After my effort to get to Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Ellicott City, Maryland – it was closed the day I went – I decided to try to find SW-9 Intermediate Boundary Stone, which is located in Benjamin Banneker Park in Arlington, Virginia.
It was no easy task. Oh, my HISTORY Here app sent me right to the park.
It was a lovely park and a great day for a stroll.
Good thing. I strolled and strolled and strolled. No luck. After more than an hour, I gave up and got into BART. I still thought that I might find it, so I kept my eyes peeled.
And I found it!
It was near the corner of N. Van Buren and N. 18th Streets.
This is one of 40 boundary stones laid in 1791 to mark the boundaries of the newly created District of Columbia. Benjamin Banneker was part of the team that surveyed the land. This was especially important after the initial designer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant left the project. Well, actually, L’Enfant was dismissed for refusing to cooperate with the commissioners, but that is another story.
This was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1980. The plaque states, “This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America.”
With that mission accomplished, I set out for Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
What is the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, you ask. It is a part of the the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. It is a home for historic aircraft that are too large for the main museum in Washington. It is located at the Dulles International Airport.
It is open every day, 10:00 – 5:30. Admission is free. Parking is $15, but, if you come in after 4:00, parking is free. As everyone knows, free is my favorite word. I figured that an hour and a half of free is great.
I parked and went to the information desk. I asked if there was a map to the highlights of the collection. He gave me a guide and I set off to see what I could see.
What I saw were planes, planes and more planes!
Yes, that is the Concorde in the back. There were 20 built. It was introduced in 1976 and was retired in 2003.
I was stopped in my tracks when I turned to the right and there was the Enola Gay, which was the plane used in the bombing of Hiroshima. It dropped the first atom bomb.
In addition to the Enola Gay, there was also a Kugisho MXY7 Ohka. Ohka is Japanese for cherry blossom. It was the aircraft that was used by the kamikaze pilots. This one was still in development. They were trying a new engine, but they never got it operational.
I was captivated by another small aircraft with no connection to death and destruction. Sky Baby – the World’s Smallest Airplane.
It is 9 ft 10 in long, has a wingspan of 7 ft 2 in and is 5 ft tall. It was built in 1952. No one challenged the builder Ray Stilt’s claim until 1980s when Robert Starr announced that his biplane, Bumble Bee II was smaller. Ray’s son Donald restored the family honor in 2002 by designing and building Baby Bird. The Guinness Book of Records crowned Bumble Bee II the world’s smallest biplane and Baby Bird the smalls monoplane.
So, I guess that Sky Baby isn’t the World’s Smallest, but it sure is cute!
There were cases and cases of models of airline planes.
And a hangar for working on restoring historic crafts.
And off into the era of space exploration.
Space Shuttle Discovery. Its first flight was in 1984 and its last flight was in 2011. It flew a total of 39 missions.
Satellites and space probes.
I really liked this one, but I don’t know what it is.
And, I have to admit that I was particularly drawn to Mobile Quarantine Facility.
It’s Flo’s cousin! (Flo is the name of my Airstream, in case you are a recent reader of this blog.)
Just one more stop, and then my whirlwind visit would be finished. The ladies’ room.
I was impressed with the Clean Escape.
What a great idea! You can open the door with your toe after you have washed your hands!
I think I have seen all the aircraft I need to see for a while, but it was worth the time.
And it was FREE!