[vnabhi]

The vistor's guide board (pardon the poor picture)



High above the ground:



Mars stuff (3 pics below):







Star dust stuff (3 pics)






Boom-Shakalaka-boom missile:

[vnabhi]

The famous Hubble Telescope:



Sorry for taking the pic horizontally



US-Soviet co-operation in space (American spacecraft docs with Soviet spacecraft:





The famous Korona camera that was mounted on U2 spy planes for pics of the Soviet Union:



Some more pics of spacecraft docking




Here is another pic of the Hubble in vertical position:

[Indian Ranger]

Excellent photos and coverage. I have not seen any one covering DC this nicely. Keep posting.

[pulsar56]

Venu Sir,

At last you found time to update the thread! Nice pics of the museum! Keep posting!

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Indian Ranger

Excellent photos and coverage. I have not seen any one covering DC this nicely. Keep posting.

Thanks @Indian Ranger. There is more to come.

Originally Posted by pulsar56

Venu Sir,

At last you found time to update the thread! Nice pics of the museum! Keep posting!

Thanks Nazim. I was stuck in my apartment---literal house arrest for 2 days last week and also from yesterday afternoon till this night (it is now 9 pm here) due to very heavy snow.

Life was thrown out of gear, and treefalls due to blizzard winds cut power lines for 2 lakh guys in Maryland, not more than 20 miles from here. Imangine staying without a heater in below zero temperatures!!

US govt has declared a holiday yesterday and today, but all of us were working from home. Since most eating joints are closed, I had to cook food on both days, hence the lack of time.

I shall post some pics tomorrow. Here is one I took of the White House last Saturday, when there was a lull in the storm.



Cheers!

[MX6]

It's truly a WHITE house lol. Even in this blizzard did you find peaceful protesters sitting outside 1600 Penn Ave holding placards? Or did they take a break?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by MX6

It's truly a WHITE house lol. Even in this blizzard did you find peaceful protesters sitting outside 1600 Penn Ave holding placards? Or did they take a break?

Nope, there weren't any. But a couple of weeks back, I saw a huge line of protestors with placards seeking release of prisoners held at Guantanamo--some were even beating some musical instrument that sounded like a soft drumbeat.

The funny thing about last week's walk to the White House was that the Cop cars (Ford Crown Victoras) were totally empty----after all, they could not have moved far, with that much of snow all around.

Even Obama had to let go of his armour-plated limousines and travel by 4-wheel drive SUVs, per news channels.

[vnabhi]

Sorry for the lengthy interlude--I was busy both in the office and on weekends.

Here are some more pics from the Air and Space Museum:

The deadly ICBMs that were the scourge of the Soviet Union:



One of the several Jupiter rockets that were used to take Appollo 11 to the moon:



An 'X' plane (Experimental plane)



The 'Eagle' that landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin:



Saddam's scourge---the Tomahawk missile



Some of the ICBMs in a horizontal pic


Guide board



The earliest rocket bomb invented by the Germans during WWII--the V2 (was that by Wernher Von Braun?)


Some more displays:

[vnabhi]

The entrance hall viewed from a floor above


The cockpit of a Boeing 747 (yes we can go inside it)


In the queue to the cockpit


Some cockpit pics--sorry for the reflection:








Another aircraft


The Boeing cockpit from afar:

[vnabhi]

Here is what our neighbouring countries are on the receiving end--the mighty Predator drone (unmanned aircraft used for bombing or missile attacks):







Another unmanned aircraft---don't recall the name

[vnabhi]

During my school days, Biggles was a hot favourite among books on the 'must read' list. Not sure how many read those books in later generations.

With the books in the background, as also the 100s of comics on WWII (Commando, Action, Battlefield, et al), the visit to the WWII planes section was the most thrilling, as I could feel an immediate sense of belonging to the aircraft on display (as kids, we used to imagine that our Spitfires and Hurricanes were blasting the hell out of Jerries on their Messerschmidts )


Here are several pics of the Me-109 (which was my 'enemy' fighter during childhood--LOL). Actually, my opiion underwent a sea change after seeing the Messerschmidt adjacent to the planes the Allies used like the Spitfire and the Mustang---the Me-109 appeared to be a generation more modern, with sleeker looks.

[vnabhi]

Here are planes used by the Allies:

The Supermarine Spitfire (my childhood favourite, but not any longer):











The American Mustang:






'Banzai' the Jap Zeros are coming:





Going by my personal visit, I'd rate the Me-109 the best-looking, followed by the Spirfire, then by the Mustang, and admitedly the most ancient-looking was the Jap Zero.

[vnabhi]

There was so much to see and so little time. Having spent nearly 5 hours at the museum (skipped lunch), I was pained to hear the announcement that the museum was closing at 530 pm, in a few minutes time.

I had not even seen the Wright Brothers planes. So headed to the McDonald's counter for a quick packet and had to leave with a heavy heart. I plan to re-visit this weekend, as last week's plans got scuttled by heavy snow.

Here is how the National Mall looked like when I left:

The musuem from outside the entrance:



The Capitol


The Washington Monument

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

During my school days, Biggles was a hot favourite among books on the 'must read' list. Not sure how many read those books in later generations.
...........

Wow....... great to hear anothe person loved Biggles too !!!!

Brings back happy pictures from adventures with Algy, Lancy and Ginger etc., many of their exploits are vivid in my mental gallery, thanks for poking thoughts of happy times.

Biggles was my favourite in school years... must have read 60-70 of them. I studied in a village, but was lucky a family friend who retired as the Principal of Naval Collage of Lonavala moved in opposite to my house and brought with him his life time collection of books from his travels around the world (biggest influence in my life) about 5000 +, Biggles was his favourite too!!!!!

Your account is lovely, telling pictures, please continue... all eyes to read on more.

Thanks a lot for sharing,

--Ramky
========

[mobike008]

Venu, somehow this thread got lost out on me. Nice narration of your journey and some fabulous pictures of the snow

Lucky you to see the boeing cockpit at the museum.

Please continue to share the pictures !

Originally Posted by pulsar56

LOL.
Venu Sir, DC to DC Title had me in splits!
I am now wondering what Avi will say after seeing DC mentioned in a travelogue!
Awaiting the rest of the pics eagerly.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

You bet! I know he is going to be like this--

Ohmigosh,mention of DC has snaked its way into this travelogue too.

I am planning to file a petition with GHMC to close that road permanently