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.

Day 3: Bureau of Printing and Engraving, the White House, Museum of the Bible

Our tour of the Bureau of Printing and Engraving began at 8:45 a.m. so we were up and into the traffic of Washington, D.C. early.  This is the third day of driving into the city to the New Carrollton Metro Station and it made it in record time.  We got a great parking spot on the third level of the garage right across from the elevators.  We appreciated that when we returned at the end of the day.

No pictures were allowed in the Bureau of  Engraving and Printing.

After the tour, there was the usual gift shop and this poster on the wall gave us a chance for a picture.  The idea was that if $100 dollar bills were stacked to your height, how much would you be worth.

Kara:  $1,421,300

Keegan:  $1,398,000

Hunter:  $1,654,300

Memaw:  $1,444,600

Papaw:  $1,584,400

Our next stop was the White House and several layers of security.  There was a Secret Service man who had a sense of humor.  Right before Carol and I stepped through the scanner, he said to his partner, "Here comes a couple of artificial knees."  He was correct!

Our first look inside the White House.  Many of these pictures have members of our group of five in them.  This one has Keegan and Kara.

Kara

Keegan

Above and below:  the movie theater.  Looks commfy!

Many beautiful busts were displayed.  This one is Washington and the one below is Lincoln.

The Bible President Trump used at his swearing-in ceremony.

The State Dining Room.  Keegan in red shirt.

State Dining Room.  Kara and Keegan

State Dining Room

The Green Room...a parlor used for teas and receptions and occasionally, for small formal dinners.  Hunter in gray tee-shirt exiting the room.

Green Room

The Blue Room...the traditional place for presidents to formally receive guests.

Kara and Keegan in Blue Room.

The Blue Room.  Hunter in left corner of picture.

Piano with golden eagles for legs.

The Red Room...a parlor or sitting room used for small dinner parties.

Photo opportunity:  Kara, Keegan, Hunter

Memaw and Papaw

Keegan, Kara, Papaw

Carol is in the left corner checking things out.

Keegan in red shirt.

Kara, Hunter, Papaw

Above and below:  gardens at the White House.

Last stop:  The Museum of the Bible.

Entry hallway of the Museum of the Bible.
This museum was very well done with the newest technology.  There were a couple of theaters that presented a synopsis of the Old and New Testament.  At the end of the day, it was good to sit.  The presentations were very well done and kept your attention.  On another floor the history of how the Bible came into it's modern form was displayed through technology and displays.  Again, it was presented in a very interesting way that all ages could learn about the history of the Bible.

The remaining blog contains a few miscellaneous pictures that I took along the walks we took between sites.

Street performer playing a jazzy trombone.  He was very good.

Lafayette Park is located north of the White House.  It is the location of various protests and demonstrations.  

Saw police cars everywhere...Secret Service, FBI, Metropolitian, etc

Department of the Treasury

Day 3:  6.1 miles.  

On the drive home from the Metro, we ate supper at a Wendy's.  We were the only ones there.  We were enjoying talking over the day.  All of a sudden, as we were eating, talking, and laughing, Papaw said, "I had bean soup."  We all just burst out laughting.  Right in the middle of our conversation, he says, "I had bean soup."  We could not contain our laughter.  Maybe because we were all tired, it made it even funnier or maybe you had to be there!  Anyway, I needed to get this into my blog because at some future day, we will be talking about this and laugh again.  It won't be some made-up conversation, this blog will prove that Papaw had bean soup in Washington, D.C.