Milestones of Flight Air Museum - Lancaster, CA

April 18, 2010

With a little time left in our last day in the So. Cal desert, my parents and I took the recommendation of my brother to find Apollo Park in Lancaster and check out the Apollo 11 space capsule. But as you can see, there are no pictures of the capsule because they moved it! So after a nice little walk in the park, we headed out for the campground, but stopped when we saw the sign for this little museum. We weren't sure if it was open, but the sign said it was open until sunset and the gate was sorta open. After convincing my parents that the worst that could happen is they would ask us to leave, we decided to take the chance. We had no clue what we were in for...

As we walked into the little museum, we were greeted by a guy wearing a pair of cutoff shorts and a mechanic's shirt. He told us he usually takes people on a half hour tour starting in the museum, but since the large hangar was only natural lighting we would start there. Um...ok then... So we went through the large hangar, then outside to see the larger planes and helicopters, then through the museum, and finally through the smaller hangar. An hour and 15 minutes later I had heard more about airplane engines than I could ever have imagined...Our tour guide had been working as an engine mechanic since the 60's and had pretty much worked on every military plane built since then. He had an incredible recollection of dates and models and all sorts of things I couldn't remember 10 seconds after he told me about it. I have nearly zero knowledge about planes and mechanics, so it was a bit much for me, but would have been fun with someone who could have actually engaged him a conversation. But some of the planes were pretty cool, especially the big ones outside. And it gave me an excuse to play with my new fisheye lens!

Inside the helicoper

Howard Hughes' modified B-52 Bomber...something missing??

I think this was an Australian plane

Fremont Peak State Park - San Juan Bautista, CA

April 10, 2010

It was a cold, cloudy, windy day. But there was no way I was staying inside when I had a brand new camera that needed to be broken in. So I layered up and headed out to Fremont Peak. The road up to the park is about 11 miles of narrow twists and and blind curves through grassy hills, oak woodland, and chaparral. Wildflowers dot the walls of the roadcuts and oaks and Madrones arch over the road creating tunnels. I took my time getting to the park, stopping to take pictures where pullouts made it safe to stop. Once I finally reached the top, I took the road up past the radio towers and scrambled up the rocks to the summit. The view was amazing despite the ominous gray clouds above my head. I could just see Monterey Bay and the Salinas River catching what little sun was able to break through. The wind wasn't as bad as I expected and I sat on the rocks and ate what might have been the most delicious apple in the world. Not a bad day after all. I will definitely go back on a clear day, hopefully in the spring so the wildflowers that covered the hillsides will actually be open.

Clematis

Creeping sage

Mini Mushrooms

Wallflower

Star Lily

Monterey Bay through sun rays

Hanging out at the summit

Marker at the summit of Fremont Peak

The light part underneath the dark clouds is Monterey Bay, I promise

And the Salinas Valley is out there somewhere

Phacelia

False Lupine

Shooting Star

The National Mall - Washington D.C.

June 13, 2009

About 10 minutes into our drive to the Washington D.C. from Annapolis, I realized that in our hurry to leave the hotel, I slipped on my flip flops and left my walking shoes in the room. It was going to be a long day. We started by the Jefferson memorial, then headed over to the Washington Monument. Next was the WWII Memorial with the wall of 4,000 gold stars, each representing 100 lives lost during the war. It left me speechless. Then across the Reflecting Pool (which is very shallow and filled with duck poop...gross) to the Lincoln Memorial. Next was the Vietnam Memorial, which was amazing, but for me lost some of it's impact due to the number of people there at the time. Waiting in a long line and being herded through doesn't really give you the appreciation for incredible number of names on the wall. I definitely want to go back at a less busy time. Then we took a long loop around past several buildings I don't remember the names of to the White House. Unfortunately we couldn't get very close to it at all because of the security regulations. Pretty cool to see the snipers on the roof though. After separating from Ann's parents, we headed on to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. After the museum her parents picked us up and we stopped by the Capitol Building. It was about this point I thought my feet were actually going to fall off. But thankfully after short rest the burning went away and I was able to walk again. So the lesson in this story is that if you're going to be dumb enough to wear flip flops while walking all day around the National Mall, make sure you're wearing Teva flip flops or you might not survive.

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument

Washington Monument from across the Reflecting Pool

World War II Memorial

Each column in the memorial represents a state or territory of the US. Bronze ropes tie the columns together and bronze oak and wheat wreathes represent the nation’s industrial and agricultural strengths
Bronze reliefs on the entrance walls into the Memorial

Pacific and Atlantic pavilions representing American victory on both fronts

4,000 Gold Stars each representing the lives of 100 soldiers killed during the war

Quotation Engravings

Lincoln Memorial from across the Reflecting Pool

Lincoln MemorialThe Gettysburg Address engraved in the memorial wall
Me and my cousin (16 times removed that is)
Vietnam Memorial
Ann & the Wall
Bronze statues at the entrance to the wall

The White House

Our first glimpse was of the back

Then we saw the front

But this was the closest we could get

The Capitol Building

Other Cool Buildings and Things:

The Eisenhower Building (State, War, and Navy Building)Incredible intricate detailThe Treasury Department Building

The Hotel Washington
Yea!!

Grant

Me & Ann by the Reflecting Pool. Happy travelers despite the humidity and our aching feet.