Friday, September 18, 2009

not so plain planes

Yesterday was Day 2 in our nation's capital.

It went something like this: wake up, breakfast, wait, ride bus, wait a really long time, ride bus, arrive at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, refuse to eat the slightly overpriced $10 burger at McD's (said with great sarcasm, can you see the sarcasm?), repeat the waiting and buses on the way home (only I'm starving). Zzzzz...


Waiting is boring.

But once we were done with the waiting, David was like a kid in a candy store! He was so excited about seeing the Enola Gay, the Space Shuttle Enterprise, the Concorde and the beautiful chrome Clipper Flying Cloud. It was amazing just how much history they fit into this giant hangar museum.



Look at how enthusiastic he is. The joy on his face just makes my heart sing. :snort:


I was drawn to the amazing artwork on the planes.



David would probably roll his eyes at the contents of yesterday's memory card. He is interested in the heavies and I kept laughing and being distracted by the smaller didn't-quite-make-it-into-mainstream-commercial-aviation planes.

I'm all for DIY, but I don't think I would ever order a kit and build one myself. This Bede BD-5B kit could be bought for only $3,000 in 1970. Except if I had put it together, I'm sure the wings would be on upside down or maybe I'd forget to include the gas tank. Y'know, little things like that.



And my oh my, forget the Jetson's! I think it would be great fun to have this...


But it would only be fun if you ignore this scathing-yet-amusing article about the 1957 Waterman Aerobile.

Or better yet, THIS!



Eeeee! Isn't it adorable (in an odd sort of way)?!

Look, it even has a license plate!!!



We give the museum a big thumbs up!

But the endless bus ride and overpriced McD's a big thumbs down.

(Yes, I am being whiny about the burger but price gouging at eating establishments are a huge pet peeve of mine. I expect it from airports and amusement parks, but the Smithsonian? Not cool.)



12 comments:

Christine said...

Very cool! Glad you're having a good time. We need to take David to the Air Museum here. They have the big ol' Spruce Goose. :) Love you!!! Great photos btw.

Ms. Anita said...

The National Air & Space Museum is one of my faves! (Even though I didn't have the opportunity to see any of the REST of the Smithsonian. LOL!)

Melissa Stover said...

why did you refuse to eat it if you paid so much for it? :0
i love david's various facial expressions. he really knows how to communicate nonverbally.

Faithful Bloggers said...

This was a hoot! Love this post.

As far as price gouging, yes, I agree. I actually had to pay for tap water at the McD's in an airport recently. Yep. Paid for tap water.

Tracy said...

LOL..I would have eaten it...food can be hard to come by on trips like this! You LEARN to eat when and what you can! You would faint at the prices over seas then! :)

Ruthanne said...

$10 bucks?! Seriously? That's insanity!

I love the pic of David in front of the plane - too funny!

A. J. would have loved looking at the planes, too.

Leanne said...

Russell thought those were cool pictures of planes!

I can see your husband smiling on the inside, where it counts!!

Alison said...

A $10 hamburger?! No way... it would cost $90 to get a burger for everyone in my family?!?
How much were the fries??? Maybe we could get 1 burger and everyone could take a bite, you know, to tide us over until we could hit the nearest grocery store... sheesh...

rural momma said...

When we went there 4 years ago, we were also amazed by the planes and disgusted by the price of food.
I hope that you are all having a great time!! :o)

sagerats said...

I've had to wander around several airplane museums, you'd think with my background in the Navy I would find it more fascinating, BUT, like you I would have enjoyed the cute little planes and interesting artwork.

SuperAngel said...

my question is where is the Superman plane? not that he needs one, but still where is it? :P

some really interesting planes tho and I can tell everyone had just a ball getting to see them all, even tho ya had to wait!

HUGS!

Deedee said...

We were shocked by the prices too but decided to buys Happy Meals for everyone and eat our picnic lunch on the way home in the car to keep from having to stop on the way home to eat. We actually didn't know we couldn't eat our own food till we got there! We would have eaten outside except it was Christmas time and FFRREEZZIINNGG outside! I think it was the first time my parents have ever eaten a Happy Meal in their lives - LOL! We actually don't even eat in McD's anymore so not sure what we will do if we ever go back.............