Washington, DC 2024
There are many things I hoped to accomplish as I made my way to Washington, DC. While not at the top of my actual list, what was at the top of my heart was recreating my favorite airport photo. Back in 2011, I had arrived at Reagan National Airport about three hours after sunrise. I proceeded to walk out to the main hall and then absolutely fell in love. I wanted a chance at doing it one better, so this time I made my way to the airport early enough to be able to wait around for sunrise. I think my efforts paid off.
The original image from June 4, 2011.
The new image from November 12, 2024.
I learned that the National Air and Space Museum has a secondary location near the Dulles airport, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (which is just a few miles from where I was staying for my conference). They had all kinds of goodies, including one of the four Space Shuttles. Discovery is my second shuttle after seeing Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center.
Space Shuttle Discovery at the Udvar-Hazy Center.
Concorde in Air France livery. I previously saw one in British Airways livery in Seattle.
Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay, which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
They had an observatory, but plane spotting was pretty good from the ground, as seen here with this Air France 777.
The museum closed right around sunset, although the headlights, artificial lights, and sunset light made for a strange mixture of colors.
I visited a number of Apple Stores in the area whenever I was passing one by, including the very first store at Tysons Corner (updated quite recently).
Apple Tysons Corner opened May 19, 2001, and then moved to this location May 19, 2023.
The iMacs at Tysons Corner were arranged in Six Colors order, and the overhead lighting was positioned perfectly so as to cast symmetrical shadows on the floor.
The spotlight effect at Apple Reston seemed a little much, but an employee assured me it was intentional.
Apple Carnegie Library was almost unbelievable. What an amazing building, with an exhibit about the structure itself in the basement, and some other museum on the top floor.
Who doesn’t love an indoor tree?
Once again I found myself in DC with only a few hours to spend on the National Mall, but I put my time to good use with the Lincoln Memorial, the Museum of the Bible, the National Air and Space Museum, and the Jefferson Memorial.
But first, a quick stop for plane spotting at DCA from Gravelly Point on the Mount Vernon Trail.
The Lincoln Memorial: under construction, but still glorious.
The words of Lincoln’s second inaugural address were immensely inspiring to me when I first visited the memorial in 2011, and they seem almost more relevant than ever today.
My favorite exhibit at the Museum of the Bible was the Megiddo Mosaic.
They had an extensive collection of Torah scrolls, too.
The National Air and Space Museum is undergoing a lot of construction right now and there was no way to avoid getting some kind of equipment in the frame.
Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia.
Hey, look! I’m in the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the Moon!
Not a lot of late-night activity at the Jefferson Memorial, and warm enough to enjoy some ice cream.
I chose a seat on the right side and got the departure path I hoped for out of DCA.
Lining up the Washington Monument with the lawn proved difficult at 200+ mph.
So much of the National Mall (and beyond) remains unexplored for now. I will return.
Maggi and I discussed the above on episode 54 of Adventures with BAM.
