Rocky Gap Casino (July 18-19, 2018)

Debbie and me spent two days at Rocky Gap Casino. Though I have traveled through Maryland I have never spent the night in the state...but we now have spent two. The Casino was very nice and the hotel was just outstanding! I had a great time there (so did Debbie) and it was just fun to hang out in the room, eat some fine food, and even fun to play the games in the Casino.
One of the neat things was the lake there. Course a lot of people were enjoying golf, but it was fun to hang out by the water. There were paddle boats and kayaks to rent, and a lot of places to just sit and enjoy the view.

Night though was wonderful. Getting sights like this was special. There were also fire pits to sit by and just wonderful nights. I have a feeling this place would be remarkable in the fall.
I don't play the game, but seems to have a really nice golf course and certainly a lot of people were doing that while I was there.
As far as animals did see a number which included bunnies, ducks and read on the site that there are a whole lot more.
As Casinos go, at least the ones I have been too (its a short list but still...) this one was top of the list. It was just a wonderful place with so much to do and surprisingly reasonable.  I am looking forward to a future return trip. 

Wheeling, WV (July 16-17, 2018)

 Debbie and me spent a couple of days in Wheeling, WV. A big attraction is the old suspension bridge, which you can walk across or drive across. Neat to see the Ohio River either from the grating or over the side.
The bridge opened in 1849 and was once the largest bridge of its type in the US. It is now on the National Historic Register and if you are in the area it is well worth a look and a walk. 

Wheeling has a lot of interesting old buildings such as this one. As I often find in Richmond or in North Carolina often they are repurposed such as this one, which is now part of a college campus.
Great places to explore and I highly recommend Coleman's Fish Market. Read its supposed to have one of the best fish sandwiches you will have. The hype was all true!

Travels to Ohio and Beyond (June 1-June 7, 2018)

Great time during the Ohio Trip, visited a great place to get a hot dog in New Carisle, Ohio, visited Rising Sun, Indiana which is a fun town to explore on the Ohio River. We also on the return trip spent a short bit of time on one of my favorite motorcycle rides: The Blue Ridge Parkway. Got in a motorcycle ride in Ohio (which is on my Racing with the Wind blog site) and also visited the United States Air Force Museum which is the previous post. Had a remarkable time during the visit there...it was a fun filled 8 days!

National Museum of the United States Air Force (June1,2018)

 Always a favorite stop in the Dayton area, and a memorable place to visit. The US Air Force Museum is a hell of a thing to see and in my opinion one of the best aviation museums in the United States.
Actually happened after my visit but made a return stop to the nearby Wright Brothers Memorial.
The Memorial was dedicated in 1924, and present for the dedication was Orville Wright. A number of his flying students were also at the site.
The fields where they perfected their aircraft (the Wright Flyer III which is considered to be the first real practical aircraft are within sight from the hill. The first aircraft which flew at Kitty Hawk, NC flew but was very difficult to control. The III was amazingly better and the brothers set a number of time and distance records in that aircraft.

Here is what I really came to see...the Memphis Belle. It was the first plane (though that is the subject of some debate) to meet the mission numbers required to bring the crew home.
That number was 25 missions. Due to the lack of fighter support to German targets with the limited range of planes at that time, making 25 missions was very difficult. Not till later in the war with the advent of the P-51 Mustang did fighters accompany the bombers all the way into Germany and back.This restoration of this historic aircraft was in a word...remarkable.   

Couple of other favorites here. Above is the Boeing Bird of Prey. It was developed in the 1990's and was used to develop Stealth technology. The fact that it is named after the Klingon warship class from Star Trek is a plus in my book.
Below that is an F-22 Raptor and is one of the most interesting current aircraft of the United States Air Force. I have seen these flying at a number of air shows and they are nothing short of amazing.

Finally a great group photo. The amazing XB-70 which was a prototype bomber (and of the two is the sole surviving one). Also in the photo is an X-15, plus a number of X planes. A Gemini spacecraft (not flown) is in the photo as is Apollo 15. Flown with an all Air Force Crew in 1971 it was the fourth mission to land men on the moon.
The museum covers the entire history of the Air Force from per-World War I to the present day. Before someone says it...yeah was part of the Army until right after World War II. Museum is free and open to the public. 

Visit to Fort Lee (May 27, 2018)

 Debbie and I went on an exploration trip to Fort Lee. I was there a few years ago and once again went to see the US Army Quartermaster Museum. There are a lot of photos at the museum web site and quite a bit to see at this free museum. This is a Civil War supply wagon which is notable in that it carried supplies for one US Grant who commanded Union Forces during the Civil War. Many other interesting things can be found there. 

Lots of interesting items can be seen at the base, such as this T-12 bomb known as The Cloudmaker. It was designed to be used on the B-36 bomber though as far as I can tell it was never actually used in combat. It was in service from 1944-1948 and seems to have been designed to attack underground sites. The total weight of the bomb was a staggering 43,600 pounds. Lots more to see at this amazing military base in Virginia. 

Wedding Trip (May 1-3,2018)

 Headed out for a special trip to Virginia Beach for a three day trip. Took this photo of the beach at sunrise which is always a neat time to see the area.
Sunrises are beautiful on the water and it is really nice to be there. As for the crowds during the week it was not really bad. That is soon to change with summer getting closer and closer but so far it is not real bad.

We made a stop at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum which was a first time trip. Amazing collection of World War 2 aircraft and in addition they have one of the (if not THE) biggest collection of World War 2 Russian aircraft. I saw a number of things I have never seen there, and I have seen a number of aircraft over the years. This plane at left is a replica of the first Navy plane to land and take off on a carrier. 

Most of the World War 1 planes at the Virginia Military Aviation Museum  are replicas. NOT a replica were the F-18s which were flying around Virginia Beach. It was pretty cool seeing them zooming around the area. The base is not far from the hotels of Virginia Beach.
As both Debbie and I are Navy veterans it was fun to enjoy this, and in fact a few months ago we were at the air show held at the base (which is held pretty much every year). I have been there for a few of them. It was a ton of fun and I have some photos on this page.

The main reason to go to the area was that Debbie and I got married. It was a wonderful ceremony and I am very happy to have this wonderful woman as my wife.
I hope that we are going to have a wonderful life together and I am looking very forward to the future.
I love Debbie very, very much!!!

National Museum of the United States Marine Corps (April 14, 2018)

 After tehe visit to the National Air and Space Museum, Debbie and I stopped at the National Museum of the United States Marine Corps. Admission and parking are both free and this museum is truly remarkable giving the full history of the United States Marine Corps. I served in the US Navy and was honored to know a few Marines in the day....tend to be outstanding people.   

Many aircraft to see at the museum such as the Harrier above and many great historical artifacts such as the flag at left that flew at Iwo Jima in World War 2. I was amazed at many of the sights I saw in the museum and if you can find the time to visit you will find a visit to this museum is well worth it.