Ethan and I rarely sit still - especially during the weekend. We both love adventure and now that he’s made it his mission to always keep me in fresh supply of things to blog about, we take a lot of weekend trips. This past weekend found us in Dayton, Ohio. A small city about four hours south of us in the state where my Momma grew up.

We drove down Saturday night and spent only a few minutes in the city center because, to be honest, there wasn’t a ton to see. No offense, Dayton.

It’s important to note that the city was basically in a state of emergency on this day because the whole midwest was in the middle of one of the worst winter storms it had seen in years. While most people would have taken that as a warning, we took that as nothing more than a challenge and an invitation, and drove right down into the brunt of the weather for no other reason than to prove we could.

I liked the vibe of the city. It was quaint and charming. Even the Starbucks had its own unique character.

I spent some time standing there reading these notes from perfect strangers. An older Scottish gentleman once stopped me on the streets in Edinburgh and told me my favorite piece of wisdom when I was wandering in awe of my new home. He said, “if I can give you one piece of advice, it’s that in this city, you have to look up once in a while.” He obviously meant it literally, as I was a tourist in an utterly breathtaking city with many tall architectural marvels - and he was completely right - but I still hear those words in my ears and apply it to my daily life in indirect ways. I think his advice is a great metaphor for so many things life - always remember to look up. But maybe I’m just over-thinking it.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?

His advice had a very literal application to the place we spent the majority of our time while in Dayton - the National Museum of the U.S. Airforce. I’ll admit, I was my typical skeptical self when Ethan first broached the subject of visiting. I’ve never been much for combat or history - neither have ever peaked my interest much. But, as I’ve mentioned before, I love planes. They really are, in my opinion, as majestic as the birds they are so often designed after.

We got to see some of the most important planes in U.S. aviation history - even setting foot on a few of the different Airforce One planes that carried our many presidents over the years - what an honor!

My mom had told me before I left to keep an eye out out for a B17, because my grandad flew one in WWII. When I found the bomber, I’ll admit that I was pretty excited to get to see a little window into my family history.

I loved every room of the museum and I have to say a massive thank you to Ethan for bringing me - once again - out of my comfort zone and showing me more of the world I didn’t even know I was interested in.

As for food, because I know everyone is always interested in the food folks eat on their adventures to new places. Ethan first took me to one of his favorite southern treats called Chuy’s. A delicious Tex Mex restaurant that had him so excited, I couldn’t wait to try it!

I loved the vibe of the place instantly and the food was pretty awesome, too. You have to love a place with an entire page of sauces to try!

How yummy does that look? I definitely recommend a visit to one of their stores, if you ever get the chance.

Sunday, we ate our farewell dinner at a restaurant in a building that’s probably older than the city it’s in - Jimmie’s Ladder 11.

The old fire house that the restaurant is in has been around since 1892. It also had a cool vibe on the inside and the pretzel bites, beer, and burger were a great way to round out our trip.

By the end of our little weekend jaunt down south, Ethan and I felt satisfied - like we had scratched our adventure itch and were ready to head home.

Thanks for your hospitality, Dayton. I’m glad we dropped by! I can’t wait to see where we end up next.