Choosing to Explore

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"Exploration is not a choice, really; it's an imperative." Michael Collins, Apollo 11

I finally managed to sleep until a decent hour Tuesday morning which is why the blog entries have gotten a bit behind. Never mind -- it felt good to sleep and not wake up while it was still dark outside.

The reason I am in DC is to attend the annual conference for my work. So -- today I had to stop the playing and get down to work. It wasn't as bad saying good-bye to Mom and Lynn as it usually is because I will see them again in about a week and a half. Oh yes -- four transatlantic flights in as many Saturdays. Don't ask! I'm putting it down to a senior moment.

Mom and Lynn drove me over to the Marriott in Wardman Park. The Hay-Adams it ain't! However, needs must and it always much more convenient to stay in the hotel where the conference is being held. I had to work for a while when I arrived, then went down to meet Colin for lunch. We decided to postpone the inevitable for a while and skived off to the Air and Space Museum. I learned today that it is the most visited museum in the world. I believe it because it is also one of the best.

We got very lucky as the Museum of American History is closed for renovations. As such, we got to see some of the treasures from that museum as well. Two for the price of one!

The Air and Space Museum has absolutely everything from the original plane flown by the Wright Brothers through the Spirit of St. Louis and the original Apollo 11 landing module. For anyone who is even slightly interested in flight, this museum is not to be missed.

I convinced Colin to watch "To Fly" with me. It is the original IMAX film and it was as good as I remembered it. It is now 25 years old and is showing its age a bit (IMAX has gotten much more high tech), but it is still a lot of fun. Colin and I were sitting next to a little girl called Isabelle who just loved it.

Eventually, we had to bow to our fate and return to the hotel to begin working the conference. Colin went out to dinner while I met up with some people I used to work with years ago. We all had a good laugh. This is the 20th anniversary of this conference and we've all been to nearly every one. We were laughing about the fact that when it started, we were the young turks. Now we're the old guard. Doesn't seem like all that long ago.

Today, I could have been in any city in the US. I spent the day working and attending the conference. What joy!

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Photos

Moon Rock
This is me actually touching a piece of the moon.

The Wright Brothers Flyer
It flew for 96 seconds and became the first flying machine to actually work.

The Spirit of St Louis
The actual plane! Makes the feat of flying over the ocean even more incredible.

Apollo 11
This is the capsule they splashed down in after being the first men to walk on the moon.

Rocket Ships
I just like this photo.

Kermit the Frog
The original! One of the bits from the Museum of American History.

The Signpost from M*A*S*H
One of my favourite television series of all time.

Pole Exploration
Have to put in the photo with the penguins!

Space Shuttle Command Center
This was so cool. It was a live feed from the Command Center. We actually got to hear the astronauts talking!