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We are a family of five and we are definitely and definitively NOT planners. Most, if not all of our family adventures start with a notion, a need or a whim a day or two before we hop in our Jeep and hit the road. You would think traveling this way with three children would be stressful and that we would have learned a better way over the last 15 yrs. Well, yes it is and no we haven’t! There is a joy in the spontaneity of an unprepared adventure and there is a tight budget out of the necessity of unplanned spending.
One such adventure was this past winter holiday. We woke up on a Monday and by lunch that day decided on a Tuesday road trip to Dayton. Our destination was the National museum of the Air Force. We had stumbled across this place a little over 6 yrs ago when my littles were about 1,6 and 8 years old. The younger 2 had no memories of that road trip but the oldest remembered seeing the atomic bomb there(this is an example of boy mom life and another story for another day). The museum is enormous at around 19 acres of exhibit space and has hundreds…hundreds! of actual airplanes and thousands of other really cool artifacts such as bombs, uniforms and engines. There are interactive exhibits throughout and 2 snack cafes for when the kids get overwhelmed and hangry. At the very last hangar of the museum are multiple era Presidential planes that can be walked through which is just a great end to the nearly 4 hours of exploration. The ABSOLUTE best part though? It is Free! Free admission and free parking and open 9-5 Monday through Friday.
So we booked a room at the holiday inn express at Polaris in Columbus,hopped in our jeep that Tuesday morning and Grabbed some Mickey D’s sausage sandwiches for breakfast on the way(our road trip tradition).My 8 yr old was designated road trip DJ and blasted the latest hits from Forest Frank and Josiah Queen for all to sing along. After 205 miles, 1 pit stop and about 4 inquiries to being “there yet?” our wandering troop stood in awe and wonder at the larger than life airplanes hanging above and the whole history of aviation in front of them. We could have opted to just drive the 3 hours back home but kid friendly pools and free breakfast with an overnight stay makes my kids feel like they are on an all inclusive vacation to the Bahamas, so we splurged.
Another adventure in the books for our family.
An unexpected adventure that now seems to be becoming an inadvertent tradition with a request by my oldest to return once more before he graduates.
Did I mention he plans to work in the field of flight and aircraft? I can’t help but wonder where that interest might have stemmed from. The joy of Spontaniety, the wonder of the wander. Stressful? Sure. Life changing? Possibly.
Leeanna Lopez