Our trip to dayton question (Fairfield, Fairborn: where to stay, amusement parks, hotels)

[birdsis]

My husband myself and our 4 year old are taking a trip out to Dayton to the airforce muesum, can anyone give us some suggestions as to where to stay, what areas? Is there anywhere we should stay away from? Any attractions we should take in? Thinking about going to the dragons baseball game (yes/no)??? Also any hotel suggestions, how long of a drive would it be to these or other attractions? We'd appreciate any feed back we can get, also were coming from the Chicago area any idea how long of a drive it would be? Thanks..

[wrightflyer]

From Chicago, it should be about 6 hours down to Dayton. That can vary due to construction.

As for the Dragons game, they usually sell out, but the team hasn't been doing as well this year so tickets might be more readily available. It makes for a nice family outing and I've never had a problem in that part of Dayton when there's that many people around. Just park in a well lit lot close to the stadium and map out directions before hand (take note of which streets in downtown are one way and plan accordingly. It can become confusing if you aren't familiar with the place). Also, take the expressway in and out of downtown as East Dayton (E. Third St east of Webster) can be a rundown.

As for hotels, your best bet is near I675 exit 17. This exit has a nice mall and plenty of chain restaurants. Hotel chains include Holiday Inn, Residence Inn, Courtyard, Hampton Inn, Fairfield Inn, a new Hilton Garden Inn, a Country Inn and Suites, a Homewood Suites, and a Ramamda Inn. There may be a few I've left off, but many of the major hotel chains are there. From that exit to the Air Force Museum it's about 5-10 minutes. Downtown Dayton is only 15 minutes away (take the expressways).

As for places to stay away from, there's a Holiday Inn Dayton North which isn't in the best of areas and the Best Western and Comfort Inn Fairborn aren't in ideal locations either.

Hope you enjoy the stay. If you love military aviation, this musuem is the place. I'll be heading up to Chicago in August for the weekend. First time to the Windy City. Will be staying at the Fairmont. Hope that is nice.

[Hartwell Girl]

Hey wrightflyer...what is the name of that park up on a big hill/cliff by wright Pat and maybe Fairborn where there is a monument to the Wright brothers....I remember it as a child and wondered if it was still there. I LOVED that place for a picnic and it would be a good place to refer visitors.

[wrightflyer]

There is a memorial off of National Road near what I believe is its northern terminus. However, I don't know if it's inside the base gates or not. The other possibility is that it is Huffman Prarie where there is now an earthen dam (built for Dayton after the 1913 flood) and where there is a field the Wright brothers used for early test flights. First one's name is Wright Brother National Memorial off Kauffman Rd, not National. Other one is Huffman Metro Park.

[Hartwell Girl]

Yes, it might be Huffman...I know it was a fun place to visit as a child.

[birdsis]

Thank You so much for your replies, I do have a couple more questions because we really don't know anything about the Dayton area. Are there any really good resturants you would suggest maybe like a steak house or all the lines? just not a food chain type place. And how are these 2 amusement parks Coney Island Park or Kings Island? Are either worth going to? If so how long of a drive will they be from Dayton? And are there anymore sites we should take in or places we should go? Thanks again so much!!

[JefferyT]

Most of the restaurants in the area you will be staying at are chains. Your best bet are the various chains around the hotels and mall. There are independent restaurants in Dayton but they are either very expensive or greasy spoons. I think there are two local steak houses. Pine Club and John Henrys, both close to downtown.

The other collection of aviation sites, affliated with the Wright Brothers, is the
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park

The sites to see first for you are the Wright Memorial/Huffman Prairie site, which you mentioned. After the seeing the Air Force Museum start with these as they are closer to the hotels you will be staying at. The Wright Memorial one has a small but informative visitors center and museum, and the rangers can give you directions to the other sites.

The second site is in the Wright-Dunbar neighborhood, where the Wright Brothers lived. This has a bike shop run by the Wrights, their prining office, and a museum and theatre with a film that describes how they figured out how to fly.

The third site is Carillon Park, which is an very nice outdoor museum of various Dayton things, and has another replica of a Wright shop, another movie/multimedia show, and one of their very early airplanes. There is a nice place to eat here called Culps, which is a recreation of a downtown cafeteria. There is an entry fee to Carillon Park, but the National Park Service and Air Force Museum are free.

I believe there are also tours of the Wright Brothers mansion, Hawthorn Hill, which is now sort of a house museum. These are limited, so you will need to contact Carillon Park for reservations.

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Kings Island is maybe 45 minutes to half an hour from Dayton, so you could easily see this amusement park while staying in Dayton. It would be a full day to see Kings Island, so you would need more than one day in the area.

[Hartwell Girl]

Jeffrey is right about the Kings Island post...it is about 45 mins to a hour to get there and Coney Island is about another 30 plus minutes to the south. Coney is fun but nothing like KI. Dayton has some great attractions to see and I would save the gas and just stay in that general area. Just my two cents...I grew up in Dayton and remember all the fun things we did there as kids. Much more fun than any roller coaster.

[Ohiogirl81]

Definitely go to a Dragons game! They are a blast, and downtown Dayton is perfectly safe.

The steak house JeffreyT was talking about, the Pine Club, is about a mile or two south of downtown on Brown Street, near the University of Dayton campus and across from the Patterson Homestead. The food at the Pine Club is fabulous, prices are reasonable, and the atmosphere is fun. They don't take reservations, but on a weeknight you wouldn't have much of a wait.

The Patterson Homestead is worth a look, too; the Pattersons were early settlers, and their descendants founded National Cash Register.

Can you believe I've never been to the air force museum?!? My whole family has --they'd dump me off at school and then go have fun! *sigh*

[birdsis]

Thank You so much everyone for your replies they were much appreciated and needed we leave tommorow for our trip thanks again!! Dayton or Bust!!