The last time I was able to visit my Aunt Marilyn in
Washington, DC was around 20 years ago, so we wanted to make it a point to go
see her this year as we were traveling around the U.S. She has worked at the
Smithsonian Air and Space Museum for 28 years.
She was very busy getting ready for the 40 anniversary of the museum on for the July 4th weekend. It was cool to be able to see a little bit behind the scenes of what goes on.
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| Rachel in front of the Air and Space Museum at the National Mall |
She was very busy getting ready for the 40 anniversary of the museum on for the July 4th weekend. It was cool to be able to see a little bit behind the scenes of what goes on.
There are actually two Air and Space Museum facilities in the
DC area. One is in the heart of DC at the National Mall and the other is the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.
There is so much to see at each museum that you could spend days there and still not see it all. At the National Mall museum we went through an exhibit on the planets and watched a movie about stars at the planetarium.
My Aunt arranged for one of her coworkers, David, to give a special tour of the Hazy Center. They said the Smithsonian had so much stuff in storage that they needed another place to display everything. There are hundreds of fully assembled and restored planes on display. It was cool because David had a lot of knowledge to share and we saw the plane that dropped the atomic bomb, another that is one of the fastest planes ever built, and many others from the different wars of the past. Oh, and the Space Shuttle was there, too. Thanks David!
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| Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia |
There is so much to see at each museum that you could spend days there and still not see it all. At the National Mall museum we went through an exhibit on the planets and watched a movie about stars at the planetarium.
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| Uranus is so much bigger than we thought |
My Aunt arranged for one of her coworkers, David, to give a special tour of the Hazy Center. They said the Smithsonian had so much stuff in storage that they needed another place to display everything. There are hundreds of fully assembled and restored planes on display. It was cool because David had a lot of knowledge to share and we saw the plane that dropped the atomic bomb, another that is one of the fastest planes ever built, and many others from the different wars of the past. Oh, and the Space Shuttle was there, too. Thanks David!
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| Inside the National Mall Air and Space Museum |
My Aunt lives in Old Town Alexandria, so we ate at a couple
of restaurants she recommended. One that we loved was called Gadsby’s Tavern.
Apparently, George Washington and the founding fathers ate there. The whole ambiance of the restaurant was set back in colonial time. The servers wore traditional colonial dress and the menu had the same theme. Rachel and I both had the Beef Bordelaise and it was delicious. We definitely recommend it.
Apparently, George Washington and the founding fathers ate there. The whole ambiance of the restaurant was set back in colonial time. The servers wore traditional colonial dress and the menu had the same theme. Rachel and I both had the Beef Bordelaise and it was delicious. We definitely recommend it.
One of the really cool things I remember when I visited years
ago was going to her house on the Potomac River. Last time, my brother and I
took their canoe out and scared the crap out of my mom. I asked Rachel if we
could relive the canoe ride, but she wasn’t having any of it. The house sits up
on a hill with an open view of the river, so freaking beautiful. We were able
to enjoy the great weather for a while on the porch.
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| My sweet Aunt Marilyn and Chris |
We had such a great time with my Aunt. Can’t thank her enough
for spending time with us. Love you, Aunt Marilyn!
Stayed tuned for Part 2 of our Washington DC Trip coming
soon. We got to check out the White House, Lincoln Memorial and Arlington Cemetery.
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