While I don’t have much interest in aviation, I had wanted to see the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force for a while, but it never seemed to be a good time. Well, this year I figured it was time to catch up.
Short prep on Friday evening: water, soda, snacks, sandwiches, and a cooler; take off Saturday morning at 7:00. It is a short three-hour drive to Dayton, and we started at the Wright Brothers museum – a good place to appreciate where it all started and what was to come. The Wright brothers first flew on December 17, 1903, and the first moon landing took place on July 20, 1969 – that is a stunning 65 years between. Just think about that for a moment: in one lifetime, humanity went from learning to fly to traveling beyond Earth. Truly stunning.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is huge, and by all rights it deserves several hours by itself. Luckily, I had family with me whose enthusiasm evaporated sometime between the first and second hangar. So, we – as a team – managed to cover the entire museum in a couple of hours. Once again, it is stunning to see basic wooden airplanes with multiple wings and engines mounted on top, only to realize that in a short 36 years, jet airplanes started to fly. While I managed to see all four hangars, the gift shop was cut short when a fire alarm sounded and the entire museum got evacuated.
We wanted to go see 2nd Street Market, but it was too late and it was closing. So were the Dayton Art Institute and Carillon Historical Park. That’s the catch with day trips: Saturday is the only day, and there are no long hours. But there was one more place that was open and I wanted to visit – Buc-ee’s.
I’ve been to a few gas stations in North America, and typically it is not a destination you are looking forward to. Not Buc-ee’s. It was something different. In my case, the dead giveaway was people hanging out in the parking lot, lawn chairs out, and a really clean area outside and inside. Yes, the sandwiches are good, the shop is entertaining – and feels a bit overpriced on some items – but the atmosphere is friendly and inviting. And while it is crazy busy, it is somehow relaxing. It is surprising how someone managed to make a gas station into a destination, but they did, and I would visit it again.