Just Me and My Marine

We’ve been wanting to visit the Marine Corps Museum for a very long time but it never seemed to work out for us. A few weeks ago Bob asked where I thought we should go for a little get away and I suggested taking our camper, staying in an RV park in Virginia, and finally visiting the Marine Corps Museum. He agreed that it was a good idea, and we were off!

The Museum was beautiful, and it was filled with Marine Corps facts and memorabilia from the beginning of the Marine Corps until the present day.

Bob really enjoyed this and I thought it was very interesting too.

Bob said this room brought back a lot of memories, and I made him stand on those yellow footprints again.

We had lunch at the Tun Tavern. What Marine wouldn’t want to eat at the Tun Tavern!

We’ve heard Bob/Dad/Pappy tell us this over and over again through the years. You know what they say: Once a Marine always a Marine, and we’re so proud of our Marine!

While we were in Northern Virginia, we went to another museum that we’ve been talking about for a long time, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport. The Udvar-Hazy Center displays thousands of aviation and space artifacts, including the Space Shuttle Discovery and a Concorde, in two large hangars. It is amazing!!

When you walk in the door, you see a SR71 Blackbird and immediately behind it you can see the Space Shuttle Discovery! This place is HUGE!!!

I was so impressed by this Blackbird. The signs told us that no reconnaissance aircraft in history has operated globally in more hostile airspace or with such complete impunity than the SR-71, the world’s fastest jet-propelled aircraft. This particular Blackbird accrued about 2,800 hours of flight time during 24 years of active service with the U.S. Air Force. On its last flight, March 6, 1990, its pilots set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. in 1 hour, 4 minutes, and 20 seconds (2,124 miles per hour)! Amazing!

The museum also housed a Concorde, and this particular aircraft was the first Air France Concorde to open service to Rio De Janeiro, Washington, and New York City. It was impossible to take a picture of the whole plane so I’ll show it to you in sections.

The displays are so fascinating. Look at the shuttle with little satellites above it.

More satellites, the world’s smallest plane, and a picture for Quinn, my little Star Wars fan, an X Wing Fighter which is being refurbished.

We spent a full day here and it was well worth the trip.

During our time in Virginia, we camped at Bull Run Regional Park which is next to Manassas Battlefield. It was a very hot day but we did hike through the battle field.

General Stonewall Jackson caught my eye and his horse didn’t move a muscle.

I’d love it if Bob built a fence like this around our farm, but he always says no when I ask.

A small portion of the battlefield was on this nice trail and we appreciated the shade.

I forgot to take pictures of the camp ground, but it was very nice and we’d stay there again.

It was a short, but fun shake down cruise for our new truck. If you’re in Northern Virginia I’m sure you’d enjoy the Marine Corps Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and the Manassas Battlefield too.