Wrights, Taft, and Art

 

Our first stop yesterday morning was the Dayton Aviation NHP. We spent about one hour in the museum during which time the kids earned a junior ranger badge, and then a ranger gave us a 30 minute tour of the Wright Cycle Company building. We *thought* the bikes we owned were "ordinary" bikes, but actually they are "safety" bikes. None of us were interested in riding what is truly an "ordinary" bike! Paul drove from Dayton to Cincinnati so that I could make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while we drove. I brought two loaves of bread, a jar of marmalade, jar of grape jelly, and a jar of peanut butter from home. We ate our lunch and listened to more of a biography about Thomas Edison while we drove. 

Our second stop was the home of President Taft. The house was open, but the rangers weren't giving guided tours. The kids earned another Junior Ranger badge at that site. There were two park rangers there - one named Jeanette (my sister's middle name) and the other's name was Ruth! I chatted with her about how rare it is to meet someone with the name of Ruth from our generation. Almost every time I've met

another Ruth, she's been from a generation older than me. 

Our third stop was the Cincinnati Art Museum. I had gotten (free) tickets for 3:00. On Thursday we were running behind schedule, but yesterday we actually were ahead of schedule as we showed up at the museum at 2:00. Thankfully that wasn't a problem. Our first stop was the hands-on room where the kids were able to do an art project. Then we walked around the museum. The only other art museum the kids have been in prior to this was the Rockwell Museum in Corning, NY, which is a very small art museum. We had planned to visit a large art museum in Chicago this past April, but that trip was cancelled. I was impressed with how many hands-on stations they had throughout the Cincinnati Art Museum, but they had all of them closed due to COVID. Although I don't think my kids would naturally get excited about visiting an art museum, I think they all had a fine time. I was thinking of Susie (my niece who is an excellent artist) and also of my brother Maurice when we were in the ancient art part of the museum. Both of them would have loved to visit this museum with us. 

We've been eating the "grab and go" breakfasts that the hotels are providing, eating food I brought from home for our lunches, and using gift cards for dinner. Last night we had dinner at IHOP. I highly recommend the pumpkin spice pancakes!!! All of the sites we visited the past two days were free; there was one exhibit at the art museum that required a paid ticket, but we skipped that exhibit. The museums we're visiting today are definitely NOT free to visit. Aside from paying for gas for the van and one hotel room per night, our only other cost the past two days was the $5 parking we paid while we spent 2.5 hours enjoying the playgrounds and such along the Ohio River after dinner last night. The kids enjoyed it so much we're planning to return again after dinner at Texas Roadhouse tonight.