Best Jets and Jets and Jets

Sunday, after church and cleaning a house, we went to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the National Air and Space museum's annex out by the airport.  Not Reagan.  The other one.  When I heard about this place two and a half years ago I nearly flipped my lid and when I went on Sunday I nearly saw too many jets.

Right when you enter there's an SR-71 Blackbird.

And then right after that . . . a Space Shuttle!  The Enterprise, which never went into space, but still, come on!  I remember where I was when I first heard of the Enterprise.  On a plane.  Talking with my dad.  Enterprise, I've known about you just about my entire life and now we've finally met!

It was so tall.  That's the main impression it made on me.  An impression of tallness.

Enterprise, I read about your heat-resistant underside tiles in World magazine.  Your tiles are very thick, that's the main thing I remember about them.

Around the Enterprise there was other cool space stuff, like this Poseidon missile.  But you know what I really would have liked to have seen?  A German V2 rocket.  "A screaming comes across the sky!"

Boilermakers, waiting in line to go up to the observation tower.

The observation tower.  I'm going to call this stop on your Udvar-Hazy tour "nonessential."

Okay, let's go back downstairs and look at planes and jets!

Because they'll get chopped up in all the spinning propellers.

Do you know what cockpit this is?

It's the Enola Gay!  Just sitting there, with everyone else like it's no big deal.  A touch spooky.

Yep, a Conchord.

This is where they fix up new old planes.

Back to the Space Shuttle via upper walkway.

And back to the SR-71 via same.

Over to the fighter jet section.  You can literally see the spot where they are dying to put a stealth bomber once they get one.

Awesome upper walkway view of an F-14.

Jetfire!  I had the one on the right.

Jet guns.

Jet models.

H. Ross Perot flew this helicopter around the all the way around the world.   

A piece of the Hindenberg.  They also had a piece of one of the 9/11 airplanes but I could barely stand looking at it let alone photograph it let alone post it here.

The Nemesis.  A tiny champion racer plane.

I love flying wings.

Fronts and backs of real bomber jackets.

"Bell of the Brawl"

We stayed until the center closed.  It is awesome but there is just so much stuff to see there.  Nearly too much.  I should have brought Gatorade and a PowerBar to get me through it.

I followed the Udvar-Hazy up with the only thing in the DC area that could exceed its awesomeness: Dinner with Jeremy (from growing up) and Shelly and their sons, the MACH-4.