I left off in my last blog telling you that I began the Aviation Trail in the summer of 2016. The week after last, one day, I collected the stamps for the Wright Brothers Memorial and Huffman Prairie Flying Field and for the archives in the special collections of the Wright State University Library. The next day I went back out and went to Woodland Cemetery and ended the trail at the National Aviation Heritage Museum. While the trail has about 14 stops total tourists and aviation enthusiast alike can visit, all around the Dayton area or certainly within an hour drive, I opted to hit just seven local spots so I could say I traveled at least half the trail, get the bear, buy him a beer, and finish it so I could go on with my #lifegoalsbucketlist.
It always amazes me when people who have lived in the Dayton, OH area say there isn't much to do. Despite the fact that this area leads the nation in drug overdose deaths, has a relatively high crime rate compared to other cities, and rush hour traffic can be a pain in the butt, people really need to put down their cell phones, get off Facebook or Youtube, and pull back the curtain a bit. Get out. Explore. Investigate. Educate yourself.
Back in the winter of 2015, I got hired as a freelancer for U.S. News and World Report to write a bit about the city of Dayton, since they named Dayton one of the top 100 cities in the country to live. The piece was published in early spring of 2016 and Dayton landed in position 69 somewhere between Cincy and Columbus.
It gave me a chance to get out and really explore the town and surrounding areas. I took a ton of photos (I had help on two different occasions with friends who drove me or just went with me for company), did a bunch of research, and was really proud of being named a local expert. That experience opened my eyes to all the beauty our town has to offer. Here's a link to it (Dayton is still on the list): https://realestate.usnews.com/places/ohio/dayton.
In the grand scheme of things, I am by far no expert. I don't know near enough about our fair city, but what I do know, I'll share with you:
We have a wonderful Metroparks system: https://www.metroparks.org.
We have the Dayton Dragons: https://www.milb.com/dayton.
We have a wonderful Downtown area with markets, food truck rallies, and artistic drawn: http://www.frontstreetbuildings.com and https://www.metroparks.org/places-to-go/2nd-street-market/.
We have museums: Boonshoft, the DAI, and the Air Force Museum ... and a community college which continues to rock academic achievement (Sinclair Community College, and I'm remaining impartial even though I teach there).
Scattered around the downtown area and beyond are wonderful places to eat and several breweries and taverns to visit to get your nosh and craft beer fix. I love Tanks for their burgers, the Trolly Stop for food and music, and Warped Wing Brewery for beer. I recently went to The Barrel House and loved the chill environment and comfy chairs. Their tap list is awesome and the owners were super friendly. I could have sat there all day channeling Bukowski, but barfly I strive not to be.
What else? Oh, Dayton has a wonderful literary presence. For poetry fixes, visit the Yellow Cab Tavern and listen to or partake in the Dayton Poetry Slam. Mock Turtle Zine is published out of Dayton as well (again, remaining impartial even though they have been kind enough to publish a handful of my writings/poetry several times since 2015 when I discovered them). We have writer groups and artists galore.
Coffee shops? Some of the best! Ghostlight Coffee, anyone?
I could go on and on, but you get the drift.
And the history? Pfft. Sure, all towns in the country have history. But what makes a town unique IS the history they have. And part of our history is that the Wright Brothers lived here. The first in flight duo had the skills, brainpower, and determination to look at a bird and say, "Man can do that too." I don't KNOW that they literally said that, BUT they did go on to build the first ever airplane. The original Wright Flyer, of course, is in D.C., (the one they actually flew down in North Carolina) but right here in your backyard, you can go to Carillon Park and see the 1905 flyer, which was the third one they built.
So, enough narrative.
I captured my travel of the trail (at least the remaining stops I had to make) in photos, which you are welcome to browse through:
Huffman Prairie Flying Field:
While this area is technically part of Wright Patterson Air Force Base, you can get to it without having to go through a base gate. The road you turn onto is off Rt 444 going toward Fairborn. You have to look for it; right by the golf course. Just follow the signs. It will take you about ten minutes to reach the area. To get your stamp for this place, you have to go down the road to the Wright Brother's Memorial Park, right off of National and Rt 444 (but you'll get a stamp for that location as well).
This is a propeller with the year 1905 engraved into it. It hangs above a doorway in the Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections section of the Wright State University Library. Nifty little room that houses books that that Wright Brothers owned, medals they received for their aviation feats, and neat sculptures:
Next stop: Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum:
Dayton's most notable are buried here, including humor writer Erma Bombeck. I saw the graves of famed poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and of course the Wright Brothers. There's a nice gazebo area, from which you can get a nice view of the Dayton skyline. The cemetery, of course, closes at dark, but it would be cool to see the view of the city at night. After all, it's the highest point in Dayton. However, it IS a cemetery, and you couldn't pay me money to go there at night even if we could.
Wright Brothers Memorial Park:
The park area outside is pretty; nice to walk around. You can walk to the edge and if you look right, you will see the base, the Huffman Prairie area to be exact. Straight ahead gives you a view of Rt 444 and beyond, the Huffman Dam and park. To the left, you'll see Rt 4. On a winter day, the view allows you to see part of Eastwood Lake and a bit of downtown Dayton (the trees are bare then). The back of the park backs up to Area B of the base, the portion closed off to civilians of course. There's also a little museum you can venture into.
I'm not sure if they still allow it, but my dad used to take me, my brother, and the neighborhood kids there to sled in the winter. That hill was a beast back then. Funny, driving up to it, it didn't look as steep as I recall.
My last stop: the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park:
Located on Williams Street, off of West Third, outside of downtown Dayton, this is the final stop for anyone completing the trail, no matter what other stops you make. They will collect your stamped brochure and give you an aviation bear in exchange. The Wright Brothers lived and worked in this area, and as you can see, there's their bicycle shop. Yup, before they discovered the gift of flight, they worked at this shop. Before that, though, they were printers and they ran a successful print shop. The museum itself has lots of neat artifacts and facts in it. I'll only provide you a few tidbits because I really encourage you to make the drive out there yourself to see all the cool stuff. P.S.: Paul Laurence Dunbar's home is just a few blocks down off of Third Street.
Okay, technically, this was my last stop. I had heard much about The Barrel House but had yet to visit and really didn't know where it was. Well, I passed it on Third Street and told myself I would stop in on my way back through town. So I did. Of course, it was early in the afternoon, so not a soul was around, but I sipped my light pilsner and chilled. I'm not sure if it was the bookcase I was more attracted to or shelf upon shelf of hoppy goodness on display. The bear, happy to be set free from captivity in the museum, as you can see, had a sip and took a chill as well.
My next project very well might be competing and writing about the Dayton Ale Trail, since apparently I have a thing for trails and beer, so stay tuned for that, perhaps this summer.
In the spirit of Gonzo journalism:
"Buy the ticket, take the ride."
Peace.
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