Reunions

Preliminary Registration Form

               Squadrons & Shipmates Inc. will have their 8th annual reunion at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dayton, Ohio from June 20 to June 25, 2017. Once again there will be a full schedule of venues to keep everyone busy. One of the very exciting tours will be the annual "Homecoming" show of The Thunderbirds. Below is a list of the suggested tours and their descriptions.

                                Welcome to Dayton – the birthplace of aviation!  We have so much to show you in our community and the surrounding area. Here are some tour ideas! 

•              The Dayton Air Show: Sunday, June 25, 2017   (Approximate time:  TBA)
•         The Gem City    (Approximate time: 9 AM – 3:30 PM), includes the following:
•        Dayton Aviation Heritage Park, Wright Cycle Shop Complex.  Tour this small museum depicting the life of Wilbur and Orville Wright, along with their neighbor Paul Lawrence    Dunbar.  Includes a 20 minute video providing an overview of the Wright’s and their contribution to history.
•         Tour of the gorgeous Woodland Cemetery.  Founded in 1841, Woodland Cemetery is one of the nation's five oldest rural garden cemeteries and a unique cultural, botanical and educational resource in the heart of Dayton, Ohio.  The Romanesque gateway, chapel, and office, completed in 1889 are on the National Register of Historic Places with the chapel featuring one of the finest original Tiffany windows in the country. Thousands tour the grounds each year to visit the gravesites of Wilbur and Orville Wright, poet Paul Laurence Dunbar, Matilda and Levi Stanley, Queen and King of the Gypsies; Governor James Cox, writer Erma Bombeck, and many others.
•          America’s Packard Museum.  See the history through the famous Packard automobile.  A docent led tour in small groups will provide an abbreviated tour of the museum. Guests can also stroll at their leisure.  A video in the beautiful library will be playing for anyone that would like to hear the history without the walking. 
•            Lunch (ordered “on your own”) from one of the various options at the 2^nd Street Market. Local growers, bakers, culinary specialists and artisans fill this charming historic freight house. Reminiscent of European markets, it's alive with vendors, people and activity.  The 2nd Street Market operates in an historic block-long former 1911 B&O railroad building.
•          Carillon Historical Park.  Carillon Park immerses you in the region’s history – from Dayton’s founding in 1796 through two centuries of expansion, industrialism and innovation. Learn about these revolutionary achievements while strolling through the Park’s 25 historical buildings and interacting with the hundreds of artifacts in the exhibits.  Meet the “founding fathers” of Dayton (Wilbur Wright, Orville Wright, Col. Edward Deeds, Charles “Boss” Kettering and John Patterson) in an amazing 4D Theater production in the theater.  Plenty of time to tour at your own pace.    Where else can you see the original 1905 Wright Flyer III, the world’s first practical airplane and National Historic Landmark, the 1835 B&O (Grasshopper) steam locomotive, and the first automobile self-starter?   If guests wanted to extend their visit, a tour could be added to visit Hawthorne Hill, the mansion built by Orville, Wilbur and Katherine Wright.  (Advance reservations would be required.)
•          “Dayton’s Aviation Trail”     (Approximate time: 9 AM– 3PM)
•             The Ark Encounter  The IMAX Theater, within the Museum, will have a show (title TBA) at 11:00 am for an additional fee of $7, for any guest that would like to shorten their walking tour.  • A special behind-the-scenes tour of the restoration area (currently restoring the Memphis Bell) could possibly be available. This must be arranged in advance and a list of all guests would need to be submitted 2 weeks in advance.  •  Lunch would be “on your own” in the Museum Café. 
•          Dayton Aviation Heritage Park, Wright Brothers Interpretive Center.  Tour this small museum depicting the life of Wilbur and Orville Wright and the early days of flight.  Includes a 20 minute video providing an overview of the Wright’s and their contribution to history.  And then the location where the action took place – Huffman Prairie.  This is the actual site with a replica of the catapult used by Orville and Wilbur.  A park ranger would provide a detailed summary of the time the brothers spent in this field. 
•         Noah's Ark Encounter    This full-size replicate of Noah’s Ark, crafted into a amazing museum opens in the summer of 2016 in Williamstown, Kentucky (about 90 minutes from Dayton).  You won’t want to miss this tour!  You’ve probably seen pictures of Noah’s Ark in children’s books, complete with giraffe heads sticking out the top. But the real Noah’s Ark, the one described in the Bible, was huge. It was amazingly seaworthy—a ship that kept the occupants safe during a year-long worldwide flood. Prepare to be blown away as you explore the life-sized reconstruction of Noah’s Ark.
•                 The Creation Museum:  The state-of-the-art 75,000-square-foot museum brings the pages of the Bible to life, casting its characters and animals in dynamic form and placing them in familiar settings. Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden. Children play and dinosaurs roam near Eden’s Rivers. The serpent coils cunningly in the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Majestic murals, great masterpieces brimming with pulsating colors and details, provide a backdrop for many of the settings.  The area within the museum has been divided into unusually configured spaces that allow for personal interaction with each of the 160 exhibits. Several parts of the museum, including the stunning forty-foot high portico with its cliff wall and floor-to-ceiling glass windows, flaunt open spaces and remarkable designs.
•            Waynesville & Lebanon – The Antique Capital of the US  (Approximate time: 9:30 AM 3:30 PM)
•            Whether you just stroll through the antique stores, quilt shops, décor and accessories stores or you power shop for beautiful home décor, clothing and lots of treasures … this is a great day to enjoy a slower, gentler pace in these two quaint villages.  We will arrange for lunch at the oldest Inn in Ohio, The Golden Lamb.  •  If desired, we could plan a stop at a Miami Valley Gaming – a beautiful casino – on the way home and extend the day by a few hours.  Guests could have dinner on their own at the casino.
•            Snooty Fox Consignment Stores - Cincinnati    (Approximate time: 9 AM – 4 PM)
•             The Snooty Fox started the craze of shopping at upscale and unique consignment stores.  We will visit four clothing consignment shops and three home décor shops around Cincinnati via deluxe motorcoach with a lunch stop, snacks and a 15% or 20% discount at each of the stores. You will find “Cincinnati’s finest” fashions, accessories, jewelry, home décor and trinkets for a fraction of the price!    Lunch at McAllister’s Deli – yummo!  
•             Visiting Indy   (Approximate time: 8 AM – 8 PM)
•             Indianapolis is two hours due west of Dayton – and a great place to visit!!  Did you know that Indy has more historical and war monuments than any other city, except Washington DC, in the United States?  We would tour the city and the monuments with an Indy guide, including a stop at the Soldiers and Sailors War Memorial and a trip to the top of the monument that overlooks the downtown area.  Guests have several options for a casual lunch as they stroll the downtown square.  • Included in this tour would be the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  The IMA is among the 10 largest and 10 oldest general art museums in the nation. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 54,000 works spanning 5,000 years, the IMA offers significant holdings of African, American, Asian, European and contemporary art, textiles and fashion art, as well as a growing collection of design arts.  Also included at the IMA is the Lilly House and Garden - an elegant 26-acre estate. The mansion was once the home of J.K. Lilly Jr., the late Indianapolis businessman, collector, and philanthropist. • And you can’t visit Indy without a visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  We can plan a quick trip to the museum or the full tour, including a ride on the track and the ability to get out and kiss the bricks.  • Dinner before returning home would be at the Slippery Noodle – the oldest tavern and inn in Indiana, and once visited by John Dillinger.  • Another option would be to go to Beef & Boards Dinner Theater for lunch and omitting either the IMA or the Motor Speedway.  This would only be a good option if you choose NOT to go to LaComedia Dinner Theater.
•              Whitewater Valley Railroad ”  (only available on Saturday, June 24, 2017)    (Approximate time: 9:30 AM – 5 PM)
•              Visit Historic Metamora, Indiana arriving by the Whitewater Railroad!! This vintage train departs from Connersville’s Grand Central Station. Platted in 1838, Metamora is a restored canal town. Visit the working grist mill, restored canal and lock, operating replica horse drawn canal boat, historic covered aqueduct, and over 40 shops and restaurants during the 2 hour layover.   Guests would have lunch on their own in Metamora and we would plan dinner on the way home. 
•              LaComedia Dinner Theater in Springboro, Ohio     (Approximate time: 5 PM –10PM)   This tour would be an evening tour, combined with one of the day-time tours.
•               The evening would consist of their scrumptious dinner buffet, including their world-renowned sweet potato soufflé.  Following dinner, a first-class theater production will entertain guests.  The 2017 season will be announced approximately July 2016. 
•              Dinner at the O Club
•              A special treat that most visitors to Dayton don’t get to experience – dinner at the beautiful Officers Club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base!   We will have a catered buffet dinner including dessert.  Documentation from each guest (name, address, SSN, driver’s license number, etc.) would be required to gain access to the base. 
•              Take Me Out to the Ballgame  (Approximate time: 6 PM –10 PM)  This tour would be an evening tour, combined with one of the day-time tours.

•               The Dayton Dragons at Fifth Third Field.  The Dragons are a Midwest League team and a Single-A affiliate of the nearby Cincinnati Reds.  An evening at the Dragons ballpark offers much more than baseball – an entertaining experience for all ages and even for non-baseball lovers.  The 2017 season is not released yet – but if this is desirable for your group, we can see when confirmed dates will be available.  If you would like to add a dinner stop at a local pub or restaurant, we can depart earlier and include that. 
•               OTHER IDEAS – Please provide guidance on which itineraries you would like me to further develop.
•                           Armstrong Air and Space Museum – in Wapakoneta, Ohio – the birthplace of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
•                   Manufacturing Tours:  The most popular are the KitchenAid Factory and the KitchenAid Experience (cooking class) in Greenville, Ohio; or the Airstream (RV’s) manufacturing plant in Jackson Center, Ohio.
•              The Ohio History Museum in Columbus is a wonderful museum that provides an overview of our state.  
•              When you’re in Ohio, you have to cheer for the Ohio State Buckeyes!  We could plan a tour of the OSU “horseshoe stadium” in Ohio with a behind the scenes look at the field, the locker rooms, the band room and more.