Trip to the East with Adam's Family

We flew into Raleigh on Wednesday, November 7th.  Our first stop was The Pit, a NC BBQ place that we went to last time we were here that Mike wanted to return to.  We spent most of Thursday, Friday and Saturday just visiting and enjoying their lovely home. 

On Sunday we went to their Ward.  In Relief Society they give all of the visitors special necklaces.  I got the other guest to pose with me with our "fine jewelry".

To get me ready for the Air and Space museum Wesson hurled one of the large pine cone from their yard through the air.  (Yes, that it is it coming at you.  It is not a ball on the door.) ^0^




 We headed for Washington D.C. on Monday morning.  Our first stop was the Air and Space Annex out near Dulles Airport.  Adam quickly noticed a Utah shirt on a fellow there.

There was an amazing array of rockets, planes, space ships, satellites, etc.  My two favorite were the Black Bird (SR71)

and the space shuttle Discovery

We went to our quarters at the Navy Lodge in the joint base of Anacondia Naval Station and Bolling AFB.
We went to a Chinese place to eat that A & A had found good recommendations for on the web.  It was excellent food.  It was a unique opportunity to be stared at by both the Chinese help and ALL of the black customers.  We were in a section of town where we we definately different.

The next morning we drove to a parking lot and took the train (which didn't exist many years ago when I lived in DC) downtown.  We first walked to the original Smithsonian Castle.

Next we walked down to the regular Air and Space Museum.  I'll just share a few of the interesting pictures that I took.

This is a picture of a model of the Enterprise.  It was amazing to me how many planes it carried.

There was lots of interesting information, clothing, and belongings of famous pilots, etc.  Of course I needed the Wright Brothers plane. 

We had lunch at McDonalds in that museum and then walked down to the Natural History museum. The first area we visited contained the dinosaurs.  I found this one from Central America  called a Glypodont very interesting.

Adam taught me how to take a panorama picture with my phone.

I'd hate to run into one of these things!

We walked through some other very interesting areas but the next picture that I'll print is one of the Hope diamond.  It is 45.2 carats and comes from India. It is a beautiful, clear, purple-blue.

 

After we left the museum we walked down to the WWII monument.  It did not exist when I lived in DC.

I'm sure we walked at least 5 miles that day.  We went to the commisary on base and bought some food.  When we got back to our places we warmed up the Chinese food from the night before and added it to the things we had bought for a great meal. 

On Wednesday we drove to the National Zoo to see the pandas and other favorites.  Here are just a few of the pictures that I took. 

This barrel had treats inside and holes on the ends and sides.  The Panda had to shake the barrel to get the treats out.  It was fun to watch.  

In the later afternoon we drove over to Virginia to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the National Cemetary.  We did lots of walking there, too. 

 It was exciting to be there to see the horse drawn hearse.  There was no casket in it but it was an awesome experience, none the less.

 

                                   The tombstones went on and on in every direction. 

Our last visit was back across the bridge to the Lincoln Monument.  I think it has always been my favorite.  I was glad that Mike and the kids got to experience it in the evening. 

As we walked down the steps from the monument we had this view.

We experienced downtown DC at night when went for a seafood dinner.  Parking was impossible and Adam finally paid $17 for an underground parking lot. I think that we all fell into bed last night.
 I have to brag about all of Adam's driving and choices.  He holds his cool, rolls with the punches and does an excellent job of dealing with unbelieveable situations. 

We checked out of the Navy Lodging this morning (Thursday) and made the drive to Raleigh/Durham.

We stopped at Richmond, VA and saw the Confederate White House and Museum.  Here are a few of the pictures that I took.   This is the White House. I think that the back was actually prettier but I didn't want to walk back there again and take a picture.  This is right in the center of downtown Richmond and the Virginia Commonwealth Medical and Dental schools and hospitals share the parking lot.

We are presently in the Wingate Hotel near the Raleigh/Durham airport.  We'll fly out in the morning.
It has been a great trip and a wonderful time with people we love.