last day in d.c.

On our last day, we visited the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, which was informative and fun. We were there for more than three hours and only got through the "air" part--we didn't even have time to look at the space exhibits, there was just so much to go through.

the lobby is filled with famous aircraft, but I don't remember which one this is

The Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh's plane in which he made the first solo transatlantic, non-stop flight

Because the American History museum is being renovated right now, the Air and Space museum devoted one room to exhibit a few of the "treasures" from the American History museum. There were tons of fascinating stuff, including...

Dorothy's ruby slippers and the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz

C3PO and R2D2 (with the first computer in the background)

Seinfeld's puffy shirt, Mr. Roger's sweater, and Carrie Bradshaw's computer

We spent the rest of our time reading carefully about the early years of the aviation industry. My favorite exhibit was the one on the Wright Brothers, learning about how they experimented and created modern aerodynamics engineering. They were so persistent, courageous, and inventive; I was very much challenged and inspired.

this is the exact 1903 plane that the Wright brothers flew at Kitty Hawk, NC! (the first successful airplane)

The rest of the pictures are from the WWI and WWII galleries:

me manning the controls of an aircraft carrier ship

My overall impression of D.C. is that it's a very beautiful city, with lots of historic buildings and grand architecture; it definitely feels like a capital. I would love to go back and visit again, since there were so many museums and sights that we didn't get to see. People there are really dressed up, mostly in suits and skirts and heels. We felt like such casual Californians. There are also hardly any Asians or Mexicans, and tons of African-Americans. So it's a very different sense of minority than on the West coast.