The Right Stuff at Wright-Patt

(Dayton, OH: 27-28 April) Wright-Patterson AFB is home to the Air Force Museum. The Wright Brothers were from Dayton and did most of their post Kitty Hawk NC testing and improvement here, so this really is the cradle of aviation. In fact the National Park Service runs several sites here and in connection with the Museum has developed an "Aviation Trail" you can follow where you can visit about 14 sights in and around Dayton all with significance in the history of flying. I had been to the AF museum several times, but always squeezing it in after a business trip to the base here, never with enough time to do it justice. There are 3 hangars and another silo type building full of airplanes and other items from aviation and space history as well as an outdoor park with more aircraft and a huge memorial garden. The museum took us over 8 hours to explore over 2 days it is that packed. I particularly enjoyed the early history and the story of the Wright Brothers. The museum is laid out chronologically with the early years up to and including WW I, the interwar years to WW II, the interwar years (including a great piece on the Berlin Airlift), the Korean War, Vietnam and the Cold War, and Desert Shield/Storm and Current Operations (Iraq/Afghanistan). The amazing thing about this museum is the number of original artifacts they have. Yes, some of the older stuff are reproductions, but we were amazed by the number that were not, like one of the actual early Wright Flyers. What we both appreciated is that this is not a museum with a bunch of old military equipment stuffed into some dusty hangars. It is well displayed and they try to tell you the story of aviation while highlighting the major achievements, breakthroughs and milestones, and the people who made them. Throughout the displays were well done video's, often with original footage that helped tell the story. One moving display and video presentation was on the Vietnam POW's, their ordeal, conditions and struggle to survive and endure, and their homecoming.
We had some personal memories too. We found the kind of plane Joy's Dad worked on at Beech Aircraft Industries in Wichita Kansas during World War II. I had flashbacks to my days in missiles seeing the display at the Titan II missile. And we were imagining how far aerial refueling has come (the kind of mission/plane CJ will be flying when he is done with pilot training) when we saw a picture of what is believed to be the earliest attempt at refueling a plane in the air.
This is one of the best museum's we have ever been to. Be sure to get here if you are ever in the area. You won't be disappointed.

A Home Run at Cooperstown

(Cooperstown, NY: 23 April 2001) Ever since I can remember I have loved the game of baseball. My family retells a story of me when I was 3 or 4. My Dad played softball for the Navy Dispensary team at Pearl Harbor. While the grown ups were playing, the big kids would always get a ball game going behind the bleachers. I wanted to play so bad I kept bugging them to let me play. "You're too young", they said. I bugged them until they finally gave in and let me be the catcher. They instructed me to stay way back from the batter, which I did for awhile, but the ball would bounce before it would get to me, and I couldn't catch it. So I kept skooching forward. A little more, a little more. I got too close and on the next pitched ball the batter cold cocked me above the left eye and I was out like a light. Fortunately there were a bunch of medics close-by. I woke up in the Emergency Room where they stitched me up good as new. I still have the scar to prove it. The first chance I could I was back with the kids bugging them to let me play ball. I finally did get to play and continued to play through my junior year in high school. It took me that long to realize and admit to myself that I wasn't good enough to make it to the Big Leagues, much less the Hall of Fame! I played for a short time, but have been a fan a lifetime. Now I have made it to the hall of fame.
After visiting the Big Apple and having a great time with our friends in Warwick, Joy and I headed north to Cooperstown, a little village at the end of Lake Otsego, NY. In the late 1700's the father of early American writer James Fenimore Cooper (The Deerslayer, The Last of the Mohican's, Leatherstocking Tales, etc.) founded this beautiful village at the headwaters of the Susquehanna River, hence it's name. It's association with the game of baseball is almost an accident. As the sport gained popularity in the years following the Civil War, people wanted to know how it got started. A newspaper writer remembered a young Abner Doubleday introducing the game to his schoolmates in Cooperstown around 1839. Doubleday went on to West Point and became a General in the Union Army during the Civil War. The writer wrote in a widely read publication, "No one will remember what Abner Doubleday did at Gettysburg, but they never forget what he did at Cooperstown." Further research has proved that neither Doubleday nor Cooperstown had anything to do with originating the game that would become the nations pastime, but the deed was done and the rest is history.
The museum not only commemorates the individual greats and hero's of the game it documents the colorful people, events, teams, evolution, and development of the game from the 1800's to the present day. The pictures may convey this better than I can in words.
I couldn't play the game I love, but I finally did make it into the Hall of Fame!
For more pictures click this link to go to our new Flickr page.

Hiking in Mohonk

(Mohonk Preserve, NY: 21 April 2010) It is hard for this Oregon boy to pay to hike, but when we heard about this place from our friends we knew we had to go. This is a private non-profit nature preserve and it is only 5 miles from where we're camping. Like something out of the Bavarian Alps, the Mohonk Mountain house frames one end of a pristine mountain lake with sheer rock walls. Katy-corner to the Mountain House is a stone Tower that rises from the highest elevation on the Preserve, around 1500'. From the top of the tower we were able to see 6 states (or so they say), NJ and PA to the south, MA, VT, CT to the north and northeast and of course NY. Surrounding the house and lake are miles and miles of hiking trails. Along many of the most incredible views they have built small gazebo-like buildings with benches which encourages you to stop and sit and just enjoy the view. Which we did, many times! The Mountain Home was built by two Quaker brothers, Alfred and Albert Smiley between 1879-1910. Many of today's hiking trails were carriage trails of yesteryear. The Mountain house is on the National Register of Historic places.
Similar to our experience of having had too much of Disney and Orlando and getting much needed therapy by drinking in the beauty of Everglades National Park...today's big dose of nature and God's creation was great therapy coming after 3 days and all the noise, hustle and bustle and worldliness of New York City.
We hiked almost 9 miles according to Joy's pedometer...I'm still figuring the "miles per dollar", but whatever it is it was well worth it.

West Point and FDR Homestead

(West Point & Hyde Park, NY: 20 April 2010) Even an old Air Force guy can appreciate the long grey line and the history of the United States Military Academy, otherwise known as West Point. Built on an impressive rock bluff jutting out into the Hudson River from the west, the Academy is the oldest continuously garrisoned military installation in the US and the oldest of the Service academies. We took the tour, which was great, the bad part was my camera battery conked after only a few pictures inside the installation. So imagine this... The tour was a bus ride with a guide explaining the various buildings, fields, statues, homes, etc. We stopped at two places and got out. The chapel, which was cool...lots of stained glass. I liked the sword over the entry door that made a cross. The other stop was at Trophy Point and the parade field across from the dorms. Trophy Point is a picturesque spot with incredible views looking upriver. The trophies are captured cannon from various battles and wars going all the way back to the French and Indian War, lots of them. We went across the street and sat in bleachers looking toward the dormitories and dining hall while the guide described each building and a little about cadet life. Each dorm is named after a famous graduate of West Point whose statue is displayed in front of the dorm. The guide had interesting stories to share about each one; like the fact Douglas MacArthur's mother came with him and lived at the hotel on post his entire four years; that Dwight Eisenhower was a big pranksters and earned 100's of demerits for his practical jokes; and that Patton, who did not rank high in his class academically, when asked about it would say, "I couldn't find the library". The trophy of Patton is where? Yes, outside the Library with a pair of binoculars around his neck.
After the tour we stopped at a USMA Museum which not only had more history of West Point, but had great displays on all the wars. I was humbled by the Medal of Honor wall and surprised to see a BG John P. Hatch on the list receiving the nations highest military decoration during the Civil War. I am looking forward to researching the battle and finding out whether or not he is a relative.
From West Point we drove up the beautiful Hudson River valley where spring is busting out all over. I read a book last year on FDR and was excited to realize his birthplace and Presidential Library are only about 40 miles from West Point. The home and property (some 1500 acres) are unique in that he convinced his mother Sara, who actually owned the deed, to will it all to the National Park Service before she died. She did, all of it. So what you see is actually how it was. The books in the library, the pictures on the wall, all of it. Not a replacement or approximation. I asked about a display of maybe 50 stuffed birds. The Ranger said they were Franklin's and he caught them all on the property. His father had strict rules though. He could only kill one male and one female of a species, he had to stuff the birds himself and display them. We learned how they think he contracted polio (while visiting a Boy Scout camp near his home), and about his "grand deception" (that he couldn't walk--paralyzed from the waist down). FDR was elected to 4 terms as President and died in office at the beginning of his 4th term in 1945 just a few days before V-E day, Victory in Europe. His wife Eleanor was an amazing person in her own right, leading women's rights and civil rights issues well ahead of her time and remaining politically active for some 20 years after her husbands death. Since I have no pictures, follow this link if you want to find out more about FDR.

Announcing: NEW POSTING SOP...Comprende'?

By popular demand of our vast and esteemed blog-reading public we are in the process of re-posting some past blogs (back to end of March) in order to get them in actual chronological sequence on the Blog Page. Those myriads of you who are our "followers" will probably get an alert for some posts you have already read. KEEP READING...we're catching up. There will be new stuff mixed in with the old.
From now on the post date on the blog will actually be the date of the events not the date we write and post it. I hope this isn't as confusing to read/see it as it is/was to do it!

The Great Train Ride

(New York, NY 18 April) I love trains. I've always longed to ride on a train. To sit in the plush seats and watch the scenery flying by has always seemed so romantic and exciting to me. HAH! Maybe I'll have that experience someday but this first time produced quite a range of emotions in me none of which felt romantic or exciting! Mostly I think terror was my main emotion. We grabbed a taxi from our hotel to Penn Station to catch the New Jersey transit back to a town close to where Bill and Sara live. To give me the opportunity to ride a train Bill kindly offered to pick us up at the station. Our first obstacle came in trying to find out where to get our tickets. People everywhere and we were absolutely confused. Got in one line and realized it wasn't right. Fortunately, our trusty tour guide Bill was just a phone call away. He quickly directed us to where we needed to be and we purchased our tickets and were told that the track would be revealed 10 minutes before the train left. As the track number came up a great rush of people scrambled towards the doors. We obligingly became one of the "herd" and found our way to the train and it was great. Nice big plus seats like I imagined and we were able to get by a window for what would be a fantastic view I was sure. Suddenly an announcement came on which informed us WE WERE ON THE WRONG TRAIN!!! We had 3 minutes to get to the right one. We grabbed our bags and ran with another "herd" of people to the right train only to find NO SEATS. So we stood. At this point I was not feeling very pleased with the whole situation and I'll admit I was in a bit of a snit. However, this first train was just a 10 minute ride and then we would switch trains. So, okay, that sounds better. Upon disembarking from the first train we were told we had 3 minutes to get to our next train which was "up the stairs and then down the stairs". Off we raced where we found the train (which fortunately was the right one the first time) found a seat just as the train began to move. Phew! So the seats weren't quite so plush but I did get to sit by the window and the scenery was pretty and the rhythm of the train was soothing. I guess it was somewhat of an appropriate end to our New York City trip. All the hustle and bustle and lines and crowds and chaos ending in a final hour of quiet peacefulness (if you discount the guy sitting in front of us with his ipod on that put out an annoying thump thumping bass sound!).

Ellis Island

(NYC: 18 April 2010) Not to be overshadowed by the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island is part of the same boat ride/tour by the National Parks Service. The famous island was the destination for over 10 million immigrants from its opening in 1892 to 1924 when a change in immigration law allowed processing at overseas embassies. The fact that you dock, walk up the same sidewalk, and into the same building as did so many millions of courageous people, is humbling. Again we listened to a well done audio tour as we made our way through the building. The tour tries to put you in the shoes of an immigrant who probably saved for years to earn the passage, spent weeks and sometimes months on a crowded steamship, speaks another language and is coming here from a country where likely the police are bad people...only to be greeted by stern looking uniformed immigration officials...welcome to America! The tour takes you through the whole screening processing to include what it would be like to be separated if one family member was detained for any reason. Joy and I have both worked up our family genealogies recently and are 99% sure none of our relatives came through Ellis, but over 40% of American's currently living can trace at least one relative to being processed for immigration through this very building!

The Lovely Lady

(NY City: 18 April 2010) Tied for top billing on my list of "what I liked most" about NYC was the trip to Liberty Island and the famous Statue of Liberty (tied with seeing Phantom on Broadway). We learned some things we didn't know about the statue. A gift from France (we knew that) but the liberty it originally commemorated was the liberation/emancipation of the slaves as an outcome of the American Civil War. Dedicated in 1886 the statue would evolve a little later to become the symbol of freedom and opportunity to immigrants who would come to America during the peak immigration years from 1892 to 1924. The Statue as a symbol of freedom (as we learned from our recorded audio tour guide) has actually evolved several times over its history. The Statue was used to sell war bonds during World Wars and most recently was a symbol to rally patriotism in defiance to what happened right across the harbor on 9/11/2001.
We didn't even mind the extra (tougher than airport) security required to get on the boat ride and visit the statue. My mind was filled remembering my own 9/11 experience at the Pentagon as I viewed Lady Liberty and listened to her story. Adding a nice finishing touch to an already memorable experience, a high school choral group sang a patriotic song as we gazed at the Lady in all her glory. What she symbolizes is not an ephemeral will-o-the-wisp ideal, but something real and solid. Something every American should ponder from time to time. Liberty and Freedom are worth living for... and dying for.

The Met

(NYC: 17 April 2010) We don't really know good art from bad but we were in New York City and we were told we must visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We found that it has something for everyone, even us! The featured exhibit was Egyptian Mummies and another was on Chinese painting. The place is so big you could easily spend 3 days looking at all the stuff. The highlights for me were the paintings from the Masters like Monet and Picasso, the display on Mid-evil Armor and the exhibit on the progressive development of various musical instruments.

Phantom of the Opera

(New York, NY 17 April) One of the things we knew we had to do while in New York was to see a Broadway show. But which one? So many to choose from and they would all have been great I'm sure. After having breakfast at a diner in New York we walked around the corner to a place where you can get cheap tickets for shows that haven't sold out. The line wasn't too long when we first got there but very quickly grew. Bill and Ed checked out the shows that were available and as we discussed the possibilities we were excited to learn that Phantom of the Opera was one of them. We immediately selected that as our first choice and were thrilled there were still seats available when we got to the window! The next day we made our way to The Majestic on 44th Street and stood in line (this soon became a pattern) to go in. Ed enjoyed a sidewalk hotdog and I had a pretzel while we waited. A group of kids in front of us broke out in song which was very appreciated by everyone. Finally the doors opened and we all moved inside to find our seats. Although it's a bit like being on an airplane with no leg room and pretty close quarters what happens on the stage in front of you makes all that go away as you become involved in the show. It was amazing and I'm so glad we were able to have this experience.

Take the Tour...

(NYC, 16 April 2010) After our tour guide, Big Bill P, gave us a thorough orientation to the ferrys, subways, trains, and taxi's of NYC...essential survival skills for the Big Apple, and the 3 of us inhaled our way through a big lunch at Carmine's Italian Restaurant in the heart of the Theater District, we were on our own. We took the advice of someone we met earlier in our travels, a full-time RV'er who spent 9 months doing what we're doing. We asked him if he had any advice for us, "take the tour" he said. So we have, and we did. We got a "3 fer" with the NY Citywide tour 2-day pass. A boat ride around half the island and a night top-deck bus tour starting in Times Square going downtown and over into Brooklyn and back (both of which we did Friday); and an Uptown bus tour around Central Park, into Harlem, and back to Times Square which we did on Saturday after seeing a Broadway show. The Boat Tour was cold, but we got the water view of Manhattan that really makes you appreciate how many buildings are packed into this small island sitting between the Hudson and East Rivers. The highlight of the Night Tour of Downtown was crossing the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and stopping at Fulton's landing right under the famed Brooklyn Bridge. This is the historic site where General Washington miraculously escaped the British capture of NY when fishermen ferried his troops across the East River from Lower Manhattan at night. Our Uptown tour guide was into where all the movies stars and famous people live, so I suppose that was the highlight of that tour. One of the things we appreciate about "taking the tour" is the anecdotal information you wouldn't get on your own. Did you know that the tenants in the famed Times Square skyscraper---the building you see on New Year's Eve when millions gather in NYC to see the ball drop from it's top---did you know that they don't pay rent because of the revenue they generate from selling the electronic ads you see on the outside of the building? Did you know that if it weren't for a woman the Brooklyn Bridge (the largest suspension bridge in the world when it opened in 1883) would not have been completed? Her husband's father and her husband where Chief Engineers on the project. Both sustained injuries that kept them incapacitated at home. Using a telescope from the Brooklyn side they would watch the progress of the work and write notes to the foremen which she would carry to them and explain!
So, you should "take the tour"! You never know what gems of trivia you will pick-up to impress your neighbors and amuse your friends!

New York begins

(Warwick, NY 14-18 April) One of our objectives in this journey we are taking is to reconnect with the many wonderful people God has placed in our lives at different times. People who have impacted our life and who we know will always be a part of us. We met Bill and Sara Payton while Ed and Bill were students at Dallas Theological Seminary back in 1977. Sara is a wonderful, energetic, talented, creative, and hospitable person and she and Bill share a deep love for the Lord and desire to share that love with whoever God places in their path. They are so easy to be around and full of fun and laughter. We had such a great time with them and appreciated sleeping in a home, with a great shower and the use of a washer and dryer! We also enjoyed several delicious meals that Sara provided for us. But the deepest enjoyment was the encouragement and fellowship we had while sharing the joys and hurts we have both experienced over the past 30 years. Just as God placed special people in our path over the past few weeks to give comfort and counsel He has continued to bring people into our lives, for such a time as this, who have walked where we are walking and can give us the comfort with which they have been comforted. We prayed with and for one another and even in the short time we were there saw answers to some of those prayers! They are in the process of making some "life transitions" and we are excited that we have the opportunity to pray as they wait for God to show them what's next. ( Sara, I'm praying for Colorado!!!) We left there this morning after a trip to New Jersey to their favorite breakfast place. It was a great reunion!

**As a footnote to this we want to thank Bill so much for all the help he gave us in making our trip to New York successful! He graciously helped us figure out what things we absolutely needed to do in the few short days we had. Then he even drove us to the water taxi and went with us over to New York and got us somewhat acclimated to the subway, taxis and even helped us make some backroom deals in Chinatown. Shhh! I think if he hadn't gotten us started we'd probably still be in Times Square trying to find the subway! New York, what a crazy place. But more on that later.