This week took us to two amazing locations. We go from days of knights to ultra modern space age, all in the space of 8 hours! Warning, to do this trip in one day from Columbus it is a lot of car time and a very full day. The castle is in Loveland Ohio very close to Kings Island. That was our first stop so we will start there.
The history of this castle is what makes this worth the trip. The castle was started in the 1920’s and built by 1 man, Harry Andrews. Mr. Andrews worked on it until he died at the age of 91! Incredible. When you go, there are knights (spoiler alert, none were wearing armor) working the castle who will direct you to a room where you can watch short videos about Mr. Andrews and about the construction. I’d highly encourage watching them. Very interesting.
Moving around the castle can be a challenge, especially if it is crowded. The staircases are very narrow. I would not rank this high on the accessible list, although they may have ways of getting handicapped persons around that I did not see. There is a dungeon to go into and some pretty spacious rooms on the second floor with a lot of midievel artifacts to view. The 3rd floor/roof was off limits when we were there. We did a thourough tour and were done in about 50 minutes. Good place to add on if you are already in the area doing other things or passing through and want a cool pit stop.
Next stop is the United States Airforce Musuem in Dayton Ohio. This place is huge! You could easily spend a whole day here and it is an easy drive from Columbus. There are 4 hangers and 1 building for rockets. If you like history, there are a few really famous aircraft here. The Memphis Belle was one of our favorites. There is also a park full of beautiful monuments dedicated to the brave men and women who have served. The best part, is parking and admission are free! The only thing you have to pay for are a few attractions like flight simulators and movies.
A few other favorites for us were the space shuttle and the landing simulator game right next to it. President Kennedy’s Airforce One was great to see because of the historical significance of it. You can stand in the exact spot that Johnson was sworn in after the shooting in Dallas. There are different sections in the musuem containing aircraft from different eras, many of which you can walk through. Be ready to walk. It is difficult to show just how big these hangers are. It will definitely keep the attention of the little ones though. If you would like to see more pictures, check out our facebook gallery here.