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.
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.
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.
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…]
In 1966 the United States began using one of the most advanced spy planes the world had seen, or not seen. While in use, it maintained the record for the highest and fastest manned aircraft. Unless it was sitting on …Continue Reading Here…
I made it to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Udvar-Hazy center for a few hours last year. There was so much, that the little time I spent there was definitively not enough. In fact, I was only able to make it through about 1/4 of all …Continue Reading Here…
I had the pleasure of spending a few hours at the Manassas Battlefield Park. I spent time on Henry Hill and then went to the stone house. In our times of excess and overabundance, it is hard to believe only 150 years ago, your average american Continue Reading Here…
This was my first visit to the National Mall since I was in eight grade. Lets just say it was a long time ago. I am fortunate enough to have family that lives in the D.C. area and they were free to give me a quick tour. Unfortunately, I was not able …Continue Reading Here…
