Washington DC, Day-3

Day-3 of our visit to DC started with another train trip to downtown, a short walk to the Museum of Air & Space, only to find a 1-1/2 hour line of bus loads of people waiting to go through bag check and body scan. We really wanted to see this (well, I did) so we jumped in.

Once inside, we found most of the exhibits were still closed due to a massive remodel in progress, and crowds of school kids and adults in line to get into the high school project-like exhibits ... disappointing. We spent a half-hour looking around and left, deciding to head to the "other" Air & Space Museum at Washington-Dulles airport, about 45 minutes drive. We should have gone there first!

This is one of the "must see" museums in the Country, especially if you are an airplane enthusiast. I won't post all the 50 pictures I took here, but a short list of the aircraft and aircraft-related items on view follow: 

• space ship Discovery (the tail easily 5-stories high)
• Mars Pathfinder Lander and exploration robots
• Concorde (yes, the 1,341 mph airliner)
• Enola Gay (the bomber that dropped the big one on Japan)
• Russian MiG 21F and many other foreign fighters and bombers
• the SR-71 speed record holder
• several other airliners
• Predator drone (w/missiles)

Keep in mind these were all displayed in-doors (big hanger), either hanging from the ceiling or available from ground-level or a 3-story walkway around the perimeter. So incredible! A few pix follow (open and zoom-in on the layout for details in the main hanger):

A row of exotic engines on display above ... One of the most interesting parts of the exhibit was the Restoration Shop, so organized and clean you could eat off the floor. Oh, and if you look way back against the hanger door on the left side, you'll find a Star Wars X-Wing fighter being restored. Wow!

A few more pix, then we are loading up headed for the next adventure, somewhere North of DC. Yes, those would be machine guns used in different airplanes through history; the case behind me is only half of that exhibit.

One more for you gear-heads out there ... a Pratt & Whitney R-4360, 28-cylinders arranged in a spiral design, 3,000 hp, radial engine cut-away. Who engineered these things?

Off to the next adventure ...

Washington DC, Day-2

As expected, using the technology available in the iPhone, we easily navigated the train transfer to put us just one block away from the Museum of Natural History. Unfortunately, there was a serious screening going on and lines had developed front and rear. So, we jumped in line at the front entrance and began a 30-minute zig-zag trek up the ramp to the front door. 

Once inside, the air conditioning and a giant elephant welcomed us into a 360 degree, 3-story lobby area with well-labeled entrances into the various areas of the museum. We walked through every area except for the Museum of Insects. Louise and I decided giant spiders would not be conducive to a good night's sleep. Ha!

Animal exhibits looked alive but frozen in time ... so real to be almost scary. I can't remember when the glass was added, but it seems that when I see this museum in a Hollywood production there is no glass. My only complaint is the glass makes taking pictures virtually impossible at some exhibits due to the glare.

The prehistoric area was incredible! There were creatures here that we never saw before and the presentation left little to the imagination.

I found this little fellow while wandering around and offered him my finger. Thankfully, he was also frozen in time!

We continued through the many areas of the museum, on 3 floors, and saw everything from the Hope Diamond, to the museum's thoughts on the evolution of mankind, to the mummies from Egypt. It was interesting to find many of the gem exhibits, especially the "gold" examples, from the Gold County around Auburn and Grass Valley ... it felt good to see a little bit of home here in DC.

Anyway, these few pictures hardly scratch the surface on what we saw of the different and interesting exhibits here; very well-done. 

Well, before I let you move on, we did one more thing on the way back to the RV ... we stopped at Arlington National Cemetery. This is a tour you want to do in the morning, as the 1/2 mile walk from the train station, then another 1/2-mile walk, mostly uphill, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not something you want to do in 85+ degree, very humid weather. Ask us how we know this? Hmmm?

Our guide from earlier in the week told us there are 30 burials a day here, and we witnessed two during our visit, with 21-gun salute and all. We stayed long enough to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb ... an incredible experience in itself, especially in the hot and muggy weather. Such and impressive and solemn ceremony!

Of course, I'm sure you recognize the name above. President Kennedy and other important people are buried here too, but the heat got to us and we decided to head back to the train. BTW, that figure in the the glass case at the entrance was so real ... I truly expected him to move at any moment!

So, tomorrow the Museum of Air & Space opens after being closed since the pandemic, and we are going to try and be at the front of the line. Actually, it's one of the closest museums to our location, so no transfers or major walking.

Washington DC, Day-1

I'll say from the start of this post, that just getting into DC was an adventure. We are small-town folk and this is "big city" ... getting there involved deciphering a subway map, parking options, train ticket purchases from a complicated machine (a 3-day unlimited-access seemed like a good choice), and color-coded escalators. Oh, and did I mention a transfer from the "yellow" train to the "red" train at an appropriate station along the route ... All this in about 45 minutes!

Anyway, we made it and, on my Sister's recommendation, elected to take a guided shuttle-tour the first day. This got us an excellent overview of the entire city, a 30-minute stop at the Lincoln Memorial, and a much better, pictorial map of the city layout, desperately needed for day's 2 and 3. 

But first, a ride down into the train station on the longest escalator we've ever seen!

Most of the following pictures are from the shuttle and the one stop. The driver-guide gave an excellent overview and history of most of the sights along the route! The first pix is of the Museum of Archives. You may remember it from the movie, National Treasure with Nicolas Cage.

The picture of the White House above is as close as you can get with a vehicle right now ... you can walk up to the fence if you choose; about two large city blocks ... in the heat of the day! We chose not to. We did witness the President's three helicopters take off, headed to points unknown. Which one he was in is the "shell game" the Secret Service plays to thwart an assassination attempt. Oh, and if you want to spend the night at the Trump International Hotel, bring $400/night! However, our guide told us the restaurants were excellent!

So, after the initial shock of navigating the subway system wore off, we started to explore a bit, traveling to Union Station (the hub for all transportation; Metro, Amtrak, Greyhound, etc.), finding a Hard Rock Cafe where we ate an excellent lunch, and finally taking-in a good part of the Museum of Art.

The last picture is of Union Station, where we paused for a cup of coffee and caffeine to decipher the Red train map on the wall for the return trip to the car park. Do you see "You are here" noted anywhere? The little color-coded dots are of other trains in the city going in different directions ... you MUST know where you are and where you want to go in advance of boarding. So, in this case, we ride to the Gallery Place station, and then transfer to the Yellow train, which we know goes back to the car park.

The Day-2 plan is to head for the Museum of Natural History. And, since I posted this yesterday, I discovered Google Maps on my iPhone offers excellent directions to any of the museums via the mode of transportation you select; train, bus, walking, etc. Navigation will be much easier today!

Mount Vernon, Virginia

As promised, a few pictures follow of President George Washington's home in Mount Vernon. The house is located about 13 miles South-West of Washington, DC. So, the plan is to take in Mount Vernon today, then head up to Alexandria, VA, park at the Elks Lodge there, and then go into DC each day for 3 full days of touring.

But first, a few pix of the Mount Vernon estate. The original home was built in 1734, then slowly expanded over the next 45 years to include the current two-stories and 21 rooms. Washington oversaw each renovation, advising on design, construction, and decoration, despite being away much of the time. Conscious that the world was watching, he selected architectural features that expressed his growing status as a Virginia gentleman and ultimately as the leader of a new nation.

The estate is located on the bank of the Potomac River and has many out-buildings including structures for carriages, horse stable, ice storage, blacksmith, spinning, cooking, washing, overseer's quarters, both men's and woman's slaves quarters, shoemakers shop, smokehouse and, of course, the "necessary" ... aka, the outhouse (a 2-hole'r). Both George and Martha (and other family members) are all entombed here.

It was a very hot, 90+ degree day, but we managed to get around to most of the estate, pausing for a half hour to listen to a Martha Washington actress talk about life on the estate ... fascinating! And, air conditioned!

https://www.mountvernon.org/the-estate-gardens/the-mansion/

Tomorrow's adventure is a trip into DC to start 3 days of touring the Nation's capital.