Day 3

Today we went to the Steven Udzar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum. This is a more traditional aviation museum in a hanger out at Dulles Airport.

There were probably 300 different aircraft, helicopters, and rockets spread out through the museum, some of the famous, but more of them just representative of their type. Not nearly as crowded as the one on the mall, this part of the museum was more populated with aviation enthusiasts such as me and Pop.

After exploring the museum, we went to an hour long IMAX movie, Fighter Pilot, which followed an F-15 pilot through training exercises known as "Red Flag" out at Nellis Air Force base near Las Vegas. I was one of the better IMAX movies I have seen; lots of intense aerial footage, but no obvious attempts to get the audience motion sick.

In that vein, I watched someone emerge from one of the motion simulators and get sick right on the floor beside it. I don't blame her. I have an absolutely cast iron stomach, never been seasick or airsick in my life (while I was taking flying lessons, my instructor twice had to cut a lesson short because he was airsick, but never me), but I get queasy on those motion simulators.

Pictures of the day here.

Six Figures

What is it about seeing things? I mean, seeing the real thing? Pictured above is the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber that was exactly like a thousand other B-29 bombers that rolled off assemby lines all over the country sixty-five years ago. With my interest in aviation, I've seen a half dozen of them in different museums around the country.

But his one's different. In August of 1945, this plane, this very one, flew over Japan, and dropped a single bomb that killed 100,000 people. A single man flipped a single switch, and all those lives ended. And now the plane is displayed for all to see, as it should be. But why is it different to look at this one, this real one? I don't know.

It just is.

A Long Drive to a Worthwhile Destination

Got a relatively early start today. After breakfast at the hotel (woo-hoo! Flippy waffle iron today!), we got on the road to Charlottesville to see Monticello. Expected the trip to take about 2 1/4 hours, wound up taking nearly 4. Traffic on the Beltway was horrific, it was an hour before we were even out of the DC area. Then we missed a turn and had to backtrack. When we arrived we found that the earliest available tour was 2:40, and it was no soap getting onto an upstairs tour. We hung out at the gift shop and visitor's center for a while (got Abby a Monticello snow globe), watched a video, and finally headed up the mountain on a shuttle bus.

I've always wanted to see Monticello, and was not disappointed. Unfortunately, no photography inside the house, so pictures are a little short today. See them here. Beyond the amazing architecture and innovative engineering in the house, I was struck by the resonance of Jefferson's personality across the intervening centuries. It was clear from the tone of the questions that were asked by members of our group that Jefferson is a man deeply admired, and there was a crystalline sense of awe in the audience.

The preservation of the house is magnificent. Though 183 years dead, Jefferson's presence and touch were clear throughout the structure. Walls, floors, and much of the furniture is original, and you could almost hear a gasp when the docent pointed out that Lafayette had walked through these very doors into this very parlor and had seen that very portrait hanging on the wall. The tour included only the ground level; upper floor tours were only available on a limited basis.

After the tour, we walked around the grounds, looked at the vegetable garden, the Weaver's cottage, the flowers, and the cemetery. The Jefferson family still owns the cemetery, and are still being laid to rest there. The most recent funeral was last December. I was struck by how panoramically obvious it was that we were on a mountaintop. Views were spectacular in all directions. It was important to Jefferson that Monticello be self-sufficient, an ideal that was obvious when you saw the locations of the old sawpit, the carpenters hut, the joiners cottage, the blacksmith shop, the brewery, and a dedicated weaver's cottage.

No traffic or missed turns coming back, but we got back late. We're planning on the second half of the Air Museum tomorrow, and a bus tour on Wednesday.

Day One

Photos of the day, including a slideshow if you so desire, can be found here.

We got up about 8 and headed down for a decent "free" hotel breakfast. No flippy waffle iron :(.

Headed out to the Rockville Metro station (see previous post), and rode the subway into the city. Turns out that the Smithsonian station is about 4 blocks down the mall from the Air & Space Museum. Walked up the mall past the castle that is the "actual" Smithsonian, and the sculpture garden in front of the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art. Entrance hall is pretty spectacular, with The Spirit of St. Louis, Chuck Yeager's X-1, the Apollo 11 moon capsule, and a number of other famous aircraft and spacecraft all right there.

The museum is laid out in a long configuration, with 3 big galleries (one of them the aforementioned entrance hall), and number of topical exhibition halls (WWI, WWII, Commercial Aviation, Naval Aviation, Pioneers, Golden Age, Wright Bros, a kids exhibit, Astronomy, Space Race, Computing & Aviation, Jets, Photography, and Rockets).

We spent about seven hours there. The Wright Brothers exhibit was my favorite. Seeing the original flyer (only the fabric covering has been changed from the original that actually flew at Kitty Hawk) is thrilling. A great deal of the exhibit is spent detailing how methodical the brothers were, and how their success is attributable to not just innovation but also to sound engineering practices. They also had one of the five remaining Wright bicycles on display.

Dad was most impressed by the full scale mockup of the Hubble Space Telescope. He had always envisioned something about the size of a 55 gallon drum. He was amazed to see something more along the size of a school bus. He also was impressed with the quality and quantity of models that were on display. There was a prominent display of a 1/72 scale aircraft carrier that he had seen featured in a model makers' magazine. It was approximately the size of the van, and had a full complement of 83 highly detailed aircraft and helicopters on it. The builder had spent approximately 20 hours a week on it for 12 years.

Back to the hotel, where we chilled for bit and then went to the Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse, which had a interesting twist on the "animal heads on the wall, staring back at you" decor. The centerpiece of the decoration was a giant moosehead over the fireplace, which from time to time would animatronically come to life and speak to the room, generally highlighting the night's special.

Riding on the Metro

Today was Pop's first subway experience. The DC Metro was as efficient as I remembered. There was some initial confusion about payment, but once we figured it out we were on our way. Rockville is about 15 or so miles outside of the city. With less than a half-hour's ride, we found ourselves on the National Mall. It was three blocks from there to the Air and Space Museum. Overall, it was much less stress than driving and parking. Dad says that there were more people on his one train than live in Guyton, Georgia. Pictures and posts about the Museum to follow.

Off to DC

A warm cat, tucked into the curve of your body under the covers, is a powerful incentive to stay in bed. When the alarm began sounding this morning at 5 AM, my body, my cat, and my fuzzed mind could not figure out why there was such a racket on a Saturday morning. The gradual realization that my trip to DC had finally arrived eventually worked its magic on my reluctant brain, and we were up and off to the Colorado Springs airport.

After some minor confusion in getting to the airport (only the second time in 10 years we've been there), I hugged and kissed the womenfolk goodbye and embarked on the adventure. The automated check in machine offered a $60 upgrade to First Class, which was actually only $45 because First Class passengers do not have to pay the $15 baggage check fee, so I took the upgrade. What's really remarkable about First Class on a plane is how you eventually realize that it's still a pretty uncomfortable seat; you only think it's great because you compare it to the Middle Passage-like accomodations in coach. Nonetheless, my ass appreciated the extra space.

I had meant to get a haircut before I left Colorado, but never got the chance. I used my connect time in Dallas to get a trim in the concourse barber shop. It was time well spent, and only a couple of dollars more than my barber shop back home. The downside: no time for lunch during the connection. The second leg of the trip was coach; American charges even for peanuts nowadays, so by the time I arrived in Baltimore I was starving.

After a bit of cellular shouting, Dad and I hooked up in baggage claim. He looks good, not as thin as on the cruise, and I guess he decided to ditch the full beard.

The BWI rental car process involves quite a bit of waiting, a few sardinelike moments on a shuttle bus, and high pressure upselling from the rental agents. My agent told me that the economy car I had pre-booked was "pretty humble." After repeated assurances that I was a "pretty humble guy", he eventually, reluctantly, booked me into my Kia hatchback. Hilariously, that was when he discovered that all the economy cars were out, and he had to upgrade me to mid-size. Final score was Me: 1, The Man, 0.

After some wandering, we got to our hotel, in Rockville, Maryland. Great room. We headed off to Rockville City Center on the recommendation of the front desk clerk. Numerous restaurants in a pedestrian mall setup. We chose Bobby's Crab Cakes, which were delicious. They let us order off the lunch menu, which kept it affordable. After dinner, picked up some vanilla shakes at an ice cream shop across the street and headed back to the hotel.

Tomorrow, we're planning on sleeping in a little, then having the hotel breakfast, and then heading into DC on the Metro to check out the National Air and Space Museum.