DAY 1 – NC to DC

On the road again… Bares family on the road again…

It’s that time of year (summer), when we try to take learning about history and geography to its most experiential level, and so we pack up and drive (7 hours yesterday) and then wake up in a place like Manassas, VA. Presumably, 158 years ago visitors to this particular location would have had a similar experience of sweltering heat interrupted by the occasional breeze and shade opportunity sought out near trees.  That is, if the visitors had come on July 17th, like us, and not four days later, when all hell broke loose in the Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas).  Also unlike those poor souls who fought in that first battle of the Civil War, we were prepared for what to expect: having watched Ken Burns’ documentary, followed by the National Park Services movie about the battle at the visitor center, then a walking tour with a guide, and an app to fill in whatever the other three had missed. And of course: we had not even the teensiest bit of smoke, musket or cannon fire, and enjoyed the complete absence of filial strife (we had all just had a good breakfast so life was good). While we’ll have to rate the different media and their benefits later, and all of those specifics aside, the place was so serene and idyllic that it is hard to imagine not one but two bloody battles taking place there, resulting in more than thirty thousand men losing their lives. Hence the need for numerous verbal and visual reminders.

Arthur on the battlefield

Leo trying to trace history

Waking up in Manassas

Rolling hills & artillery

Our next stop before getting into DC proper was the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (near Dulles airport). It’s now the home of the Space Shuttle Discovery.  The museum was a nice way for us to bookend our visit at the Kennedy Space Center and the Rocket Launch we saw in Florida in March with a look at the retired Shuttle. Though they do also have lots and lots of airplanes, helicopters, gliders, and other flying machines.

Space hangar

Shuttle Discovery

Space junkie

and little butch…