Tuesday, August 06, 2013

Mid-vacation report

Halfway through the vacation; a few things to report.

  • We've seen a fair amount of Kentucky-related news on this trip and it's obvious that the long knives are out for Mitch McConnell. I don't know if he'll prevail, but if he's going back to the Senate, he'll have earned it. His likely Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, is not exactly a dynamo, but she'll clearly have a lot of money behind her; attack ads against McConnell are already running continuously on Louisville television stations.
  • Louisville is a great town. We really enjoyed it a lot. Easy to get around and a lot to see and do. The view from the Indiana side of the Ohio River is pretty breathtaking, too.
  • If you get a chance, make sure you go see the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. We spent over two hours there and didn't see half of the good stuff. An amazing collection of aircraft and some really interesting historical tidbits about the early days of aviation. If you look at some of the early aircraft on display there, you realize just how brave (or foolhardy) the early aviators were.
More soon!

8 comments:

Brian said...

One of my earliest memories of travel is of visiting that museum in Dayton, probably c. 1980 or so. It definitely left an impression.

When I went to the Museum of Flight in Seattle just a couple of years ago,my favorite part was the mockup of one of the original production shops, which included cutaways of early planes.

You could certainly tell the Wrights were bike mechanics.

Gerry said...

Good old Wright Patterson AFB. It's a great place, I've been there twice. Once when I was a kid and once later in life with our beloved Aunt Pat. I can only imagine how many times Aunt Pat had been there -- but she soldiered through for her nieces and nephews.

I hope you snuck in some Buchwalder time...

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

@Brian -- they certainly were bike mechanics, they were also a bit loony to try it...

Gino said...

KY: one of my goals is to hit the Bourbon Trail, staggering if need be.

Mr. D said...

Gerry, we did see Mary and the girls for lunch while we were there; unfortunately, Mark wasn't available. We had a very nice visit.

Gino,

We saw the Bourbon Trail, but with the kids in tow we thought better of it. If you ever go, bring me with you!

3john2 said...

I first visited the Air Force Museum with my Scout pack back in '68 or '69. It was a cool place, and the first time my parents let me be responsible with the little Hawkeye instamatic camera.

Bike Bubba said...

Not only can you tell that the Wright brothers were bicycle mechanics, but the technologies used for airframe design are still the same basic ones used for bicycle design, like solder brazing, monocoque construction, and carbon fiber.

Thankfully my Trek does not have too many lithium ion batteries from the same guys doing the batteries for the Dreamliner, though. :^)

And I bet that biking might be a great way to see the Bourbon trail.

Gino said...

drunk biking? sounds too much like exercise. exercise = work without pay check. better take a cab...

Bike Bubba said...

I was thinking that you'd do well to sober up a touch before hitting the saddle, actually. You can actually get a DUI for drunk biking in most states. :^)

Regarding exercise without pay, isn't that called the "annual deer hunt"?