Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum & National Christmas Tree

This is our last full day in DC so we tried to make the most of it. We got moving at our usual "crack of noon" - hey, we work hard when we're working, so we relax hard when we're relaxing! The snow was still melting off from yesterday, it's nice to see other things besides me got snowed on.

We walked through a great Sculpture Garden on the way to the Air and Space Museum.

This was a Rodin, but SOMEbody had to steal the limelight . . . .

This was my favorite of the Smthsonian Museums last time I was in DC, and still is - I love WW II planes and used to make models of them when I was a teenager. I desperately wanted to go to the Air Force Academy and be a fighter pilot and was pretty crushed when my color vision wasn't up to par to allow me to follow that dream.

We spent the afternoon in the Museum, eating at McDonalds at the food court - hey, it had been 18 months since we last ate at a McDonalds, it's a rare treat!

I just can't get enough of the Washington Monument - I can see it from my apartment window as I type now, and it is always popping into view throughout the day, and I can never resist snapping a photo or two as the light is always changing, or there is a different tree in front of it . . . . .

We walked over to the National Christmas Tree by the White House where they had music performances on the stage. There was a tree from each state surrounding the main tree and we found the Maine and Alaska trees.

This is a new favorite thing for me to do - wander around and take time-lapse pictures in the city, holding the shutter open and seeing what I get. I'm looking forward to doing it some more in New York and Boston - I think the architecture looks its best at night.

The moving car headlights create those rivers of light down the streets . . . .

And an open shutter is the only way to capture subtle lighting like Christmas decorations.

Okay, I'm heading off to bed, tomorrow we catch the train to New York and a new temporary "home". I'm going to miss this place, the National Mall is starting to feel like an old friend and I wish I could figure out how to pack the shower up and take it with me - I have a feeling there may be a bathroom remodel in the near future back home . . . . cheers!