Rockets and Things

Day two of our Washington DC visit, was just as full as the first, maybe even more so. Although it was windy and not exactly warm, we didn't really mind since we spent most of our time inside. We first stopped at the Washington Monument (as mentioned in our earlier post), only to find that tickets were not available and would have to come back at 6:30 the next morning. Thanks, but no thanks. At least not his time (we'll have to save it for another trip).



We then moved on to the Castle- informative, but one section had the scent of onions in the air, so we affectionately renamed it The Hall of Onions. We then attempted a human experiment: Look at something intently with much interest, and see how many people you can get to do the same. Success, as we checked out an old desk (cool, but not of great historical interest) a group of tween girls got really excited to look at it (see photo). After a good chuckle, we continued to look around before going to the National Air and Space Museum. We saw some pretty big planes, rockets, and other flight related things, before checking out the IMAX movie Hubble 3D (narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio). It talks about the Hubble telescope, and follows the astronauts who had to fix it into space. It also shows images that Hubble has sent back to Earth. Very, very cool. *Check out that cell phone in the picture below!




Afterward, our stomachs were growling so we stopped at a hot dog vendor and picked up some dogs. We highly recommend this tactic, as the museum cafes are SUPER crowded. After chowing down, we walked over to the Library of Congress, passing the Capitol Building and the Supreme Court. If you've ever wondered why you should visit the Library, well, we'll tell you why. It's super cool! Awesome architecture, artistry, and a beautifully, vast array of books. You need a special library card to be able to access the section that houses the books, but visitors can overlook the area from an enclosed balcony. *Please also note this teen we spotted, who was attempting to dress trendily by hand folding a handkerchief, and carefully placing it into his back pocket. So cool kid, so cool.




After getting our fill of the Library, we decided to check out the rest of the Air and Space Museum (we'd skipped the second floor, so that we could make it to the Library before it closed- the Air and Space Museum was open late). On our way, we quickly ran in to the Botanical Gardens- gorgeous! We hadn't discussed visiting, but it seemed easy to access and our way, so why not? They were having their orchid exhibit, which featured a ton of different types. Very beautiful.



We finished up the day at the Air and Space Museum, where Chunk started to call KJ a canard, which is French for duck, but also is an airframe configuration of fixed-wing aircraft in which the front canard surface is smaller than the rear main wing. Hahah, jokes, jokes. *Note Chunk standing with the Wright brothers- it was a very serious time. Also note the Riga bread, brought on board by astronauts as space food.



We also, took a late night drive through the city with KJ's Godmother and her husband. Very pretty and informative! We also saw the Latvian Embassy!