Arlington National Cemetery

 

The Arlington House

 

The JFK Memorial in the foreground

The JFK Memorial, bottom, with the Washington skyline in the back.

 

 

Tomb of the Unknown

 

 

Air and Space Museum, Part II

My brother came to visit and was kind enough to take me out to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum - Udvar-Hazy Center, near Dulles airport.  We had a nice visit and it was good to get together again after too many years.  This part of the Air and Space museum was really impressive, and had some great displays.  One of my favorites of the Smithsonian Museums I have visited.

Some not so successful projects

A variety of planes, including the Virgin plane that has several World Records.

Looking head on at one of my favorite exhibits, the SR-71 Blackbird.  More impressive in person.

A few early jet fighters.

The new Joint Strike Figher.

The F-14 fighter.  Larger in person than you would think.

Going back in time a bit, one of the most important planes in the museum.

Another cool plane to see in person.  Very sleek!

 

 The space shuttle, much larger in real life than I had expected.

 

A collection of satellites.

Trivia question: What movie is this the mothership from?

 

(Answer: Close Encounters of the Third Kind!)

Smithsonian Air and Space

A few photos from the (very crowded) Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. 

Starting from the begining...

The original Wright Flyer.

The Red Baron

 

 

The Spirit of St Louis, left, with the recent Space Ship One plane in the middle.

 

The Apollo capsule.

 

The Apollo lunar module.

 

 

A V-2 rocket, left, with the Spacelab station.

 

And some UAV's.

 

 

U.S. Botanical Gardens

I made a tour today through the Botanical Garden Conservatory.  I must say, I was very impressed with the exhibits.  It made for a nice, warm respite from the cold and blustery day outside.

The rare forest deer.  Note the fantastic camouflage!

 

They had a great Orchid exhibit.