DC Another View

Our recent sleep deprived trip to the other coast gave me the opportunity to visit many locations. Some places I had seen previously and some that I had not been to before. I really think that it is a conspiracy that forces us to either pay an exorbitant amount to travel or to travel at some strange hour of the day. On this trip it seemed that the only time we could depart a city was earlier then 6 am. It seemed that this trip was well planned, but it did ignore the fact that sleep may be needed by the body to keep it working.

One of the most interesting aspects of the trip was actually a return visit, if only briefly, to the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum that is located on the mall of the nation’s Capitol. We were looking for a short cut to get to the National Memorial Day Concert and planned on just going through the museum on our way to the Capitol building, for the concert. You cannot do that; you must look at the exhibits even if you do not leave the lobby. No place else will let you see so much history in such a small location. This picture tells it all. You have the Wright Flyer (1903), the Spirit of St. Louis (1927), Goddard rocket (1941), the North American X-15(1959), and Pioneer 10(1972). As soon as I saw this tabloid I had to take the picture when the reality of the situation became apparent to me. Yes, I know that this is not an original thought and that they have purposely set this up for the purpose of giving us this view, but it is so clear and so important in showing us this part of our history.
I like to think that, over our history, we have had many great people doing those things that we know are impossible and will never work. Yet this group of people have proven that all that we see is not only possible, but it can make our world a better place.
This little short cut reminded me of many things, especially that just because you have visited a place does not mean that you cannot make a return trip and see, not just new things, but see some things in a new light.