National Archives, Natural History Museum, and the metro

Today I took the metro from the Vienna station in Fairfax, Virginia, to the Federal Triangle station, near the Smithsonians and National Archives. I started with a visit to the National Archives.

When I've visited the National Archives in the past, I mainly went to see the Declaration of Independence, the Consititution, and the Bill of Rights. Today I spent more time than I expected in the National Archives because there were several interesting exhibits to see besides those documents.

I started by entering the rotunda and joining the others who came to see the main documents: the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. 

-- Founding Documents in the Rotunda --

The documents are all behind glass in metal frames filled with argon gas. The lights in the room are dim to help preserve the documents, which have faded from earlier travels, exposure to the sun, and less delicate handling. Below is the Declaration of Independence. The writing and signatures are very faint now.

The pages of the constitution are similarly displayed, but the writing is less faint.

 

The signatures on the final page of the U.S. Constitution are much more visible than the faded ones on the Declaration of Independence.

The Bill of Rights was also on display.

A series of documents line the perimeter of the rotunda, and are similarly enclosed in glass and argon cases. It was interesting to read those documents. Among them were King George's "Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition" in the colonies, and the the Senate's vote on April 6, 1780 to elect George Washington as President of the United States of America. Washington received 69 votes. John Adams, who received 34 votes,  was elected Vice President because he received the second highest number of votes. 

The walls of the rotunda have two large paintings. The first one represents the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, and the second represents the drafting of the Constitution.

There were several interesting documents in temporary exhibits outside the rotunda and in other galleries of the Archives. The temporary exhibits are changed from time to time.  

-- Temporary Exhibits Outside the Rotunda --

The "Roots of Rebellion" exhibit discussed some events that led up to the revolutionary war, such as the aftermath of the French and Indian War. That war strained relations between Britain, colonists, and native americans. It triggered Britain to impose higher taxes on the colonies. Britain also tried to smooth relations with the native americans by limiting colonial westward expansion into tribal lands. A 1763 proclamation forbade colonists from settling west ofthe Appalachian mountains, which did not sit well with the colonists.

Another interesting exhibit, the 50th Anniversary of President Richard M. Nixon's Resignation, included his resignation letter to the Secretary of State, and President Ford's letter to the Senate that nominated Nelson Rockefeller as Vice President.

 

-- Temporary Exhibits in Galleries --

I enjoyed two other large exhibits that had their own galleries in the archives building. One large exhibit, titled "Power & Light," presented photos taken by Russell Lee to document the living conditions of coal workers. A survey of miner's conditions and wellbeing was part of the settlement of a coal miners strike after WWII.

The coal companies definitely took advantage of their workers and their limited opportunity for other types of work.

Interestingly, the exhibit mentioned that Lee's photo documentation of the coal miners living conditions may have led to the general stereotype that Appalatians are uneducated and poor. Lee published a book of his photos.

 

Another exhibit, called "Records of Rights", discussed changing rights in the United States.

A variety of rights were discussed. The exhibit brought up the point that a lot of the rights we hold dear originated from Europe... from the Magna Carta and enlighenment thinkers. One of the four surviving originals of the 1297 Magna Carta was on display, affixed with the King's seal.

I appreciated that the exhibit dealt with several rights, and not just the civil rights movement and emancipation from slavery. It mentioned those, and the fact that slaves built the capitol and white house, but it also mentioned Women's Sufferage (right to vote), equal opportunity in education (Title IX), Immigration rights, and other topics.

The historical documents outlining immigration quotas and other restrictions were also included in the display. The document below, for example, specified that idiots, criminals and paupers were not allowed to immigrate.

-- Smithsonians, Metro, and Dinner --

I spent most of my time today at the National Archives. I spent a few minutes in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, but it was crowed and I'll come back tomorrow.

I learned that seniors get a discount on the metro trains, but you have to fill out an appliction and show a government ID in order to get a Senior metro card. I paid full fare for a day pass today because Senior cards can only be obtained at designated locations, and the Vienna metro station where I entered the system today is not one of them. I stopped at a designated station later in the day, though, and got myself a Senior card for the rest of my time in Washington DC.   

I was craving a hamburger tonight after I got back to Fairfax, and "Big Buns Damn Good Burgers" had good reviews, so that is where I had dinner. The burger lived up to its name.

 

National Museum of the Marine Corps, Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum

When Nathan, Carolyn and I were brainstorming places to see in Virginia a couple of nights ago, they mentioned the National Museum of the Marine Corps. I had never heard of it. I'm glad they told me about it, because I visited it today and gained a greater appreciation for the marines! 

-- Marine Corp Museum --

The National Museum of the Marine Corp is very well laid out, and covers the history of the marine's involvement in both military and humanitarian missions.

I started by watching a 37 minute movie titled, "We, the Marines," on a big screen. The movie is narrated by Gene Hackman, who himself was a marine. Or more properly, who is (not was) a marine, for as I learned today, once you're a marine, you're a marine all your life. It is a lifetime commitment to the marine values and ideals. 

If anyone has the chance to see the movie, I recommend it. It's a good recruitment film, and if you or a loved one are a marine, it will make you proud. Click here for a link to the official IMAX movie trailer.

The movie shows the life of marine recruits going through basic training -- arriving by bus at night, meeting their drill instructor, getting their head shaved, marching and getting trained. They train for combat, and learn to overcome fear and work together. The culmination is a final test called the crucible. It's 58 hours, 48 miles of marching, little sleep and limited rations.

The movie also gives some marine history, describing the bravery at Belleau Wood during WWI and Iwo Jima during WWII. It also shows what officer training is like at Quantico, touches on some of the specialized training at other bases, and finishes with marines coming home to family and loved ones. 

Below are a few screen shots I took during the movie -- jumping from planes, training underwater, mid-air fueling, never leaving another marine behind, helicopters missions, and homecoming.

The museum allows you to walk through a timeline of marine involvement from the 1700s until now, complete with military equipment, weapons, dioramas, photographs, and text describing events.

I enjoyed the museum and gained greater respect for the marines. They are trained to be ready to leave on a moments notice without knowing where they will be sent.

-- Udvar-Hazy National Air and Space Museum --

The museum is housed in a huge hangar near the Dulles airport. Among other things, items on display include a SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft, the Space Shuttle Discovery, the Enola Gay, and a Concorde supersonic airliner.

The SR-71 was developed in the 1960s during the Cold War. It operated at high speeds (Mach 3.2) and high altitudes (85,000 ft). It was fast enough and could fly high enough to outrun any threats. If a missile was detected, standard procedure was to accelerate and outrun the missile. On it's last flight, this airplane flew from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 10 seconds, for an average of 2,124 miles per hour!

The space shuttle Discovery successfully flew 39 earth-orbital missions between 1984 and 2011. It was the longest-serving space shuttle, and spent a total of 365 days in space.

The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress propeller-driven bomber. On August 6, 1945, this airplane dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

Below is a panoramic view of the Enola Gay's cockpit.

The Concorde was the first supersonic airliner. It started passenger service for Air France and British Airways in 1976. It could carry up to 100 passengers and fly across the Atlantic in less than 4 hours.

The museum has a lot more airplanes, as well as helicopters and satellites on display.

A restoration hangar has planes in the process of being restored.

One example is a WWII B-26 bomber named Flak-Bait. It can be seen in the background, above, and in more detail, below. It survived over 200 missions in Europe during WWII.

Bombs painted on Flak-Bait's fuselage count the missions flown, painted ducks count missions where Flak-Bait was used as a decoy to divert the enemy from other targets, and the swastika is for the only confirmed kill of a German fighter in the air.

I enjoyed both museums today. Tonight I'm sleeping in a Costco parking lot in Chantilly, Virginia. I plan to take the nearby orange line metro into Washington, D.C., tomorrow. 

Lemon poppyseed muffins and goodbyes

Last night, Carolyn's oldest daughter took a poll of what everyone wanted for breakfast this mornng, and we all agreed that lemon poppyseed muffins would be great! So she volunteered to make them for us, and got up early this morning to make the muffins with Carolyn's help. 

The muffins were great! Here she is, enjoying one of her creations!

The two younger kids wanted me to play cars with them this morning before I left. I told them I could play for a few minutes. The older daughter also brought out her gerbil named Spice, and let her play in the doll house after we finished with the cars.

Meanwhile, the younger daughter showed off her acrobatic skills by scaling the playroom doorway!

I hated to leave, but it was time to move on. I have good memories of my time here! They agreed to let me take a family photo in the front yard for my blog, so that is how we ended my visit.

Today's plan is to visit the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Triangle (near Quantico), Virginia, and the Smithsonian Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum near Dulles Airport.