Dayton Aviation Trail

I wanted the teddy bear. The Aviation Trail around Dayton, OH, offers a "Wilbear Wright" aviator teddy bear if you visit eight of the seventeen sites in the area. Never mind that I live in an RV and have no need whatsoever for a stuffed animal that takes up precious space. I wanted that bear. He was too adorable. Plus, we had a month at Wright-Patterson AFB Famcamp. We had plenty of time to visit the various sites.

One of the must-see sites is the National Museum of the Air Force. We took two days to visit the four hangars and the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Harold may elaborate more in a separate post since my version would be simple - we saw lots and lots of planes and a kite. 

The kite at the Air Force Museum

We stopped at Huffman Prairie Flying Field and the Wright Brothers Memorial, which only counted as one stop toward the bear. 

Watch out for the cows!

We spent the better portion of a day at the Carillon Historical Park. We'll probably do a separate entry for that. Despite the original 1905 Wright Flyer III being onsite, I found myself in awe of the cash register display. Wait 'til we show you the photos!

One rainy day we drove north to the Waco Air Museum. They offer biplane rides. Oh, and that's Waco, rhymes with taco, not Jayco.

Want to ride?

With Harold's Dad's history with Apollo, we couldn't miss the Armstrong Air and Space Museum. 

Armstrong's Apollo suit

We finished our aviation tour at the Aviation Trail Visitor Center and the Paul Laurence Dunbar House in the historic downtown Dayton area. I confess I was fascinated by all the wallpapers in the Dunbar House. The visitor center complex included the Wright Cycle Company and the Parachute Museum. At the Parachute Museum we learned of the Caterpillar Club. We pray we never have the opportunity to join!

Dunbar's "office" while recuperating

Such an ornate wheel stand

Good enough for me

The earned bears

We're not entirely sure what we'll do with our bears. We have a couple of ideas though!

Where Are We Going Next?

Check Engine!

When you live in your RV full-time, the fear that something will happen to your home is never far from your mind. At least, it isn't in mine. So the day the dashboard started dinging with an ominous check engine light - emissions, my heart jumped to my throat. The Internet abounds with stories of DEF sensor issues and subsequent engine derates. Compound the issue with unavailable parts or shipping delays, and we're talking months here, not days. 

The stuff of nightmares

We were less than an hour to our destination, traveling along the crowded Cincinnati beltway when the ominous dash message appeared. However, we didn't dare risk ignoring the dash message. Taking a deep breath, I looked up to see a blue sign indicating a rest area only two miles ahead. Yes! Thank you Lord!

We pulled into the rest area and started making phone calls. Harold quickly reached Cummins Sales and Service of West Chester, OH. Not only did they answer the phone, they said to stop by and that they'd diagnose the codes. We plugged in the address to discover that they were only fifteen minutes away. Thank you Lord! Not only were they close, they were a true Cummins shop as opposed to a Cummins authorized facility. Yes!

It was an agonizingly long fifteen minutes where we prayed the engine wouldn't derate. A derated engine means that you'd be crawling along the interstate at a whopping 5 mph because the engine's computers protect the engine by limiting output and speed. 

After checking in at the service counter at Cummins, the customer care advisor checked the codes and contacted the shop foreman for a plan of action. Knowing that we were full-timers who were physically there at the facility, the foreman said to pull the coach into a just-emptied bay. Immediately after their lunch, the technicians started their testing. Yes! Thank you Lord!

We sat in the customer lounge, thankful for the prompt attention. The testing procedures took a little longer than expected, but they kept us apprized the whole time. Ultimately the testing did not show any system or part failures. They then cleared the codes, chalking it up to an abnormality. Yeah, no parts needed for now.

It was around 8:30 at night when they finished (Cummins was open until midnight). We opted to drive to our campground since it was only about an hour away. 

The day's events reminded us why we like to keep our travel days to four hours or less and why we like to travel on weekdays as opposed to weekends. We were so thankful that God provided for us. I did not need to fear or worry. The stuff of nightmares was a reminder that God is indeed Jehovah Jireh! 

Where Are We Going Next?