Carolina Christmas Lights (December 11-17, 2019)

On December 11-17 flew to Charlotte, NC to see some of the Christmas light displays at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We also visited some of Debbie's family in Charleston, SC and also saw the Festival of Lights display there. It was a great time and was fun to see those sights plus to visit family and friends. I lived in Concord, NC for some 14 years and have some fine memories from there. I have photos from the light displays below. The first three below are from the Charlotte Motor Speedway, the rest are some from Festival of Lights (the very last being from a very fine restaurant in Charleston, SC.

 

Carillon Historical Park (December 5, 2019)

Went again this year to the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton, Ohio to see the historical and Christmas displays at the park this year. As always the Carillon Tree was cool to see. Actually heard the bells ringing this year (they play some music I think on the hour) and enjoyed that. There are many amazing things to see there, of which these photos are only a very few. Many items from the Wright Brothers including as seen directly below the Wright Flyer III which is considered the first actual practical plane (the Wright Flyer which flew at Kitty Hawk, NC was barely controllable) and is quite a sight to see. May the best of the surviving planes as far as condition. I also enjoyed the lights and going into the historic buildings. All are authentic and contain many interesting displays inside. There was also a very cool display on bootleggers and criminals from the 1930's. This was new and enjoyed those items a great deal. It was as usual a very fun night and enjoyed this with Debbie my wife as we explored the sights on what was a beautiful Dayton late fall night. Some explanation can be found with the photos below.     

The Wright Flyer III

 Gas Station from back in the day. 

Ohio built car

Debbie with the old train

Original bicycles

Clock tower

View from the Clock tower

30's era police wagon  

Gangster era Machine gun

Carousel Ride 

Nashville, Tennessee and Rising Sun, Indiana (November 6-9, 2019)

Amazing time in Nashville, though the first night we spent relaxing after the long drive from Florida (but a fun drive though Alabama. Got up the next morning and toured The Parthenon. It is a replica of course of the one in Greece, but old in its own right built in 1897 for an Expo. The Athena Statue is also a replica but very cool. We wandered some downtown and also visited the Grand Old Opry which was very neat. Nashville is the first five photos.
8th and 9th of November we went to Rising Sun which is rapidly turning into "The Christmas Casino" and this time of year is one of our favorite places. Just some of that can be seen in the last four photos. It was a remarkable trip to these places and we had a wonderful time. Looking forward to the next adventure!

Florida Trip (October 28-November 5, 2019)

 Amazing trip to Pensacola, Florida where we saw some amazing sights. As to the rocket at left (which is a Saturn 1B from the Apollo program) that was in Alabama. We took an overnight trip in Indiana and a night in Tennessee in Nashville before arriving in Pensacola on the 28th. Rained the first two days and part of the third which is when we went to the Naval Aviation Museum (second photo below and the previous post). Had a great time there. After a couple of days exploring Pensacola, we went to Navarre Beach and points beyond. We had a great time at the National Seashore and the Navarre Pier. Fun to explore the restaurants there, meeting the people and enjoying the sights.
The photos below are of just a few things we saw, and will carry some great memories of this trip for many years to come. In fact, planning to return at a later date. Met some great people plus got some good help at Discount Tire in Pensacola after the tire blow out in Alabama just before we got into Florida.
On the way home made another stop in Nashville (but got to explore some this time) and also a stop in Rising Sun, Indiana for a combined total of four days....that will be covered in my next post.     

Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, Florida (October 31, 2019)

Went to Florida (which will be the subject of my next posts) and one of the places we visited was the Naval Aviation Museum. This is located on NAS Pensacola and was a remarkable place to visit. If you have been to this page, you know I am a huge fan of aviation.
The museum was free to enter and had some amazing differences with the National Museum of the United States Air Force which is here in Dayton. For one, the museum lets you get up close and personal with the aircraft. In Dayton the planes are roped off, and you better not get too close. In the Navy museum, you can touch them.
     Another big difference is that many of the planes are outside. You can see that in the last photo which is also of the type of aircraft (P-3 Orion) which is served with during my Navy days. Visiting this museum was much like being home again in fact. Six photo below is from the Cubi Point Officers Club. When the Navy left the Philippines we took our bar with us (though I was enlisted and only got to see it here). At any case, a remarkable museum and highly recommended by me. If you get the change, definitely go see it! You will be glad you did.

Fairborn Halloween Festival (October 18-20, 2019)

Great time at this event. There was no admission charge. You just had to pay for beer (which had an area to drink it outside of the serving area, and great beer at that). There were bands (and again, fine ones). There was a parade Friday which was cool, and the Zombie walk was Saturday, though I missed that. It was an outstanding couple of days and a great time was had by everyone as far as I could tell. I would go back to this festival again and will do so next year for sure!

Niagara Falls (October 13-15, 2019)

 First time trip to Niagara Falls, and it was in a word, remarkable! Took the photo at left on the first night there. I liked the colored light shining on the falls. Took these from the American side. Below is some of the water heading down to the falls. I took some morning photos which is the last two. The rainbow in the next to last photo was a bonus. It was a fun area to wander around with the casino nearby and some really fun restaurants in the area. My wife and I visited the Rainforest Cafe and though we did not eat there there is also a Hard Rock Cafe as well as an Anchor Bar. Would I return to this area? Oh hell yeah I would! It was a wonderful time and a very interesting place!