Smithsonian

Today, I visited Washington D.C. It's been a while - I was last there in 1996 - the time before that (1990) was my first time. It's interesting to see how it's changed. There's metal detectors everywhere, you can't eat in government cafeterias anymore, and it's not as easy to see things like the Washinton Monument. That being said, it's a great place to visit. I started at the Smithsonian Castle, then took in some of the National Book Festival. Sadly, my favorite museum (American History) is closed for renovations, so I went to the Museum of Natural History (also a great museum). After that, I went to Air & Space. The exhibits are pretty similar to what they had there in '96, with a few new additions (SpaceShipOne, for example). The large atrium that had the older prop jobs (DC-3, etc.) is being renovated. They had some new things in the "space" atrium, among them this space suit (donated by the first "space tourist", Dennis Tito). I just stood there for a little while, looking at the space suit, thinking about the incredible experience it must be to fly into space "jeez, that Tito is one short little guy".