Monday, April 18, 2011

EVERY BOY'S DREAM??

Spirit of St Louis
  Charles A. Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St Louis on May 21, 2927 ~ the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York to Paris, France, in 33 hours, 30 minutes.
      




Isn't it every boy's dream to fly? 
or at least check out planes ~ UP CLOSE!!!

JPE & I visited the Air & Space Museum (part of the Smithsonian Museums)... Monday was busy, busy with families on Spring Break, Boy Scout troops, high school, middle school and after-school programs...
but it's nice to see so many people enjoying Washington DC.

WWII exhibit
JPE's dad served during WWII - so this exhibit was especially interesting! Amazing murals set the tone & gave viewers a "realistic visual" for understanding what the pilot may have seen from the cockpit.

another WWII airplane
WWII display case memorabilia
THIS CAUGHT MY EYE!!!
A Public Affairs Committee pamphlet ~ wondering what men going off to war needed to know about women / girls? umm... any ideas? I'd like to know if any bloggers have the answer!


Of course, we checked out the Apollo Lunar Module. This is the second stage that ferried the astronauts from the orbit capsule to the lunar surface.

On the second level was one of my favorite exhibits... "Pioneers of Flight"... which included Amelia Earhart's plane, a Lockheed Vega! and this unusual plane...

an enterprising aircraft...
...a WRIGHT EX airplane!
...which was the first aircraft which advertised a product, a grape-flavored soft drink, VIN FIZ. Rodgers, owner of the plane, painted the drink logo on the bottom of the wings, and was paid $4-5 for each mile he flew... you'll want to click THIS LINK to learn about the outcome of his advertising venture.

Water Exploration was not left out of the picture...
a National Geographic diving cage!
A full day of exhibits - the crowds followed us to the METRO - our last experience with negotiating a crowd while using the wheelchair. URGGHH... difficult!

2 comments:

  1. I remember going to that museum...it was wonderful. Sounds like you are having a super time. Enjoy!

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  2. We loved the Air and Space! Such a great museum. We spent hours and hours there. I was so impressed by the Apollo 11 command module and it transported me 40 years back to when I was a 9-year-old girl completely fascinated by the first landing on the moon.

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