Bedford, Pennslyvania to College Park, MD – 10 November 2023

We were excited to be back in Washington, DC until we realized we had once again chosen a weekend with a Stat.  Hopefully it would not be as busy this time as it was at Easter.

Derek had booked a ticket at the Air and Space Museum for the following day and I chose to visit the Museum of Natural History which didn’t require a reservation. The Natural History Museum opened in 1910. Its size is comparable to 18 football fields and holds 140 million plus natural science specimens and cultural artifacts. Amazing museum. You can easily spend all day here. I spent a few hours looking at underwater specimens, fossils, stuffed mammals, and an exhibit on the evolution of man.  Derek really enjoyed the National Air and Space Museum as well and felt it was well worth a visit. What distinguishes this museum from others, other than its impressive size, is seeing the actual Wright flyer, Apollo 11 capsule and many other original artifacts. It sports many hands on exhibits and you can’t beat the cost of admission to either of these museum … free !

There are many very impressive monuments around Washington, DC.  Outside of the Air and Space Museum is one Called Delta Solar, the sculpture consists of stainless steel “sails” that move in the breeze. They are attached to an open geometric grid formed into the shape of a Delta Formation (a flight pattern where multiple flying objects come together in a V in order to fly more efficiently.) The sculpture sits on concrete and in a reflecting pool outside the Air and Space museum.

The following day we decided to visit Arlington.   Arlington National Cemetery is actually in Virginia just over the bridge from Washington, D.C. It was the day after Remembrance day, which has been commemorated here for the past 150 years. We booked one of their hop on hop off buses, and got off the bus a couple of times to see the Unknown Soldier grave and also JFK’s grave. There are over 450,000 war veterans, family and other notable individuals buried in this cemetery and it was a very moving experience to gaze across field upon field filled with thousands of uniform grave stones and witness the sheer enormity of loss from war. This was an incredible experience that I will never forget.