Air & Space Museum

We made our way out near Dulles to the larger Air & Space Museum.  There were a lot of pretty amazing sights and such an incredible facility.  We enjoyed going on the first part of the tour, hearing about aviation history.  Some highlights were the Panamanian pilgrims getting to see the airplane that the Japanese tried to hide in a submarine in order to bomb the Panama Canal.

Their tour guide in Panama had said the plane was here, and they should send her a picture if they saw it.  This was a big reason for our destination choice for the day.

Also, the first airplane to go from the Pacific to the Atlantic (across the isthmus of Panama) was a surprise highlight, as well as learning more history of the Enola Gay. 

But what a sight to see the Space Shuttle Discovery.  We had not been there since it had replaced the Enterprise, which had only been for in-atmosphere practice, gliding and landing. 

The kids had a great time in the space simulator, though when Reeve decided to treat his mom with a flight simulator, there were a few too many barrel rolls for mommy's taste!