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Originally promoted the Florence KY "Mall", until the "M" became a Y'
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Luther (middle) heads for tickets, Laura (green shirt) and Al head for stadium
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Life-size sculptures in stadium entrance area
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Laura and Brian doing whatever teenagers do . . .
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Great American Insurance, but still a great name for a ball park
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Neat mosaic mural in the concourse
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Baseball is big business, and there are ads everywhere
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Lots of red - but they are the Reds
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There are three Cincinnati Reds mascots of various genders
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That's the Wilmington Presbyterian Church, a friendly place
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Our first big tourist outing was to Dayton and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
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The statue of Icarus welcomes us . . .
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In addition to a fantastic collection of planes, the museum has many other interesting exhibits
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That's one huge quilt with a bunch of Air Force emblems
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The collection of hand-painted WW2 flight jackets was fascinating
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Some were self-decorated, others were painted by the same guys that did airplane nose art
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The hangars are huge, and the planes well displayed
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There's a whole exhibit dedicated to the Berlin airlift operation
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Some of the planes are experimental, but most were operational
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A composite image showing the impressive hall pf missiles
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A few brave souls tested parachutes from the edge of space, jumping from balloon gondolas like this one
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One of those jumpers broke the sound barrier during his free fall
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A composite panoramic view of one big hangar - an awesome place
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Most of the planes are at floor level, but the U2 soars above . . .
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The B2 bomber is a particularly impressive aircraft . .
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We saw several of these unmanned planes when we toured Edwards AFB in California
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The early aircraft exhibits are always fascinating
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There are so many early aircraft it's almost impossible to photograph just one
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This is a wind tunnel built in 1916 by Orville Wright - generated winds over 160mph
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Many of the old planes are one of a kind, a few are replicas
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This French-built Nieuport 28 was the first plane flown in WW1 by American flyers
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No WW1 display would be complete without the famed Sopwith Camel . . but where's Snoopy?
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The "naked" view makes it easy to see how fragile those early planes were
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This Italian plane had 3 huge engines
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Aww - isn't that cute!
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Notice the student pilot (2nd from left) trying to explain what happened
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In the special Experimental hangar, some one of a kind and prototype planes, including this F-16
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All these futuristic planes, and most of them at least 30 years old. Makes you wonder about the newer stuff . . .
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This X-13 from 1955 is one of only two built to test vertical take off and landing.
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This 1961 Kestrel was a prototype for the Harrier jump jet developed in Britain
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X-15 rocket plane
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Bell X-1B - similar to the one Chuck Yeager flew to break the sound barrier in 1947
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The only existing XB-70 Valkyrie first flew at Mach 3.0 in 1965. The plane is 192 ft long, just a few feet less than this hangar
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The tilt-wing XC-142A could take off like a helecopter, cruise like a plane. This is the only one left
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The newest plane in the museum, this 2008 Rutan "Long Easy" is the first jet to fly a pulsed detonation engine - more powerful, more efficient
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The Bell XV-3 is the first tilt-wing aircraft, and flew in 1955. Two were made, this one survives
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Yep - a real flying saucer. The Avrocar fist flew in 1959, gave up trying in 1961. Never got more than a few feet off the ground
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There are several Presidential planes in a special hangar - a very popular exhibit
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That's the Eisenhower plane
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The "Sacred Cow" was built for FDR. Pres. Truman signed the bill creating the US Air Force aboard that plane in 1947
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Pretty plane . .
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We like all that WW2 nose art
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Many aircraft are displayed in life-size dioramas
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This Messerschmidt was the first operational turbojet plane, from 1942
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Those planes were almost all engine
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Squadron banners were important symbols . . .
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Part of a mural in downtown Wilmington OH
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Penguins are always fun
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A tender tortoise moment . .
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It's a beautiful carousel, but almost nobody was riding it . .
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Black Swans were long thought to be impossible - until somebody credible actually saw one
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Otters are such fun to watch
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These were youngsters just learning to explore
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We liked the gargoyles
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Feeding the lorakeets - two on the arm, two working on that ear . . .
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Whadda you lookin' at?
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These Australian parrots are nectar eaters, and quite persistant
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We hope he's just molting. Otherwise, he's in trouble
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This koala sculpture was almost as cuddly as the real things (which were sleeping)
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Told ya . .
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It's not a Norwegian Blue, silly - it's an African Grey
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Cats sleep upwards of 20 hours a day. Even when you're paying to see them
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Bust of the first captive-born gorilla.
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And that's Colo in person . . .
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Bust of a generic silverback . .
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Mama chimp looking for baby . . .
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Al taking a picture of . . .
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. . . Judy at the other end of the misting tunnel
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Remarkable face . .
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They call it a "Zoo and Aquarium". This is the aquarium part
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There were several manatee in the exhibit
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It was one of the most photographable fish tanks we've seen
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The colors on tropical fish are so intense
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We couldn't find the name of this nosy guy anywhere
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All the kiddies grab the rope and stay together. It says here.
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Gorgeous trumpet vine . . .
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Motoring on . . .
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Great python . . .
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Flying foxes are the largest bats in the world - 6ft wingspan. Awesome
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Wish we could see them fly . . .
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The Red Panda is very rare. The zoo has two
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The Pallas' Cat from Mongolia is the oldest known cat species. It has round pupils rather than slits, and is about the size of a house cat
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It's an Amur Tiger, more popularly known as the Siberian. It's the largest known cat species.
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The king of beasts is a world-class snoozer
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He sets an example for the rest of the family
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We've rarely seen the Wolverine, and never one this active
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The Columbus Zoo is very proud of their polar bear habitat
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Seems like the people and the bears enjoy seeing each other
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We thought this timber wolf looked kind of skinny. Maybe it's just summer fur
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So - how much wood could a woodchuck . . .
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We're not sure that's a real egg, this late in the season . . .
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We'll end as we head for the scooter barn. This is the way to walk!