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Image/Photo Thread Of Any Images You Would Like To Share....

We found DC to be a friendly town. From the mall to Adams Morgan and U street, we met a lot of people who were pleasant, helpful, and warm. When near the Mall, the Washington Monument is omnipresent, so a couple of pictures are mandatory. When built, it was the tallest man made structure in the world. It's still the tallest free standing stone structure in the world. We rode to the top, I may post some of those later. Here are a couple of "wherever you look, there it is" photos.

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WM_P1010248.webp


Bob
 
More from Smithsonian Air & Space. Sputnik. Not the one the Soviet Union initiated the space race with, but according to the docent, it was made in the Sputnik factory, it is a working Sputnik that was never launched, and it was a gift to the Smithsonian from the Russians.

I was a kid when Sputnik was launched, and it was a thrilling thing at the time.

_SputnikP1010292.webp
 
BobbyBoomer said:
More from Smithsonian Air & Space. Sputnik. Not the one the Soviet Union initiated the space race with, but according to the docent, it was made in the Sputnik factory, it is a working Sputnik that was never launched, and it was a gift to the Smithsonian from the Russians.

I was a kid when Sputnik was launched, and it was a thrilling thing at the time.

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At the World Science Fiction Convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1994, they had a real Sputnik on display. It belonged to a museum in Canada and was loaned to the convention. It was surprisingly small, about the size of a basketball.
 
Small indeed. But back then getting a basketball into orbit was quite a feat of science.

I remember the rockets on Cape Canaveral blowing up on the launch pad, or getting a few hundred feet up before coming back down.

There is a wonderful wildlife preserve surrounding the Kennedy Space Center. I think it was established as a buffer zone for failed rocket attempts. The thinking being that if the rocket came down, a housing development or business center would not be a good place for the crash.

I usually visit the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge a few times each year. It's about 100 miles north of us. There is an abundance of waterfowl in the winter, they come from 'up north' to evade the cold winters. Egrets, Spoonbills, Herons, Ducks, Mergansers, Grebes, Hawks, Ospreys, Eagles, Vultures, Rails and plenty of small birds too. Plus the occasional large mammal like river otters, armadillos, and bobcats.

It's maintained by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife with help from Ducks Unlimited.

From December to April, especially on dry years, it's a great place to visit if you like nature.

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge - Titusville Florida

Bob
 
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BobbyBoomer said:
From Smithsonian Air & Space. A DC-3, one of the greatest prop-driven passenger planes ever built. Many of them are still in service. I think it's a good looking plane, and reminds me of both my childhood and a lot of classic movies.

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Agree re the looks Bob and it had a fantastic reputation for reliability too.
My first commercial airlines flight (Trans Australia Airlines, now no longer operating) was when I was a teenager. I remember I had to "walk uphill" once inside to get to my seat.:)
Andrew
 
My first flight was Eastern Air Lines, also no longer operating.

Of all the planes I've flown in, my favorite was the Boeing 727. Small enough for easy boarding/exit, not too small like the MD80, and the 3 jet engines in the back made for a quiet flight. I don't know if any of those are still in service.

(not my picture)


boeing-727.webp
 
BobbyBoomer said:
My first flight was Eastern Air Lines, also no longer operating.

Of all the planes I've flown in, my favorite was the Boeing 727. Small enough for easy boarding/exit, not too small like the MD80, and the 3 jet engines in the back made for a quiet flight. I don't know if any of those are still in service.

(not my picture)


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Totaly agree! A good size that so you didn't wait ages for everyone to board. And of course those rear engines meant that even if you were in the cattle truck section right at the back, the engines were still behind you for a more peaceful ride. The seats were bigger too then. Or maybe I got bigger...sigh:D
Andrew
 
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