We’ve visited Washington DC twice previously and have seen a lot of really cool things. However we have never made it to the two parts of the air and space museum. This time we made a quick overnight stay to DC to see these things, plus a couple of my personal favourites. 

Wow 

The air and space museum in DC is fantastic. The history of flight, Wright’s first plane, a 747 engine and everything in between. Just a fantastic array of flying machines and the stories behind them. The development of commercial flight post world war 2, the pioneers of flight. Just an overall cool place. 

After a few hours in the museum we wandered the mall from the White House, the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. Oh, it was cold. A freezing wind was blowing, but we powered ahead and watched the sun set over the Mall from the Lincoln Memorial. Magic. 

We made our way to the AKA White House. A sister hotel to our hotel in NYC. Another beautiful hotel. 

We had dinner at the Equinox. Some yum spaghetti with white truffle, venison, oysters and exquisite desserts. Yum. 

Day 01: Washington DC

Sunday morning. I got up early to experience an early morning walk around DC. Mardi had a relax in the hotel and I headed out for a couple of hours. Man it was cold. 

I walked by the memorials along the mall, visited the White House again and said hi to Abe for the last time 

description. The space takes on a different feel first thing in the morning. There was hardly anyone around and the ducks, swans and squirrels were out in the early morning frost. The sun dances on the water and memorial in a different way at this time of morning. It is spell binding.

When I got back to the hotel we headed out to the not so close Air and Space Museum near Dulles airport. The Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Centre is in Virginia about a 50 minute drive from DC. We caught a cab there and a bus and train back to our hotel. 

Wow. What an astonishing place. One massive hanger, I mean massive. Think about this. All in one hanger: Concorde, 737, Space Shuttle Discovery, VR21 stealth, the Enola Gay, Lockheed joint strike fighter, plus dozens and dozens of other aircraft from one seater gyro copters to DC3s and stacks of military and other commercial aircraft. 

The highlight for me was the Space Shuttle. I’ve sat in the cockpit in one at Kennedy in 2005, and seeing the discovery today, which flew 39 missions up close was fantastic. 

The Enola Gay also was a highlight. Thinking about the crew and what they were asked to do in 1945 is spine chilling. 

What a day. We left the museum and rode the bus and train back to the hotel, collected our things and headed back to NYC. A great couple of days in DC. Now bring on NYC.

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