Not only is Dayton Ohio the "Cradle of Aviation" where the Wright Brothers developed their airplanes and controls...it's also the place of William's cradle as he was born here almost 10 years ago! Some of the rain we had in Chicago apparently followed us to Dayton, but at least we didn't have to track tornadoes here like we did in Chicago...just flood alerts in Dayton.
We were assigned here at Wright Patterson Air Force Base 10 years ago and I actually remembered a couple streets and turns from our old haunts. Lori caught a little cold and got some extra rest while the rest of us explored the Air Force Museum, played basketball and four-square at the gym and visited Wright Brothers locations. The kids earned another Junior Ranger Badge and this one was unique in that it was shaped like pilot's wings in honor of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Despite no aeronautical training or experience, Wilbur and Orville developed an amazing array of solutions for the "problem of flight." They were mainly bicycle builders but became enamored with flying. They built and used wind tunnels to develop usable wing shapes, plane designs and propeller shapes. Not content to merely get off the ground as they did at Kittyhawk, NC in 1903, they continued their innovations to be able to control their flights and eventually won a contract to build planes for the US Army in 1909. You can still walk around Huffman Field where Wilbur and Orville tested their new planes and flight controls much like it was 100 years ago.
One of our favorite places from 10 years ago was Young's Dairy and their fresh ice cream so we just HAD to stop by and refresh everyone's memory on the farm fresh ice cream....well worth the stop for some 'cow chip' ice cream! We also got to reconnect with the Edge family on their family farm and shared in some nicely BBQ'd shish-kabobs - thank you John Paul! Linking up with friends around the country has certainly been a blessing during our travels.