National Museum of the USAF - Or, F'N ASUM!

It was a magical time of year. The Big Game. OSU v. Michigan. The whole city of Columbus, Ohio turns into a scarlet-and-gray-clad mob of ravenous football fans. Beer is poured, nachos are cheesed, and Lynn and Timmy head out of town!

Our destination: The National Museum of the United States Air Force. It was to be our most ambitious staycation of the season, nearly 70 miles from home. The mini-backpack was prepped, the car gassed up, coffee purchased, and we were on our way!

The first gallery in the museum contains aircraft and artifacts from the earliest days of manned (and unmanned) flight. Every step of man's journey into the sky is laid out, from Orville and Wilbur Wright up to the beginnings of military flight. Some of the more interesting items were wooden wind-tunnels used to test new designs for aircraft, early bi-planes (Sopwith Camel!) and early military "aerial torpedoes."

Moving on, we saw planes and artifacts of the second world war. The classics of the Army Air Corps were all there... P51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire, Lockheed P38 Lightning... the list goes on. It was absolutely astounding to see first-hand the war machines that dominated the skies of Europe and the Pacific theater. On the other side of the trenches, there were many Axis planes present as well, like the Mitsubishi Zero, Messerschmidt ME-262 and even V-2 "Buzz Bombs" and V1 rockets used in the firebombing of London.

Far and away, though, the most impressive aircraft in the gallery was Bockscar, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress heavy bomber. Without knowing its place in history, many would assume it to be another aluminum behemoth in a crowded hangar. But that simple view belies the awesome effect that this single aircraft had on the course of World War II. This beautiful machine, Bockscar, dropped the "Fat Man" atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.

Exiting the Air Power gallery... it was time for a break. We took a brief detour back to the entrance, and spent some time in the strangely antique cafeteria. Beware! They do not take credit cards. Bring cash! Also, get the cole slaw and tater tots... they're delicious.

After recharging our bellies and resting our tired tootsies, we went back out for round two. Next on the list of exhibits was the Modern Flight gallery, with the jet fighters and bombers of the Korean and Vietnam war eras. MiG fighters, huge bombers (B-52!), cargo planes and all kinds of awesome snazzy stuff.

All in all, the USAF museum is awesome fun. There is tons to see, from wood-and-canvas planes from the first days of powered flight all the way to the latest stealth fighters. Every kid or kid at heart will find something to marvel at.

Lynn - The United States Air Force Museum

Apologies for the delay, the staycationers have been a bit busy lately. We did have one week that had to be skipped, there was just too much stuff going on. Last week, we did make a journey, but it has taken me until now to get anything blogified.

Blogification it is! Last weekend, the destination was the United States Air Force Museum. He denies it, but I think Tim mislead me ever so slightly in order to get me to agree to come. I was anticipating mostly spacey type exploration, NASA and the like. Tim told me this was the "OTHER BIGGER BETTER space museum," the "space" part is the less than accurate part. I wasn't too upset, but honestly... isn't tim ever so clever.

The museum was set up as a tour from the beginning of aviation history to recent aircraft. The place is mega enormous, consisting of three hangars with various other attached buildings. There is even an IMAX theater (the one part of the museum we didn't experience).

Because the museum is a national museum, it has a lot of stuff that is quite intense to look at. We saw the plane that acutally dropped the bomb on Nagasaki, which was crazy to see. But with all the planes, at first you are like oh whatevs, this is a plane, but thinking about where they have been and situations they were involved in, the people who flew them, the people they aided in killing... Its pretty intense.

I was also quite intrigued by all of the actual pieces of clothing/personal equiptment that we saw. In the WWII area, they had uniforms from most of the countries involved in the war, and it was interesting to see the elements of differing cultures put into uniform (Tim was rather excited about the Japanese display which included a sword.

Besides the hangars, there were a few more exhibits in between. There was a hall devoted to the people of the holocaust, a section about Bob Hope and his lifetime of bringing comedy to the soldiers over decades, and a section about the science of flight. Not as wide, but definitely TALL was the final room, the space exploration room. It housed several ridiculously huge rockets, and several small displays relating to the air force's involvement with space. By the time we got to the end of the museum, my dogs were barkin. Its hard to describe just how huge the place is, but look at it this way, a blimp only took up a corner of one of the hangars, and it was atleast 20 feet overhead. Or, going up an entire floor to look at the rockets only took you to about 1/4 the height of them.

Tim has assured me that we will go to the other Ohio space museum soon to check it out. I do look forward to that, and now that we are members of the Ohio Historical Society, we can get in for free, an automatic boost is those tricky staycation ratings. Speaking of which:

STAYCATION RATING:
Funness: **** - Pretty fun, but quite a hike. Bring a power bar, or a wheelchair.
Educationalness: ***** - Basically, you've got the history of the United States through planes.
Cheapness: **** - Free admission, but the giftshop was pricey.
Journeyness: **** - A bit of a journey, but not so long that it became painful
Busyness *** - It was pretty damn busy, and there were a million lil boyscouts everywhere.

Overall **** - Make sure you see this place someday!

Lynn - Alpacafest!

What could I do when Timmy sent me a link to the upcoming Alpacafest event? What could I do but squeal and frantically agree to go asap. It was only a few blocks away, and it was free, and it was ALPACA BASED! I mean, cmon!

And many-an-alpaca there were. The first building we went in to was almost entirely made up of gated in grass plots for the fuzzy ones. I was very excited to see them so close up, but I was also a little disappointed that there weren't any alpaca themed festiveness like shops or booths. It was all "Alpaca" and no "fest." This first tent was devoted mostly to the alpaca beauty pageant. Several stood in the central ring with their owners and were donned with shiny ribbons. They all looked equally cute to me. I never realized just how calm and pet-like they were. None of them seemed frightened of flashing lights or strange people walking by, most of them just sat in alpacaloaves and chewed their grass, lettin' their fluff blow in the breeze. One in particular let pretty much whatever blow in the breeze:



Timmy informed me that there was a second building of Alpacafest, which we arrived at through a circusy looking tent which connected the two buildings. Behold! the fest! This building was MUCH bigger and had plenty of booths for the sale of alpacaness. I wanted to buy pretty much everything. I let myself get a few things, because admission was free, and I figured I had some leeway. Timmy and I both got some mloves.. or glittens... whatever you wanna call them. I really wanted one of these lil mini alpacas -made of alpaca fur and wearing alpaca knitted hats.

Despite feeling a bit like we should have been alpaca breeders to attend, the whole thing was pleasant and fun. Once woman at her shop asked if we were alpaca owners and I told her, "Nope, we just think they are cute," and she seemed annoyed. Oh well, perhaps someday we will be in the elite world of owning a furry alpaca. Until then, I'm just gonna shave the cats and knit some sweaters for everyone.

STAYCATION RATING:
Funness: **** - how could you not have fun surrounded by giant loaves?!
Educationalness: **** - I feel like I actually learned a lot about what owning an alpaca would entail, and a lot about their temperament.
Cheapness: ***** - I suppose this is two-fold, though. The event was free, but alpaca fur is NOT.
Journeyness: **** - See below, considering it was right across the street from the Historical Center
Busyness **** - There were a lot of people there, but they were tending to their own alpacas most of the time.

Overall **** - It was pleasant and enjoyable. If you like alpacas, you're good!

Timmy - Soft and Fluffy Alpacas Attack Us

**WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW. ALPACAS ARE NOTORIOUSLY FUZZY AND ADORABLE. USE CAUTION WHILE VIEWING TO PREVENT HYPERVENTILATION**

This weekend marks the return of Alpacafest to the Ohio Expo Center (Bricker and Celeste buildings). Hosted by the Ohio Alpaca Breeder's Association, Alpacafest brings hundreds of alpacas from across the country to Columbus in one of the most spectacularly snuzz-tastic conventions you'll ever witness.

The festivities were split into two buildings, each filled to the brim with alpacas and their handlers. In the Bricker building, vast flocks (herds? gaggles? swarms?) of alpaca pens are set up surrounding two showing rings. Both types of alpacas are well represented by the breeders present. The stringy Suri (sir-ee), in colors ranging from dusty whites to deep brown-blacks, were content to lounge about and nom hay while waiting their turn in the show ring. On the south end of the building, the en-fuzzled Huacaya (wuh-kai-ya) plot the overthrow of their fleshy masters. Or, more likely, gently hum at each other and lay around like giant stuffed animals.

The alpaca themselves are, for the most part, extremely laid back and calm creatures. They do have the ability to spit, like their camelid cousins (llama, camels, etc.) but for the most part, rarely do. Good for us, I suppose. The fiber in their hair is similar to wool, but without the itchy-scratchiness that makes it annoying to wear. Lynn and I both picked up some 50% Alpaca / 50% polyester gloves (the poly makes it stretchable) as souveniers.

Really, since the Alpacafest is aimed at breeders and professional alpacaddicts, there's not much for the everyman to do aside from ogle the livestock (I said ogle, not fondle!) and buy stuff. But really, seeing the animals is partly the reason to visit a show like Alpacafest. The variety of colors, sizes, even hairstyles of the different alpaca are simply astounding. It really makes you think about buying a few acres, putting up some fence and raising some alpacas. Maybe some day.

Dude, you're getting a blanket, some gloves, maybe a sweater...

Pros:

1. Cheap - $5 for parking, admission is free!
2. Fun - Alpacas are cute, the people are friendly, and the products are amazing.
3. Close to home - Ohio Expo Center (state fairgrounds) near OSU campus.

Cons:

1. Slightly boring - The alpaca don't do tricks, sing songs, or entertain. They just do Alpaca.
2. Expensive souveniers - Some of the more elaborate products run into the hundreds of dollars. The gloves are a great deal though :)

Score: 8/10 - Adorable alpacas to look at, awesome fuzzy products to try and super cheap to get into. Check it out (maybe next year?)!

Timmy - All your old stuff are belong to OHS

The Ohio Historical Center, operated by the Ohio Historical Society, is your one-stop shop for all things old and interesting about the Buckeye State. Flora, fauna, (arti)facts and treasures abound, illustrating the history of Ohio.

The permanent exhibits also include a new feature: an exceptional display of art and artifacts from Norman Rockwell, the famed artist whose creations graced the covers of the Saturday Evening Post for so many years.


The Rockwell exhibit was not, however, our first stop! Upon entering the museum, we examined the "Nature of Ohio" area. We learned about the geography and geology of Ohio's two distinct regions - the glaciated north and western half, and the un-glaciated southeastern half. Illustrating the concept was a 3-D map, showing the difference in terrain between the two areas. It was amazing seeing how smooth and consistent the land had become after being worn away under the immense weight of the glaciers covering the state during the last Ice Age.

Also on display was an impressive collection of taxiderm-ified animals representing the wide variety of creatures stalking (or, in some cases, not stalking anymore!) the wilderness of our great state. Everything from the tiny to the tremendous was represented here, with an almost too-creepy quality. It's amazing how weird and lifelike a stuffed animal can appear, but that only serves to reinforce the quality of the exhibits.


After the maps, creatures, rocks and plants of the nature exhibits, we explored the Norman Rockwell exhibit. We explored a marvelous series of life-size replications of Rockwell's most famous paintings. The exhibit highlighted not only the artwork itself, but Rockwell's inspiration for each cover. Everything from world events such as World War 2 to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s are reflected in the paintings and dioramas on display.

Exploring the variety of the items to be found in the rest of the Historical Center really provides a fantastic perspective on the journey our country -and state- have made throughout the ages. Documenting that history in a way that speaks to the inquisitive, curious side in all of us is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Don't get me wrong, I've been to museums before; the Carnegie in Pittsburgh is likewise impressive indeed. But having the items on display be so relevant, so close to home, it's an experience difficult to duplicate, let alone describe in a few inches of blog.



Pros:

1. Variety - Large amount of exhibits of all different types and time periods.
2. Close to home - Short trip; I-71 & 17th Avenue near OSU campus
3. Not Crowded! - Lynn and I were pretty sure that we were the only real "guests" in the museum for the few hours we spent there. Sure, there's the occasional school field trip or special event... but more often it's pleasantly unpopular.
   
4. Edu-tastic - Learn about Ohio and the awe-inspiring history of our great nation.

Cons:

1. Expensive - Even with a discount, it's going to cost you a little bit.
   
2. Lots of walking - With a spacious facility and tons of things to look at, you'll want comfy shoes.
   
3. Creepy people in the Rockwell Exhibit - There's just something weird about having someone try to interact with you - seemingly at random - in a museum. It's weird.

Score: 7/10 - Worth visiting for the educational value alone, but it loses points for being expensive and sometimes creepy.

Lynn - The Ohio Historical Society

So, despite excessive Halloween drinking the previous night, I was determined to continue our new staycation tradition of excitement and adventure. This time, as Tim requested, we headed to the Hysterica... I mean Historical Society.

It was quite easy to get to, its only a few miles from our house. I remembered only small bits of what it was like, because it was a location that my mom hauled me and my brothers off to a lot when we were little. I had an image of tiny native Americans with tiny straw houses, and whaddaya know, they were still there! Other than that, nothing looked familiar, so we just sorta blindly started off through the rooms.

First we looked at natural history stuff, lots and lots of rocks and stuffed creatures. I wish I didn't like creepy taxidermy-ed animals as much as I do. The collection was nothing compared to the one at the Chicago Field Museum, but still cool.

There were people around, but they all seemed to work there. It was kinda weird, cuz it always seemed like they were surprised to see us, like what?! people are actually here to see exhibits? I think there were maybe 5 other people we saw who actually seemed to be looking at the stuff, but they were all pretty old, and mostly interested in the Norman Rockwell part of the place. It is the featured exhibit that just opened. Anyway, we checked that out and it was kinda cool I guess, it was just rooms recreated to look like his paintings, and there were little actors installed in it that were actually just kinda awkward. Or maybe Tim and I are just awkward.

So I discovered about myself that I am very interested in the morbid. The things that intrigued me the most overall were displays like an old KKK outfit, or the jacket a guy was wearing when he was shot at Kent State. Looking at those made my heart sink. There were old scary looking guns and mining tools, and I only wondered how many people they had killed. I guess to me that's what makes stuff interesting. But aren't most people kinda like that?

This picture is of a bunch of old toys. I thought it was hilarious to compare them with modern toys, namely the actual mini saw on the top there. Here kid! Saw a finger off! I wonder if getting rid of toys like that have actually made kids safer or just dumber. I mean, maybe you'd lose a limb but hey! that kid will learn a lesson!

So yeah, I was not feeling too good the whole time, and unfortunately they didn't have any good rings in the gift shop to add to my lil collection. We had spent enough money already anyway, admission for the two of us was 26 bucks. It was an alright time, but some parts were just boring. It wont be long though before Timmy and I are experts on Ohio history, heh.



STAYCATION RATING:
Funness: *** - kinda fun, at points.
Educationalness: ***** - very educational, but you have to consciously read captions to learn much.
Cheapness: ** - more than I would have thought, but, I guess they need to fund a lot of stuff to keep new exhibits coming in.
Journeyness: **** - VERY short for us, but not a scenic drive, unless you really like frat houses.
Busyness **** - not busy, but kinda weird with all the people who just worked there or hung out there

Overall *** - not terribly thrilling, and not very cheap, but I do have a sort of satisfaction about making the trip because I pass it driving all the time and am curious of its contents.