Day 4: Air and Space Museum, National Archives, Ford Theater

 Today our first stop was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall.  I was not able to get five tickets for the opening time of 10:00 a.m.  I got one ticket at 10:00 a.m. and four at 11:00 a.m.  The one ticket was for Hunter because he had the biggest interest in the Air and Space Museum.  We all got in the 10 a.m line and hoped they would have mercy on us and let us all go in...no go.  We had to get into line again for the 11:00 entry time.  It was very hot to stand in line for another hour.  The museum had mercy on the line because it was so hot that they let the 11 entry time line go in at 10:45.  Kara and Keegan quickly found Hunter and they explored together and Carol and I saw what we wanted and sat when we wanted.  This was day four and we were getting tired so the sitting was more than the exploring.  We all had plenty of time because half of the museum was closed for renovation.  

This is one of the murals at the museum that greets you when you step in the door.

Another mural.

The first picture taken from space that shows earth from space.

Neil Armstrong's space suit he wore when walking on the moon along with the famous saying he said as he stepped onto the moon surface.  This was the most important item that Hunter wanted to see in the museum.

Space suit Neil Armsetrong wore on moon.

Close up of suit.

The space suit Alan Shepherd wore during his flight in his Mercury capsule on the Freedom 7.

Freedom 7 capsule.

Inside of the Lunar Module when it landed on the moon.  The triangles on each

 show a representation of what Neil Armstrong and Buss Aldrin would've seen as they were landing on the moon. 

Command Module Columbia, Apollo 11
Michael Collins flew it in lunar orbit while Aldrin and Armstrong were at Tranquility Base exploring  the moon.

From this window, Collins had a great view.

Replica of plague placed on the moon during the landing, July 20, 1969.

Replica of what was left on the moon...American flag, Solar Wind Composition Equipment

 and Contingency Soil Sampler.

Scorched bottom of Columbia following re-entry.

Space suit of Michael Collins.  He was sometimes called "the loneliest astronaut" because he stayed in the Columbia alone while Armstrong and Aldrin explored the moon.

Equipment used to explore the moon:  tongs to pick up soil samples; Penetrometer to drive into the ground; camera; bag dispensers; core tubes.

Lunar rover.

Camera

Bore stems to measure temperature of moon.

This plague explains the overshoes below.

Apollo Mission Simulator
Hunter was "over the moon" seeing all these original and replicas of the Apollo Space Program.  He took many more pictures that he will keep as a reminder of this visit.

National Archives.  The Archives contains the original Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, Constitution and the 1297 version of the Magna Carta.

Declaration of Independence

Above and below:  Constitution

Bill of Rights

Edgar Hoover FBI Building.  I had tried to get ticket for a tour of the building but this building is closed and has been since January.

We did see a FBI Police car

The last stop of the day was the Ford Theater.  It was another hot day but there was a street entertainer on the sidewalk to help us forget about the heat.  Actually, the entertainment was the ruckus that was caused when another street vendor/performer on the other side of the street got into a verbal dispute with him.  Four policemen on bicycles had to be called to settle the argument.  Those waiting in line at the Ford Theater supported the entertainer on this our side of the street and used their voices and clapping to show their support.  Anyway, it made the hot line wait a little more interesting!

The pistol Booth used to assassinate Lincoln.

The door into the box in which President and Mrs Lincoln sat

The box in which the Lincoln's sat.

The pink building is the Peterson House where Lincoln was taken following the assassination.  He died there.  By the time we got out of the theater, there was a long line to enter the Peterson House and only 30 minutes until it closed; therefore, we did not go inside the building.  Keegan was the only one who had not been in the building and he said he was ready to head back to camp.  We found the nearest Metro Station and took it back to New Carrollton Station.

This screenshot shows a slow day for walking.  We walked only 3.6 miles.  Add that to the first three days and my feet were very tired.