O - O - O - Ohio !

We drove through the farmlands of Ohio to Columbus and went to the American Whistle Corp. for a tour of how they make metal whistles.  It was pretty interesting seeing the machines that make the whistles, then put in the "cork" ball.   They hand put on the ring for attaching to a lanyard or keyring. The factory was really small and they only have 9 workers, but they make thousands of whistles each week. They also make all the gold plated ones for the NFL Superbowl and other special events.  One of the best parts was at the end of the tour when we got a free whistle! 

Every gas station in Ohio seems to have Buckeye candy, so we decided to try some.  They are chocolate covered peanut butter balls, but weren't as good as they looked.  We got a little silly with them before we ate them!

We spent some time at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.  It covered slavery through the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, and also other types of slavery today. 

hiding places in a house along the Underground Railroad

For lunch we stopped for Cincinnati chili.  It came loaded with chili, beans, onions, and cheese all piled on a bed of spaghetti.  Yum!

We drove on to Greenville for a fun factory tour at Kitchen Aid.  They make great stand mixers, which we saw on the assembly line, as well as blenders, and other appliances.  It made us miss our own kitchen and real cooking! 

all the parts of a stand mixer, and then some

one of the first mixers

On we went to Wapakoneta, the home of Neil Armstrong.  There is a fantastic Armstrong Air and Space Museum there.  We had fun climbing in the space capsule, trying to land the shuttle on a simulator, watching the movie about the lunar landing, and looking at all the artifacts from Neil Armstrong, other astronauts (many of them from Ohio), and the history of space travel.

the actual Gemini VIII Spacecraft

Apollo spacesuit