36. Day 31 – An enjoyable but illegal drive through Washington DC
Friday 15 September 2006
We left the hotel at 9.50am and drove past a very big building that we had previously been told was the CIA. We kept our eyes half-closed.
Don’t look at this photo of the CIA Building in Westfields
We arrived at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum at the Dulles International Airport at 10.00am and spent a couple of hours inside.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Centre at Dulles International Airport
It was truly an extraordinary display and it even has an Air France Concorde parked in the hangar and everything from sport aviation to military. It is probably one of the best displays of aircraft we have ever seen.
Enola Gay, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb on JapanInside the main hanger with the Concorde and many other aircraft on displayWiley Post was the first man to fly solo around the world in a fixed winged aircraft in July 1933 in this aircraft, Winnie MaeSpace Shuttle, Enterprise in the space section of the museumApollo 11’s command module trainer with floatation bagsPip beside a Redstone Missile similar to the one we found in the Simpson Desert years ago
We then phoned Major Dan Mori in Arlington. Dan Mori is the US military’s appointed lawyer for Australian David Hicks. We are very concerned that David Hicks has been locked up for nearly five years without a trial and now without any charge.
We drove down to Arlington, found Dan and his Lawyer Associate, Rebecca. We picked them up in the Earthroamer and drove down to a Mexican fast food eatery because it had an open-air car park. We are restricted where we can park because we are 10ft 6 inches height in the Earthroamer. We talked about David Hicks and what we could do to try to get him a fair trial. We are hoping that the proposed changes that President Bush is trying to get through Congress will not go ahead, and this may mean that Australia will say, “Enough is enough – David Hicks should come home.”
Lunch with Dan Mori and his assistant Rebecca in a Mexican Restaurant in Arlington
After saying goodbye to Dan and Rebecca we headed north on the highway into Washington. We saw a turn off into Washington DC itself and spent the next 45 minutes driving around the Capitol and the Washington Monument. At different places Pip jumped out of the car and took photos. At one stage we even parked and asked a passing tourist to take our photo.
Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial as we crossed the Potomac River into Washington DCThe Department of the Treasury in 14th Street, Washington DCPip jumped out and took this photo as we stopped beside the Washington MonumentWe drove down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the CapitolThe Old Post Office Pavilion in Pennsylvania AvenuePennsylvania Avenue, Washington DCArchives of the United States of AmericaNational Art GalleryLooking towards the CapitolPip jumped out again and took this photo of our Earthroamer next to the CapitolWe drove along 1st Street in front of the CapitolThe Capitol, Washington DCWe asked a tourist to take this photo for us – we had made it to Washington DCThe U.S. Botanic Garden conservatory filled with more than 26,000 plants
We hadn’t realised that this was all a big no-no. As we were heading out of Washington DC a friendly policeman pulled his car up beside us and said, “Do you realise that RVs are not allowed in central Washington?” We said no, but we were leaving anyway and how could we get out? He gave us directions and off we went, on to the freeway heading north.
Voting placards for the Senator’s election in November at Millerville
We followed the GPS to the Capitol Koa Campground at Millersville, which was northeast towards Bowie. We stopped at 4.15pm – early for us – in light rain. In Washington DC itself it was fine and sunny. Weren’t we lucky?
We parked in Site 29 and within minutes an American family arrived next to us. They were from Aberdeen, which is to the northeast, and had come down to take part in a medieval jousting tournament. They were a classic American family with a big V8 pickup and a caravan on the back. They had put up a large American Flag on their annex and had lit their campfire and were enjoying a few beers and a chat. They were extremely friendly and when they heard our Aussie accents they talked to us about Steve Irwin’s death.
