Dayton, Ohio

This is also the home of Wright Patterson AFB where we are staying for the first night on our return to Reno,  Left at oh-dark-thirty Thursday morning - wanted to say good-bye to Tim when he left for work, so we got an early start

Headed out of Rochester on I-490, but quickly headed south to pick up US 20 and travel through the rolling farm countryside rather than take the New York Thruway.  Nice drive and traffic was all going the other way.  A lot of dairy land and farms in this part of upstate New York.  Passed through Aurora and Orchard Park on our way.  I was going to call all the Buffalo Bills fans as we passed their stadium; however, I didn't think they would appreciate a call that early in the morning.

We did pick up the New York State Thruway south of Buffalo (Nickel City) - lots of vineyards along the way.  As we passed the Southern Tier Expressway exit, we reckoned that we had just completed a loop of some miles.  Kind of like a lollipop, although we hope to find a different way home than when we came out.  Stopped at Presque Isle Race Track and Casino for breakfast and found that they are not big on breakfast places.  However, a bagel and coffee sufficed before we helped to contribute to the Eldorado coffers.  Racing there only goes Sunday through Thursday and starts at 5:30, so we just saw some of the jockeys and their horses out warming up.

Quickly passed through Pennsylvania (only the tip is on our trip) and drove south from Cleveland toward Columbus.  Just north of Columbus, we saw (from a distance), the players on the driving range for the Memorial Golf Tournament (Jack Nicklaus' s tournament).  We had made reservations at Wright-Patterson AFB and arrived in the late afternoon.  Huge base in several segments, so we had to make several attempts at finding where we were staying.  This is not only the home of the Air Force Logistics Command, but also the Air Force Museum and several monuments to the Wright brothers.  It's known as the cradle of aviation because of Orville and Wilbur.  Bet they would be surprised at the size of the aircraft now taking off from their home turf.  I'm not sure, but I think the wing span of these planes is longer than their first flight.

Heading off Friday morning to head through Indiana, Illinois and probably stay somewhere in Missouri this evening.