Udvar-Hazy field trip

I highly recommend going on field trips on Columbus Day or any other federal holiday when the local public school is still in session. We practically had the entire place to ourselves as well as our own private tour guide in my dh, Tim. As an avid reader of aviation and space history we got the full story of all the space missions, the background of most of the planes, and he had perfect "dad sense" to know exactly when the children's attention was wavering and move on to the next exhibit. Watching the planes landing at Dulles International from the observation tower. I never knew that the jets touch down at about 100mph and there is always a little plume of smoke from the wheels due to friction.Looking at lots of models of helicopters, including ones Charlie deemed, "wheely big."

The Enola Gay which dropped the first atom bomb on Hiroshima to compel the Japanese to end WWII.

The Space Shuttle Enterprise which was used to test landings, but was never sent into space. While the official posted rules said no food or drink we calmed a fussy toddler with liberal access to the baggie of Cheerios and a sippy cup. This lead to a quieter and more pleasant experience for all the visitors at the museum today. While I wouldn't allow any food in an art museum, it seemed pretty safe here. Next week's trip is likely to be at the National Portrait Gallery and the little ones will stay home, leaving all the famous paintings safe from grubby fingers.