Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

After regrouping in the air conditioned townhouse we set out for rhe Air and Space Museum.  Lily went on a simulator ride with Reese, a girl from Tennessee. The ride to a black hole was fun but tgey really wantrd to spin upside down so they climbed into another simulator and screamed their lungs out. We looked around some more and found the planitarium. We paid for Lily's ticket but got in for free for being educators!   Yeah!  We only had to close our eyes a few times as the swooping in and out of the galaxy was a bit too much. Then it was time for dinner. 

Entry way sculpture 

Lunar Module

Spiritof St Louis 

Journey to the black hole simulator 

Lily emerges 

Who is woozy 

Team rocket 

Learning to control the simulator 

Rock and roll

Post ride data dump

If your pants are too low , we can see

Cant fit in the cockpit 

Super sonic 

Space

Docking

Journey to nausea 

Actual capsule 

Beach Trash Sculptures

Several sculptures made of plastic beach trash.

Parrot Fish

Sail Fish

Rock Hopper Penguin 

Shark

Octopus 

Girls

Zoo Time

Like seasoned travelers we walked to Union Station and whoosh we are transported to the Zoo.  Geckos Pandas and Frogs!  Oh my.  It was a hot one and the first half was easy. Maybe because it was all downhill. Once we got to the end of the zoo and had to go back,  the heat of the day kicked in and it was all uphill. The pandas were cool and it was the small panda's birthday. They were given a "cake" and were sleeping it off.  Next we saw the small mammals the reptiles and Amazonia. We decided on a taxi ride home.  Now we are back at the townhouse, feet up and cooling down.

Townhouse 

Red line

Slightly disoriented 

Not an actual lion

Where are we?

Arghhhh panda attack

Yummy

Cake hangover 

"Cake"

Not a green screen 

Tree wallaby

Sand Cat 

Squirrel 

Meerkat 

Big Funky Lizard 

Day Gecko

Poison Frog

Fritz and Lily 

Monkey 

Frog Fish 

Sea lion

Cool down

Spy Museum and dinner at Oceanaire

Down by Chinatown  is the Spy Museum which was most intriguing! There was information all the way back to Mary Queen of Scots and as recently as this century. It got a little heavy there for a while but all in all we enjoyed it. One of the challenges for would be spies was to hang from a bar for 60 seconds. It wasn't easy but Lily nailed it.  We then walked down a few blocks to dinner at The Oceanaire. It was Lily's birthday so they made a big fuss, gave her a card a fancy menu with her name on it and baked Alaska at the end!

Chinatown

Intrigue 

Hang in there 

She made it the full 60

Oceanaire 

Cheers 

Very sweet 

Off to Washington DC

Leslie has decided to take her nieces and nephews to DC when they turn 11.  Lily Grace is the first one.  We drove to Orlando, picked her upand flew to DC. There is a fish tank in the Orlando Airport that Lily saw on the show Tanked. Of course there was a clown fish (Nemo) and a blue tang Dory. We dropped off our bags at the townhouse and then off to Union Station

Here fishy

Big tank indeed 

So fancy

Union Station