Flying High in Seattle

So Clay and I finally went to the Boeing Museum of Flight which is just 10 mins from our place - I loved it even more this time than I did 8 years ago - definitely one of my favorite museums ever! We only had 4 hours there and I swear we could spend another 4 weeks there exploring everything. The normally $14 admission is cut to $3 with my MSFT card and I can't wait to go back with everyone who visits!

Probably my fave exhibit is the huge 6-story gallery with planes galore, each with their own stories (pictured to the left). This huge room is right next to the space exploration exhibit and right below the tower exhibit which teaches of air traffic control, dispatchers, the phonetic alphabet, etc. However, one of my favorite memories from my first trip was of walking through an old Air Force One so I had to show Clay that plane (which has moved across the street and now also has a Concorde to walk through and the very first 737 and 747 ever made). That's the 747 to the right - notice the small blur of khaki and red underneath the plane - that's Clay standing under the plane to show you how huge it is!! I was disappointed that the 747 didn't have an internal tour as I've always wanted to see a double-decker plane with the spiral staircase, but the Concorde and the AF One didn't disappoint... Did you know that the AF One has a doggie door for the president's office on board and the Concorde literally grows 6-10 inches while in air due to heat?!?! How crazy is that?!? It could cross the atlantic in just under 3 hours and many rock stars used it to quickly get from country to country for shows. Rough life, eh?? Too bad they're all grounded now due mostly to the one accident in France in 2002 and the manufacturers are now more interested in fuel efficiency than speed.... Oh well - another part of history now I suppose.

Speaking of history the last exhibit we looked at (which I think is also new?) is a history of WWI and WWII pilots and aviation - what an eye opener. There were stories, pictures, and planes from both wars and each had their own personal account and/or artifacts which were all so moving. The model of a trench and the stories of hours spent down in them and the lives lost were particularly frightening. I can't even imagine what our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers went through to protect our freedom. Thanks again guys from the bottom of my heart.

All in all it was a super day and a super trip down aviation's memory lane - I'm just looking forward to going back with each of you, and in particular to return with mom and dad so Clay can hear all of their personal stories and insider knowledge to add to the exhibits! :)

-e :)