A Pizza Explosion

I am literally exhausted. And it's not my legs from the walking but my eyes and my poor little brain from all of the historical memorial sites and the museums. It has been two wonderful days exploring the historical centre of Washington DC. It is going to be very difficult to document literally everything we did and saw over the past two days, so I am hoping that our adventures will be told through photos (when I get a chance to upload them).

We left, both mornings with our backpacks full (lunch, snacks, fruit, & water); however, without a map but with a plan to head to the memorial strip in Washington known as the National Mall. Who needs a map when you have Mr Atlas travelling with you. Sunday morning in Washington is a running and bike riding capital, especially along the memorial strip. I suppose it does help when you have room to move, grass, and a lot less cigarette smoke polluting the air. Sunday was cool but the sun really shone through the clouds and it was a pleasant day.

Sunday: Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial; where Abraham Lincoln sits in a large stone chair and his famous words are engraved into the walls on either side. It is interesting that through America's history (that has been documented) there have many many moments where individuals have or documents have been written to support or fight for equity and freedom. Abraham Lincoln was yet another person (in a powerful position) to seek and want this for his people. It was also on the steps of this memorial where Martin Luther King gave his most famous speech in front of one of the biggest rallies in

history. Both men changed the course of American history.

From this memorial, our view looked towards the Washington Monument (or known by M & H as "the big monster" - at night it has two red flashing lights near its peak .... Monster eyes!!), across the long pool of water. We walked next to the pool and climbed the little hill to touch the tall monument. The National Mall is well established and thought-out with parkland and walkways through the centre which is lined with multiple Smithsonian Museums and Art Galleries on either side.

Our first building was the National Art Gallery, which had pieces of work from many cultures and religions on display. After munching on an apple outside we made our way to the Smithsonian information centre where we planned to have lunch and then onto the Air and Space Museum, where we planned to be for maybe 2 hours. Well, 5 hours later we finally leave. The incredible number of displays and the detail of each display in this museum is a credit to the curators. As the name suggests, this museum traces the historical development of all aspects of aircraft, flying and all things space. We examined the first telescopes, and looked at Copernicus's image of the world after looking through his own invention (and the first-ever invented); we attempted to plot stars looking through original tools; we viewed the first navigation satellites, which looked liked camera tripods wrapped

in bright orange alfoil; and we played with satellite imagery finding the Toowoomba ranges.

Moving further on, we experimented with the forces at work with aircraft and space flight. Peter also discovered that should he go to the moon, he would only weight about 30kgs ..... he has, ever since, looked closely into planning this trip ASAP. We played with springs and engines and even had the opportunity to sit in a small learning plane, and even control a small model plane, using actual controls. From here we entered the Wright Brothers display which housed the first-ever plane. While seen in the movies, to actually look at the plane in 'real-life' leads me to understand just how brave and incredibly clever the Wright Brothers just were.

Their invention and their understanding of flying weren't a discovery that was quickly developed, nor did their path suggest that it 'happened by chance or luck'. Their process was very thorough and meticulous at every step; which led to their ultimate success (unlike the many other inventors who were attempting to do the same). The brothers were originally in the bicycle industry and used their understanding of motion and balance to inform their initial work. Later progress saw them build a wind tunnel in which to test theories of airflow and simulated flight. They were certainly talented individuals.

Naturally, once flight was discovered/invented, numerous machines and adaptations followed, of which many were on display. There were stories of the first around the world flight in the plane called the Chicago (and subsequent flights); the first female pilot (Amelia Earhart) to fly across the Atlantic and the two other woman who also flew at the same time - Amelia just beat them to it; and the Lindbergs (husband & wife team) who flew two risky flights in order to plot

international flight paths. Granddad Tom would have been in heaven - we would have been there 7 hours had he been with us (I have plenty of photos for you). From this point, we were able to see and learn more about aircraft in both world wars - the type of firing capacity of their weapons that were mounted on different planes and the planes that were transported by sea on large aircraft carriers.

In the centre of the museum hung the first transport planes and the first spacecraft, including a replica of the Hubble Spacecraft. What also stood in the very centre were the first nuclear rockets including the very first prototype that the Germans built. They were huge; the tops of them (not the very top) could be seen on the second floor of the museum - scary to think of the reality of these bombs and the devastation.

Thankfully the weather, while a tad cold was still pleasant enough for our 30min walk back to buy dinner and get back to the hotel. We woke to what we thought and expected to be an even warmer day; however, this was not the case. Unfortunately, the day was meant to be colder with showers later in the afternoon. So we rugged up (I took two pairs of gloves and Miranda and I wore thermal shirts) and we set off, in a different direction today which meant we found coffee. Can you believe we found a little cafe called "Peets Coffee" and it was great! So someone now thinks he is a coffee connoisseur!!!

The showers came earlier than expected, as soon as we left the coffee shop to be exact - just light drizzle, but it didn't deter the steadfast explorers that we had now become. So onward we went to the White House, and it is just as impressive a building in real life as it is on television. Many of these American places, as Peter aptly suggested have become iconic or international due to global communication; it was pretty cool to see with my own eyes. The next stop, before the

rain became too drizzly was the National Archives. Here were all of the original and historical documents that did/do create the backbone of America's democratic state, right for the Magna Carter through to the Declaration of Independence.

There is significant history inside this building; there are also the many amendments to the Declaration that have been made over the years, the equality of Negro Americans through to the equality of women and immigrants and immigrant women. I thought it particularly astounding that in 2009 Obama signed a declaration in relation to equal pay for women after a lawsuit was filed for a female who was earning only 71% of the wage of her male counterparts even though she was performing the same job ..... in 2009!!!!!!!

Peter had researched that there was a Spy Museum near the National Mall, so our next stop was to explore this museum. Even though you need to pay in order to enter, it was certainly worth the walk in the rain and the money. I had in my mind that this museum would only have exhibits about James Bond and other spy movies, but, No! There were many real-life spy stories and spy implements - real "in-button" cameras, microfilms/microdots, real lock-breakers, bugs and so much more. We even had a real air vent to climb through, to see if we could be quiet enough. We even had to adopt a new identity and remember it, as well as having to identify criminals in disguise .... as you could guess the girls, particularly Miranda was in heaven!!! There was also a section on all of the war spies, people who were either celebrities or prominent sportspeople who were enlisted as spies during the wars.

The next level took us into the era of James Bond. Here, the exhibits highlighted many similarities to real life and even took real stories and embedded them into the James Bond story. There were cars on display and even many of the gadgets used in many of the movies, there was also a video section that told of 'real-life' James Bond moments, the real spies had to be James Bondish to escape from situations - some unbelievable stories!! Then, of course, was the gift shop - thank goodness we can make purchases online for it. Otherwise, we would STILL be there!!! After a couple of hours, it was a brisk walk to the American History museum, where they had the last remaining dinosaurs on display.

Apart from dinosaur bones, we looked at various animal skeletons, including a platypus and a kangaroo as well as an actual mummified body (three in fact) .... ooooh!! And we could even take a stroll

through the living insect exhibit, where they had real spiders .... big ugly hairy spiders on display, thankfully behind glass!!

It was then a 30min walk back in the drizzle, which had now set in, and it was cold!! A stop at Whole Foods proved very worthwhile, not only for dinner but to get feeling back into my hands (even though I was wearing two pairs of gloves) and back into the girls' legs!! Back to the motel to eat and pack, ready for the journey to Phoenix.

Now let me explain the title "Pizza Explosion", well the clever Garson, we have in our entourage, had planned to make pizza in order to use up most of the food we had left before we moved on. So, taking a leaf out of Nanna Lyn's pizza recipe, we purchased cheese and pepperoni pizza bases and added topping. Chef Pe'er made a pepperoni, cheese and salami pizza; a chicken, avocado and Camembert cheese pizza and a chorizo sausage, cheese with salami pizza......hmmmm yummy!! The girls pepperoni and salami made it to the table but unfortunately the chicken, avocado and Camembert made it to the bottom of the oven (I wish I had a 'sad-face' icon to use here) ..... all that lovely work was gone - all that remained was the base and a couple of pieces of chicken, oh and two pieces of avocado, and a decent mess in the oven. Lucky for chef Pe'er that Sadie, the expert cleaning lady is also on tour!!!!

Off to Phoenix tomorrow to rest and relax !!!