Yesterday's BLOG ended with a quiz. The answer to today's big day is that we are half way through out trip today. Our 110 day journey. A couple of notes, first it feels like we just left and it is all kind of a dream. Each day is a different adventure. We have averaged 14.7 miles to the gallon with the truck, that includes towing and non towing time. Our biggest expense so far is lodging at $1,925 and fuel is currently at $1,447. About $60 a day plus food and incidentals. Which would probably get us up to an average of $100 a day.
We left the trailer early this morning at 7:30 for the ten minute drive to the College Park Metro Station. The Subway system is great. It is so easy to use and trains run every 20 minutes. From the College Park Station we had twelve stops to downtown. Everyone has to be ready to get on and off as the doors are only open about 20 seconds at each stop. The trains move fast too. We left early so that we could go to 9:00 Mass in D.C. at St. Peter''s Cathedral.
The subways are three stories underground. Getting to the surface we got on the longest escalator that I have ever seen.
We made it to Mass with 20 minutes to spare after only one subway train change.
Mass was an hour and 20 minutes. A bit long. After Mass we discovered that we were only two blocks from Coffee and a Muffin.
We passed the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court Buildings.
And the Capitol.
We went to the Aerospace Museum. Lots of cool stuff. I really liked these cut outs of the early airliners. We flew Lufthansa once when we went to visit John, oh boy, nothing like these seats.
There are planes, engines, satellites, moon probes, space shuttles, missiles and rockets. At one point Martha noticed a Minuteman Rocket. I only heard her say Minuteman and thought she must be giving me a new nickname..........
The Wright Brothers 'plane'. There was a film presentation showing one of the early flights. The plane was first catapulted off onto a runway of sorts and then once airborne, after several bounces up and down, it got about ten feet into the air, it climbed at such a slow rate. It circled a field about the size of a football field gaining only about ten feet in altitude each round. Finally after about five laps flying the circle pattern it reached about fifty feet in height. It must have really been exciting to watch it actually fly.
Want a car that drives itself? Just add these gizmos to the top of it.
This was a very cool model of an aircraft carrier. It reminded me of a virtual landing that I once tried and ended up approaching too low and crashed into the side of the carrier. There were virtual cockpits at the museum that you could 'fly' for a fee. I didn't do one today but they are super neat and very realistic, responding to your control movements.
We walked by the new African-American Hall which opened yesterday. There were a million people and venders everywhere. It is a very cool looking building.
Then we went to the Natural History Museum.
Martha was anxious to look at the Hope Diamond.
It rotates around in a circular case in the middle of this circled area.
There were lots of heir loom diamonds and crowns to view. Martha was doing a little window shopping. Luckily our credit card has a spending limit
Then we went past an exhibit which displayed the different stages of man's development. I wasn't sure if the progression was right to left, or left to right. I think Martha and my opinions might vary.
Over to check out the President's Digs.
Then the subway back to the car and home. We got home at 5pm. About a ten hour trek today.
On the way home we stopped at the market and I hit their salad bar and chicken wing bar. Martha got a Caesar Salad again, no comparison again.
Tomorrow we will go to Arlington and the Pentagon. Thanks for the company.
Be sure to see 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Benches. It was my most favorite Memorial of them all, especially at night. Each bench has a reflective pool under it that lights up at sunset. It is beautiful.
ReplyDelete"The benches are made of stainless steel inlaid with granite. Each bench is inscribed with a victim's name on the end, and arches over a shallow reflecting pool of water, lit from below. If more than one family member died in the crash, the name of each family member is inscribed in the pool, as well as on their individual bench.
ReplyDeleteThe memorial's benches are arranged facing opposite directions along the flight path of the doomed plane. The 125 benches facing the Pentagon, including most of those in this photograph, memorialize victims who died in the building. Looking at one of these benches, a visitor will see their engraved name and the Pentagon in the same view. Visitors looking at the 59 benches memorializing those who died on the plane will see the victim's inscribed name and the open sky in the same view.
The memorial benches are arranged along thin steel "Age Lines" marking the birth years of victims from 1998 (3-year-old Dana Falkenberg) to 1930 (71-year-old Navy Capt. John D. Yamnicky, Sr., Ret.). Within each Age Line, the benches are arranged by month and date of birth. This architectural design aims to unify victims without regard to their status as man or woman, military or civilian, rich or poor."
The memorial was very impressive. I wish I had read your comments before we were there. We didn't pay enough attention to all those details. Bummer.
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