Off we go

The Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum has been on our “to see” list for quite a while. The fact that it is located at Dulles airport instead of the National Mall is a drawback since that area is a long drive from D & Cs house. Our leaving from Dulles across the Atlantic gave us the perfect opportunity. The floor and ceiling of an old hanger are filled with planes. Among the most famous are a space shuttle that didn’t fly into space, a Concorde, the Enola Gay, and a “stealthy” SR71. A Pan American Clipper was something of a good luck charm for this trip considering the name that we have chosen for this blog. The exhibits are quite good and we learned a lot from the labels and the docents.



We spent the rest of day flying over the Pond, stopping in Dakar for fuel and then spending our first night on African soil at the Peermont Metcourt Suites at Emperors Palace, a very modern style hotel near the airport in Johannesburg. It is adjacent to a Reno-in-its-better-days-style Casino. We enjoyed a buffet dinner including our first taste of barracuda and then sampled the slots taking out more than we put in.

This posting is made from the airport at Maun, Botswana. The man sitting next to us was reading Noam Chomsky

Holiday Time

Ben’s Chili Bowl is an internationally known hot dog and hamburger joint. Opened in 1958 on “Black Broadway,” it has served diners famous, infamous and just plain folks heartburn inducing dinners. Presidents from Reagan to Bush (2) to Obama have enjoyed the famous “half smoke”. We went with Cheryl, Dave and Dave’s brother Joe’s family and some of us even enjoyed heartburn later in the evening.

After dinner we went to The National Zoo which is all ablaze for the holidays. We froze as we wandered through colorful animal-themed decorations.




This banner promotes one of Cheryl’s current project.














Continuing the holiday theme, on Saturday we drove to Middleburg, VA, a small town in the midst of horse country. The streets are lined with shops, bakeries, inns and restaurants. We met C and D’s friend Jeff and his friend Bob and enjoyed lunch at an inn that served as Jeb Stewart’s headquarters during the Civil War, and dates back to the 1700s.


We then wandered the main street of the town checking out the various shops and especially the bakeries. Jerry’s baked apple was unique and delicious.

The Newseum

The Newseum, as its name implies, is dedicated to the media. The outside wall is decorated with the wording of the first amendment and the exhibits extol the virtues of the four freedoms. We started our day here with a docent led tour that gave us a good overview of this interactive museum. The displays honoring winners of the Pulitzer Prize in Photography gave background on such iconic pictures as those of Vietnam, Iwo Jima and Columbine. A photo from the sports section was also very important. Can anyone other than Harold name the player????


The museum has an actual section from the Berlin Wall with graffiti on the western side and totally blank on the other.

Newsbooks (the earliest form of newspaper dating back to the 1400s) and newspapers dating to the 16th century have been scanned for visitors to read. One we were interested in was the San Francisco Examiner, Call Bulletin, Chronicle from April 17, 1906 telling about San Francisco having been destroyed. Another interesting one bore the headline “Dewey beats Truman”. Acknowledging media error, plaques in the bathroom quote embarrassing mis-writes.

The most striking point in this excellent museum was that we remembered most of the “history” reported; radio and tv coverage began not long before we were born.

The National Botanical Garden is decorated each holiday season. This year the theme was great structures from antiquity. Model trains chugged around the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramids and other buildings.


The Tackle Box is one of our must visit restaurants. A funky place where every sits together on wood benches creates wonderful seafood dishes and sides. We enjoyed our dinner and the company of one of Cheryl and Dave’s friends from Hawaii.

Walking the Town

Everyone has scattered. Jeff flew back to Albany on Saturday. Sunday Dave went off on a bike ride, Cheryl went to swim, and we went on a Volksmarch through the zoo and around Embassy Row. The weather was lovely and it felt good to be out and about.

We continued the “scatter” with Dave and Cheryl off to work and Jerry and Anna Lee on another volksmarch, this time through the grounds of the National Cathedral with its Bishop’s Garden where a few flowers still remain, even in December. We continued along Embassy Row with the colorful national flags fluttering. For lunch, after our walk, we were welcomed with a warm hug by the server at Spices, a wonderful Japanese restaurant that is on our “must eat at” list when we visit DC.

Our favorite museum in DC is the little known Renwick, a small art museum that is part of the Smithsonian. This time we went to see an outstanding exhibit on wood turning. Jerry was captivated by the quality of the work. At the same museum, we saw The Art of Gamen created by Japanese internees during WWII.

The works consist of everyday items and art objects. Some of the sketches are the only “pictures” from the first days after they were rounded up and put into temporary camps such as those at Tanforan Race Track. Having recently read The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Anna Lee found their art even more poignant.

We furthered our museum visits first enjoying a collection of pop-up books at American History then at the Arcimboldo collection at the National Art Gallery. His portraits, painted in the 1500s using fruits, vegetables and fish to make up the figures, are enchanting. It is amusing to learn that these were all the rage with 16th century royalty.

































Cheryl and Dave have added to our cultural experience with more theater. To celebrate Mark Twain’s birthday we enjoyed a lecture by the editor of his newly published autobiography.


The next night we saw the play Walter Cronkite Is Dead, a two women production taking place while waiting to catch planes during a long storm. We spend non theater evenings getting humiliated in card games. Dave and Cheryl let us win often enough to keep us coming back for more punishment.

Wick’ed Ways at the Walters

We enjoy extended family in the DC area.

Bob and cousin Barbara from Philadelphia took us on a tour of Baltimore rowhouses. In the past, residents painted their window screens to differentiate the homes and to provide privacy when windows were open on hot summer days. The remaining screens are decorated with primitive scenes of lakes and hillsides adding charm to a small ethnic neighborhood.


We then joined the Steinberg/Levy clan at the Walters Museum for Games, Gizmos and Toys in the Attic, created by Walter Wick (no relation to the museum Walter’s). Ranging in age from nine to seventy, all of us were delighted by these ingenious works of art. For a real treat, check out his web site at www.walterwick.com.



A creative construction artist and master photographer, he designs and builds fantasy creations that enchant young and old. He has created the I Spy series of books, put his own twist on classic children’s stories and challenged collectors of Games Magazine. His works provided us with a wonderful afternoon.

No trip to Maryland is complete without a meal that centers on crab.

Nick’s Restaurant was so good we plan to eat there each time we visit DC.

Museum Mecca

DC is a museum mecca. Our first stop was the Building Museum, an old building that has been converted to a beautiful tribute to the building trades.

We went to view a Lego exhibit of such famous structures as the Hancock Building in Chicago, the Pyramid of San Francisco the St. Louis Arch and Falling Water by Frank Lloyd Wright.




Anna Lee, Jeff, Cheryl and Dave enjoyed exercising their creative side by seeing what they could build with the supply of Legos that were available at the exhibit.

Next we headed down the street to the Smithsonian American Art Museum to see joint Norman Rockwell collections owned by Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas (pictures not allowed). We had visited the Rockwell Museum in the Berkshires in 2009 and were pleased to enjoy his charming and thoughtful illustrations again.

Thanksgiving in DC

November 23, 2010 was the day we did not let the world slip through our fingers. Instead of a PanAm flight, we hopped on Southwest on the first leg of a trip around the world. We will see exotic sights, wild animals, different cultures; first stop Washington, DC.

We are spending the Thanksgiving holidays with son Jeff, daughter Cheryl and son-in-law Dave in DC. Our first day was practice eating at neighborhood restaurants and doing the requisite last minute shopping.

The evening was dedicated to the first of several theater opportunities. Superior Donuts at the Studio Theater is the story of a Polish donut shop owner, his young black assistant, and the good and bad people of their declining Chicago neighborhood. The story was poignant and humorous, an excellent small theater presentation.

We started the great feast day with a Turkey Trot along the Potomac. The 5K run (Cheryl) walk (the rest of us) was a fund raiser for a local charity and a fun activity.


Then it was home to prep for dinner. As befits their excellent cooking skills, dinner was delicious.

Jerry’s famous apple pie was a luscious finale. We enjoyed spending time with guests Juliette (friend of C’s from UCLA) and her friend Mark and C’s swim and book friend Steve.