As I sit in the aisle row of the flight back to my trips’ origin, I am able to watch our progress on the personal tv screen in the seat-back in front of me.  An icon of a plane is displayed over a base map of states.  Watching how quickly we are passing over the land (Indiana, oop, Illinois, wait, Missouri), I am glad it took me 12 days for this trip.

Yesterday was more exhausting than Saturday, but both (and Sunday, but a little less) had enough walking to keep me satisfied for a month.  Maybe it was more tiring because I was on my own.  Shea and Meghann had to work.  Being on my own, I was able to more freely take time for myself and adjust my schedule to fit what I wanted to do.  Even with that benefit, I like being able to share the experience with people more.  I slept in a bit, did not hurry through getting ready, and did the dishes of our dinner the night before (I try to be a good house guest).  Shea had let me use his SmarTrip Card for riding the metro and buses but we hadn’t taken any buses yet.  I was going to have to take a bus to get to King St metro station once I was ready; maybe that’s why I prolonged getting ready.  I was somewhat nervous to try it by myself without a guide.  The whole public transit thing is completely alien to me.  I am happy to report that I successfully navigated the metro system the entire weekend.  I feel comfortable to visit again and use it (and hopefully use public transit in other cities other places).

This day was my Smithsonian day, although I should have scheduled a week for all the Smithsonian museums.  The Air and Space Museum was the first stop, I mean destination, since one doesn’t really stop in a museum that size.  I saw some of the vehicles and technologies I used to fantasize about as a child.  Sputnik was in a very low geosynchronous (stationary with respect to earth) orbit directly overhead when I walked in.  Mercury and Apollo capsules, encased in plexiglass teetered on edge in the main lobby.  Space Ship One dangled askew near the wall looking like it was plucked from its flight trajectory.  I knew I was in for a long, mind-filling treat within those first 5 seconds.

Getting my bearings, I located a gallery and entered.  It turned out to be my favorite.  Why?  It was completely devoted to Remote Sensing, a topic that I have studied in my major.  Actually, I have completed all the offered coursework in it.  What is it?  Aerial and satellite photography.  There were displays of things only read about in textbooks and mock-ups of how some of the technology was implemented (such as taking a picture by leaning out of a balloon or airplane).  I had to severely limit my time in there.

Next, there was a gallery filled with images of the earth and other planets.  Some of the pictures were gorgeous while others were fairly ugly.  I heard a man say to his wife, “This gallery is muted now that all these pictures can be found online”.  I totally disagree with the point he was professing.  Sure, they can be found online, but seeing them reproduced on canvas (or other surface) and at full-scale was worth the 5 minutes spent perusing the hall.

There were displays of computing in aeronautics, commercial flight, and a lot of military aircraft history.

I had my fill of the Air and Space Museum, so I made the short walk to the Natural History Museum.  It was full of rocks and bones (and sometimes they managed to combine them).  I wasn’t too impressed when I first walked in.  I guess animal bones don’t activate any “oh, that’s cool” mechanism in me.  Human bones do, though.  There was a section dedicated to human bones.  Some were ancient and some were as recent as 2002, which I thought was weird because there are people who can come see a guy (a college professor) they knew in life, but just his bones.  Student: “Hey professor So-and-So, you’re looking a little emaciated!”  (Sorry for the irreverence.  I am a little irreverent sometimes.)

The best thing at this museum, though, is the jewel collection.  On display were diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, crystal, and so many other precision cut gems.  I saw the Hope Diamond (45.5 carat deep blue), Marie Antoinette’s gigantic diamond earings, diadems, necklaces, and other jewelery that were so ornate.  I don’t think I have ever felt true greed and envy until then (but I have decided not to plan a jewelry caper, as I value liberty more).

The next building down was the Museum of American History.  It’s big and has a lot of things, almost none of which are related.  This makes one’s head throb with pain as it is mercilessly forced to swallow chunks of American history.

It reminds me of the Food Network show Man vs. Food where the host normally leaves the restaurant clutching his gut in gastronomical distress.  I clutched my cranium.  The following are the generally categories that I saw: technology, transportation, pop culture, money, machines, communication, food, holidays, instruments, and war.  Each had a lot of artifacts and exhibits.  At the money exhibit there was an old coin labeled “Quarter Dollar”.  I overheard this short exchange:

“So that’s a quarter-dollar!”

“Yep that’s 25¢.“

“So that’s how much it is now-a-days!  I never knew.”

I almost laughed out loud.  If the inquirer had only dropped “dollar” from the label, they would have been too embarrassed to stick around.

The most interesting display to me was a fully automated car that competed in, and won, the DARPA challenge.  The challenge was to build a car that would drive itself on a pre-determined course through a town (highly controlled environment), obeying all traffic laws, and avoiding collisions with pedestrians, manned traffic vehicles, and other competitors.  It was an amazing competition.  I was not expecting it, but it was a welcome surprise.

By the time I left the Museum of American History, it was 5:30 pm.  That was unfortunate because the Holocaust Museum closed at 5:30.  I’ll have to visit that one next time.  Don’t think I’m that ignorant on the subject, I have visited the Simon Wiesenthal Center in LA.  It was just on my list.of thing to experience.

From there I walked over to the Jefferson Memorial.  It’s a long walk and I don’t recommend it for anyone.  Take a bus or drive yourself out there if you want to see it.  The pantheon like round structure was impressive from both inside and out. The 25′ Jefferson presiding in the center looked like he was standing watch over the seat of American power, in vigilance to deter corruption or deceit of the people.  I sat on a bench in the memorial and recovered from the long walk.  This was the last DC attraction that I visited.  I reflected on the trip and those who made it possible.  I am so very thankful to everyone who helped me.  Even those who left comments on the blog.

So now I’m under an hour out from Salt Lake and the official end of this marvelous experience.  I’m sad that it is ending, but I am tired (and have a gnarly case of bed head).  Just another hour or so and I’ll be able to start a load of laundry and hit the sack for a much-needed nap.  Thanks for following my trip.  Maybe I’ll be more inspired to write more everyday-life posts, but probably not.