel more of a sense of history there and it slowly fades as I go through to the newer planes.

I admit, though, some of the more advanced planes are really cool to look at. It’s probably also partially due to the fact that by the time I get to the Cold War gallery, I’ve seen so many already, I might be a little burnt out.

Either way, I love going through that museum. And it’s not just the planes, there are so many other exhibits. So many artifacts and tools and uniforms. They really help to tell the story of the planes, the men and women who served, and the history of the Air Force. I love it!

I can’t wait for next year when the new hangar opens. It will be so nice to be able to spend as much time as I want to with the Presidential planes. Granted just being near those planes and the history they hold is an amazing feeling. But knowing there’s no ticking clock to get back to the museum will make it even better.

Lesson learned

Usually if I have a road trip by myself, I save some vacation time by heading out right from work. The result? An exhausted me collapsing at my destination somewhere after midnight but before dawn.

No more.

I don’t know why it took me this long to get to this point, but I have come to my senses. For our second honeymoon, we left in the morning after a good night sleep. Our plan was to drive the whole way in one go. About two hours away from our destination, we decided to get a hotel room and sleep. Wonderful idea! We decided we would do the opposite on the way back. We drive about two hours at night, slept overnight at a hotel, and drive home in the morning. Brilliant!

Taking an extra day to travel will make things so much better. I’m glad I figured this out now. The drive to Gallaudet is around 8 hours. Leaving in the morning and arriving in the evening will work so much better. Driving out to my sister’s will be better too. Driving 13 hours after a full day of work was not smart.

I’m really looking forward to road trips again.

Road Trip

I just had a “duh” moment.

At the beginning of October, I’m planning to drive out to Omaha to visit my sister. It’s a little over a 13-hour drive from Ohio, and that’s without stops. I was trying to figure out what I could take with me to eat and snack on so I would be able to avoid those fast-food places. Then the “duh” moment happened. I’m planning to stop at least once an hour to stretch, use the restroom, and try to stay awake. Why not take advantage of this and fit a little snack in? This way I only have to pack food that can travel well instead of also worrying about food that I can eat while driving. There are points where I’m going to be tired anyway. Why add eating on top of driving, needing to pee, and being thirsty?

German Village 2010

Where I work, we get to take our birthday off as a personal day. I decided to spend mine in German Village. It was founded back in the early 1800s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 1974. I had been wanting to spend the day there and learn more about it. So I went straight to the German Village Meeting Haus to pick up a copy of the walking tour guide. I also stuck around to watch a video about the history of the area. It’s really good.

From there I started through the walking tour. They have three different paths through the village. I took all three over the course of the day. The place just oozes history and community. I didn’t feel like I was just south of downtown Columbus.

There were so many sights like this. It makes me want to move right in!

There are lots of houses with long histories. So many are the original homes built in the area. Some are the small cottages built by the blue collar of the community.

***

I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch, but he ended up oversleeping, so I had lunch by myself. It was at Schmidt’s Restaurant und Sausage Haus. You may have heard of them if you watch Man v. Food. I had the wonderful Autobahn lunch buffet. All you can eat sausages, bratwurst, saurkraut, and other wonderful, German sides. How can I pass that up? Oh, have I mentioned that half of my ancestors are German? 🙂

Schmidt’s Restaurant und Sausage Haus: the most amazing German food I've had here in the US!

The third tour route ends up at Schiller Park. It’s a beautiful park that’s surrounded by some of the older homes of the village. These homes, however, were built by the rich of the community. In the park are some amazing gardens, beautiful statues, and an outdoor stage where they have Shakespeare in the summer, for free.

The main entrance to the park.

One of the beautiful gardens that happens to lead up to the statue of Friedrich von Schiller.

One of the many houses around Schiller Park.

It was a wonderful day. I’m thinking of doing it again sometime. I took a ton of pictures, which are over here. I’ll be adding info to the pictures as I remember it. There were so many beautiful places and sights. It was so much fun!

A week of revelations

This week has been full of revelations about myself and how I’m viewing life.

One revelation was that I am only one person and can only get so much done. At work I have many responsibilities, some of which can’t get ignored because they allow others to be done. I finally realized that while it all does need to be done, I can only do so much. So now I simply focus on getting what can be done and what needs immediate attention. It’s allowed me to get things done and be much more relaxed when I go home.
I’m thankful for realizing that I’m only one person.

The next two both came while I was reading Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes. I love reading her books, especially her Tuscany books. She is the author of Under the Tuscany Sun, it’s sequel Bella Tuscany, A Year in the World, and a few others that I haven’t read. Every time I read any of the Tuscany books and how much Bramasole means to her, it makes me long for a house of my own that I can put my own work into. This week I realized that what I really long for is a home, which I already have. While my husband and I can’t do anything permanent to the apartment, we can put our own stamp on it and really make it our own. Our friends have said that it feels like us already, and we don’t have anything up on the walls yet! I think that’s the thing I’m really wanting; to finish making our apartment our home.
The other revelation was when I was reading about her travels around Italy. The places she goes to are just amazing and full of history. Then I realized, I’m not living in some historical wasteland. Ohio is full of rich history. I started to look more seriously into museums and historical sites here in Ohio. So I’m going to start working on going somewhere at least once a month. I’ll probably even start writing about my travels here! 🙂
I’m thankful for Every Day in Tuscany, because it reminded what I already have and inspired me to carpe diem!

My last revelation of the week was in regards to my blogging. I have five different blogs for different aspects of my life. I realized that while I do need to try to write more, I shouldn’t force it. Once I realized that, the words started flowing. I wrote quite the post over at The Green Geek yesterday and got two more ready for the week. It’s amazing how removing pressure increases the flow!
I’m thankful for realizing I don’t have to be writing posts like mad. I just need to write.

Hopefully these revelations will help me to have an increasingly wonderful week! Have a great week!