Take Flight!

Pensacola Naval Station houses the coolest Aviation Museum.  I remember visiting when I was in 10th grade.  Sitting in the cockpit of a Blue Angel jet is just as exhilarating now as it was then.

Did you know that rare WWII planes were
found on the bottom of Lake Michigan?
Read about it here.

                                                                                              

T loves a good gift shop.  The boys purchased balsa wood planes to remember their trip to the Naval Aviation Musuem. If you are looking for an inexpensive non electric toy, we highly recommend the balsa planes. Like these

James was amazed by the inventory the museum maintains.  The amount of money spent on these planes from inception to restoration is outstanding,













According to E, there aren't many things cooler than sitting in a turret.

In addition to sitting in aircraft, we watched documentaries on restoration and shipbuilding.  We walked through displays of engine types, mock up military outposts in different war settings, and a deeply disturbing but informative display on POWs from the Vietnam War.  It would be easy to spend many days/months at the museum learning about each plane and its history.

Last week

Ezra-
We temporarily finished our Ohio study. We talked about the flag. Colored the flag and created an Ezra of Ohio flag:) We discussed the Indian story of the Ohio River. The Legend Of Ohio
Dandi Daley Mackall

Ohio-beautiful river.
Then we found the beginning and end points of the Ohio River. Ezra wants to drive it. Then finish with following the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. I'm up for that someday. Instead we drove down to the Ohio River near our house. We drove for 3-4 hrs. We stopped at the Chilo Locks, no longer in existence but a beautiful park, paddle boat to explore, play structure, and visitor center. The center was closed but we read the outside tour guides and talked to the naturalists.
We also stopped at Mendahl locks, they took over for Chilo in the 60's. A stop in New Richmond, a riverfront town, a ferry boat ride across the river to Kentucky, and we were headed home. It was a beautiful day filled with experiential learning.