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Washington DC
Oct. 31st, 2008 03:38 pmI arrived on time - getting the first flight out of Midway on a day with good weather will do that for you. My flight on Southwest was $200 round-trip - I couldn't hardly drive here cheaper then that. I'm staying at the Hamilton Crowne Plaza, a nice older hotel but heavily remodeled and very spiffy. It's at 14th and K - four blocks from the White House.
I visited the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. Rutan's Space Ship One is tiny - about the same size as Lindberghs' Spirit of Saint Louis. It's fitting that the two vehicles are hanging next to each other.
Also neat for a budding SF writer is the full-scale (size and distance) model of the solar system they have outside. In the model, the sun's the size of a shotput, and all the inner planets are dots. The inner planets are a few steps from each other (our moon is, at that scale, maybe an inch from Earth) but Jupiter is half the length of the Air and Space building away from the Sun. Pluto is outside the Smithsonian's Castle, about two blocks away, and it's impossible to pick out the model sun from there. A very effective reminder of just how big and empty space is.
Tomorrow's supposed to be the warmer of the two weekend days, so I think I'm going to spend the bucks and take the Tourmobile. I'll visit all the outside stuff I can, and do the Air and Space Museum's Dulles annex Sunday. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm thirsty and the hotel bar is open ;-)
I visited the Air and Space Museum on the Mall. Rutan's Space Ship One is tiny - about the same size as Lindberghs' Spirit of Saint Louis. It's fitting that the two vehicles are hanging next to each other.
Also neat for a budding SF writer is the full-scale (size and distance) model of the solar system they have outside. In the model, the sun's the size of a shotput, and all the inner planets are dots. The inner planets are a few steps from each other (our moon is, at that scale, maybe an inch from Earth) but Jupiter is half the length of the Air and Space building away from the Sun. Pluto is outside the Smithsonian's Castle, about two blocks away, and it's impossible to pick out the model sun from there. A very effective reminder of just how big and empty space is.
Tomorrow's supposed to be the warmer of the two weekend days, so I think I'm going to spend the bucks and take the Tourmobile. I'll visit all the outside stuff I can, and do the Air and Space Museum's Dulles annex Sunday. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm thirsty and the hotel bar is open ;-)
