Washington D.C. houses many objects from American history. One of my favorite places that I visited the last time I was there was the Udvar-Hazy building of the Air and Space museum. All of the planes and flying objects are full-size and completely put together. When you first enter the building, there is a commanding view of the SR71 Blackbird with the Space Shuttle in a hall behind it.
Being a fan of flight and more so, space flight, I was fascinated by my visit to the space shuttle at the Udvar-Hazy portion of the Air and Apace museum. I took several photos from the front of the space shuttle, but could not get enough of all the small details of this unique flying ship. I shot this one of the ceramic composite tiles across the belly of the shuttle. It is a true tribute to human ingenuity that someone could devise this process of adding thousands of tiles to an airplane to make it safe to reenter the atmosphere.
In the 1960’s, McDonnell Douglas introduced the F-4 fighter jet. Commonly referred to as The Phantom. This jet fighter was at the cutting edge of technology for the time and was supposed to keep the pilots more safe and away from the action. So far away from the action that the geniuses that designed it decided not to include guns of any type on the original configuration. Despite this lack, it was a major part of US air power during the modern jet era.
I was walking around Manassas National Battlefield Park when I ran across a field of bluebells beside Bull Run. I have seen bluebells before, but not in the abundance that I saw flowing through the woods. I decided to do a little checking and found on wikipedia that bluebells at typically “associated with ancient woodland where it may dominate the understorey to produce carpets of violet–blue flowers in “bluebell woods“. I guess I found one of those “bluebell woods”
In 1848, construction began on a monument to the United States of Americas first president, George Washington. Construction was stopped during the civil war and when it started back, a different color of stone was used. In 2011 an earthquake in Virginia cause the monument to be closed until a future date. This shot was in April 2011 and the earthquake was August. I need to go back and see if it changed enough to notice.
On my visit to The District, I really wanted to get a little time inside the National Air and Space Museum. However, most of the museums closed around 5:30 PM, so I had to make some tough decisions, and this was one of those to go. I did get this shot as we walked by. It is definitely one to make a point to stop at on my next visit.
History is my favorite subject. If I thought I could have made a living at being an archeologist, I would have. I enjoy the study of how the world is continually changing and hoping from one conflict to another as though conflict, or conflict resolution is what makes the world turn. During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key was caught up in the fighting between America and Britain. While sitting on a British ship, Key watched as the English bombarded Fort McHenry. A sight that would leave quite an impression on future generations. It was not for a hundred years that these words became the theme song for a nation. Now behind this golden wall lies the flag that has inspired an nation through the words of Key.
There are not many castles in the United States. In fact, there are no “real” castles if you think of them as having been built in the medieval times. The offices of the Smithsonian Institute occupy one of them on the National Mall [Continue Reading…]
This old stone house sits in the middle of one of the first battlefields of the American Civil War. On the top of the ridge beyond the house, the first bullets flew. When the battle started, the battle was treated like a Sunday afternoon outing with many from [Continue Reading…]
I have posted numerous photos from my trip to Washington D.C. and from the Udvar-Hazy building on the Air and Space museum. There are so many fascinating air planes located at the Udvar-Hazy building, but I believe my favorite has to be …Continue Reading Here…
