National Museum of the USAF visit

Happy Monday evening! I hope you all had a good weekend and previous week! We had a HOT, HOT, HOT week and part of the weekend and we were also super busy with life and getting in a few last minute activities before school starts again this week! 

On Thursday, we actually had a family day. Bill was off work, I didn't have to babysit, and the kids were still on break. We decided to get out and do something as a family. Originally we were going to go to Columbus and spend the day at the Columbus Zoo, however Mother Nature had other plans. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we were supposed to have very high humidity and very high temperatures with real feel temperatures of over 100 degrees. So, we went with a back up plan which turned out to be really fun!

 

We headed to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It was a little over 2 hours to get there. Admission and parking are FREE! It is a huge museum with 4 hangers (which are all inside and air-conditioned) full of aircrafts and exhibits from throughout history. The kids and I had never been there and Bill said he was 11 years old the last time he was there. When we went in, the attendant suggested that we start at the back hangar and work our way back to the front. So that is what we did. 

We were able to see the very first Air Force One. We were able to walk through the Presidential plane that carried JFK's body and were Johnson was sworn in. It was really kind of awe-inspiring to see.

 

I was very impressed with the amount of plane art that they had on display. 

They had a space exhibit set up with rockets and other items from space craft that was really cool to see. The kids got to touch a meteorite and see a space rock.

 

Bill said his favorites were the SR71 blackbird and Air Force One. 

The kids really liked the different planes too, even if they didn't necessarily understand the historical significance of them. They loved being able to walk through a few of the planes and sit in a cockpit! 

We did end up eating lunch in their cafe as you were not allowed to bring in outside food or drinks. It was a bit pricey for what they had, but it worked for our needs. 

We spent several hours inside the museum. Thankfully, throughout the museum there were plenty of areas that had chairs where you could sit and rest. I only had to sit down 2 times even though there was a ton of walking.

When we left, we could have explored the outside grounds where they have memorials set up, etc. but it was way too hot. When we left our van read 100 degrees, and real feel outside the museum was 109 degrees! It was so humid! Originally, I had thought we would stop at a nearby dairy to feed some goats and have ice cream, but it was honestly too hot and too humid out. I cannot deal with the heat very well anymore due to my heart issues so I was perfectly okay with just coming home and not doing anything else that day. 

Overall, it was a really nice day and a great day to spend with the family learning about history and seeing some very interesting planes, even for someone who is not really into history or planes ;) 

Have you ever been to the National Museum of the USAF? What is your favorite kind of plane?