Saturday in the Sun

So here's our dilemma. We are exhausted from being busy every day. It's been non-stop adventure and we are back in DC for 3 days. So shall we spend these days at Grandams place in the quiet darkness? Or venture out again? We opted to spend one more day sightseeing. After leaving mom and dad at Grandmas and headed out the the now familiar Metro. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the parking was free on weekends. Our destination today was the Air and Space Museum. Although it was crazy hot outside and the air quality is at 'orange' (orange and red means free bus, but not Metro) there was no shortage of people in and around the National Mall. The mix of people was different that the previous week. Before it was retirees and school tours. Today it was families with nasty, unruly children. I much prefer a herd of school children. You can predict where they are going to go and avoid them.

Time flies in these museums. There is an unbelievable amount to see and learn about. We learned that astronauts sleep 'standing up' zipped into a sleeping bag. I also had to laugh at the high tech device used for keeping towels in the correct place. Does anyone remember the plastic circles with the X cut out? As children many of us got our fingers stuck in the hole. Well this is what they use on the international space station.

I was continually amazed by the size of everything space. The life sized model of the Hubble Telescope is beyond imagination. And the living space on the shuttle is a claustrophobics nightmare. Seeing a life sized model of the lunar lander brought up more questions than answers. Like how can it be strong when it looks like its made of tinfoil? How could they fit three people in it? Just amazing to see up close.

Time ran out again. Mom and dad liked to be picked up before 5pm. The aunties need to feed Grandma dinner and get her ready for bed and it all takes a lot of time. We left the Smithsonian late, and to avoid the crowds, I decided that we should take the Metro from a different station, and route back to Bethesda that way. This new direction took us to Chinatown where we needed to change trains. The changing of trains is nothing new to us. However, this place was unfamiliar territory. We found ourselves among a more colourful group of people. There were less families with screaming children and more young people with tattoos and colourful hair. Of course Diane doesn't prejudge anyone and she quickly made friends with the fascinating young lady sitting behind us. Sometimes I wish we could all be a little more trusting. With no train delays or mishaps, we made it safely back to the motel. Funny enough, I ventured down onto the second floor to get ice for Mike. If you remember my story from way back this will make you laugh. Even though we just returned from Toronto, we are staying at the same motel we were at for the first 8 days of our vacation. And down on the second floor, right beside the only ice machine in this motel are a washer and dryer. Oh well, there wouldn't have been a story if I could've done laundry here.