National Air and Space Museum, Chantilly, VA (April 14, 2018)

 A favorite place to visit and this time brought my soon to be wife Debbie with me. This museum is actually sort of the "annex" as it is the second of the two museums in the Washington, DC area, this one located outside of the actual city. This plane is of note, and is famous for being the last remaining actual plane that was in Pearl Harbor on  December 7, 1941. The damage is from age, not from the attack.

Not so damaged is the Space Shuttle Discovery seen at the museum. They wanted to display it with a "just back from Space look", so NASA delivered it (after removing some of the dangerous chemicals) inside it.
A little more damaged (and like the plane above a little worn) is the guy in front. That's me....and Debbie took this photo.
Always enjoy seeing this remarkable spacecraft. There are a number of bigger aircraft here...the Enola Gay, the SR-71, the Boeing 747 and the Concorde are just a few of the ones you can see.     

Lots of really older planes from World War 1 and even a few older flying machines are at the museum. It is a great place to visit if you are ever in the area. Parking is $15 but admission is free and well worth it. It is one of the many things to see in the Washington, DC region and believe me there are quite a few more. 

Riding the RVA

 March 31 was a nice day to get out and one of the first times in a while to get out on two wheels. It is one of my favorite ways to get out to explore Richmond for a number of reasons.
Went to see a number of things. Those included the baseball stadium (aka "The Diamond" ) and also to the racetrack (aka Richmond International Raceway) which can be seen at left (the track being in the background as it was closed for "Easter Weekend". Ride up saw a number of cherry trees, while not yet blooming in Washington, DC they are in full bloom here.

From that area rode back to Monument Avenue where I got this photo of the Jefferson Davis Memorial. Not debating the wisdom of honoring the man, but this at any case is his monument.
Rode some more around Richmond. Oh while I was out made a short refreshment stop at Hardywood Brewing for a bit of ale. Some pretty tasty beverages there and its a favorite of mine (that and Legend Brewing).
All in all it was a really good ride and a wonderful day to do it. Spring is finally coming to the area after a winter that did not seem to want to end, and that is going to be a fun thing. My two favorite seasons are Spring and Fall and looking forward to making the most of the Spring season. There will be a lot to see and do...and it is my plan to see it, and do it. 

Return to the USAF Museum, Dayton, Ohio (March 7, 2018)

 Easily one of the best aviation  museums I have been to in my life (and that list is rather big over 60 years) and always something interesting to see there. For instance this is an Autogyro, which was a development I guess on the way to the helicopter. Could not do all of what helicopters can which is why they were on the road to them, but nonetheless interesting flying machines. This is one of many, many amazing aircraft there.

Had lunch in the museum restaurant where I got this photo of the B-36. Nice to see that up there as down in the museum it is almost impossible to  get it whole. At ground level it is just a massive aircraft. I think the B-36 is one of the largest bombers ever to fly (in wingspan at least). Course the museum is one of the largest in the world of aviation and has grown greatly from when I first saw it many years ago. 

At any case the United Air Force Museum is a must visit stop. Planes from all eras and even a number of spacecraft including the Command Module from the Apollo 14 mission (which had an all Air Force Crew) can be seen there. You can also see a number of research aircraft and all the planes known as Air Force One (except the current one). Admission is free and hours can be found at the museum web site. 

Dayton Trip (March 1-March 8, 2018)

 During the first week of March, we made a road trip to Dayton, Ohio. It is the hometown of my soon to be wife and wanted to see the place, plus there where some things we had to do while there....items to bring back to Virginia and also she had some things to get done. We did an overtnight on the way down in West Virginia. We also made a trip to Rising Sun, Indiana which is not far and a place we both enjoy.

While there, and as noted in my "Racing with the Wind" blog, been a lot of snow in Virignia this winter (and now Spring...as I write this on March 21, it snowed this first full day of Spring) and the Dayton area has been no exception. During the trip I got this photo of a snowfall there. Luckily it was short lived. 
Thought it was pretty though, being retired snow takes on a whole different thing than when I was working. 

Took this shor in passing of Dayton which we got to explore quite a bit this trip. Had a nice tour of downtown and the Oregon District which is very interesting with friends of Debbie. I enjoy my visits there and we have a great time in the Gem City.

More RVA CHristmas Lights (December 11-13, 2017)

 Got out a little bit for some sort trips to see some of the amazing light displays in Richmond. Got out a bit after work which considering that the week was filled with 12 hour  working days was pretty good  This one is near my house and just a short drive up the road . It is a nice place to visit and has a lot of things going on in the yard. I enjoy seeing this every year 

 Made a short visit to the James Center in downtown Richmond. It is the offical City display and enjoy seeing all the lit reindeer, the Christmas tree and the buildings lined out with white. While that was cool though (as was the model train display in one of the buildings which was up and running) carriage rides are also a part of the Christmas season and thought I would get a photo of one of the teams here. 

Finally made a drive to Wendhurst Avenue for a visit to this remarkable house. According to a sign there there are some 170,451 lights and 1,326 homemade decorations in this yard. It is just a remarkable thing to see. This house won the ABC Great Christmas Light Fight (which gave them a trophy and $50,000) on December 12, 2016. No doubt as this made a long work day very remarkable at the end. 

First Snow (December 8-9, 2017)

 Really was not too bad as snow fall goes, but it was damn cold the day the snow came down. We had a pretty scene with this storm which came out of the Gulf of Mexico and up though the south.
Snow fall predictions changed in the course of the storm from just flurries to a few inches to what turned out to be maybe 2-3. For a very short time there was some on the road, but it was just for a few short hours. Never did get very click though it was very cold.
It was also very pretty. Did get out and get a walk in it. Photos I have are of my house (that tree as was all of them were amazing coated in white) and then the train tracks behind my house and a look down Forest Hill Avenue. The snow was pretty much gone by Monday though some remains in shady places here in the area in very, very tiny amounts. 

Lewis Ginter GardenFest of Lights (December 3, 2017)

 I love going to this every year and it is always something magical to see. The place is located at 1800 Lakeside Avenue, and does charge admission (though there are some free days to visit). It is the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and they make magic during the Spring, Summer and Fall but really outdo themselves during the Winter when they transform the gardens into a winter wonderland. 

 I liked this tree which was really something to see. As well as sights such as these there are places to get something to eat and drink (hot chocolate was popular) and there were other things to see. Conventional Christmas trees were on display as well as a very large and interesting model train set. They also had a wonderful childrens garden for the kids to explore and that was a great deal of fun for older kids such as me.

 It was just an amazingly beautiful explosion of color and tranquility. A good tip if you visit go early as this exhibit gets pretty packed as the night goes on. It will be open from November 24-January 8 though it is closed December 24-25)There are a lot of special events scheduled though the month so checking the web site is a really good idea. Hours of the display are from 5-10 PM

This is the view from the lake. I would also mention that all of these are just a small sample of what the garden has to offer. They even have dog nights (though they dont like the dogs run free). Not sure if the dogs would really enjoy the lights but I do know they would a good walk...and this area is a very good walk indeed. Not sure how many acres but it is a lot and each step is special and magical.