I am always trying to find fun, new things to do with my kids, especially during the summer. As much as they love to swim and play in the backyard and go to the park, it does get old after a while and let's face it - nobody wants to play outside when we are under an Excessive Heat Advisory. So trying to find something that A - appeals to all ages and genders and B - doesn't cost a small fortune can be a bit challenging.
And that's what best friends are for! Mine suggested taking the kids to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum. Why on earth haven't we thought of this before?! It is an easy 45-minute drive from our house and best of all, it is FREE! (Of course with the cost of gas these days I guess it's not 100% free, but its about as good as it gets folks.) So off we set on Wednesday morning with 6 kids, not really sure what to expect other than a bunch of airplanes.
Saying this was a "pleasant surprise" does not even do it justice. The whole thing was an awesome experience. For starters, the kids had a great time - not an easy task when you are dealing with boys AND girls, ranging in age from 1-9. They loved seeing the planes, reading about them and checking out some other small artifacts throughout the museum. And of course they wanted their picture taken in front of just about every aircraft we walked past.
The museum is set up in 3 hangars - we made it through about one and a half, from "The Early Years" through the Vietnam War. There were planes on the ground and planes in the sky - so much to see everywhere and so many different things I wanted to photograph. Unforunately it was not so easy when trying to keep up with a bunch of kids, but I did get some neat shots:
One day I would love to back sans-children and actually read and learn about some of the things I saw, like these:
And while there were planes, planes and more planes, there were also plenty of other things - TONS of other things - throughout that I would love to check out.
We convinced the kids to stop and look at a few but you know as well as I do that a large airplane right in front of you is much more appealing to a child than a piece of paper in a display case.
I think I could easily spend the entire day there, reading and learning and soaking it all in. Walking through there makes me realize how much I DON'T know and for that I feel guilty. My grandfathers fought in World War II, my father-in-law fought in Vietnam and while I know what I was taught in history class in school, there is so much more I am completely unaware of.
So in addition to the history lesson, I learned a few other things... 1) How to plan better for my next trip there with the kids because they really want to go back and see the things they missed. 2) I will need to find a babysitter so I can back sometime and see what I want to see. 3) Going forward I will do a much better job of seeking out the wonderful opportunities around me. What's that line from The Wizard of Oz? "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard..."
I think we should all come up sometime and take my Dad there! He would love going there!
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