Inventions: The Mother of Vacations-- Part 5: Menlo Park and Dayton

MENLO PARK, NEW JERSEY: Thomas Edison, who invented the electric light system and phonograph among many other things, holds his place at the pinnacle of American creative history. You can honor his genius at his lab and home at a National Historical Park in New Jersey.

According to Foege, "Anyone serious about their tinkering travel would want to go there. It was the first research and development site in the modern sense."

I'd like to add the Henry Ford and Thomas Edison homes in Fort Myers, Florida, as a place to visit.

DAYTON, OHIO: From the airplane (which I knew) to the cash register (which I didn't know), Dayton has been responsible for some of the most defining inventions of the last century. In the late 1800s it was a hub of innovation with more patents per capita than any other U.S. city.

Today you can visit the National Aviation Hall of Fame and the Dayton Aviation Heritage Park on the former site of the Wright Brothers Cycle Company. And there is something about an Air Force Museum in the area.  
Get Your Inventing Shoes ON. --RoadDog