Week3 2024

Monday 16th September

A 4 and a half hour drive took us South to our next Airbnb in Xenia, half way between Columbus and Cincinnati.

The property is called “Chicken Coop Extraordinaire” and is quite small but good,

Tuesday 17th September

off to Cincinnati for a riverboat cruise….

The cruise was great. Two hours going up and down the river Ohio, which acts as the border between the states Ohio and Kentucky.

There was even a banjo player on board, crooning the passengers.

: Banjo player

Wednesday 18th September

…. off to Columbus to visit “Otherworld”. In fact we didn’t go in the end. We decided to go to the National Museum of United States Airforce in Dayton. It was fantastic and definitely not to be missed. Entry was free and there were 350 aircraft and even the Apollo 15 Module. We spent hours in there and exhibits went through from the earliest flights (Wright brothers etc) all the way through to space travel. There were entire sections devoted to the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Iraq war and of course World Wars 1 and 2.

The “Airforce One” planes were all there, ferrying 8 presidents, including Roosevelt, Johnson and Kennedy around the world. .President Clinton was the last one to use this plane.

My dad fought in Burma during WW2. He was with a squadron of Hurricanes, fighting the Japanese. The first plane we saw was a Hawker Hurricane. There was also a Sopwith Camel and two Spitfires. Amazing.

: Hawker Hurricane

: Simulator

: Shuttle Simulator

: President’s plane

: inside president’s plane

: president’s plane

: another president’s plane

: Apollo 14 module

: slealth bomber

: president’s plane

: rockets

Thursday 19th September

Off to the Ozarks via a one night stopover in Effingham.

We arrived at Effingham after a 4 and a half hour drive. This Airbrb is a tiny “shed” in someone’s garden. It’s OK though, with most facilities. I eventually found a kettle but no cooker.

Friday 20th September

… off to the Ozarks via a 6 hour drive South.

It was a tough drive, with heavy traffic most of the way. However, when we arrived we discovered our next Airbnb, a wonderful cabin right in the Ozarks.

Saturday 21st September

6.30am watched Sunderland beat Middlesborough, with the help of the VPN!!!

We visited Branson. What a surprise! We were expecting a quiet riverside village with boats etc. What we found was the “Las Vegas” of the Ozarks. It was incredibly commercialised and brash. We visited the Titanic Museum. Yes you read that right. It was the most weird museum ever, with titanic memorabilia and a £10,000,000 recreation of the central staircase.